424 JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE 



to be William the Third's last appearance on a 

 racecourse. We confidently looked forward to 

 his winning the Ascot Cup again the following 

 season, and to that end I gave him a thorough 

 preparation. Turning to my Trial Book I find 

 the following entry made on June lo, 1903: 



Two Miles 



William the Third, 5 yrs., 8 st. 13 lb. . . M. Cannon i 



Friar Tuck, 4 yrs., 7 st. 9 lb. . . . Hardy 2 



Throwaway, 4 yrs., 6 st. 8 lb. . . . MoUoy 3 



" A good rough gallop. William won easily." 



The race for the Ascot Cup was run eight days 

 later. On the Monday morning of Ascot week 

 it was very wet, so I decided to leave William the 

 Third at Kingsclere, because I did not want him 

 to travel in the wet and cold. He had his final 

 gallop that Monday, and required nothing more 

 than canters on the Tuesday and Wednesday 

 mornings. It was arranged that he should go 

 to Ascot on the Wednesday. I left home on 

 Monday with the other horses that were to run 

 that week. Barely had I reached the racecourse 

 the following day when I was handed a telegram 

 from my head man, Moreton, informing me that 

 William the Third had met with an accident. 

 Without delay I travelled back to Kingsclere, 

 and on arriving there found that William had 

 split a pastern. While doing his canter that 

 morning he must have struck a flint in the ground, 

 which was very heavy. 



