i;2 KINGSCLERE 



best jockeys for long races — the masters of the art 

 and practice of riding — may stand as it was originally 

 made, although Tom Cannon and John Osborne 

 have retired and made way for younger men. I am, 

 however, quite as sure now as I was then — surer, 

 perhaps — that if we had later foals, less two-year- 

 old racing, and longer races, we should have better 

 horses, better trainers, and better jockeys. On the 

 foregoing and kindred matters I shall presently 

 have more to say. I have to some extent modified, 

 without essentially changing, my views on early 

 foaling since I first made my views public. Since, 

 however, those views were published, I felt it not 

 less due to myself than to others who took part 

 in the discussion some years ago that in re-stating 

 the case my former contention should be repeated. 

 It will be gathered more than once from these 

 pages that my alteration of opinion with regard to 

 the foaling period goes no further than the con- 

 cession of a month or so to those who were opposed 

 to both the letter and spirit of my original contention. 

 Meanwhile, I must be allowed to make in part 

 another recapitulation. 



1 It seems to me that the gist of the evidence, so 

 far as it applies to matters discussed here, which 

 I gave before the Royal Commission on Horse 

 Breeding, on the 30th of October, 1889, may be 

 repeated. The Commissioners were collecting infor- 

 mation with a view to the expenditure of a sum of 

 money hitherto glvQn away (uselessly, I think) in 

 Queen's Plates for improving our breed of horses 



