THE TRAINER'S RIGHT TO AN EXPLANATION. 221 



raced for several years afterwards ; but I do not remember 

 his being possessed of a single winner throughout the time. 

 This case was the more remarkable, because he did not find 

 a fault with the mare's condition, or with anything I had 

 done. The only fault was a difference of opinion ; too small 

 a one, it must be allowed, to separate old friends, for I had 

 trained for him for many years, and with great success. Had 

 I exonerated her, saying she would probably improve with 

 age ; or after every defeat had I excused it, throwing the 

 blame on the jockey, the starter, on anything, in fact, but 

 the horse, we should have remained friends. 



If a gentleman has, or thinks he has, a grievance, it is his 

 prerogative to complain ; and it is better to do so, so that if 

 it exist it may be redressed. But frankness should be mutual. 

 If owners prefer their horses fat, there is no reason why they 

 should be made otherwise ; just as they are entitled to give 

 what instructions they like to their jockeys, so long as they 

 are honest. But there are duties even here. No man has a 

 right, from a sinister motive, to instruct his trainer to run his 

 horse fat, or his jockey to make play over a long course with 

 a horse known to be unfit, in order to deceive the public, and 

 then to remove the horse. For the result is to raise the value 

 of his horse at the expense of the trainer and the jockey, who 

 are thus ruined to secure his end another day. It is fair and 

 legitimate enough to instruct your jockey to wait with a horse 

 that you know to be slow, or to make good running with one 

 that cannot stay ; or indeed to run them in any state of fit- 

 ness for an ulterior purpose that may benefit the employer, 

 so long as the services of both trainer and jockey are appre- 

 ciated. It is only the truth to say that jockeys are not 

 always to blame for staying at the post, or coming too late, 

 or even for going the wrong course ; nor are trainers, for 



