CHAPTER XXXII 



The James R. Keene Commission The International Horse 

 Agency and Exchange Ltd. Sales in France Successes continue 

 The Musket Blood Carbine and Trenton Cobham again 

 The Sporting League Purchase of Merman He wins the 

 Cesarewitch Good Men I have known Meeting Trenton 

 and Carnage at Sea Phil May and Strachan Davidson 

 Other Cobham Horses Collar Retrospect Worth of 

 Racing and the British Thoroughbred 



I HAVE now reached a point when I must hurry on 

 to finish or be far too prolix. Perhaps, later on, 

 another book may be written if people want it, 

 but here let me say now that the bread cast on the waters 

 in America in 1887 began to be found not later than 

 December, 1892. It had been a great racing year, with 

 the supposed poisoning of Orme and the other vicissitudes 

 of the great three-year-olds which John Porter trained, 

 one of which was La Fleche. It is impossible, however, 

 to go into these details. What concerned me most was 

 a cable received by me from James R. Keene, the Saturday 

 before the December sales began, and it asked : " Will 

 you execute commission for me next week ? " 

 I replied " Yes," and the answer was : 



Buy me ten high -class mares in foal, best horses. Limit 

 average 1000 each. 



This was indeed a commission and I should like to have 

 had a fortnight to make all the necessary inspections and 

 inquiries, but fortune somehow favoured me this time, 

 and as I was well acquainted with almost all the stud 

 grooms and breeders I could quickly learn all I wanted 

 to know. By the end of the second day's sale I had got 



