414 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



venture in the way of bloodstock was the purchase 

 of Wisdom, whom he secured at TattersalFs for 

 Mty guineas. Requiring mares to put to the 

 horse he went to Shrewsbury market, and there 

 bought two or three, one being Enigma. He 

 paid £24 fo^ ^^r • When Wisdom died he 

 was standing at a fee of two hundred guineas. 

 As a yearling. Gravity was sold for 500 guineas 

 to Tom Wadlow, who, a brother-in-law of Mr. 

 Hoole, trained at Stanton, near Shifnal, He 

 passed her on to Mr. W. H. Fenwick, who 

 raced her twice, without success, as a two-year-old, 

 and then sent her to the paddock. Mr. Fenwick 

 kept her until 1893, and then disposed of her to 

 Mr. P. Aldworth. It was in 1896 she became 

 the property of the Duke of Portland. In 1897 

 she bred, to St. Simon, a filly named St. Edana, 

 who never raced, and, covered by Royal Hampton, 

 went to France in 1900. Then came William 

 the Third. 



When William (as we used to call him) 

 reached Kingsclere as a yearling, he was a light, 

 shelly colt ; indeed, I do not exaggerate when I 

 say that he looked weedy and weak. There was 

 certainly nothing in his appearance to suggest 

 he would develop into the great horse he became. 

 It was obvious he required time to mature. He 

 steadily improved, especially through the spring of 

 his two-year-old career. On June 28, 1900, we 

 gave him a test gallop with the following result : 



