Hi' Toy J oi- r/>^ fj- [/? ?• Volumes of periodicals and of pamphlets are held in the library as much as possible. For special pur- poses they are given out for ' ' a limited time. r. Borrowers should not use \ their library privileges for ""V the benefit of other persons. Books of special value and gift books, when the giver wishes it. are not allowed to circulate. • Readers are asked to re- port all cases of books marked or mutilated. Do not deface books by marks and writing. CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 924 104 225 606 ^ THE HON. ADMIRAL ROUS. History OF The British Turf, FROM THE EARLIEST TIMES TO THE PRESENT DAY. JAMBS KICE (0/ Lincoln's Imtt Barrister-at-Law; formerly o/Qtieens' College, Cambridge). "Thou that mayst fortune to be of myne opinion and condytion to love horses, take hede tha thou be not beguiled as I have been an hundred tymes and mQTQ"—Boke of Husbandry, by Sir A Fiizherbert, Juitice of the Court of Common' Pleas. , IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, SEARLE, AND RIVINGTON, CROWN BUILDINGS, 188, FLEET STREET. 1879. Vo ■ 33h.Q-n I ii1-U'^ TO THE MOST HONOURABLE ' The yVlARQUESs of Partington, /Vl.P. AND TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE THE EARL OF HARDWICKE, P.C, MASTER OF THE BUCK-HOUNDS, TWO OF THE STEWARDS OF THE JOCKEY CLUB, THIS "HISTOEY OF THE BRITISH TUKP" IS DEDICATED, WITH THEIR lordships' PERMISSION, BY THE AUTHOR. ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS. Vol. I. Page 99, Hne 5, for "107" read "187." Page 125, line 5, perhaps for "Mai-sk " read "Marske." Page 128, line 9, for " off- wheeler " read "near-wheeler."' Page 129, lines 20, 22, for "Marsk" read "Marske." The name is spelt indifferently in both ways. Page 139, cause Jockey Club v. Hawkins — an action exactly like this was tried at the Cambridge Assizes m 1866, against the sporting correspondent of the MomiTig Post, with like result. Page 142, line 22 — The Turn of the Lands to the Winning Post is the last mile of Beacon Course, not quite a mile therefore — for " the whole " read "that part." Page 173, top line, for "Baron" read " Chief BarOn." Page 211, line 29, after "this name" insert "^originally called Maccabseus, and next Zanoni." CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER PAGE I. — Early History of Horse-racing in England — Acts relating to Horse-racing— Taxes and Restrictions . ... . . i — 19 II. — The Fathers of the Turf — Long Courses — Give and Take Plates — Portraits of Famous Racers ....... 20 — 39 III. — The First Derby — Costume of Jockeys — New- ' market — E. O. Tables — Ascot . . . • 40 — 63 IV. — George IV. and Chifney — Dispute with the Jockey Club — Retirement of the Prince FROM THE Turf — Death of Chifney . 64 — 85 V. — Leading Patrons of the Turf in Reign of George III. — Mr. Pratt, of Askrigg — Hamble- TONiAN and Diamond — Shorter Races — Matches 86 — no VI. — Captain Barclay's Match — Bets and the Jockey Club — Daniel Dawson — Sir C. Bunbury — The Duke of York — " Cardinal Puff " — The Whip — Buckle's Whip — Holders of the Whip in — 133 VII. — Turf in 1825 — Hon. C. Wyndham — Jockey Club Cup — James Hirst — George IV. — Blacklock — ^W. Flint — Extraordinary Matches — Mr. OSBALDESTON 1 34 — 1 64 VIII. — Mr. Radcliffe — William IV. — Arabian Plates — Mr. Bowles — Plenipotentiary's Year — Rids- DALE V. Gully — Epsom Downs — Lord Derby — Mr. Mytton 165 — 183 CONTENTS. CHAPTER PAGE IX. — Ascot Grand Stand — The Queen at Ascot — Railways v. Coaches — Sue's History of Scham — Sir J. Lade — Pavis — The Canadian Affair — Lord George Bentinck v. Connop — The Duke OF Cleveland — Mr. Wilson — Mr. Thornhill — Nimrod — The Derby of 1844 — Running Rein 184 — 234 X. — Mr. John Orton — Mr. Weatherby — Crommelin's Case — W. Scott — The Flying Dutchman and Voltigeur — State of the Turf in 1800-1825- 1850 — Tipsters — The Betting Houses — The Act OF 1853 235—259 XL — Famous Jockeys z6o — 286 XII. — Ellington's Derby — ^John Gully — Sir Tatton Sykes — Ascot Cup — The Marquis and Buck- stone — George Osbaldeston — Luke Snowden 287—301 Xni. — The New Tattersall's — Testimonial Dinner — Bad Sportsmen — Military Races . . 302 — 322 XIV. — Mr. Greville — Caractacus — Caller Ou — Gla- diateur — Blair Athol — ^John Osborne — J. F. Herring 323—353 XV. — Lord Hastings's Horses — The Duke — Kan- garoo — Lady Elizabeth — Racing Debts — Ex- travagance — The Scratching of the Earl — Correspondence — Death of the Marquess — Comments of the Press on his Career . 354 PRE.FACE. Perhaps the Centenary of the Derby is not an unfitting time for the issue of a History of the British Turf. For some two hundred years the pursuit of Horse-racing has been attractive to more of our countrymen than any other out-door pastime, yet no popular account of the Sport has hitherto appeared. It is true that in 1840 Mr. Whyte published a history, in two volumes, chiefly filled up with lists of the principal Stakes run for in successive years; while in 1863 an anonymous author, whose name I have been unable to discover, though I have been at considerable trouble in the effort to do so, issued an account of Horse-racing, which gave some valuable topographical details of the places of Sport, but rarely, if ever, mentioned a horse. The present work is a humble attempt to supply the deficiencies of the two former accounts. It is mainly a compilation from the Sporting Magazines and news- papers, and from books' relating to the subject — a list of which is appended. The plan of the work was entirely approved by the late Admiral Rous, from whom I received PREFACE. several valuable hints, and to whom, with his permission, the book would, had he lived, have been dedicated. The object I have steadily had in view in writing this work has been to collect all the most interesting facts connected with the Turf, to give the pedigrees of some of the besb horses, short historical notices of those locali- ties famous in connection with the sport, and biographical sketches of the principal actors in its varied scenes, from its earliest period to the present day. The matter contained in these volumes has been col- lected from various sources of information, too scattered and difficult of access to be obtainable by most readers, even had they the time and inclination to pursue their studies in this direction so far. For instance, a set of the Sporting Magazine— zxi invaluable repository of informa- tion about the Sport — now sells, when in the market, for about one hundred guineas; and the difficulty of finding anything in the bound volumes of a newspaper, even when procurable, needs no comment. At the present day no apology is needed for the existence of a History of the Turf. Never before were the great Meetings so largely attended, or the funds at the dis- posal of Race Committees so large. At the recent Ascot Meeting, no less a sum than ;£'i4,SSo was given in added money to the various Stakes during the four days — .£^2,000 being added to the Hardwicke Stakes (the richest prize of the Meeting) alone, a race named in compliment to the Master of the Buckhounds ; while ;^8,ooo have been PREFACE. xi expended since last year in replacing the old Alexandra Stand by a new and handsome structure. Let us turn now to the representation of the interests of what has been called with justice the National Sport in the Press. There are at the present time 1,763 news- papers published in this country, whereas at the time Mr. Whyte's book appeared there were only 447; and in the vast majority of these organs of public opinion Racing has its regular place. Mr. Whyte says : — " In the literature of the country the Turf maintains two weekly newspapers and four monthly magazines — v\z., the old Sporting Magazine, commenced in 1792; the new Sporting Magazine, started in 1824, by Nim South, a favourite writer for many years previously in the old Sporting Magazine ; the Sporting Review, edited by Craven, who left the old Sporting Magazine to begin this Review in 1837; and the 5/£'r/j/«fl'«, originated in 1829. ... In addition to these, we have ' Weatherby's Racing Calendar,' the ' Sportsman's Pocket Reference Book,' the ' Turf Re- membrancer,' and two Sporting Almanacs, all of which are published yearly." This seemed an extensive Sporting literature forty years ago. Let us see the amount of pabulum specially pro- vided for the followers of racing now. We have one daily, one bi-weekly, and six weekly papers wholly devoted to Sporting matters; while there are very few newspapers published in the country in which some space is not set aside for the same subject. Moreover, since the passing of . PREFACE. the Act which rendered illegal the publication of Sporting prophecies, a considerable number of circulars of tipsters are issued — some of them daily during race meetings — under the guise of newspapers, for the purpose of giving the selections of the prophets for the day's events. Mr. Whyte's history was published just before the railway era, and he compares the stage coach of 1840, running down to Oxford from London (fifty-seven miles) in six hours, and the express coach between Gosport and Charing-cross, doing the journey of eighty miles in eight hours, with the coaches of 1742 and 1798, occupying twelve and nineteen hours in travelling over the same distances. How much greater the change in our methods of loco- motion since 1840. We can now run down to Portsmouth in two hours and ten minutes, and to Oxford in one hour and forty-five minutes. This great change has affected all our institutions, and not least the Turf; and the fact that the last and first publication of a History of the Turf took place in pre- railway times may well be my reason for offering to the public a new work on the same subject. London, September, 1879, HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. CHAPTER I. EARLY HISTORY OF HORSE-RACING IN ENGLAND — ACTS RELATING TO HORSE-RACING TAXES AND RESTRIC- TIONS. IT is probably of little importance, either to the re- gular habitui of the Turf or to him who takes only an occasional and dilettante interest in the national sport, to learn that the people of Thessaly were famous equestrians, that the Egyptians were the first nation which made the horse economically useful, or that it is a disputed point whether David or Solomon esta- blished for the first time an inconsiderable cavalry force among the Jews. Yet these recondite facts, to- getherwith atangle of references, Biblical and classical, coupled with the information that the army of Xerxes, when he reviewed his forces in Thrace, contained eighty thousand horsemen; that Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots; that Homer, in the sixth book of the "Iliad," and Virgil, in the cor- responding book of the ".^neid," wrote respectively, in unexceptionable Greek and Latin verse, spirited de- scription's of the horse ; that remote report attributed VOL. I. I HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the parentage of the chariot horses of CEnomaus, King of Elis, to the Winds, while those of Achilles were got by Zephyrus out of Podarge ; and much similar matter, have usually preceded any historical account of the horse in Great Britain. It is apart from the design of this work to import into its pages, unnecessarily, any matter that is not co- vered bythe title. Leaving Homer and Solomon, then, Greece and Judaea, for the first of our Stuart princes, Tregonwell Ff amp ton, and the British Isles,, we -vviU endeavour to direct our attention to those matters which bear strictly on the history of the British Turf. Precedent, however, makes it almost absolutely necessary that we should remark, on the authority of Cuvier, that the hofse is a distinct genuSj belonging to the order of Packyderinata; and, further, that Buffon "justly says of him" that he "possesses, along with grandeur of statui-e, the greatest elegalice and propot*- tion of parts of all quadrupeds" — an opinion which, in Great Britain at least, will be generally endorsed. The hofse is found in every region of the world, often in considerable Variety of breed in the same country. In England, he exists in the well-known forms of the racer, hunter, charger, hackney, troop horscj machiner, cart horSe^ cob, pony — all of which trace theii" descent, more or less directly, from the gentil horses, the running horses, the palfreys, hob- bies, cldthseks, monteaux, curtals, gambaldynges, and amblynge horses of the merrie England of Elizabeth. EARLY Hi&tORV OF ttORSE-RACim IN ENGLAND. 3 America, whose stock of horses is derived mainly from English importatioriSj possesses also the trotting horsej now a distinct breed of great value and exceU lencei Horses existed in England before histories, and the earliest of our historians do riot appeal td have taken the trouble to make any extensive inquiries as to where oilr native breed originally came from^ From all that can be gathered on the subjeet, it seems probable that the horse was not indigenous td Britain-^at leasts within historic times — ^and that the noble animal was first brought over to our shores from France. The native stock — remote descend- ants of these Gallic sires and dams^=^were by tib means contemptible animals, when James I. gave^l54 sterling (in his time and long afterwards a great sum of money) for an Arabian entire horsej with a View to imprcfving the breed of horsed in his new kitlgdom of Englandi The Markham Arabian was purchased by James in 161 6, sit which date horse- racing can hardly have been cotinted among the usual Sunday afternoon sports and pastimes of thfe people, or it would ptdbably have been meritioned ill " The Pope's Kirigddm," published a few years previously, which says^^ "Now when their dimier once is doUtf, and that they *reU hive fcdj To play they go; to casting of the stoney to runne or shoote, 1*6 tosse the ligiit and windy ball aldft wiffi hand of tooti; Some firtherS We tHfeit skill iii gdnfies; sOitii ■tn-dstell all the daj'j And some te schooles of feface do/ goe^ to gaze upon the plsty; Another sort there is that 'do not love abroad to roame, ivii for to padse' their time at cafds or tables stiti at hoine." HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. There is in this enumeration of the pastimes of that age no allusion to the bear-baitings, cock-fights, and other sports of the time; but a contemporary writer, quoted by Strutt, complaining of the indecent hurrying through the morning prayer, says the minister "posteth it over as fast as he can galloppe, for either he hath two places to serve, or else there are some games to be played in the afternoon, as lying for the whetstone, heathenishe dauncing for the ring, a beare or a bull to be baited, or else a jackanapes to ride on horsebacke, or an interlude to be plaide; and if no place else can be gotten, this interlude must be playde in Church." This is from Thomas Cartwright's Admonition to Parliament, 1572; and there is little doubt that if horse-racing had proved part of the Sunday afternoon recreations of the less staid portion of the community, he would have noticed it, as well as the baiting of bulls and bears, the heathenish dancing, the interlude, and the jackanapes on horseback. James, who thought proper to "rebuke some Puritanes and precise people" during his journey through Lancashire for prohibiting and unlawfully punishing his "good people" for using their lawful recreations and honest exercises on Sundays, pub- lished a declaration (May 24, 161 8) setting forth what games might be played, which included dancing, both for men and women, archery for men, leaping vaulting, or any other harmless recreations. May games, Whitsun-ales, morris dances, and the sports EARLY HISTORY OF HORSE-RACING IN ENGLAND. 