FOREWORD vii 



tive. As the collaborator, it is desirable I should 

 state that Mr. Porter is solely responsible for 

 every expression of opinion to be found in this 

 book. So far as possible I have presented a 

 literal transcription of the voluminous notes 

 dictated by Mr. Porter, who, moreover, as already 

 explained, again and again revised all that was 

 written. 



It will no doubt be in the recollection of many 

 readers that in 1896 there was published a book 

 entitled Kingsclere — now extremely rare — which 

 gave a sketch of the life of Mr. Porter up to that 

 time. In the present work many of the facts 

 and incidents set forth in that former volume are 

 necessarily recapitulated. Kingsclere was, how- 

 ever, written at a time when Mr. Porter was to 

 a large extent preoccupied with his duties as 

 a trainer, and therefore unable to give to it the 

 attention really demanded. In the preparation 

 of his Autobiography he has been hampered by 

 no distractions. Not only has he gone over the 

 old ground more thoroughly ; he carries the 

 story on to the end of his time at Kingsclere, and 

 so, inter alia^ deals with the careers of Flying Fox 

 and William the Third. Moreover, he was able 

 to treat his subjects with far more freedom than 

 was possible twenty odd years ago. Those who 



