222 THE ENGLISH TURF 



perforce have to, you have to ask the advice of your trainer 

 at every step as to which horses shall go for which races, 

 some going so far as to leave the whole management in the 

 trainer's hands, surely that is worth something. It is of course 

 to the trainer's interests that he shall win races for desirable 

 clients, but it is no part of his contract that he shall do 

 otherwise than bring his horses to the post as fit for the 

 task in hand as it lies in his power to make them. A man 

 who comes on the Turf prepared to spend several thousands 

 per annum on his amusement, but lacking the experience to 

 enable him to conduct his own affairs, cannot grudge a salary 

 of a few hundreds to a man whose life has been devoted to 

 acquiring the necessary knowledge. Unless his horses are 

 judiciously "placed" he may not win any races at all, though 

 he may own some good animals ; and to " place " horses 

 well a trainer must know their capacities within a few pounds, 

 and possess an intimate acquaintance with " Races to Come." 

 With him lies the onus of engaging jockeys, suitable ones 

 often taking a deal of finding, and of seeing to the transit 

 of horses to and from the scene of action, all of which duties 

 the owner would find very irksome and time-consuming did 

 he undertake them himself, supposing him capable of doing 

 so, which by no means goes with the saying. 



In the eye of the racing public the trainer is the most 

 prominent person connected with a horse. The owner comes 

 in for the congratulations when the horse wins, but it is the 

 trainer who receives the reverence of the multitude. " Who 

 trains it ? " is what is asked when the claims of some horse 

 are put forward, not "Who owns it?" It is the trainer who 

 influences an animal for good or bad, and the racing public, 

 with wits sharpened by years of dearly-bought experience, 

 will at once form an opinion that will not be very wide of 

 the mark as to his capacity for knowingly training a winner 

 of a particular race. It is easily possible to train a winner 

 without knowing it, but that, in the present state of Turf 

 opinion and practice, is the least desirable of accomplish- 

 ments that a trainer can possess. The thing is to have a 

 prospective winner, and be tolerably sure of it as well. It 

 is rumoured that trainers sometimes bet, in which case it is 