5 of the Maypole are especially permitted. To these amusements of his subjects James added by the establishment of public races in several parts of the kingdom, and by giving his royal countenance and patronage to the sport, especially at Newmarket. With the reign of James I. horse-racing, as a public sport, may be said to have had its origin. It is true that the horse was valued in England at a high rate from a very early period, and that matches were made between animals belonging to noblemen and gentlemen, and the more opulent class of yeo- men; but they appear to have been races or matches of an irregular kind, and not of annual recurrence at stated dates. There were no jockeys, the owners, or their grooms riding the horses; the races were ridden at catch weights, there was no attempt at weighing before and after the race; the courses were any stretches of turf that served, without start- ing or winning posts; and these early races appear also to have been run purely for amusement, and without any element of gain except some small prize or stake. As early as the ninth century, when Hugh Capet was a suitor for the hand of the sister of /Ethelstan, he sent over to that prince, as a present, several running horses, caparisoned with saddles and bridles orna- mented with gold. This fact, however, does not es- tablish the existence of the practice of horse-racing among the Anglo-Saxons; on the contrary, the run ning horses of Hugh Capet were, it is sufficiently HISTOJfiY OF THE PRJTI^H WW^ proveci, animgil^ swift in the chase, and cajled running horses on apcoufit oi their superior speed, Races wpf§ xm in Smithfjeld in the reign ot Henry J I. ; but fhey were either coiitegts fpr the public amuserpent; on great holidays, or run for the pur- pose of selling the horse th^-t h^d the best of the struggle. Fitzstephen says of these races, after de- scribing the jockeys : — " The horses, gn their part, are nqt withovit enmlation; they trernble, and are impa- tient, and are continually in motion. At last, the signal once given, they strike, devqur the course, hurrying along with unremitting yelpcity." §trutt, in hi§ "Sports and Pastimes of the People of England," qijpting several contemporary authorities, gypports the opinion that horse-races were run in the jniddle ages. An old black letter pamphlet, contain-^ ing the ppetical legend of Sir Eevis of Hampton, mentions Whitsuntide as a season of the year at which races toqk place, and goes on — ■ " Whiche horse that best may ren. Three myles the cours was then. Who that might ryde him shoulde Have forty pounds of redy gold." That horse-racing was commonlypractised at Easter ip some parts of England is proved by the fact that, at the end of the seventeenth century, it was prohibited '', 1795, at his house at Hyde Park Corner, in the seventy-first year of his age. He was a native of the county of York, and in due time learned the mystery of wool-combing; but having the love of HIGHFLYER. 59 horses and 'adventure that has from time imme- morial distinguished Yorkshiremen, he found his way to London, and obtained employment at Mr. Beevor's Horse Repositpry, in St. Martin's-lane. Mr. Tattersall's good conduct and knowledge of horseflesh obtained for him a recommendation to the Duke of Kingston, into whose service he en- tered as superintendent of the stables; and in this capacity he remained until he began business for himself as an auctioneer of horses. • He was well- fitted for the duties of his new avocation, and suc- ceeded in making for himself such a reputation that all the great studs of his time came to be dispersed under his hammer. Mr. Tattersall was the archi- tect of his own fortunes ; he made a great name in his particular business, which flourishes and pro- gresses year by year. The name of his family is a household word, not only in sporting circles at home, but all over the world : there is scarcely any- body in an English-speaking country biit has heard of " Tattersall's." The founder of the house left his descendants an honest name, a good business. High- flyer Hall, and his estate near Ely; but they had, perhaps, occasion to regret that Mr. Richard Tat- tersall did not confine his transactions entirely to horseflesh. Mr. Tattersall bought Highflyer of Lord Boling- broke for ;^8oo, and he gained altogether about ;^2 5,000 by his purchase. At the time of his be- coming the possessor of Highflyer, the favourite 6o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Stallion was Eclipse; but the chances of produce were very uncertain, and breeders were already getting tired of sending mares to him. Highflyer was very successful at the stud; and, seeing this; Mr. Tattersall bought a number of well-bred mares — for the most part at low prices — and in due course possessed as fine a stud of brood mares as any in the kingdom. In dealing with the produce of his paddocks, however, he pursued a policy just the opposite of that followed by Captain O'Kelly, who trained nearly every animal he bred. Mr. Tatter- sall, on the other hand, never trained any of his young stock, selling them all untried; and this course he found to be by far the most remunerative he could adopt. Having now acquired a considerable fortune by his business as an auctioneer, he unfortunately de- cided to try his hand at managing a newspaper. It was pointed out to him that if he became part pro- prietor of a respectable morning paper, he would derive the profits from the large necessary expendi- ture in advertisements connected with his business. It had become proverbial that all Mr. Tattersall touched turned to "gold, and it was with a firm belief in his own lucky star that he lent no unwilling ear to the persuasions of his friends—Skinner, the Lord Mayor, Church, the auctioneer. Bell, the bookseller, and others — and joined them in purchasing the Morning Post. The Rev. Mr. Bate was the editor, and the result was a profit of ;^3,ooo a year — ^an OLD MR. TATTERS ALL. 6i amount that would be an unconsidered trifle in the total profit of a leading daily paper now, but then con- sidered a handsome return for the capital invested. Journals managed by committees are dangerous pro- perty ; and though the parson appears to have been able to pit three against three at the council-board, he always had the seventh against him. Mr. Tat- tersall became disgusted with the doings of the committee, and established the Morning Herald in opposition to the Post. This speculation at first proved a bad one — the Herald could not hold its own against the Post; but the calm retirement of a prison cell gave Mr. Tattersall ample leisure to master the details of newspaper management. " I was fortunately," he says, " convicted of a libel on the Duke of Richmond, and imprisoned in the King's Bench." After three months his Grace re- lented, and consented that Mr. Tattersall should be set at liberty. After his term of incarceration in the King's Bench was over, his conduct of the paper was successful, and the Herald soon took the lead of its rivals. Scandal was a prominent feature in the paper— the Prince of Wales and Mrs. Fitz-Herbert being very roughly handled, and Fox libelled daily, until Mr. Tattersall changed his tactics and his politics at the same time, and all three became angels in the columns of his paper. He was also for some time proprietor of the English Chronicle; but after some years' experience of the anxieties and risks of owning and managing newspaper properties. 62 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Mr. Tattersall disposed of his interest in these ven- tures. He lived to a good old age, to dispense with liberal hand the hospitality of Highflyer Hall, to in- crease his fortune, and to give the toast of " The Hammer and Highflyer," with him an after-dinner rule without an exception. Epitaphs in the papers were the fashion of that day, in which a man's qualities, good or bad, were re- corded largely in capital letters. A few days after Mr. Tattersall's death the following lines were pub- lished. They may serve in this place at once to show the opinion his contemporaries held of the founder of the "house at the Corner," and to illus- trate a custom once universal but now fallen into desuetude : — Sacred to the Ashes of RICHARD TATTERSALL, Late of Hyde Park Corner, in the County of Middlesex, Esq., who By his indefatigable Industry, Irreproachable Character, And unassuming Manners, Raised himself From an humble, though respectable, origin To Independence and Affluence. To the rare excellence of bearing Prosperity with Moderation HE By his inflexible integrity united (As he justly acquired) The exalted Appellation of HONEST MAN! EPITAPH. 63 And continued uncorrupted even by Riches. Thus Universally respected and beloved by all who knew him He lived; and died as universally regretted On the 2ist day of February, In the year of our Lord, 179s. And in the 71st year of his age. But though His perishable part, together with this frail tribute to his ashes, shall decay, yet As long as the recollection of Honest worth, Sociable manners, and Hospitality unbounded Shall be dear to the memory of man, The remembrance of him shall live: surviving the Slender aid of the proud Pyramid, The boasted durability of Brass, and The wreck of Ages! 1! 64 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. CHAPTER IV. GEORGE THE FOURTH AND CHIFNEY — DISPUTE WITH THE JOCKEY CLUB — RETIREMENT OF THE PRINCE FROM THE TURF — DEATH OF CHIFNEY. IN the year 1 784, George the Fourth, then Prince of Wales, made his first appearance on the Turf in the character of an owner of race-horses. Seven years later— namely, in October, 1791 — his Royal Highness retired from the Turf for the second time, under the following circumstances. On the 20th and 2 1 St days of October, in the year above- mentioned, a horse named Escape, the property of- the Prince, was entered, and ran for two different races at Newmarket. On the first day the race was from the Ditch in; the stakes were sixty guineas, and four competitors faced the starter for it:— Mr. Dawson's Coriander, Lord Grosvenor's Sky- lark, Lord Clermont's Pipeator, and his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's Escape. They passed the post in the order named: the betting previous to the race having been 2 to i against Escape, 4 to i against Coriander, and 5 to i against Skylark. The result, of course, led to no remarks. The defeat of a favourite was as common a thing on the Heath then as it is now. The fact that Escape was the property of the First Gentleman in Europe, GEORGE THE FOURTH AND CHIFNEY. 65 did not make his backers angry when they saw the Royal purple and gold buttons looming in the rear. But on the following day, the 21st, the Prince thought proper to start Escape for a race over the Beacon Course, a subscription of five guineas each, for which there were twelve subscribers, six of whom sent their representatives to the post. These were his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales's Escape, Lord Barrymore's Chanticleer, Lord Grosvenor's Skylark, the Duke of Bedford's Grey Diomed, Lord Clermont's Pipeator, and Mr. Barton's Alderman." They were placed by the judge in this order— the betting at the start having been 7 to 4 against Chanticleer, 1 1 to 5 against Skylark, 5 to i against Escape, and 6 to i against Grey Diomed. Immediately after the race, angry remarks were made about the running of the Prince's horse, and insinuations against His Royal Highness's honour and the riding of his jockey, Sam Chifney, were general. The direct reversal of the running of Escape on the previous day certainly called for notice. The Jockey Club accordingly took the matter up. The stewards were Sir Charles Bun- bury, and Messrs. Ralph Dutton and Thomas Pan- ton, and they sent for Chifney and examined him upon the subject of their inquiry. To the Prince Regent and his connection with the Turf, and to Samuel Chifney as a great horseman, so much interest attaches that it is necessary to tell over again the oft-told tale of the Escape affair, of the Prince's VOL. I, 5 66 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH tURF. squabble with the Jockey Club, of his consequent re- tirement from the Turf, and of Sam Chifney's ex- planation and defence. The explanation and defence, giving the full though ex parte history of the Escape affair, are to be found in "Genius Genuine," a book of some 170 pages, first published in 1795, when the author was in reduced circumstances, and four years after the events which furnished its interesting chapters with matter. The title-page of "Genius Genuine," by ■Samuel Chifney, of Newmarket, sets out that his work contains " a fine part in riding a race known only to the author; why there are so few ^ood runners, and why the Turf horses degenerate; a guide to recover them in their strength and speed, as well as to train horses for running and hunters and hacks for hard riding; to preserve their strength and their sinews from being so often de- stroyed; with reasons for horses changing in their running; likewise a full account of the Prince's horse Escape's running at Newmarket on the 20th and 21st da,ys of October, 1791; with other interesting par- ticulars. Sold only for the author, 232, Piccadilly." The price was five pounds, or at the rate of almost eightpence a page. The sale was evidently greater than was expected, though there are now no data by which it is possible to determine the number of copies printed; for a second edition, likewise "price five pounds," appeared on the 9th of January, 1804. Nor had the great jockey been silent in the GEORGE THE FOURTH AND CHIFNEY. 