58 EARLY RACING DAYS. 



was at the head of the Danebury stables, and he 

 had long been the Duke of Portland's favourite 

 jockey. 



As previously stated, his Lordship entertained a 

 great predilection for Goodwood from its privacy, 

 excellent downs, elastic iurf, and glorious expanse 

 of ground, affording superb gallops at all seasons 

 of the year and under all vicissitudes of weather, 

 and it was greatly against his will that it became 

 necessary for him to go elsewhere. 



Being favourably impressed with my father's 

 training and stable-management, more especially 

 when Mr Kent's (in reality the Earl of Uxbridge's) 

 Rubini won the Goodwood Cup in 1833, beating 

 Mr Greville's (Lord George's) Whale, and again 

 when the Duke of Richmond's Elizondo won the 

 Port Stakes at Newmarket, beating Sylvan and 

 Bodice, Lord George told my father that these 

 horses had won solely by reason of the condition 

 in which he brought them to the post. His Lord- 

 ship lost heavily upon each race, but he did not 

 omit to tell his friends, including the Duke of 

 Richmond, that it was " all owing to Kent's train- 

 ing." 



In 1834 his Lordship bought Venison as a year- 

 ling, and as he hoped soon to have all his horses 

 at Goodwood, Venison was entered for the Derby 

 in the Duke of Richmond's name. Owing, how- 

 ever, to his Grace's subsequent objection, Venison 

 was sent to John Day's at Danebury to be trained. 



