CHAPTER XXIX 



" Sloan's chance hopeless " 



To try Rose de Mai — Maitre Labori — "Mr Mean" — No Friendship in Racing 



After leaving Monte Carlo in that spring of 1903 I 

 still had the hope that my licence would be forthcom- 

 ing — but it wasn't of course. A little time before my 

 spirits had been raised by some encouragement I had 

 had to the effect that the French Societe might give 

 me a licence to ride in France. Mr George Edwardes 

 told me to call on a certain distinguished authoress and 

 playwright. We met in her home in the Avenue du 

 Bois de Boulogne ; she spoke English well and was 

 very sympathetic in offering her assistance on my 

 behalf with certain distinguished people. From time 

 to time I heard how things were going ; they seemed 

 to spell success for the efforts that were being made. 

 Week followed week and still everything looked 

 promising. One day I received a message that a 

 certain friend of hers — a man — was to meet two men 

 of importance at a minor race meeting, that it was 

 expected that the matter would be settled then and 

 that a telegram should be sent off that very afternoon. 

 It arrived with the fateful words 



"Sloan's chance hopeless Eugene 

 Leigh has won five races I " 



That finished it. 



All the stories as to my efforts in 1900 to get a 

 licence for Leigh to train at Newmarket were raked 



213 



