22 KINGSCLERE 



on to try, the owner not only gave his consent, but 

 had ' fifty on,' just by way of good-humouredly back- 

 ing his trainer's opinion. St. Alexis (4 yrs., 7 st. 

 4 lb.) justified Porter s judgment and hopeful forecast 

 by winning the handicap from Queen Elizabeth 

 (4 yrs., 6 st. 9 lb.) by three-parts of a length, Juliet 

 (aged, 6 st. 7 lb.), one of 'Tommy Hughes's year- 

 lings,' being third. Welland was favourite at 5 to 1, 

 St. Alexis starting at the remunerative price of 16 

 to 1. 



We now come to the story of a very remark- 

 able horse, and although part of it invades the 

 record of succeeding years, it had, perhaps, best be 

 related right off the reel. For that matter it is a 

 complete tale in one chapter, and might be dropped 

 anywhere within the compass of these pages. In 

 the autumn of 1863 a colt by Newminster out of 

 Secret, by Melbourne, the joint property of Sir 

 Joseph Hawley and Lord Annesley, came under 

 Porter's care. He had been bought as a yearling 

 out of Mr. Cookson's lot at Doncaster, the price being 

 880 guineas. This same animal was Bedminster — 

 already so named. He was tried to be a good one, 

 and in fact proved it, at the two-year-old stage of 

 his career, when he defeated the mighty Gladiateur 

 in the Prendergast. This was after he had, the 

 day before, made a hack of Mr. Naylor's Biondina 

 in a 300 sovs. Sweepstakes, which was reduced to 

 a match between them, over the Bretby Stakes 

 course. On the following day they took as little as 



