NEWMARKET 45 



I once noticed that a somewhat small stable had a 

 capital year, a long way the best it had ever had since its 

 existence. During the following winter one saw all sorts 

 of references to it in the sporting Press. Amongst its team 

 were two or three horses who figured in the winter betting 

 on the Derby, and one or two nags whom people said it 

 was impossible to handicap out of such races as the City 

 and Suburban and the Jubilee Stakes. In February it 

 was supposed to shelter at least half a dozen two-year-olds, 

 any one of which was good enough to win the Brocklesby, 

 and there were rumours of better to follow, later in the 

 year — the brothers and sisters of those who had performed 

 so well as two-year-olds in the previous year. When the 

 season began it seemed as if the predictions that had been 

 so freely made were about to be verified. The Brocklesby 

 horse was only just beaten, but several minor victories were 

 scored in the first fortnight of racing ; then, just when every- 

 thing looked well, the bad form set in, and the stable ran 

 horses in forty odd events before they won another race. 

 For the time being its day was over ; the three-year-olds 

 failed to maintain their two-year-old form, and the juvenile 

 brothers and sisters to the good winners of the previous 

 season could hardly win a Selling Plate. 



Instances innumerable of this sort of thing could be 

 quoted. Only a few years ago the Kingsclere stable had 

 brought out horse after horse at the principal spring 

 meetings, which were backed by the public, and well beaten. 

 After this had continued for three months turfites were 

 saying, " What a really bad lot of horses they have at 

 Kingsclere." On the Ascot Tuesday the case was put very 

 forcibly to me. I was in the paddock an hour before 

 the meeting began, and there encountered a Newmarket 

 " adviser." As a rule these gentlemen cannot see beyond 

 the horses trained on the heath, and very often not beyond 

 those trained in one or two stables, but this worthy travelled 

 a little, and was much more of a cosmopolitan tout than 

 are most of his brethren, and I knew him to be a 

 sound judge in a general way. Personally I had come 

 to the conclusion that Kingsclere's time had come. I had 



