TRAINERS AND JOCKEYS 221 



work must, of course, be divided, and as a trainer has to be 

 represented by a man as capable as himself, I see nothing 

 excessive in a salary of ^500 per annum for a " head lad," 

 Knowledge of the kind required is not to be picked up by 

 mere routine like the management of a branch bank, and 

 on the frequent occasions when the trainer is absent at race 

 meetings the " head lad " is left in sole charge. The re- 

 sponsibility involved justifies liberal remuneration. The calls 

 upon the trainer and those under him made by the typical 

 modern owner are such as to bring about material changes. 

 The trainer often finds himself in the position of host to 

 people accustomed to a high style of living, and a rubbing 

 of the shoulders with that sort of society is bound to leave 

 a mark. 



Anyone who has had occasion to come into at all close 

 contact with one or the other of our prominent trainers 

 rarely has cause for anything but congratulation, for a more 

 urbane and hospitable set of men could not be met with. 

 Their constant intercourse with the gently - bred leaves 

 nothing to be desired in their manners, whilst the peculiar 

 battle of life they wage gives them a deep insight into 

 character that prevents them from at all freely forming 

 friendships which they may presently have to renounce. 

 The more sure the trainer is of his man, the more sure is 

 the man of the trainer. I advise everyone to whom the 

 opportunity is offered of spending a day with a trainer to 

 avail himself of it. If it is his first visit he will be con- 

 siderably enlightened as to the many-sided calls that are 

 made upon the trainer. The racing layman even could not 

 fail to derive pleasure from a mere flying visit to some 

 training stables, for he would come away impressed with 

 a wholesome lesson of brightness, cleanliness, and order. 

 The word dirt is not to be found in the trainer's vocabulary, 

 and, so far from a broom or a bucket being allowed out of 

 its place, that is scarcely permitted to a wisp of straw. 



The sum of £2 \os. per week, which may be taken as the 

 standard charge, with variations up and down, may seem a 

 large one to pay for the care and keep of a horse, but it 

 is none too much for the service rendered. If, as so many 



