Mr. J. M. Richardson's Writings Collated 



Bygone Veterans. 



A familiar figure in the Royal enclosure was that of the 

 late Duke of Cambridge, and it was a pleasant sight at the 

 end of the day to see him mount his horse, in waiting for him 

 at the back of the Grand Stand, and, followed by a groom, 

 ride away across the Great Park to Windsor Castle. Towards 

 the close of his long life the Duke seemed to take an 

 increasing interest in horse-racing, and was hardly ever absent 

 from the Newmarket meetings, where he would frequently be 

 seen in the judge's box when a race was in progress. For 

 some years, right up to the late 'seventies, a noticeable per- 

 sonality at Ascot was that of an elderly man of stoutish build 

 and rubicund complexion, wearing a white hat, with black band, 

 and dust-coloured clothes, with a large pair of blue spectacles 

 over his nearly sightless eyes, and in his mouth a large and 

 inviting-looking cigar, who, seated in a chair in the corner by 

 the enclosure near the judge's box, was the recipient of many 

 a cordial greeting during the day from aristocratic visitors of 

 either sex, to the majority of whom he was evidently well and 

 favourably known. The late Marchioness of Hastings, in 

 particular, was often to be seen during the day, seated on a 

 chair at his side, enjoying a chat with the veteran. Nor was 

 this surprising, under the circumstances, seeing that but a few 

 years back, during what has since been known as the 

 " Hastings era," John Day's lot, and what they were doing, 

 formed the sole subject of conversation, in the sporting world 

 at all events, to the exclusion of all other topics. 



As the veteran trainer sat placidly smoking his cigar, 

 whilst those around loudly proclaimed the victory of Cre- 

 morne, or some other equine hero in the Gold Cup — perhaps, 

 next to the Derby, the most coveted prize we have — his 



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