67 meantime, .for in 1800 he advertised his publication at a moderate price. Half a crown was the sum he charged for the " Narrative, or address of Samuel Chifney (rider for life to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales), to the public in general, but more particularly to such of them as heretofore have been, now are, or hereaftfer may be, connected with the Turf." Of the two effusions inspired by the Prince's jockey — for he was not without material assistance in the authorship — the cheaper is, for all practical purposes, by far the more useful. For although it may be admitted that in 1795 a number of owners and others engaged in training thoroughbred stock did feel an interest in penetrating the mysteries of riding, training and " preserving" horses — of which Chifney said he was the sole repository — yet five pounds a copy were given for "Genius Genuine," chiefly by benevolent patrons of the Turf, who thought that Chifney had been hardly used, and by curious people, who were still very much inte- rested in all the matters connected with the Prince's second retirement. The jockey could tell the story better than any one else; He had been party to all the proceedings which had driven his master from the Heath he loved. To Chifney, therefore, the public went for those "full particulars" he alone of the persons originally concerned in the Escape transactions of 1 79 1 was able and willing to give. And mainly 5—2 68 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. because his five-pound book contained their recital were two editions of it sold; and solely from this cause was it that his half-crown pamphlet reached a large sale and enjoyed a high degree of popularity. The influence of Johnson upon English literature was still very strong within the first twenty years after his death, and men who devote themselves to Turf pursuits are usually conservative to a very high degree. Accordingly, Sam Chifney's literary ad- viser in 1800 thinks it necessary to put forward his " Reasons for this Publication" in quite a John- sonian strain. "Amidst, the great variety of cha- racters, from the highest to the lowest ranks of life, which are to be found on the Turf," we are told, " the number of those who make an unfair use of their knowledge and experience of it is comparatively small; but the effects of their unfair exertions are very extensive," Presently, however, we come to the actual narrative, doubtless told in Sam's own words, lengthened syllabically as the grandeur of the occasion requires. He does not conceive that anybody can be ig- norant of the sensation that was made on the Turf when he had the honour of riding his Royal High- ness's horse Escape at Newmarket, on the 20th and 2 1 St days of October, 1791. Most wonders last only nine days — so the proverb says; but after a lapse of nine years the old jockey finds himself suf- fering from the effects of the occurrence of those days, with a family he is unable to provide for out qf GEORGE THE FOURTH AND CHIFNEY. 69 his very scanty means. He is justly indignant at the imputation of dishonesty, and he presumes that the liberality of his readers will induce them to admit that his character, name, and reputation are as dear to him and as important to his family as if he had been placed by Providence in the most exalted situation in life. With thus much of preface we come to the narrative of his connection with the Prince of Wales. On the 14th of July, 1790, his Royal Highness engaged Chifney for life, at wages of two hundred guineas a year, to ride his horses. Mr. W. Lake had then the superintendence of the Royal stable, and the Prince told Chifney that he was always to take, his final orders from that gentle- man: — "Sam Chifney, if at £iny time it should happen that I give you orders how to ride, you will always go to Mr. Lake for your final orders; and Mr. Lake and you will make any alteration you like and where you please." Now nothing can be clearer than this: it was pro- bable that the Prince would often give orders to his jockey how to ride; but, as a matter of prudence, he left it to better judges than himself — to the gentle- man to whom he had entrusted the making of his matches and to his jockey — to decide ^ at last what it might be best to do. This plan was adhered to to the letter — Mr. Lake was consulted in the last re- 70 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. source, as the Prince had directed; but where Mr. Lake's orders ran contrary to Sam CWfney's ideas his superior went to the wall. , Of this, in his "Address" and in "Genius Genuine," he gives four or five instances. The cases in point are those of the running of Scota at Lewes, on the 7th August, 1790, where he plainly states that Mr, W. Lake had laid money against the Prince's mare; a match at eight pounds be- tween his Royal Highness's Magpie, and Lord Barrymore's Seagull, in which Mr. Lake seems to have been interested in getting Magpie beaten; and a match between his Royal Highness's Traveller against Lord Barrymore's Highlander, in which Traveller cut up very badly. Of this match Chif- ney says : — "On the morning they were to run, his Royal Highness sent for me whilst Mr. W. Lake was in his room, and said, 'Sam Chifney, will Traveller run to-day?' "I replied, 'No, your Royal Highness; I don't think he will.' " Mr. Lake took up the jockey with warmth, and praised the mare's merits so extravagantly that Chifney came to the conclusion that the Prince's sporting Mentor wished to " disguise the truth." In the next case quoted by Chifney, Pegasus was gomg to run against Cardock and another horse for the King's Plate at Newmarket, and Mr. W. Lake ordered him to make play with his Royal High- GEORGE THE FOURTH AND CHIFNEY. 71 ness's horse. Chifney objected strongly, but Mr. Lake insisted. In the actual race, however, he played his own game, and won on the post. ' Mr. Lake came up and said, " I give you joy, Chifney. I was glad to see the horse win. I mean, I was glad for the horse's master's sake, for I don't mind anything about them myself." At this time it was Chifney's belief that Mr. W. Lake was not always on the side of his Royal Highness in betting transactions, and that Neale was a very incompetent trainer, or, as he was then called, groom to the Royal stud. " I thought it," he says, " my duty to make known to the public the incapacity of Neale for his situa- tion; which, whether known or not to Mr. W. Lake, I considered to be much encouraged by him, to the severe loss of his Royal Highness." In fact, Chifney's opinion was that Mr. Lake permitted the Prince to employ an incompetent trainer, who constantly brought his animals to the post untrained in order that he might profit by laying against them when his Royal Highness and his friends backed them. We now come to Escape. Chifney had long had his eye on the horse. So far back as April, 1 789, he had seen him beaten by Harpator when they ran the four miles of the Duke's Course together. In October, of the same year, he saw him beat Nimble, '-'a fast runner," across the flat; and so came to the conclusion that 72 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Escape was a horse possessing a fine turn of speed. At Ascot, in June, 1 790, Escape lost the Oatlands Stakes, in Chifney's opinion through not running a waiting race. Then comes his personal connection with an animal that proved most unfortunate to him. In August, 1790, he was ordered to York, and to ride Escape. The Prince had taken in one bet 3,000 to 2,000 guineas that his horse won both the Great Subscriptions. The first of these races Escape won, in the second he was beaten very easily by most of the other runners. The double event bets were consequently lost, and, as the jockey thought, solely because the Prince's horse was " very unfit to run." On several important occasions he seems to have sent up a similar message to the Prince, and his master had the good sense to act upon his advice. Two animals, respectively named Traveller and Creeper, which the Prince had matched, or Mr. W, Lake had matched for him, for large sums of money, seem to have given a great deal of trouble to every- body connected with them ; and, according to Chif- ney's account, were pretty nearly always "unfit to run," At York, owing to Chifney's advice, Mr. Lake had hedged nearly all the Prince's money— in fact, his Royal Highness only stood to lose 350 guineas by the result. On the first. day of the meeting, Chifney says that Escape was run very hard by a horse that was GEORGE THE hOURTH AND CHIFNEY. 73 publicly known to run but very moderately; on the second day, In better company, he was beaten very easily by all his opponents. So far, then, it would appear that Escape, was an uncertain horse — an animal that could not be de- pended upon ; but one of which, when in condition, Chifney entertained a very high opinion. This brings us to Newmarket October Meeting, when Escape's performances led to the retirement of his Royal. Highness from the Turf — an event that was keenly regretted by lovers of the sport through- out the kingdom, Chifney had been accused of " tricks" on Escape before — notably, when Baronet, in his own stable, beat him for the Oatlands Stakes at Ascot, a race on which an immense sum of money had been betted. The Prince told Chifney he stood to win seventeen thousand on Baronet. But there is not a jot of evidence to show that Escape was not on that occasion beaten on his merits; and beaten, Chifney again states, because he was badly trained, by grooms whom he describes as "honest fellows who knew no better." However, he seems to have been trained by the 5 th of October, for on that date he placed two races to the Prince's credit, who was so pleased with Chifney 's master- like riding that he shook him by the hand, and. said, " Sam Chifney, no person but you shall ride for me," On the 20th, when Chifney was riding his cob on to the raceground, with his saddle tied round his 74 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. waist, he passed the Prince and a party of friends. As he went along at a hand gallop through the gap, the Prince called out in a loud tone, "Sam Chifney, Escape is sure of winning to-day, is he not?" Chifney reined in his cob, and riding up to his master, said, touching his cap, "Your Royal High- ness, I do not think Escape is sure to win to-day." "Yes," replied the Prince, "Escape is sure of winning to-day." " I then," says Chifney, " took the liberty of ad- vising his Royal Highness not to bet upon him, as the odds, from his previous performances, were likely to be high upon him, and much might be lost, though little could be won." " No," returned the Prince, " I shall not bet upon him, but he is sure of winning," and trotted on, to join the company already riding down the lower side of the running-ground to the turn of the Lands. Chifney professes that he was now under a " pe- culiar embarrassment," as he very much wanted an opportunity of telling his Royal Highness that he thought it very likely that Escape was not quite fit to run. Nothing would have been easier for him to do than to turn his pony oif the grass and ride after the Prince's party down the road. He did not do so, however. Nor did he communicate his reasons for thinking Escape would lose when, after a race or two had been run, the Prince was in Lord Barry- more's carriage at the rails by the turn of the Lands, GEORGE THE FOURTH AND CHIFNEY. 7S and Tcalted out to Chifney to come to him to receive his final orders about riding Escape. :;i^^^Sdixi Chifney," said his Royal Highnesq, " I -wish ybiitixj make very strong play with Escape." To this remark the jockey says he made no reply. The Prince continued, " I am never afraid when I am giving South and you orders, for I know you are both too good jockeys to overwork your horses. But now I will not compel you to make play with Escape. If there is no other horse to make play, then you are to do so. I hope you perfectly under- stand me?" Chifney replied, "Yes, your Royal Highness, I perfectly understand." The Prince then drove with Lord Barrymore to the betting-post, and his jockey did not see him again till after the race. Mr, Lake, however, saw Chifney immediately the Prince had left him, and asked what oi'ders he had got about riding Escape. Chifney repeated the Prince's injunctions. They both agreed that it would be madness to make play; and Mr. Lake said, " I think, as you do, that Escape had better wait, so you will wait at all events ; and as I see the Prince's carriage, I will go up at once and make everything perfectly pleasant." At the saddling stable, Chifney says he asked if Escape had had a sweat since he ran his last race— a fortnight before ; and the groom told him he had not. 76 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. The horses were started. Chifney waited with Escape, and was beaten. On returning to scale, the Prince said, " Chifnfey, you have lost this race by not making strong play as I desired you." He excused himself, and expressed a hope that the Prince had not lost any money over the race. "No, I have not lost a stiver," his master replied, " but that don't argue. Escape would have won if you had made play. I am a better jockey than you and Mr. Lake together. You have lost the race by not obeying my orders." At a subsequent interview with the Prince and Mr. Lake, the former said to Chifney, " What is the meaning of Escape's being beaten to-day? for you tell me Escape is the best horse in the world." " I did tell your Royal Highness," replies the . jockey, " that Escape was the best horse in England, and I think the same of him now. It is a fortnight since he ran last. He has not had a sweat since, and though he looks straight and handsome to the eye, he is unfit to run; and I believe that was the cause of his being beaten to-day." The Prince announced to Mr. Lake his intention of running Escape the next day, when Chifney said, " I am very glad your Royal Highness does run Escape to-morrow. This sharp rally to-day will not fatigue him, has sweated him, opened his pores, and lightened his flesh. He will run both faster and longer to-morrow ; and his running to-day is my only GEOkGE THE FOURTH AND CHIBNEY. 7f reason for wishing your Royal Highness to back him to-morrow ; for had he not run to-day I should not have wished your Royal Highness to back him to- morrow." According to Chifney's account, this is all that passed between him and the Prince on the subject that afternoon. The next day, October 21st, when they met on the Heath, the Prince told Chifney that he wished him to make play with Escape in his race if no other horse made play, concluding his instruc- tions with the words, " God bless you !" as the jockey reports them, who adds, " As his Royal Highness was leaving me I said, ' I wish your Royal Highness to back Escape,' and he called to me saying, 'Yes, I will.'" Chifney then thinks that, having thus advised his master, he had better, for the look of the thing, back the horse himself. Accordingly he applies to Mr. Lake to lose twenty guineas for him upon Escape, but that gentleman replies, " No, I will have nothing to do with it, there are so many unpleasant things happen." Why Mr. Lake should thus prophesy the unpleasantness that followed so shortly after does not appear in the narrative. Mr. Vauxhall Clark, how- ever, was more accommodating, and laid Chifney the odds to twenty guineas, as he wished. Then came the race, in which Skylark made play. Chifney waited with Escape, and won easily. Then there was a sensation produced among the habituis of the Heath — ugly things were said about Sam Chif- 78 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. ney's riding, and equally ugly things were whispered about his master. " As I came from scale," he writes, " I was told Mr. W. Lake had been saying something severe to his Royal Highness concerning Escape's running." The Prince, according to Chifney, only won a few hundreds by the success of his horse. " It was under four hundred guineas and it was near four hundred guineas," is his account. The subsequent events in connection with the Prince's retirement from the Turf are thus summa- rized: — On the morning after Escape's second race at Newmarket the jockey was sent for, and met his master in his dressing-room. " Sam Chifney," said the Prince, " I have sent for you upon very unpleasant business. I am told that you won six or seven hundred pounds the day before yesterday, when you rode Escape and was beat on him." Chifney replied that he believed his Royal High- ness had not such an opinion of him. But the Prince added that he had also been told that he won about the same sum in the race he had won with the horse. Chifney protested. The Prince appears to have believed him entirely, but told him to make an affidavit specifying all the bets he had on both races. This was done. He was "had up" before the stewards of the Jockey Club, Sir Charles Bunbury and Messrs. Button and Panton. They were not satisfied, and in consequence of the GEORGE THE FOURTH AND CHIFNEY. 