THE TRAINER’S RIGHT TO AN EXPLANATION, — 221 
raced for several years afterwards; but I do not remember 
his being possessed of a single winner throughout the time. 
This case was the more remarkable, because he did not find 
a-fault with the mare’s condition, or with anything I had 
done. The only fault was a difference of opinion ; too small 
a one, it must be allowed, to separate old friends, for I had 
trained for him for many years, and with great success. Had 
I exonerated her, saying she would probably improve with 
age; or after every defeat had I excused it, throwing the 
blame on the jockey, the starter, on anything, in fact, but 
the horse, we should have remained friends. 
If a gentleman has, or thinks he has, a grievance, it is his 
prerogative to complain ; and it is better to do so, so that if 
it exist it may be redressed. But frankness should be mutual. 
If owners prefer their horses fat, there is no reason why they 
should be made otherwise ; just as they are entitled to give 
what instructions they like to their jockeys, so long as they 
are honest. But there are duties even here. No man has a 
right, from a sinister motive, to instruct his trainer to run his 
horse fat, or his jockey to make play over a long course with 
a horse known to be unfit, in order to deceive the public, and 
then to remove the horse. For the result is to raise the value 
of his horse at the expense of the trainer and the jockey, who 
are thus ruined to secure his end another day. It is fair and 
legitimate enough to instruct your jockey to wait with a horse 
that you know to be slow, or to make good running with one 
that cannot stay ; or indeed to run them in any state of fit- 
ness for an ulterior purpose that may benefit the employer, 
so long as the services of both trainer and jockey are appre- 
ciated. It is only the truth to say that jockeys are not 
always to blame for staying at the post, or coming too late, 
or even for going the wrong course; nor are trainers, for 
