I40 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



suddenly out of his stride, stumbled so that his 

 head touched the ground, and it is a fact that 

 the colt had some dirt on his nose when he 

 returned to the unsaddling enclosure. I am 

 bound to say, however, that Wells did not shine 

 that day. To begin with, he got badly away, 

 and then rode carelessly. He had seen Pero 

 Gomez badly beaten in his trial, and so under- 

 rated his powers. 



Towards the finish of the race Pero Gomez 

 and Pretender, at the head of the field, were 

 running practically level. It was a most thrilling 

 duel, and there was tremendous excitement when 

 the judge signalled his verdict in favour of 

 Pretender. As he passed the post Wells was 

 under the impression he had won, and was taken 

 aback when he learned that the judge did not 

 agree with him. While nursing our disappoint- 

 ment, we gave an occasional thought to the trial 

 on May 20, and had greater cause than ever 

 to wonder what could have been the matter with 

 Pero Gomez that day. His defeat at Epsom 

 made a big difference to Sir Joseph, who stood 

 to win a big sum. With ordinary luck, we should 

 certainly have won that Derby. 



The following Monday Sir Joseph Hawley 

 threw a " bomb ** in the midst of the company 

 assembled at Tattersall's for the purpose of 

 settling the betting accounts for the previous 

 week. The startling news came that Messrs. 