79 resolution of the Jockey Club he received a letter from Sir John Lade, telling him to attend at once upon the Prince at Carlton House. There he was told by his master that Sir Charles Bunbury had said that if Chifney were suffered to ride the Prince's horses no gentleman would start against him. It was a bitter pill to swallow; but the Prince behaved like a man, and gave up his favourite amusement rather than sacrifice his servant. His Royal Highness told Chifney he should not be likely to keep horses again. " But if ever I do, Sam Chifney, you shall train and manage them. You shall have your two hundred guineas a year all the same. I cannot give it you for your life, I can only give it for my own. You have been an honest and good servant to me." The racing season for the year 1791 was over, and early in 1792 his second retirement from the Turf was announced. In the month of December of that year, two stallions of his, eleven brood mares, and fourteen horses in training, with their engage- ments, were sold, together with six horses of the Duke of York's. A country squire, who possessed a copy of Chif- ney's five-guinea edition of " Genius Genuine" — who treasured the volume and honoured the memory of the author — has left this account of Chifney's end in autograph on the fly leaf: — " The author of this pamphlet was the most cele- brated and favourite rider of races on the Turf. In 8o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. consequence, 'I believe, of the affair of Escape he fell into disgrace, and consequently into poverty. . This little book was published at the high price of five guineas for the purpose of relieving his necessities. He died in the King's Bench Prison; and of his last moments I am told the following anecdote: — "A gentleman who had long known him, and compassionated his forlorn condition, called on him, and said, ' Sam, you should think a little of a future state. If you please, I will get a clergyman to come and pray by you, and give you religious consolation.' " Chifney expressed his thanks, but wished for a litrie time to think upon it. The gentleman said he was going out for a short time, and would soon return. When he came back, he said, ' Well, Sam, I have spoken to the parson of the parish, and he will come to see you whenever you please. What do you say to it?' '"Why, sir,' answered Chifney, 'I am obliged to you all the same, but I have thought upon it. I have made up my mind. I'll stand it all. I won't hedge.'" He did not; but died, without seeing the parson, at his wretched lodgings in Fleet-lane, within the rules of the Fleet Prison, in January, 1807. Born in Norfolk, about 1753, we find him, after a short ap- prenticeship to the mysteries of his craft, recognized as one of the best of those jockeys among whom he afterwards became primus inter pares. His compa- nions and contemporaries in the pigskin were the two GEORGE THE FOURTH AND CHIFNEY. 8i Arnolds, John and Sam, Clift and Oakley; and to- wards the dose of his Turf career Buckle pushed him hard at a finish across the Flat or Ditch In. He was "jockey for life" to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales; and he rode at different times for the leading noblemen and gentlemen who kept a stud of horses at Newmarket and patronized the Turf. Stubbs took his portrait on Baronet, the property of his Royal master; and this picture well exhibits his backward seat in the saddle, and his peculiar slack rein style of handling his bridle. He was not only the author of a guide to the recondite secrets of training, but the inventor of a bit intended to reduce his theories to practice, and known in its day as the Chifney bit. This favourite jockey of the latter end of the last century and beginning of the present, was a muscular, lightly built man, about five feet six inches in height, of comely features, respectful in his man- ners to his superiors, kindly among his associates^ described by one who knew him well in his pros- perity and in his adversity, and who always stood by him, as "a thorough good servant, and the finest rider that ever threw his thigh over a racer." He entered Fox's stables at Newmarket in or about 1770, from whom he learnt the rudiments of the art of jockeyship; and a year or two afterwards he entered the service of Richard Prince, training groom to Lord Foley. Chifney thus served his ap- prenticeship to two men who were accounted the yoL. I. 6 ?2 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. best trainers of their time. He says of himself : — "In 1773 I could ride horses in a better manner in a race to beat others than any person ever known in my time, and in 1775 I could train horses for run- ning better than any person J ever yet saw. Riding I learned myself, and training I learned from Mr. Richard Prince." His "Genius Genuine" contained not only his elaborate defence of his proceedings in regard to the riding of Eclipse, biit also his reasons for riding with a loose rein, and the causes why "the Turf Horses degenerate, and Guides to recover them to their Strength and Speed." As to the former, he writes : — " Now, in my own defence, I will name one of those very fine parts in riding a race, as it is thrown in my face to this hour as a very great fault in my riding — viz., my riding with a loose rein. The Duke of Bedford was near taking me off his horses, saying the people teased him because I rode his horses with a loose rein, and desired me to hold my horse fast in his running. I was sorry his Grace was thus troubled, as it puts a horse's frame all wrong, and his speed slackened, where the horse has that sort of management to his mouth. My reins appeared loose, but my horse had only proper liberty, and mostly running in the best of attitudes. It is usual when that grooms are taking and giving orders to their riders, to hold the horse fast in his running; and where a horse is intended to make play, their orders are to hold the horse fast by THE SLACK REIN. 83 the head, and let him come, or come along with him; but it is very much against a horse to hold him fast, or let him bear on his rein in his running: it makes him run with his mouth more open, and pulls his head more in or up. This causes him at times to run in a fretting, jumping attitude, with his fore-legs more open ; sometimes it causes him to run stag- necked ; this makes the horse point his fore-legs (otherwise called straight -legged). Sometimes it rnakes the horse run with his head and neck more down, crowding and reaching against his rider. This reaching his neck "against his rider pulls the horse's fore-legs out farther than the pace occasions. In all those attitudes his sinews are more worked and ex- tended, he has more exertion, his wind more locked, and this reaching and pointing his fore-legs makes them swell and tire. "That the first fine part in riding a race is to com- mand your horse to run light in his mouth — it is done with manner; it keeps him better together, his legs are more under him, his sinews less extended, less exertion, his wind less locked ; the horse running thus to order, feeling light for his rider's mounts, his parts are more at ease and ready, and can run con- siderably faster when called upon to what he can when that he has been running in the fretting, sprawling attitude, with part of the 'rider's weight in his mouth. " And as the horse comes to his last extremity, finishing his race, he is the better forced and kept 6—2 84 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Straight with manner,* and fine touching to his mouth. In this situation, the horse's mouth should be eased of the weight of his rein; if not, it stops him little or much. If a horse is a slug, he should be forced with a manner up to this order of running, and particularly so if he has to make play, or he will run the slower and jade the sooner for the want of it. " The phrase at Newmarket is, that you should pull your horse to ease him. in his running. When horses are at their greatest distress in their running, they cannot bear that visible, manner of pulling as looked for by many of the sportsmen; he should be enticed to ease himself an inch a time, as his situa- tion will allow. " This should be done as if you had a silken rein as fine as a hair, and that you was afraid of breaking it. " This is the true way a horse should be held fast in his running. " N.B. — If the Jockey Club will be pleased to give me two hundred gumeas, I will make them a bridle as I believe never was, and I believe can never be, excelled for their light weights to hold their horses from running away, and to run to order in, as above- mentioned, as near as I thus can teach; and it is much best for all horses to run in such; and ladies in particular should have such to ride and drive in, * The word " manner" is throwing, putting, and keeping self and horse in the best of attitudes. This gives readiness, force, and quickness. DEGENERATION OF HORSES. ' 85 as they not only excel in holding horses from running away, but make horses step safer, ride pleasanter, and carriage handsomer," As to the matter of the asserted degeneration of racers, Chifney writeg: — "The outcry is, 'Why are there so few good run- ners, or that the Turf horses degenerate?' Some say they think it is from running horses too young. My opinion is this, viz. — That the best running mares are trained till their running is gone from them, little or much, then turned into the stud ex- ■ hausted of their juices, as above described. Perhaps drop a foal on the following year, and so on year after year, suckling one foal while breeding another. The mare is thus turned into the stud drained of her strength, and her continually breeding keeps her so, without she lays herself barren a year or two by her mis-standing. This chance manner of her lay- ing herself fallow gives her an opportunity of re- covering her juices, or strength to enable her to breed a stronger foal. And it is the same with the horses. They are turned out ' of training into the stud thus drained of their nature; and. the better runner he is, the more he is immediately pressed with numbers of the best mares, and, in a manner, all to the stallions at one time. These are my reasons why the Turf horses degenerate in strength, speed, and beauty." 86 • HISTORY OF THE BRITISH turf: CHAPTER' V. LEADING PATRONS OF THE TURF IN THE REIGN OF GEORGE THE THIRD MR. PRATT, OF ASKRIGG— HAMBLETONIAN AND DIAMOND SHORTER RACES MATCHES. ALTHOUGH George the Third was fond of hunting, and kept two packs of hounds, he had no affection for the Turf; and his annual visit with his family to Ascot Heath was all the encouragement he gave the sport — if we except a plate of a hundred guineas, to be run for by- horses that had regularly been hunted with the Royal Hounds during the preceding winter. In the Heir Apparent, however, was found a warm partisan of the Turf; but the circumstances attend- ing the first appearance of the Prince of Wales as an owner of race-horses at Newmarket were not of good omen; and his second entry upon the scene in that character ended in the retire- ment from the Turf recorded in the last chapter. When the House of Commons was asked to pay debts amounting to nearly ;if 640,000, it was only to be expected that a large part of his indebted- ness was charged by the public to the expense of his racing establishment and his liking for betting. LEADING PATRONS OF THE TURF. 87 The Duke of Queensberry, who had in the course of a long life fifty years' experience on the Turf, was the wealthiest and one of the most pro- minent patrons of the sport during that period. Having succeeded to the family honours and im- mense estate acquired by the "political industry" of his ancestors, at an early age the accumulations at his majority constituted a great fortune. He had a genuine taste for racing — one of the only two real pleasures of his life; he had good sense and judgment about horses, which enabled him to form a well-selected stud; and he always main- tained from' thirty to forty animals in training. The Duke of Cumberland, the most popular member of the Royal Family, filled a leading place in racing circles; and to his Royal Highness's devotion and skill we are indebted for the well-made matches that produced Crab, Marske, Herod, and Eclipse. The Duke of York, though he raced at New- market, and bred also some thoroughbred stock, owed his introduction to Turf pursuits rather to the persuasion of his elder brother than to any love of his own for the pursuits of the field and the stud. " A blazing comet of the Senate, and a leading member of the Jockey Club," almost as soon as his college days were over, Fox gave his hearty support to the Turf; though all his life he preferred the " music of the bones " in St. James's-street to the thud of a gallop at Newmarket. The Duke of Bedford, whose advent on the Turf HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. immediately followed his emancipation from the hands of his tutor, early became an adept in the arts of the trainer and the breeder. His stud at New- market soon acquired formidable dimensions, and was in a year or two from its establishment the most brillianjt seen since the dispersion of the Duke of Cumberland's horses, after his death. From his first appearance at Newmarket, it was currently reported of his Grace that the elders of the Turf could not circumvent him, nor the blacklegs lay him under contribution. The colours of the Duke of Marlbo- rough, the philanthropic and generous Earl of Egre- mont, the unpopular Lord Lonsdale, the Earl of Jersey, Lord Grosvenor, who expended ;^30o,ooo during thirty years, of unequalled success on the Turf, the Right Hon. Wm, Windham, Mr, Panton, Sir Charles Bunbury, and many others, were fre- quently seen on the Turf. Among the most cele- brated Turf men of that day, however, must be mentioned Mr. John Pratt, of Askrigg, in Wens- leydale. He was the son of a hackney coach pro- prietor, who had realized a considerable fortune in London, and had purchased a small estate. He was sent to Cambridge, and his visits to Newmarket in- spired what afterwards became the passion of his life. Mr. Orton says of him : — " At no one period of his life did he possess above ;^7oo per annum in landed property; yet, strange as it may appear, with these limited means, aided by his success on the Turf, he built himself a handsome mansion, with commo- MR. PRATT OF ASKRIGG. ' 89 dious stabling and extensive paddocks; kept a re- tinue of upwards of twenty household servants, a P9.ck of hounds, huntsman, whipper-in, &c., and an excellent stiid of hunters, in addition to his numerous stud of race-horses, which he raced at Newmarket, and the different meetings of York and Doncaster, and other places in the north of England." He bred nearly the whole of his stud from a celebrated Squirt mare, bought of Mr. Hammond, twelve of whose foals turned out excellent racers. Mr. Pratt sold Camden, by Highflyer out of Purity, to Mr. Peregrine Wentworth for 700 guineas. Camden was re-named Rockingham, and sold to the Prince of Wales by Mr, Wentworth for 2,000 guineas — a cir- cumstance that brought about the death of his former owner, from chagrin at having sold a good horse for a lower price than its real value. Mr. Pratt died at Newmarket on the 8th of May, 1 785. His virtues are celebrated in an epitaph, which intro- duces also the names of the most famous among the horses he bred. He vvas an honest man, and de- served the following, the last lines in his epitaph : — ■ " To sum up the abstract of his character, It may be truly said of him, That his frailties were few. His virtues many; That he lived Almost universally beloved; That he died Almost universally lamented. " On the 25th of March, 1799, at the Newmarket 90 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Craven Meeting, the celebrated match between Sir Harry Vane Tempest's Hambletonian, 8st. 3lbs., and Mr. Cookson's Diamond, 8st., was run over the Beacon Course — four miles, one furlong, one hundred and thirty-eight yards. The stakes were 3,000 guineas, and in addition the owners had a bye-bet of 800 guineas. Long before the decision of the match, it had been the subject of great interest among sporting men ; and Hambletonian, being a Yorkshire horse, was backed for a very large amount by the Yorkshiremen. Dennis Fitzpatrick, who rode Diamond, appeared in lilac, with a straw-coloured cap ; and Buckle, who rode Hambletonian, in Sir Harry Vane's purple and yellow. The betting was 6 to 5 in favour of the Yorkshire horse at starting, and the result justified the confidence placed by the layers of odds^ in Buckle and the favourite. The horses ran a despe- rate race over this severe course, each struggling for the lead. When they came in sight of the spectators, opinion was generally in favour of Dia- mond, as he went more easily than his opponent, and had not been whipped or spurred nearly so much. The belief that Hambletonian was ex- hausted was ill-founded : he ran with the greatest gameness ; and in this way, neck and neck, whipped and spurred, they reached the distance, and even before they came in were nose and nose. In the very last stride the favourite won by half a neck, amidst the victorious shouts of his backers, and the HAMBLETONIAN AND DIAMOND. 