CLAREMONT AND THE 2000 GUINEAS 217 



the Conservative Club near by. We were very comfortable, 

 and I remained there until the end of my bachelor days. 



The Special Pleader in whose chambers I did my year, 

 paying 100 guineas for that privilege, was the late Mr 

 Butterworth of the Inner Temple. It was before the 

 passing of the Judicature Act, so that we became adepts in 

 all the old forms of declarations and other curious plead- 

 ings. Stuart Wortley was in those chambers with me, and 

 so was Braxton Hicks, who later on became an eminent 

 coroner in so far as a coroner can ever be eminent. 

 Brynmor Jones was also there, but I forget the others. 

 We had the use of all the necessary books, and whatever 

 work came in for Mr Buttenvorth to do we did it in the 

 first instance. Then he revised our drafts, made such 

 emendations as he thought fit, and so the thing was 

 settled, we profiting by noting what he had found necessary 

 to alter and how. It was rather interesting work, and by 

 no means arduous. 



I paid my first visit to Newmarket that spring, 1875, 

 by going with Blackwood to see the 2000 Guineas run for, 

 and two points are so fixed in memory as a result of that 

 visit that I do not very clearly recall any general impres- 

 sion. One is that as I stood on the high ground on the 

 far side of the course and could see over the judge's box, 

 which* was then on that side, I saw Claremont win the 

 2000 Guineas by a clear length or more. He was by 

 himself, wide on the right-hand side of the course, while 

 the rest of the field were all bunched on the stands' side. 

 Claremont finished right under the judge's box, and must 

 have passed unnoticed, for he was not even placed, 

 whereas I, who saw him veiy clearly, and that in a bee- 

 line across the judge's box to the post, am quite sure 

 that he actually won, and that, too, very cleverly. 



He had been a 2ooo-guinea yearling a: the first Cobham 

 sale, and as a son of Blair Athol and Coimbra he was 

 naturally a favourite of mine, but no such fancies led me 

 to think he had done more than I actually saw him do. 

 Later results demonstrated that I made no mistake. 



