n of the turf, he had faced defeat and
discouragement again and again and it was known that he would prize
success more than anything within the limits of his ambition. When,
therefore, _Persimmon_ carried his colours to the first victory won at
Epsom by a Prince of Wales in a hundred years, the delight of the Royal
owner was evident. The great gathering of people cheered as if each
person present had himself won the race and their obvious enthusiasm was
an expression of personal liking as well as loyalty. This was a great
year for the Prince whose horses not only won the Derby, the St. Leger
and the L10,000 Jockey Club Stakes but also the Newmarket Stakes. In
1897 _Persimmon_ won the Ascot Cup and the Eclipse Stakes (worth
together L12,700) and was then retired from the turf. Trained by Richard
Marsh and ridden by John Watts, this horse had given his Royal owner not
only financial success but--what he valued infinitely more--great
victories in a sport which he loved.

From that time on the Prince continued to be lucky with his horses. At
the Derby of 1900 _Diamond Jubilee_ won in exactly the same time as the
Royal horse of 1896 had done. At this race, on May 30th, the Prince was
accompanied by a large number of noblemen and ladies and gentlemen
interested in racing. The Duke of Devonshire, Lord Rothschild, Lord
Cheylesmore, the Marquess of Londonderry, the Duke of Portland, Lord
Farquhar, the Earl of Chesterfield, the Earl and Countess of Crewe, the
Earl and Countess Carrington, and others, came from London in the Royal
special train. In the Royal box at the races were the King of Sweden,
the Duke and Duchess of Connaught, the Princess Victoria, the Duke of
Cambridge and other royalties. The success of the Prince's horse in two
minutes, forty-two seconds, was received with tremendous applause and
with general congratulation in a large section of the press while, in
the same year, the Royal colours were also carried to victory at the
Grand National and the Two Thousand Guineas. The whole record was a
unique one; the time at the Derby was the fastest in the history of the
course; the winner of 1900 was a brother to the winner in 1896; and
those who lost money appeared to be as glad that the popular Prince
should win as if they had themselves backed his horse.

RACING FRIENDS AND YACHTING EXPERIENCES

The part taken by His Royal Highness in sporting matters naturally
resulted in many friendships built around a mutual