

3o6 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



By the way, I came up with a gentleman on the 

 Hunt Cup day who I perfectly remember your intro- 

 ducing me to on the training ground when I came down 

 to Kingsclere. He said you told him on the Saturday 

 previous you fancied your chances for the Prince of 

 Wales Stakes and the Hunt Cup, that he didn't go down 

 on Tuesday, so didn't back Ossory, but he did back 

 Candlemas. As I had done likewise, we mutually 

 lamented. 



Wishing you all sorts of success at Goodwood — Yours 

 sincerely, Hawley Smart. 



I'm afraid you won't beat Seabreeze in the Sussex. 



Both Ossory and Seabreeze were unplaced 

 in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. At Ascot 

 Ossory won the Prince of Wales Stakes in a 

 canter by three lengths, and the regrets of Mr. 

 Smart and the gentleman to whom he refers are 

 understandable because odds of lOO to ii were 

 laid against him. Candlemas ran unplaced for 

 the Royal Hunt Cup. 



I have not, unfortunately, kept many of the 

 letters relating to the Kingsclere horses I re- 

 ceived from patrons and friends, but have found 

 another from Mr. Hawley Smart, also written 

 in 1888. 



•* ROUGEMONT," BUDLEIGH, SaLTKKTON, S. DeVON, 



Nov. 4. 



Dear Porter — I am glad you liked the book; it 

 promises to be a great go before the month's out. It has 

 come out just in the nick of time. It was like having 

 a colt thoroughly ripe in the Epsom and Ascot weeks. 



