54 EARLY RACING DAYS. 



As his father, the fourth Duke of Portland, 

 took, as I have already said, the greatest in- 

 terest and delight in breeding and racing his 

 own horses, Lord George was familiarised from 

 his youth upwards with the noble sport to 

 which he subsequently became so attached. Al- 

 though his Grace was a great supporter of 

 Newmarket, and seldom engaged his horses else- 

 where, Lord George, aided by his first cousin, 

 Mr Charles Greville, obtained the Duke's support 

 as a subscriber, in 1827, to the Stakes, Cup, 

 and Drawing-Room Stakes at Goodwood, where 

 H.R.H. the Duke of York was Steward the pre- 

 vious year. At the same time Lord George had 

 an interest in some of the horses runnino- in Mr 

 Greville's name, and was a very heavy speculator. 

 Thus it is well known that he backed Mr Kichard 

 Watt's Belzoni and Lord Fitzwilliam's Mulatto 

 for the Doncaster St Leger of 1826 for a con- 

 siderable amount. The race, however, was run 

 when the ground was very deep, and was won by 

 Lord Scarbrough's Tarrare, so that Lord George 

 lost heavily — it was reported £27,000 ; but from 

 his Lordship subsequently admitting to me that 

 it was " the most disastrous event of his racing 

 career," I feel sure that his loss must have greatly 

 exceeded that sum ; and his mother, and sister. 

 Lady Charlotte Bentinck, afterwards Viscountess 

 Ossington, most kindly and generously assisted 

 him to meet it. It may naturally be supposed 



