366 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



chance. Only twice in my life have I had so 

 much as a ;^ioo on a horse. At the Hampton 

 Court Sale, at which Baron Hirsch bought La 

 Fl^che, a gentleman who was making a yearling 

 ** book " on the Derby of 1892 offered, in my 

 hearing, 10,000 to 100 against Orme to the Duke 

 of Westminster. The Duke, of course, did not 

 bet ; but, turning to me, he said, ** Perhaps Porter 

 will take the odds.** I did, and made a good 

 profit on the bet, because, after Orme had shown 

 his form as a two-year-old, the holder of the 

 " book *' came to me and asked if I would lay 

 him j^5ooo to ;^iooo. I readily consented, and 

 thereby made a clear ;^900. I also had ;^ 100 on 

 Matchbox for the St. Leger. At the last moment 

 I thought it prudent to ** insure ** my bet by 

 backing the favourite, and laid ;^iio to ;^ioo on 

 Ladas. Imagine, therefore, my chagrin when I 

 saw Throstle, after Ladas had got the better of 

 Matchbox, swoop down on Lord Rosebery*s 

 colt close home and beat him three-quarters of a 

 length. 



In one sense this result was stupefying, but 

 only because the expected had not happened. 

 Throstle*s proclivity to bolt was in abeyance 

 that day. She ran as straight as a die, and her 

 great staying power came to her aid after Ladas 

 and Matchbox had run themselves out by their 

 endeavours to get the better of each other. 

 There was also another factor that may have 