91 enthusiasm of all who witnessed this extraordinary- struggle between two of the best horses and two of the best jockeys of their day. The time occupied by the race was seven minutes and fifteen seconds. Sir Harry Tempest won almost as much again as the stakes in bets. The event drew together the largest concourse of people ever collected together on Newmarket Heath. Every bed in Newmarket was bespoken three weeks before the race ; and Cambridge, and every town and village within twenty miles of the head-quarters of the Turf, were thronged with visitors. Stabling it was impossible to get, and horses and grooms camped out, or slept in the vehicles that had brought their masters to the scene. Not only had the metropolis emptied itself of the sporting world for the occasion, but the followers and patrons of the Turf from all the neighbouring counties were present : the " oldest inhabitants," as they walked home from the top of the turn, declaring that the Heath had never wit- nessed such an assemblage before. London was anxious for the news, which reached town between nine and ten the same evening — a Mr. Hull, of Moorfields, who had three horses on the road, being the first to arrive. An hour later, Sir Harry Tempest, who had travelled from New- market in a post-chaise and four, arrived at the Cocoa Tree, and announced to the company assem- bled there the victory of his horse. Francis Buckle, a monarch of the saddle, who 92 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. rode Hambletonian, was born at Newmarket in 1766, the son of a saddler, to which trade the great jockey was at first apprenticed. He absconded from his master's service, declaring that nothing should induce him to follow anything but horses and the stables. He made his first appearance as a jockey on the Heath in May, 1783, on a colt of Mr. Vernon's called Wolf, and soon distinguished himself in his calling. He married for the second time, at Lichfield, in 1807, Miss Jane Thornton, the daughter of a veterinary surgeon there, by whom he had three sons. He lived for some time at Peterborough, occu- pying a farm under Earl Fitzwilliam, and he fre- quently went thence on his hackney to Newmarket, rode his trials there, and returned to Peterborough to tea at six o'clock — a distance of ninety-two miles, besides his work on the course. He had during a number of years many of the best mounts, riding for the Duke of Grafton, Earl Grosvenor, Sir Charles Bunbury, Messrs. Cookson, Wilson, Durand, Udny, and Colonel Mellish. He was always able to ride 7st. lolbs., and often 7st. 8lbs.', without even taking a walk; and to the end of his long and successful career he retained his splendid nerve and firm seat, which, with a keen ardour for the sport, always distinguished him. His last race was on Mr. Udny's Conservator, November 5th, 183 1, exactly fifty years from the beginning of his public life. He had entered Mr. Vernon's stables on the LEADING PATRONS OF THE TURF. ^3 5th of November, 1781. He died of inflammation, somewhat suddenly, on February 7th, 1832, in his sixty-fifth year, and Vas buried at Long Orton, where he had Uved for some years. " Eclipse was the horse of all horses that ran. But whate'er be our horse now. Buckle's the man. Oh! where is the match for a treasure so rare? Look round the wide 'world, and ye'U ne'er find a pair; For, train'd to the Turf, he stands quite alone, And z.pair of such Buckles was never yet known." Dennis Fitzpatrick, the rider of Diamond in the great match, was an Irishman, whose struggles and victories on the Curragh of Kildare had procured for him a call to Newmarket, where he found foemen worthier of his steel. He rode for Lords Clermont and Egremont, for the latter of whom he won the Derby, in 1805, on Cardinal Beau- fort. Mr. Orton (" Turf Annals of York and Don- caster") considers Fitzpatrick must have been at the top of the tree in his profession, to be engaged for such a momentous event as the match between Diamond and Hambletonian — "a race of such in- terest and importance that its result was anxiously looked for even in remote parts of the world." Buckle always spoke of "Denny" as a most able horseman, and considered him and "Old Chifney" as models of perfection, Dennis Fitzpatrick died at Newmarket, on the 27th of June, 1806, in the forty-second year of his age. Pn this year ( 1 799) an important alteration was made 94 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. in the rules relating to the King's Plates. The London Gazette, on March 14th, contains a notice, by order of the Master of the Horse, 'setting forth that his Majesty has been pleased to give a Plate of one hundred guineas, to be run for by horses, mares, or geldings, at Newmarket (three), Salisbury, Ips- wich, Guildford, Nottingham, Winchester, Lincoln, York, Richmond (Yorks.), Lewes, Canterbury, Lich- field, Newcastle, Bradford, Carlisle, Ascot, and 'War- wick. These Plates, which have hitherto been run for by six-year-old horses, are not to be limited to such for the future, but are to extend to the fol- lowing ages also, viz. : — St. lbs. Four-year-olds, carrying .., 10 4 Five „ „ II 6 Six „ „ ... ... ... 12 o Aged „ 12 2 This alteration in the conditions upon which the King's guineas were to be competed for gave great satisfaction to the owners of horses generally. These altered conditions were mainly brought about by critics who had already begun to bemoan the decline of the Turf, the Sam Stirrups and Dick Whips of the sporting column of the newspapers, who looked with concern on the decadent state of their " favourite summer diversion," the Turf, and lamented the golden days of the first Duke of Cum- berland, of O'Kelly, Stroud, Bertie, Wildman, and others of the old school, whom nobody now alive except the Dukes of Queensberry and Grafton, could SHORTER RACES. 95 even remember. Advice was frequently tendered as to the principles which should guide the Sovereign in encouraging the Turf, and how the present exist- ing evils should be remedied. The growing ten- dency to shorter courses — six, eight, and ten mile courses being now quite out of fashion — led to end- less jeremiads of a kind the Turfites of the present day are not unfamiliar with. Speed, it was urged, the Racing Calendar showed, was the sole deside- ratum of breeders, and nineteen horses out of twenty were only capable of carrying a feather weight. Therefore, as the object of the King and his advisers ought to be to obtain a breed of horses whose speed shall be as a medium of their service, let none but aged horses run for public money, and let them carry at least twelve stones weight. There was in fact, however, no reason for the note of the croakers. The characteristically English sport of horse-racing, long ago rooted in the affec- tions of the people, was really gradually and surely increasing its hold upon all classes. The interest felt in the great match just described, the large and distinguished assemblage regularly attending the Newmarket meetings, the races recently established at Bibury, and the vast improvements at Goodwood, sufficiently exhibited what was not improperly called the "reviving splendour of the Turf," which had suffered injury from the impoverishment of the country by six years' continuance of a war carried on at unparalleled expense, and falling with unusual 96 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. weight upon the higher classes and more opulent of the King's subjects, as well as by the loss through death of several of its noble supporters. The new racecourse at Goodwood was completed in 1801; and at the latter end of April a numerous company assembled, and a very gay time followed. Gpod- wood House was filled with guests; five or six tents were pitched, in which' luncheon was served, " every dainty in season being profusely provided, ice even hot being prohibited." In the evenings of the two race days the company patronized the theatre at Chichester and the ball at the Assembly Rooms. • The Prince of Wales sub- scribed to the races for the year following, when the meeting was to be extended to three days; and the Duke of Richmond made it known that he would build a Grand Stand, which should be in readiness for the next meeting. Attractive as the matches between horses of re- nown^such, for instance, as that between Hamble- tonian and Diamond — proved to the followers of the Turf and the sporting world generally, matches between racers were by no means the only contests of the kind in which our ancestors' passion for sport was gratified. The mail coaches were not very un- commonly matched against one another; and one of the most interesting matches of this kind took place in the second year of the present century, when the London mail, horsed by Mr. Land, of the New Lon- don, Inn, Exeter, with four fine greys, raced the Ply- LORD MARCH'S MATCH. 97 mouth mail, horsed by Mr. Phillipps with four blacks, for 500 guineas, from St. Sydwell's to Honiton. Mr. Cave Browne, of the InniskilHng Dragoons, drove the London mail coach, and Mr. Chichester the Ply- mouth team. The London coach won, Mr. Browne driving the sixteen miles in one hour and fourteen minutes. This race took place on May 20th, 1802, and attracted a very large number of sightseers. The most celebrated match upon wheels, however, was, perhaps, that decided on the 29th of August, 1750, on Newmarket Heath. A wager was" made between the Earls of March and Eglintoun, with Messrs. Theobald, Taaffe, and Andrew Sprowle, for 1,000 guineas. The conditions of the articles were, to get a carriage with four running wheels, with a man in it, to be drawn by four horses nine- teen miles in one hour. The carriage, made by Mr. Wright, of Long Acre, was of the lightest possible construction ; the harness was made of the thinnest leather, covered with silk ; the man sat on a seat of leathern straps, with velvet; the boxes of the wheels were provided with tins of oil, to drop slowly on the axle-trees for one hour. By an ingenious contriv- ance, the traces ran into boxes with springs when any of them hung back, thereby preventing the traces from getting under the horses' legs. The race was begun at seven o'clock in the morning, near the Six-mile House on Newmarket Heath. The course lay between the Warren and Rubbing- houses, through the Running Gap, where, turning to VOL, I. 7 98 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the right, the vehicle was drawn three times round a corded piece of ground of four miles in circum- ference, and then back to the starting-post. The carriage and harness all together, weighed only one and a half hundredweights. The backers of the horses won, as the match was performed in fifty- three minutes and twenty-seven seconds. At the latter end of the last century and begin- ning of the present, matches of all kinds against tim£ were very much in vogue. On the 2nd of April,' 1 80 1, Captain Newland rode a match which attracted a good deal of attention. He backed him- self for a heavy wager to ride 140 miles in eight successive hours on hackneys, most of which he got from the landlord of the Swan at Chichester. He performed the distance in seven hours and thirty- four minutes, having completed his first hundred miles in five hours and five minutes. This match is remarkable from the class of horses 'Captain New- land rode ; but the hackneys he was supplied with must have been of a good stamp, quite coming up to the poet's description of an old English saddle- horse : — " His head is like the snake, His neck is like the swan. His back is but a span, sir, His shoulders well put on, Is my fine old Enghsh hackney, boys. One of the olden times." But matches to ride against time are a very old- fashioned English institution. A match of this kind CAPTAIN BARCLA Y. 99 is recorded in Fuller's " Worthies," who states that, "in the year 1606, John Lepton, Esq., of York, for a considerable sum engaged to ride six days in suc- cession between York and London — and he won his wager: he consequently rode 107 miles a day." On the 9th of November, 1801, Captain Barclay began his walking match for ;^ 10,000. He had made a match of p/^5,000 a side with Mr. Fletcher, a North-country gentleman, and well known on the Turf as an owner of race-horses, that he would go on foot ninety miles in twenty-one and a half suc- cessive hours. He started at midnight, at Ayton a place on the road from York to Hull, and walked a mile out and a mile in, the road being well lighted with lamps. He finished his walking at twenty-two minutes four seconds past eight in the eyening, having one hour, seven minutes, fifty-six seconds to spare. Captain Barclay was a Scottish gentleman of fortune, and was, at the time of this match, twenty-two years of age, and stood five feet eleven inches in height. During the walking he fed heartily on boiled fowls and mutton steaks, and drank strong old ale. He finished his task perfectly fresh and well, saying he could very well go twenty miles farther. Thousands of people on horseback and on foot attended during his walk ; and when he had finished his match, he was loudly huzzaed, and carried on the shoulders of the people in triumph. An immense sum of money in bets depended on the issue, and the betting was always