4o6 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



himself. She won all the classic races except 

 the Derby, and, for Mr. Sievier, stakes to the 

 value of £2^,6^0. 



At the end of March 1903 she was sold 

 for ;£2 5,000 to Mr. (now Sir) William Bass, 

 for whom she won the Jockey Club Stakes and 

 other races worth ;^i 2,633, so that the famous 

 mare*s aggregate of winnings was ;^38,283. As 

 I contemplate these figures my mind dwells on 

 the scene in the Sale Paddock at Newmarket 

 when Sceptre was under the hammer. We were 

 the underbidders for her. Mr. Cecil Parker, 

 the Duke of W^estminster*s agent, did the 

 " nodding," and he began to perspire with excite- 

 ment as the price rose to 8000 guineas, then to 

 9000, and on further. After Mr. Sievier had 

 offered 10,000 guineas Mr. Parker refused to 

 proceed further although I urged him to go on. 

 Mr. Sievier 's good luck was our misfortune. It 

 was, however, more than good luck that came 

 to the buyer's aid that day. He displayed a 

 confident judgment and a fearless determination 

 to beat all opposition. All the same, while I am 

 compelled to give him this credit, I have always 

 regretted that Sceptre did not come to Kings- 

 clere, as she would have done had the old Duke 

 been spared to us a while longer. 



