I go REMINISCENCES OF SONEPORE. 



jockey, Thompson, he would have lived to gallop again. Be- 

 fore the race Harry had warned Mr. Gasper that the horse he 

 had to fear was Sting, and when it is remembered that after 

 his first seizure this game little son of Grandmaster and 

 Queen Bee finished three lengths off the winner, level with Sir 

 Greville, to whom he could always concede two stone easily, 

 Harry's warning was not unwarranted. Like many good 

 horses Sting would not bother himself in private trials, but 

 with the colors up he was a lion, as his glorious death proved. 

 This was a knock with a vengeance, but Jaintpore got it worse 

 later on. Infatuated with Clarke after winning the Cup, Mr. 

 Gasper sent him down to Australia, with Rs. 15,000 to bring 

 up another Cup horse, as Mercury had been sold to Lord Bill 

 after winning everything he started for, for Rs. 10,500, just the 

 money he cost landed in India. His friends begged Gasper 

 not to send cash down with Clarke, but to lodge the money in a 

 bank and to make it payable only when the receipt for the 

 horse's price was submitted by the seller, and the Agent was 

 assured there was no hankey pankey. Alec Clarke was a 

 good-hearted lad, and a very painstaking, experienced trainer, 

 but it was putting a terrible temptation into the hands of a 

 man of his position, to let him go on board a P. and O. boat 

 with Rs. 15,000 of his employer's money and some Rs. 5,000 

 odd of his own savings and presents. It was a case of women, 

 cards and wine. First one of the stewardesses got hold of 

 him and bled him fairly well. On landing he played the 

 swagger millionaire, and had to pay through the nose, then, 

 whilst looking for a horse, he fell amongst Teddy Weekes and 

 kindred spirits of that calibre, and lost a big slice of the money 

 entrusted to him at cards. Instead of then and there going 

 to any of Harry Abbott's Melbourne friends and making a 

 clean breast of it, or wiring to his employer, he went the 

 whole hog to recoup his losses, of course with the inevitable 

 result. He then finished up with boozing as long as any- 