in favour of the 7—2 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Captain, slight odds being laid on him at the start ; and at the finish (when he had completed eighty- miles), 15 and 20 to I that he won his wager. Nor did matches of horsed and of pedestrians, cock-fights and prize-fights, complete the list of such sports. In 1 80 1, a bulldog named Bottom, the pro- perty of Mr. Simpson, of Kennington, was matched to fight a man. Bottom, who was already a champion of high renown, "having borne away the laurels in all the battles he had fought with dogs of his own kind, and had made the stately bull and shaggy bear humble themselves before him, was at length brought to the field to dispute it with a man." The man was stripped to the waist, and only used his fists against the dog. Bottom was muzzled, and, being rather shy when let loose, the odds were in favour of the man ; but being encouraged by his master, and grinned at by his antagonist, he made a most furious onset, in which he came off victorious by knocking down his opponent. Though the bull- dog was muzzled, he managed to slip the strap in such a way that he tore open the man's stomach, so that the entrails became visible. When the chal- lenger recovered his senses, he gave in at once, ac- knowledging the supremacy of the bulldog. Under the title of " Gentleman and the Bulldog," the fight is engraved in the old " Sporting Magazine " (vol. xviii., frontispiece). It would be ungenerous to suggest for a moment that here is to be found the original of the description pf the celebrated fight at COUNSELLOR LADE. Hanley, between the bulldog and the Dwarf, which severed the old-standing connection between a well- known journalist and the proprietors of the paper for which it had been his business to supply de- scriptive matter. The Turf lost a supporter, and the world an eccentric character, in Counsellor Lade, who died in November, 1799. Bred to the law, he abandoned the practice of his profession for the more congenial pursuits of the Turf, breeding and training a number of horses at his seat at Cannon Park, between Kingsclere and Overton, in Hampshire. Mr. Lade's attention was principally turned to endeavouring to win country Plates, as he never sent a horse to New- market until the last few years of his life. He was of the same school as Miser Elwes, and extended his saving propensities to his stables, as well as to his kitchen and pantry ; and so wretched was the con- dition of his numerous stud when, after his death, his horses were sent to be sold at Tattersall's, that they excited universal pity in the towns and villages through which they passed on their way from Hampshire to London. Lade was systematically parsimonious : he would drive his curricle and greys the fifty-seven miles between London and Cannon Park without taking them out of the harness, or giving them more than a handful of hay and a drink or two of water. He made the journey unattended, as he considered " servants on the road were more troublesome and expensive than their masters." His .102 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. best horse was Oatlands, so named after winning both classes of the Oatlands Stakes at Newmarket in 1797. About this time a fat figure of singularly important carriage was missed from the meetings at Ascot and Egham, where it had often figured in the wake of royalty. Weltje, the Prince of Wales's cook, betted no more on his master's horses, having died of apo- plexy at Chiswick, while drinking tea with his friend and countrywoman, Mrs. Mayersbach. The cook was as fond of horses as his master, and holding the appointments of chief cook, clerk of the kitchen, and purveyor to Carlton House, had the means of gratifying his tastes for laying wagers on cocks, dice, horses, and prizefighters. His pride was the cause of his fall, under the following circum- stances. His daughter having fallen in love with a good-looking young cook, one of Weltje's subor- dinates in the kitchen at Carlton House, Weltje became incensed beyond all bounds at the prospect of such a misalliance in his family. Neither the Romeo nor the Juliet being amenable to reason, Weltje, after their marriage, appealed to the Prince, who advised him, in a jocular way, to make the best of the affair. Weltje, however, urged persistently the discharge of his subordinate, threatening to bring both his daughter, and the offending swain to indigence. Finally, the Prince, who thought less of Weltje's dignity than of his own soups and entries, put an end to the squabbles that distracted the Royal MONSIEUR GROSSLEY'S TOUR. 103 kitchen by discharging his chef, and raising his son- in-law to the place thus rendered vacant. The views of an intelligent foreigner and his impressions of English institutions and maxims are always matter of interest. In the year 1800, Epsom was visited by Monsieur Grossley, a Frenchman, who afterwards published " The Tour to London ; or, New Observations upon England." It will be interesting to compare M. Grossley's description of Epsom Downs with that of M. Taine, three-quarters of a century later, printed in the ac- cpunt of Epsom in the second volume of this work. M. Grossley found cock-fighting and horse-races carried to a pitch of madness among the English by wagering great sums of money on them. At Epsom were a considerable number of the inhabitants of London and all the neighbouring gentry assembled for the occasion. " The course at Epsom," says our author, " is in the midst of Downs, intersected by three hills in parallel lines : in the vales between these hills the champions entered the list. Several of the specta- tors came in coaches, which, without the least bustle or dispute about precedency, were arranged in three or four lines in the front of these hills, and on the top of all was scaffolding for the judges who were to decree the prize. There are neither lists nor barriers at these races : the hbrses run in the midst of the crowd, who leave only a space sufficient for them to I04 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. pass through, at the same time encouraging them by loud shouts. The victor, when he has arrived at the goal, finds it a difficult matter to disengage himself from the crowd, who congratulate, caress, and em- brace him with an effusion of heart which it is not easy to form an idea of without having seen it." The deference to the victors is not confined to these transient homages. All the houses of the coun- try gentlemen, all the inns, are lined with pictures of horses. M. Grossley found the crowd so great which covered the place where the horses ran that he could only see them on the ridge of the second hill. He regretted their gaunt and meagre appearance, and the "awkward manner of stretching out their necks, depriving them of all their beauty, the principal of which in a horse is to hold its head in a graceful attitude." At least so thought this French gentle- man. Gaunt and meagre as the runners were, how- ever, he remarks that this is the breed that furnishes the English racers so highly esteemed. The horses, he tells us, are sometimes mounted at races by noble- men, who are willing to run the risk for the glory of victor}^ They are not exposed to such great peril as might be thought, being less likely to bruise themselves or dislocate a limb " than to be deprived of respiration by the velocity of the motion." M. Grossley pays a tribute not only to the excel- lence of our breed of horses, but to our great kindness to them, his observation of our habits in 1799 and 1800 leading him to the following conclusion: — THE DUKE OF BEDFORD. 105 " The English in general have a degree of friend- «^, ship and affection for horses which few men show even to their own species. They seldom or never strike them, and the long switch which coachmen and carmen carry in their hands is rather to direct by signs than by blows ; they seldom speak to them except with a gentle and affectionate tone of voice." How changed was Epsom and the habits of its drivers when M. Taine visited the Downs on Derby Day a few years ago, when the four-in-hand drag, with " swells " in dust coats, white hats, and gauze veils, had taken the place of the " buck " who- rode down from town on his neat crop-tailed "tit," dressed in his green riding frock, with plate buttons, cordovan boots, and round hat, "in true sporting taste, so that altogether I don't believe there was a better figure on the course." In 1802 the Turf lost a staunch supporter in Francis, Duke of Bedford, who died on the 2nd of March, at Woburn Abbey, at the early age of thirty- seven, universally lamented, as he had been generally beloved. This young nobleman had kept one of the best studs of race-horses in the kingdom, was an accomplished gentleman rider, and . passionately fond of the sport. On the loth of September, 1792, his Grace rode his celebrated horse Dragon against Sir John Lade on Clifden, on Newmarket Heath, and there are several other instances of his riding io6 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. in puTjHc ; and he is mentioned in the " Receipt to make a Jockey," some contemporary verses, viz. : — " Take a pestle and mortar of moderate size, Into Queensberry's head put Bunbury's eyes, Pound Clermont to dust, you'll find it expedient — The world cannot fiirnish a better ingredient — From Derby and Bedford take plenty of spirit (Successful or not, they have always that merit). Tommy Panton's address, John Wastell's advice. And a touch of Prometheus — 'tis done in a trice." Mr. Wastell was remarkable for his knowledge and judgment as a breeder; Mr. Panton was the most polite Turfite of his day; Sir Charles Bun- bury's eyes were so good that he was able to see the horses the length of 'the Beacon Course ; and the Duke of Queensberry (" Old Q.") was said to have the longest head of all his contemporaries. In August of the same year the orange and black cap of the first Earl Grosvenor made its last appear- ance on the Heath. The Earl had been a keen sportsman all his life, and his loss was much re- gretted on the Turf. He was not only one of the oldest but one of the greatest supporters of racing. He bred all his own horses, and had more animals in training than any other sportsman of his time. It was in a match between Lord Grosvenor 's colt Gimcrack and Lord Abingdon's Cardinal York that his Lordship borrowed 3,000 guineas of Mr. Elwes, in order to make his stakes. The money appears to have been willingly lent, Elwes volunteering the loan, the betting being 7 to 2 in his Lordship's EARL GROSVENOR. 107 favour; and he must have let his opponent walk over if he could not make the stakes. On leaving the course to go home, it is recorded of Elwes that he scrambled over the Devil's Dyke on the Heath to avoid paying three-halfpence at the turnpike. In 1805 the long career on the Turf of the Earl of Clermont was brought to a close by his lordship's death, at Brighton, at the good old age of eighty- four. Lord Clermont, who began to race as early as 1 751, had the good fortune to enjoy his health and faculties for some years after he had become, by the successive deaths of contemporaries who were his seniors, the Father of the Turf. He was very fond of thoroughbred horses, and, in partnership with Lord Farnham, he had a very large stud — Creeper, Trumpator, and Mark Antony being among his most famous sires. In the accounts of the Earl's life is to be found the anecdote of his driving over Bagshot Heath with the Prince of Wales, wrapped up in flannel about the head, in a manner suited to his great age and the coldness of the weather. The people whom they passed on the road appear to have mistaken the identity of the old Earl, and the Prince overheard some of them saying how very good a young man he was thus "to take his old aunt, the Princess Amelia, out for an airing," an anecdote, it is said, the Prince was very fond of telling. The death of another Statesman and sportsman has to be recorded as having taken place at about io8 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the same time as Lord Clermont's. The, Right Hon. Charles James Fox, then Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, died in September, 1806. That Fox loved the pursuit of horse-racing almost better than the fascinations of the green cloth we have previously seen; and as the confederate of the Hon. Mr., afterwards Lord, Foley, for twenty-one years, from 1772 to 1793, he was the owner of some very good animals, the list including such performers as Pyrrhus, with whom alone the partners won nearly 12,000 guineas. The author of the epigram "that the greatest pleasure in life next to winning is losing," was not the man to see his horses run without .backing them, if he thought they had a fair chance ; and the 16,000 guineas he won in 1772 by half a neck, in a match at Newmarket, is only one of the many stories told of his landing great coitps; but it must be admitted, per contra, that he quite as often lost large • sums, which were invariably paid with punctuality and perfect good temper. Of Fox's interest in a race, Mr. Whyte quotes the following passage from Mr. Walpole's "Recollections" of the great Whig minister: — "When he had a horse in a race, Mr. Fox was all eagerness and anxiety. He always placed himself where the animal was to make his final effort, or the race was to be most strongly contested. From this spot he eyed the horses advancing with a most immovable look; he breathed quicker as they accelerated their pace; and, when they came opposite to him, he rode in with them at MR. HELLISH' S SALE. . 