I90 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



Gretton and advised him to hedge his bets. He, 

 however, refused to do so. The case against 

 Lucetta was, he said, so strong that she must 

 be disqualified. The Stewards, however, finally 

 overruled the objection. The only explanation 

 ever given for this unlooked-for, and, I venture 

 to say, unjust, decision, is to be found in the 

 Reminiscences of Sir George Chetwynd, who was 

 one of the officiating Stewards. " Although,** 

 he writes, " she (Lucetta) had undoubtedly 

 crossed Fernandez, it was a long way from home, 

 and we thought Fordham had rather anticipated 

 the swerving across him, and checked his horse 

 so soon that there was plenty of time for him 

 to have won his race afterwards if the horse had 

 been good enough.*' It seems to me Sir George 

 would have done well to act in accordance with 

 the maxim that cautions a judge never to give a 

 reason for his verdict. A more inconsequential 

 argument than that he advances it would be diffi- 

 cult to conceive. Mr. Gretton naturally enter- 

 tained a grievance against the Stewards, and few 

 blamed him for so doing. 



Mr. Gretton, however, seemed fated to be 

 in " hot water.** Before we had time to get 

 over the annoyance caused by the result of the 

 Cambridgeshire inquiry a more serious un- 

 pleasantness occurred in connection with the 

 Liverpool Autumn Cup. Mr. Gretton had two 

 horses in that event — Fernandez and Prestonpans. 



