Once Russell had completed his speech for the defendants, Clarke gave his reply, which the "Daily Chronicle" considered to be "a very brilliant, powerful, wily and courageous effort". Clarke pointed to the many inaccuracies in both the written statement prepared by Coventry and Williams, and in the memories of all concerned. He went on to outline that there had been celebrations at the races—the prince's horse had won on the first day, and the St Leger had been run on the second—combined with the full hospitality of the Wilsons to consider: according to the court reporter for "The Times", Clarke "alluded to the profuse hospitalities of Tranby Croft, not with any idea of suggesting drunkenness, but as indicating that the guests might not be in a state for accurate observation". He also drew the jury's attention to the gaps in the defendants' memories, where they were so precise about some of their observations, but could not remember other, key, details. Clarke lampooned some of the involved parties, referring to Lycett Green as "a Master of Hounds who hunts four days a week", while Stanley Wilson was a spoiled wastrel from a rich family who lacked initiative and drive. Above all, Clarke indicated, the defendants—with the exception of Stanley Wilson—saw what they had been told to expect: "the eye saw what it expected or sought to see ... there was only one witness who saw Sir William Gordon-Cumming cheat without expecting it—young Mr. Wilson. The others were all told there had been cheating, and expected to see it". At the end of his reply, Clarke's speech was greeted by applause amongst those in the galleries. The British lawyer Heber Hart later wrote that Clarke's speech was "probably the most conspicuous example of the moral courage and independence of the Bar that has occurred in modern times", while Clarke considered it to be "one of the best speeches I ever made."