SOME OPINIONS OF THE PRESS 

 ON THE FIRST EDITION OF 



KINGSCLERE. 



* Mr. Byron Webber, the editor of this interesting record of a trainer's career, 

 remarks in a brief preface that the history of John Porter has been for the past thirty 

 years the history of the British Turf. . . . Porter has had many employers, including the late 

 Mr. F. Gretton, Sir Frederick Johnstone, and Lord Alington, Mr. John Gretton, the 

 Earl of Stamford and Warrington, the Duke of Westminster, Mr. Broderick Cloete, the 

 Prince of Wales, and Baron Hirsch, and it would be strange indeed if, with such horses 

 as most of them have at various periods owned, their trainer had not some very interesting 

 anecdotes to recall. . . . This has enabled the Kingsclere trainer to produce a volume the 

 contents of which will be read with curiosity by all who are in any way interested in 

 racing, and the reader will be inspired with a feeling of kindly sympathy with Porter 

 himself, as, though he keeps his own personality largely in the background, it is evident 

 that he is a man of genial nature, and that he takes the greatest care, not only of the 

 horses committed to his charge, but of the boys and young men that are in his service. 

 . . . The record of his successes for the next ten years reads almost like a fairy tale, and . . . 

 the reader must not fail to turn to Chapter III. and peruse the narrative of what Blue 

 Gown, Rosicrucian, and Green Sleeve accomplished both in private trials and 

 public races ; while the romantic circumstances attending the Derby of 1868, in which this 

 trio ran, and for which Lady Elizabeth was favourite, lend additional interest to the 

 narrative. . . . The success of Morna in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster was a 

 set-off to the mortifying disqualification of Blue Gown the year before. . . . But the 

 description of this dramatic scene, and of how Wells lost the Derby of 1869 on Pero 

 Gomez, are set forth in detail. . . . The chapters towards the close of the book, in which 

 are set forth his views on stable and stud management, and the reform of racing, must 

 command very respectful consideration, seeing how wide his experience has been.' — Times. 



' This handsome volume is one of the most interesting and instructive additions that 

 could be made to a class of literature which, although of recent growth, promises soon to 

 assume enormous proportions. Mr. Byron Webber, its accomplished editor, tells us that 

 the history of John Porter during the last thirty-three years is identical with the history of 

 the British Turf; and no one who is acquainted with the famous establishment at 

 Kingsclere . . . will deny that between 1867 and 1895 Kingsclere attained the same position 

 among racing stables that Whitewall House occupied between 1825 and 1855. . . . With 

 a few words upon the Prince of Wales's pleasant association with the Kingsclere stable, 

 and what John Porter has to say upon it, we must take temporary leave of a book which 

 does equal credit to John Porter, its inspirer, and to Mr. Byron Webber, his mouthpiece. . . . 

 No one can close this fascinating volume without a sigh of regret.' — Daily Telegraph. 



' The national love for the horse and his doings never found a more appropriate or 

 attractive form than in the chronicle of the famous Kingsclere stable, which, as we are 

 told, promises to become one of the books of the season. And there are many things in 

 the book which even the most outside of lay readers cannot fail to appreciate and enjoy. 

 The story of the famous "Poisoning of Orme " reads like a romance. . . . " Orme," 

 writes further Mr. Byron Webber, who is responsible for editing capitally the trainer's 

 romance, " for days displaced Home Rule, the Eastern and all other questions, the latest 

 murder, the leading divorce case, and so forth, as the paramount topic. ". . . The description 

 and illustrations of the great breeding establishment at Kingsclere will be amongst the 

 most attractive features of a popular book. Porter seems to have presided over a kind of 

 kingdom of his own, and to have managed all its affairs, internal and external, with a 

 masterly talent for organisation and with an unfailing taste. ' — Spectator. 



' To the real lover of sport the handsome book Messrs. Chatto & Windus have 

 produced will afford an abundance of entertainment. The volume, moreover, is a sub- 

 stantial addition to the history of the British Turf. . . . The incidents here described 

 are so recent in date as to be familiar to all followers of racing, but they are so well told 

 that even those who know them best can go over the well-trodden ground without any 

 weariness.' — Daily News. 



' In the final chapter the editor produces a charming impression of John Porter at 

 home in Park House, amid his flowers, pets, and equine relics. More, it would seem, 

 need not be said to point out that this is a book for all sporting men and lovers of horses 

 to read and enjoy.' — Morning Post. 