109 full speed, whipping, spurring, and blowing as if he would have infused his whole soul into the courage, speed, and perseverance of his favourite racer. But when the race was over, whether he won or lost seemed to be a matter of perfect indifference to him, and he immediately directed his conversation to the next race, whether he had a horse to run or not." The value of the thoroughbred in Fox's time was not so much inferior to that which obtains in the present, as the following prices realized by horses sold by auction at Mr. Mellish's sale, in 1806, will show — when Streatham Lass fetched 950 guineas; and Eagle, by Volunteer, and Smuggler, by Ham- bletonian, 1,200 and 1,800 guineas respectively. Colonel Mellish, who had made a great name on the Turf in his day, died at Hodsack Priory, in 181 7, a ruined man, having run through his immense paternal property at Blythe. The year 1809 saw the last of two of the oldest among English sportsmen^men whose names are handed down to posterity in the Stud-book and the Calendar: Mr. Wentworth, who was a contemporary of Lord Clermont's, having begun to race in 1754, and Mr. Panton, one of the oldest members of the Jockey Club. These venerable gentlemen were eighty-seven and eighty-eight years of age respect- ively, at the time of their deaths. Mr. Panton had known intimately all the great Turf men of his time, and had rarely in his life been absent from an interesting or important race. Mr. Went- no HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. worth, of Towlstone Lodge, Yorkshire, had bred and owned many of the best horses of the day: the list of names in his stud from 1747, when he first began to breed, to 1806, fifty-nine years, headed by Little David, by Foxcub, and ending with Amethyst, has not often been surpassed in merit by the sires and racers of any other breeder. CAPTAIN BARCLA Y. CHAPTER VI. CAPTAIN Barclay's match — bets and the jockey CLUB — DANIEL DAWSON STATE OF THE TURF AFTER WATERLOO — SIR CHARLES BUNBURY — THE DUKE OF YORK — "CARDINAL PUFF " THE WHIP — HOLDERS OF THE WHIP — BUCKLE's WHIP. CAPTAIN BARCLAY'S walking match for ;^ 1 0,000, mentioned in the last chapter, was fpUowed, " some eight years later, by the famous match in which he accomplished the feat of walking a thousand miles in a thousand successive hours. This exploit, which may be regarded as the original and progenitor of the many similar efforts which have followed since Captain Barclay's time, took place' on Newmarket Heath from June ist to July 1 2th, 1809. Although universally known in the sporting world by his assumed surname of Barclay, the athlete's real name was Robert Barclay Allar- dice; and at the time of this then unrivalled perform- ance he was about thirty years of age, stood five feet ten and three-quarter inches in height in his stock- ing feet, and weighed I2st. i3lbs. Captain Barclay had the ground rolled for his match, and the grass cut as short as possible, so that on the short sward on which he walked he might have seen a sixpence HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. roll a hundred yards before him. During this feat of endurance, Captain Barclay breakfasted at five on beef or mutton, cold, with a cup of tea or coffee and half a pint of strong ale; for luncheon, at twelve, he took some roast or boiled beef and a pint of ale ; and for dinner, at six, roast beef or mutton, two glasses of good old port, and a pint of ale ; and at eleven he supped on broiled or roast meat, drinking strong ale with it. During his laps, when thirsty, he drank freely of Madeira and water. Mr. Tattersall, son of "Old Tattersall," the founder of the house, who had followed in his father's foot- steps, and carried on the business at "the Corner" to the satisfaction of all with whom he had dealings, died January 23rd, 1810. He left the business to Mr. R. Tattersall and his other sons, who succeeded him in it. It was not always the practice of the Jockey Club to dechne to make any interference in the matter of disputed bets; on the other hand, the contrary practice prevailed. The regulation of the Jockey Club was as follows, and under these con- ditions alone would the Stewards give their opinion in disputed cases: — The matter in dispute must relate to horse-racing. The parties must agree upon a statement of the case in writing, request the opinion of the Stewards of the Jockey Club thereon, and agree to abide by their decision; and such DECISION OF BETS. 113 Statement and submission must be signed by the parties. If such a dispute occurred elsewhere than at Newmarket, the reference to the Jockey Club must come through or with the sanction of the Stewards of the races where the dispute happened. Except in cases arising at Newmarket, the Club refused to give any opinion, whether upon bets or other matters, such as complaints of foul riding, unless the facts were absolutely undisputed, wisely thinking that disputes about facts could be most effectually investigated on the spot, whilst the matter was fresh in the memories of witnesses, when their attendance was easily procured, and their cre- dibility best tested. The following is an instance of the Stewards of the Jockey Club deciding a bet : — For Thursday in the Ascot Week in 1815 the lists of the day announced four races — namely, the Ten Guineas Stakes, the Gold Cup, the Windsor Forest Stakes, and a Plate. One man betted another that he would not be able to name the four winners. The case was stated, and Messrs. . R. Neville and J. Payne, the Stewards of the Club, decided it: "We determine that the first race, having been void according to the article at the time the bet was made, is to be considered as no event, and the bettor must pay the whole bet." But the modern practice of the Jockey Club, of referring all betting disputes to the Com- mittee of Tattersall's, has much to recommend it, and is certainly a wise regulation. VOL. I. 8 114 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. In the autumn of 1810, the mysterious and sudden deaths of several horses at Newmarket caused a painful excitement in the town, and led to suspicion being cast upon several persons connected with the stable where they were trained. At length the in- quiries that were instituted led to the arrest of one Daniel Dawson, a professional horse-watcher, and Cecil Bishop, whose calling does not appear. Daw- son was employed by several persons betting in the Ring to supply them with information of the doings of horses trained at Newmarket ; but there was no insinuation that any of them had actively instigated the crime committed by Dawson and his accomplice in guilt. As, however, the most probable apparent motive Dawson could have had must have been to get money for the non-success of a favourite put out of the race by the means he adopted, it seems almost a necessity to the systematic perpetration of such courses that he should have had other accomplices than Bishop, whom he employed to administer the poison, . .' ' . The trial' of the criminals took place in May, 181 1, at the Cambridge Assizes, when counsel for the pro- secution, put Cecil Bishop into the witness-box, he having turned King's evidence. The horse for killing which they were actually indicted was the Eagle colt, the property of Sir F. Standish, at New- market; but Bishop, when in the witness-box, ap- pears to have made a clean breast of it, and told the whole story of their atrQcious poisonings, beginning DANIEL DA WSON. 1 1 5 in the year 1808. As to the death by poison of the Eagle colt, Bishop said that, at the instigation of Dawson, he had gone to Newmarket for the purr pose, and had taken a fitting occasion to introduce a solution of arsenic into the locked drinking- tfoughs at Mr. Prince's training stables by means of a crooked syringe, which he carried for the purpose. He stood concealed at a distance, and watched the horses till he had seen them drink, when he rushed off to Dawson with the tidings, in order that Dawson might communicate with the other conspirators of the betting-ring. By a technical objection, Dawson was acquitted •on this charge by the direction of the judge — though his guilt was fully proved — for in the eye of the law he was not a principal. This acquittal, however, did not serve him to any material extent, as he was at once arrested on another charge of having poisoned two brood mares and a hack, in the years 1809-10, and the judge refusing to take bail, he was kept in Cambridge Gaol till the next assizes, when he was convicted, and sentence of death passed according to law. Dawson, who was a profound hypocrite, was known very widely at Newmarket as an honest, jovial boon companion, and good servant, and up . to his arrest much liked. On this account, several noblemen endeavoured to procure a remission of the capital sentence, but without effect. lie had behaved with gross levity at the trial. On 8—2 ii6 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. his way to the scaffold, seeing a number of old friends, he said, "Good-bye, my Newmarket lads, you see I can't shake hands with you." On March 28th, - 1818, Hambletonian died, in the twenty-seventh year of his age. He had been famous on the Turf in his day, and was fairly suc- cessful at the stud, having got Norval, Camillus, Joan of Arc, and many other winners, one of which won the Riddlesworth Stakes at Newmarket, the value of which stake in the year in which Hamble- tonian died was 4,500 guineas. The long peace that began after the Battle of Waterloo was advantageous to the interests of the Turf, and more persons than ever before became interested in the pursuit of horse-racing, either as owners, more or less frequent layers and takers of the odds, or attendants at race meetings. Tatter- sail's presented a busy scene : Dandies, Exquisites, and Ruffians met there as at a club, whose ranks were swelled with the numbers of men connected with the Services, who naturally took to sport when war was no more the order of the day. A contem- porary description of the scene at the Corner says that a masquerade could scarcely exhibit more motley groups than the frequenters of this fashion- able resort. The company to be seen on any sale day comprised peers, baronets, members of Par- liament, Turf gentlemen and Turf servants, jockeys, grooms, horse-dealers, gamblers, and touts. Repre- TA TTERS ALL'S IN 1816. 1 17 sentatives of the bluest blood in England stood on the pitching, wearing long-caped coats of many- buttons, that might well have helped them to pass for coachmen ; or in the hot weather wearing tight cord breeches and top-boots, that made them look like the whippers-in to their own hounds. Master and man met there to consult on the all- important questions of the purchase and sale of their horses. Noblemen and gentlemen made the Corner a rendezvous for meeting jockeys and trainers whose advice they were desirous to obtain on the chances of a race or a match. The assemblage was increased by the attendance of the smart young farmer, or flashy tradesman in new boots, aping the gentleman, and by the presence of idlers, loungers, and gentlemen who had nothing to busy themselves with but attending sales without purchasing, races with- out betting, and the Park without knowing or being known to anybody. Here were to be seen Members of Parliament talking over last night's debates, there dandies chatting gaily of their amours; the "ruffians" canvassed the merits of Smolensko, and the "ex- quisites" those of Lady Mary or Miss Lydia. A dozen dragoons and Lifeguardsmen, dressed half en bourgeois half a la militaire, were elbowed by the gambler from St. James's-street and the buck clergy- man from the shires ; wriggling about in the throng was a due leaven of pickpockets and other light- fingered gentry ; while above all the din and bustle was heard the voice- of Mr. Tattersall, and ever and ii8 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. again the sharp knock on the desk of this great Knight of the Hammer. Never, however, was the Corner a scene of more angry excitement than after the St. Leger Stakes of 1819, when the bets came to be settled for that twice-run race. The beginning of the events which have made the St. Leger of this year memorable was the breaking-down of Mr. Crockford's Sultan, the first favourite. Sultan broke down on the race- course while taking his gallop, and was with diffi- culty got into Mr. Maw's stables at Belle Vue, adjoining the Town Moor. The scene produced by this untimely accident was astonishing. There were no friendly wires to flash the news all over England ' in a few minutes, and the "early birds" who had been lucky enough to witness the disaster hastened off the course at the top of their speed, back to Doncaster, to hedge their bets if possible ; while others, as soon as the news was known, drove off to Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham, and other towns, in chaises, in order to arrive there before the news of the accident, and get as much as possible out of their information. There were fifty subscribers to the St. Leger in that year, and the result was— Colonel Cradock's Sir Walter, first ; Mr. Peirse's b. c. by Walton, second ; and Lord Eglinton's Archibald, third. A large por- tion of the field took part in the first race, when Antonio came in first ; but as Sir Walter, Agricola, Bronti, Wild Boy, and Harmodius did not get off. ANTONIO'S ST. LEGER. 119 and so took no part in the race, the Stewards thought proper to declare it a false race, and it was accord- ingly run a secl)nd time. Curiously enough, Mr. Peirse's colt and Archibald were also second and third to Antonio. It was a good race both times, but Antonio beat his horses more easily than Sir Walter. Mr. Ferguson, the owner of Antonio, de- clined to start him a second time, on the score of the starter being ready to make an affidavit of the start for the race in which Antonio came in first being a fair one. The affair ended in a series of disputes, many of the losers crying their bets off on both races. The British Statesman, in its report of the occur- rence, said : — " This day has presented a scene of confusion unprecedented in the records of the Turf." With a view to quelling the disturbance, the follow- ing notice was posted : — " It has been determined by the Stewards and the gentlemen of the Don- caster Racing Club that a reference shall be made to the Jockey Club to decide whether the race shall be given to Antonio ; and if not, whether the second heat shall be deemed a race, the horses not having been started by any person deputed for the pur- pose." After the first race, Mr. Lockwood, the starter, had flung down his flag in disgust, and sided with the owner of Antonio, who in the end got the Stakes; for on October 5th the Stewards of the Jockey Club awarded the race to Antonio, on the evidence of the starter and judge, and decided that 120 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the second race ought not to have been allowed by the Stewards. Mr. Ferguson, the owner of Antonio, was a sub- stantial innkeeper at Catterick Bridge. He re- ceived the Stakes in due course, and sold his St. Leger winner for i,ooo guineas to Mr. Clifton. The respectable "legs" and bettors paid over the race, in conformity with the decision of the Jockey Club ; and there was a general understanding that nobody should bet again with such as chose to take advantage of the dispute because their losses inclined them to do so. But the troubles arising from the dispute did riot end here. Messrs. Watt and Lamb- ton summarily dismissed their trainers; some other gentlernen took back their caps and jackets from jockeys who had been years in their service ; and it was even proposed to make it a law of racing that there should never be more than one start for a race. By the death of Sir Charles Bunbury, on the 31st of March, 1 82 1 , at the ripe age of eighty-one, the Turf lost one of its oldest and most constant supporters. Sir Charles had been passionately fond of horses from his earliest youth, and under the tuition of his friend, Mr. Crofts, a Norfolk breeder of thorough- breds, who owned at that time one of the most famous horses of the day — Brilliant, by Old Crab — he rapidly became proficient in the arts of Turf pursuits; and as early as 1765 he had a considerable SIR CHARLES BUNBURY. 