CHAPTER XLI 



CRITICISMS OF OWNERS 



Irresponsible Slanders — Mr J. B. Joel and Dean Swift — The Old Gelding 

 and the " City "—Faith in Your Majesty— Mr W. Hall Walker and 

 Polar Star — The " Best Horse I ever owned " 



For the most part I have found the true spirit of 

 camaraderie exist among those on the racing Press. 

 Of course there are the exceptions with " kinks " — 

 those who would seldom, if ever, make friends, and 

 would not be above getting someone else's job if they 

 could — before that job was vacated ; yet taking it all 

 round there must inevitably be " a few " in a rather 

 extensive crowd. There are the occasional little 

 differences of opinion — I will not say petty jealousies. 

 Then a writer may fall foul of an owner or a trainer, or 

 over-criticise a jockey. But no member of the Press 

 is ever as hard in words as those among the general 

 public. Has it ever struck you that on occasions we 

 hear the greatest abuse of inoffensive men by people 

 who do not even know them by sight, and as to being 

 acquainted with any incidents of the other's daily 

 lives, well, they don't even know the butler's sister-in- 

 law. Owners known by name to the general public 

 remain with the majority mere names, but stay-at- 

 home backers get into that bad habit of wishing to 

 be known as possessing more racing connections than 

 others. It is this enterprising spirit, and the delight 

 of posing as having special information, which causes 

 the man in the street to magnify any little intelligence 

 he may possess, and some of them are most ingenious. 



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