TRAINERS AND JOCKEYS 243 



which do not involve overnight sojourn on the part of the 

 horses. At Alfriston, on the downs where Gatland used to 

 train — and where Father O'Flynn was prepared for the 

 Grand National — Batho now has charge of Mr. Hare's 

 team, and with such as Hawfinch, Northern Farmer, and 

 Le Blizon the stable has fairly well held its own. Close by, 

 at Jevington, Charles Wood and his son J. Wood have lately 

 built new stables. James Wood has only just commenced, 

 but Clay — a near neighbour of the Woods — has been at 

 Jevington for some years. 



At Arundel H. Chandler trains for Mr. Alfred Day, and 

 about Lewes are some seven or eight stables, of which 

 Escott's and Prince's are best known just now, though 

 Escott almost entirely confines himself to chasers. Other 

 Lewes trainers are Fitton, Riste, Butchers, A. Sydney, 

 Parkes, Downes, and Savage, but none of them is much 

 heard of in connection with flat-racing, and at present four 

 out of every five of the Lewes-trained nags are either 

 hurdle-racers or steeplechasers. In the neighbourhood of 

 Findon Halsey had charge of Mr. J. A. Miller's horses 

 until July of 1900, when the stud was dispersed. Since 

 that time Halsey has been a public trainer, and has met 

 with a large measure of success. F. Barratt, H. Spencer, 

 and D. Thirlwell are also Michel Grove or Findon trainers, 

 and of these Barratt is perhaps the best known. All, how- 

 ever, are small stables which go for unimportant races, as 

 are those of Rustell, Burbidge, and Stephen Woodland, in 

 the neighbourhood of Stoughton, at the western end of the 

 county. 



No horses are trained in Kent, but Surrey can boast of 

 Epsom, where even now a fair number of horses are trained, 

 though the place has not maintained its early prestige. In 

 the eighteenth century Epsom was the greatest Southern rival 

 of Newmarket as a training centre ; but the Downs get dread- 

 fully hard in a hot summer, and with no artificial irrigation 

 possible, it is very difficult to keep horses at work in July 

 and August, unless plenty of rain falls. At present 

 W. Nightingall (South Hatch) has the longest string at 

 Epsom, and this trainer is very successful with platers, and 



