300 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



the rein in his hand. When dressing a part of 

 the body that was not sensitive, the attendant 

 would throw the rein over the horse's back. I 

 have always thought that one day, shortly before 

 the Two Thousand, the man allowed the rein to 

 hang loose on the ground, and that Friar's 

 Balsam, stepping on it, pulled it taut with a jerk, 

 and so injured his jaw. The remarkable thing 

 is that the horse had not, prior to the race, by 

 refusing his food or in some other way, given an 

 indication that there was anything the matter 

 with his mouth. 



The wretched abscess pulled Friar's Balsam 

 down sadly, and it was not until the autumn 

 that I had him fit enough to race again. He 

 competed for the Lancashire Plate of ;^ii,ooo 

 at Manchester in September, but was " un- 

 placed " behind Seabreeze and Ayrshire, both of 

 whom he defeated so easily the previous year. 

 Three weeks later, however, he was himself 

 again, and caused a sensation by winning the 

 Champion Stakes at Newmarket, for odds of loo 

 to 60 had been laid on Minting, who was beaten 

 half a length by the son of Hermit. 



During the next few months Friar's Balsam 

 did not thrive as he should have done. His only 

 race as a four-year-old was in the Royal Stakes 

 of ;^io,ooo at Kempton Park. Odds of 5 to 4 

 were laid on him, but he finished " nowhere." 

 Ayrshire and Seabreeze were first and second. 



