I04 THE BLUE RIBBON OF THE TURF. 



but some days have still to elapse before the day arrives, 

 and probably a long journey by railway will require to 

 be undertaken, all of which bring more and more 

 anxiety to the trainer — an accident may occur, or the 

 journey may upset the horse, or he may be 'got at;' 

 in short, ' uneasy lies the head that wears a trainer's 

 crown.' 



'Brains' are quite as much required in training as 

 in other professions, and, as has been indicated, the 

 trainer of to-day is more alert to what is required of 

 him than were his predecessors of sixty years since. 

 A yearling or two which have each cost £1,500 or 

 £1,600 must not be entrusted to persons who are 

 ignorant of their business, or they may never train 

 into horses suitable lor the business of the turf; 

 nor is it every man who is fit to take charge of a 

 trained racehorse which may ha\e cost its owner 

 £3,000 or £4,000, prices which of late have been fre- 

 quently paid fur horses in training. Another feature 

 of modern racing economy may be here alluded to ; 

 namely, the constant travelling to which horses are 

 now subjected, which adds considerably to the anxieties 

 of trainers. Horses now travel by railway-train, and 

 in the case of particular animals their corn, and even, 

 in instances, their water, is taken with them, so that 

 they may not suti'er from a change of food. 



Trainers have not escaped a share of those calumnies 

 to which persons connected with the turf are all more 

 or less subjected. Probably they are sometimes blamed 

 when they are innocent of all offence, but it is quite 

 certain that trainers have on occasion done things that 

 would not bear the light of day. So have jockeys, as 



