FRENCH RACING DIVISION 



— whose real name is Mitta, his surname — wields 

 wonderful sway at that place in the bar. It has been, 

 and always will be, I suppose, the great racing rendez- 

 vous. " Johnny " can be genial, severe, communi- 

 cative or secretive. He has always been an intelli- 

 gence department as to where everybody we knew 

 was and must have listened most carefully to all 

 which was told him. Owners, trainers, jockeys, 

 bookmakers, backers and others well known on and 

 off the racecourse were met there. It was therefore 

 no trouble after a while to find out bits of information 

 which were necessary for the paper. On certain days 

 when there was a disinclination to go racing, and it 

 was unimportant, there could generally be an interview 

 with a well-known man on some important topic. Sir 

 George Chetwynd was very kind to me in this respect, 

 and would give me a column full of interest on occa- 

 sions. Sir George's memory extends further back 

 than my own, and his stories and opinions were so 

 absorbing and sound. \Miat a pity it is that he hasn't 

 a big stable of horses to-day ! When in Paris he 

 would not go racing regularly, but usually on Sunday 

 he would be at either Auteuil or Longchamp. It 

 shows how a man once so tremendously keen can break 

 away from it. 



Lord Alfred Douglas had a small string of horses at 

 Chantilly and one of his, a horse named Hardi, once 

 did me no end of a turn at Maison Laffitte. Running 

 unbacked by his owner, he started at fifty-seven to one 

 to win and twelve to one for a place and your Uncle 

 Dudley won a much-needed little stock of notes. I 

 had all sorts of impending obligations, including a 

 family practically in pawn at Dieppe, advance rent 

 of a furnished flat I had taken, and heaps of odd things 

 to pay for and things to buy. 



150 