12 1 String of horses in training. Sir Charles's first horse of note was Bellario, who appears to have been a good animal ; but as he had the misfortune to be a contemporary with a horse of unapproachable excellence, he was hardly a respectable second ; for he had to meet the " terrible, . matchless, super- equine Eclipse, who, to use an old Newmarket phrase, never failed in a single instance to give them all their gruel, and the need of a spy-glass to see which way he went, and how far he was off." Apropos of Eclipse, it may be mentioned that in this year his skeleton, in a case, was offered for sale publicly, the price asked being 1,000 guineais. It does not appear, however, that a purchaser was forthcoming. But Sir Charles, though he had plenty of oppor- tunities of seeing the vast superiority of Colonel O'Kelly's horse, affected never to be convinced of it. Bellario was not more successful at the stud than he was on the Turf. Nor was Diomed, Sir Charles's winner of the first Derby, more lucky — the best of his progeny being Young Giantess, from whom Sir Charles bred his famous mare Eleanor, by Whiskey. The worthy old baronet, although he had many peculiar humours and eccentric traits in his charac- ter, was the kindest and most tender-hearted of men. He was respected by the public, and enjoyed for many years the especial friendship of the Duke of York. He gave a long life to the sport he loved ; but of all his achievements, not his least claim to HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. posthumous fame is that he owned the winner of the first Derby. The Duke of York, although by no means so fond of racing as his elder brother, was an owner of race- horses as early as the year 1 800, though he had only a couple in training at that time. A few years later, he began afresh at Newmarket, and soon possessed some good horses. He was the patron of the old Bibury Club, where only gentlemen riders were allowed, regularly taking up his residence for the week at the seat of Lord Sherborne, near the course, where he met his old friend Sir Charles Bunbury,. Mr. Mellish, the Duke of Grafton, and other leading followers of the sport. At the meetings of the Bibury Club, mounted on his roan hack, he would, with the greatest good humour, mix among the company .assembled. The Duke was lucky in win- ning the Derby, when Mr. Mellish, with three times the number of horses in training, always missed it. During the second lustrum of the present century the fortunes of Newmarket were brilliant indeed, and except at the time when the Duke of Bedford, Charles James Fox, Earl Grosvenor, and the Duke of Ancaster were in the zenith of their glory, they probably never were more so. In 1806, Mr. Mellish was at his best, with Sancho and a long string of twenty-two other horses in training there; the Prince Regent had ten in training, including Orville, Haphazard, and Selim ; the Duke of Grafton had a like number, amongst which were Parasol and Pe- THE DUKE OF YORK. 123 lisse ; Lords Grosvenor and Foley had large studs, as also had Lords Darlington and Egremont, and Messrs. Ladbroke, Arthur, and Howorth. Most of these noblemen and gentlemen had houses at the head-quarters of the Turf, giving great support to the tradespeople of the town; while things were so good in the Ring that the word of more than one betting-man of the day was good for half a million of money, while Lord Grosvenor was never known to open his mouth in the Ring " under five hundred guineas." Up to 182 1, with the exception of Sir H. Wil- liamson (who won the race once), none of the great North-country breeders had won the Derby. Lord Foley had won it once, and run second for the Oaks once. Lord Grosvenor, who had been the greatest breeder of thoroughbred horses, of his time, and whose debit account of his racing establishment he admitted to have exceeded ^200,000, won the Derby three times and the Oaks five times, three years being in succession with his famous' Herod blood. The King had won it once, in 1788, with Sir Thomas, and the Duke of York had won it twice. His Royal Highness's first trainer was Thomas Smith, and afterwards he employed Bird, Cooper, and Butler to manage his stud, all of whom came from Lord Egremont's stables. His favourite jockeys were W. Wheatley, S. Chifney, Goodison, and S. Day ; and, for many years, Mr. W. Lake, brother of Lord Lake, who grew old in his master's 124 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. service, had the direction of his training establish- ment. His paddocks, which were extensive, how- ever, produced little profitable stock; and his pre- judices increasing with his years, he continued to breed from worn-out or second-class stallions. At Newmarket the Duke lived in what remained of the old Palace, having Mr. Greville for his neighbour. In "Post and Paddock" (pp. 123, 124), Mr. Dixon remarks, writing of the Duke: — "The quaint old toast, 'I drink to Cardinal Puff,' may be said to have died with him ; and perhaps there is hardly a man alive who would know how to propose it with all its intricate but graceful honours." It seemed difficult to discover at the present day what these " intricate but graceful honours " were, , as the foregoing sentence is quoted in " Notes and Queries" (1863, Third Series, vol. iii., p. 151), to which the following query is appended : — " What is meant by, ' I drink to Cardinal Puff' ? The sentence was written of the Duke of York." Among the numerous and learned readers of that publication, no one seems to have been able to answer the inquiry, as no answer appears. In the old "Sporting Magazine," however (1825, vol. Ixv., p. 79), may be found the following letter to the editor from " Bibuliculus": — "The cere- monious and catch toast, 'Cardinal Puff,' so cus- tomary of late at the higher tables — is it a novelty, or merely an old joke revived ? After much inquiry among our dinner men, I have not been able hitherto to ascertain this, and would be thankful to CARDINAL PUFF. 125 any reader of the Magazine for the needful informa- tion. My only reason for supposing the toast an old one is the recollection that, many years ago, Lord Abingdon had a horse named Cardinal Puff (by Marsk), and the probability that his Lordship so named his horse from the toast. To those who have not heard the toast, it is necessary to state that certain ceremonious observances are required in the person who gives it, for the omission or wrong expression of which he is fined a bumper. I have heard it drunk but once, and cannot recollect all the' forms and expressions of it ; but the commencement is. something like the following : — ' I drink Cardinal Puflt' — Cardinal Puff repeated with a flourish of the glass, which descends, and is then elevated, with a number of forms and manoeuvres which I am unable to describe. A friend of mine, who has had the honour to dine with the Duke of York, assures me that his Royal Highness gives this toast in all its forms with greater accuracy than any other bon vivant in England. Now, as the Royal Duke is known to be a reader of the ' Sporting Magazine,' and will no doubt see this article, I request, with all humihty, that his Highness will commission some of his guests to present us with the toast in all its accu- racy of form and circumstance. And his petitioner shall ever pray, etc." It does not appear that the Duke, if he saw this " humble appeal," ever suggested the communication pf the mysteries of th^ toast he could give so well. 126 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. It is certain, from other evidence to be found on the subject, that the words were few, as in Caleb Plummer's famous song of "We'll drown it in a bowl, myboys;" and that the Duke's art consisted in giving the peculiar turns and twists to the glass he held in his hand when proposing his historic toast of " Cardinal Puff." A gentleman, who has been a great traveller in his day, and who. preserves many of the traditions of the old school of bon vivants, furnishes the following account of the manner in which the Duke of York — and all who gave the toast in proper form — turned and twisted their glasses in honouring Cardinal Puff. " The proposer is supposed to be sitting at a table with a glass— with something in it, bien entendu — be- fore him. He lifts the glass with his thumb and one finger — i.e., the index finger of the right hand — say- ing, 'I drink to the health of Cardinal Puff;' taking one sip of liquor, he puts the glass back on the table, rapping the table once with the bottom of the glass. He then wipes his right moustache, or the place where it should be, with his right forerfinger once, repeating the same action once on his left moustache with his \di\. fore-finger ; he taps the table oncey^\\}s\ right fore-finger, and once with left fore-finger; and, finally, he taps the ground once with the right foot and once with the left. The whole exercise is then to be gone through again, every action being doubled that I have indicated by italics; and, lastly, a third THE WHIP. 127 time, trebling everything in the same way. The fun of the thing is, that, before trying it, everybody thinks the thing perfectly easy; but the most atten- tive beginner always breaks down, either by leavings some action out, or by not performing it the re- quisite number of times. I have introduced the Cardinal into all kinds of company, from a piess of Russian officers on the banks of Medea's Phasis, to an inn-room full of bagmen on the shores of the Atlantic, and have always found him heartily welcomed." * The Whip, a valued prize less than half a century ago, and occasionally challenged for, was not a very splendid trophy. Of most ancient appearance, the heavy handle is of silver, with a ring at the end of it for a wrist-band, made from the tail of Eclipse ; the upper part like that of all other whips, except the lash, which is made from the mane of Eclipse. In 1822 it was held by Mr. E. L. Charlton, of Lud- ford Park, and was reported to be the identical whip which Charles the Second was in the habit of riding with, and presented by him to the nobleman whose arms it bears, he being at the time the owner of the best horse in England. George the Fourth, when Prince Regent, challenged for and won it in 1787, with Auriel; and the Whip remained in his possession until the autumn of 1822, when Mr. Charlton challenged for it and won it with his horse Master Henry. Assuming the wrist-band and lash 128 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. of this famous Whip to have been made of the hair from the mane and tail of Eclipse, they must have been added when the whip was more than a century old, if it was really the riding-whip of Charles the Second, as Eclipse was not foaled till after the death of George the Second. It is in the style of an old- fashioned postillion's whip, very straight and very heavy — such a one as might have been used by the rider of the off-wheeler, in days when it was not unusual to take the four long-tailed blacks from the plough to pull my Lady through deep ruts and heavy roads to church. There is an Earl's coronet in silver at the butt. Mr. Charlton did not hold it long, as Lord Foley challenged for it with his horse Sultan ; and, Mr. Charlton declining the challenge. Lord Foley re- ceived the "ancient trophy." The arms on the butt of the Whip are said, with a great degree of probability, to be those of the Master of the Horse to Charles the Second, to whom we are largely indebted for our race of run- ning horses. The intrinsic value of the Whip is very small, but the necessity of staking 200 guineas, to be run for over the Beacon Course, by a horse carrying ten stone, and challenging the holder in order to obtain it, made it a coveted prize. The first winner of the Whip was Dimple, but the parti- culars of his race are not recorded in the Calendar. The following short account of the challenges for this ancient trophy is of interest : — HOLDERS OF THE WHIP. 129 In April, 1756, Mr. Fenwick's b. h. Match' em, by Cade, dam by Partner, ridden by John Singleton, beat Mr. Bowles's b. h. Trajan, by Regulus out of ■ a daught-er of the Devonshire Blacklegs. At the Turn of the Lands, the betting was 100 to i on Match'em and Singleton. In April, 1764, the Duke of Cumberland's b. h. Dumpling, by Cade, out of Cypron (the dam of King Herod), by Blaze (a son of Flying Childers), aged, beat Lord Grosvenor's ch. h. Pangloss, by Cade, dam by Bartlett's Childers. On April 7th, 1768, Lord Rockingham's b. h. Malton, by Sampson, dam by Cade, beat Lord Grosvenor's gr. h. Cardinal Puff, by Babraham, dam by Snip. April 19th, 1770. — Lord Grosvenor's Gimcrack, by Cripple, beat Lord Rockingham's Pilgrim, by Sampson. April 20th, 1775. — Lord Grosvenor's Sweet Wil- liam, by Syphon, beat Lord Abingdon's Transit, by Marsk. October 2nd, 1777. — Mr. Pigott's Shark, by Marsk, received 100 guineas compromise from Lord Grosvenor's Mambrino, by Engineer, and Lord Grosvenor retained the Whip. May 14th, 1778.— Mr. Pigott's br. h. Shark beat Lord Ossory's Dorimant. 1 781, Second Spring Meeting. — Lord Grosvenor challenged for the Whip, and named his ch. h, Potoooooooo, by Eclipse. Nobody accepting the challenge, the Whip was delivered to his Lordship, VOL. I. 9 i3o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. 1 783, Second Spring Meeting. — Lord Grosvenor's ch. h. Potoooooooo, by Eclipse, beat Sir John Lade's br. h. Nottingham. Oct. i6th, 1783. — Mr. Parker's Anvil, by Herod,' beat Lord Foley's Guildford, by Herod. Oct. 19th, 1786. — Mr. O'Kelly's Dungannon, by Eclipse, beat Mr. Wyndham's Drone, the Prince of Wales's Anvil paying forfeit. Oct. 17th, 1792. — The Duke of Bedford's Dragon beat Mr. Wilson's Creeper and Lord Clermont's Pipeator. May 22nd, 1794. — Mr. Wharton's Coriander, by Potoooooooo, aged, beat Mr. Wilson's Creeper. 1795, Second Spring Meeting. — The Whip was challenged for at this meeting by Lord Darlington, who named his b. h. St. George, by Highflyer, out of a sister to Soldier ; but the challenge was not accepted, and the Whip was handed over to the custody of his Lordship. i795> Second October Meeting. — Lord Sackville challeriged, with Kitt Carr, by Tandem. Challenge declined, and the Whip handed over. 1808, Second Spring Meeting. — Lord Grosvenor challenged, and named his mare Violante, by John Bull. Not accepted. 1815, Second Spring Meeting. — The Hon. George Watson's challenge, with his horse Pericles, by Evan- der, was not acceptied, and he became the possessor of the Whip. 1822, Second October Meeting. — In the same way BUCKLES WHIP. 131 Mr. Lechmere Charlton, who named his horse Master Henry, by Orville, became possessor of the trophy. 1823, Second Spring Meeting. — Lord Foley, with Sultan, by Selim, received the Whip and ;^6oo for- feit, without a race, from Master Henry. 1827, Second Spring Meeting.— The Whip was handed to Lord Anson without a race. 1828. — Colonel Wilson and Lamplighter received it. 1829, Second October Meeting. — Mr. Gully's b. h. Mameluke, by Partisan, five years old, beat Colonel Wilson's Lamplighter, and Mr. Gully became pos- sessed of the Whip. The Germans, who by this time had done much, not only for the improvement of their hunter and cavalry stock, but had also endeavoured to foster and encourage the sport of horse-racing in Prussia and other parts of Germany, became desirous of having among the prizes of their Turf a Challenge Whip, in imitation of our own. Mr. Tattersall, who visited Germany on his business, accordingly under- took to provide for the want, and took one with him as a most acceptable present to the German sports- men. It is thus described in Nimrod's " German Tour": — " It was the whip of the very, very cele- brated English jockey, Mr. Buckle, and had the honour of being instrumental — at least it might have been so if wanting — in winning very large sums of money. The Governor's letter (Buckle was fami- liarly called by the title of Governor by his friends at 9—2 132 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Newmarket), which accompanied this trophy, was well worthy of perusal. After recapitulating the under-mentioned races, he concludes with these words, ' and most of the good things at Newmarket.' Of course the Whip is to be challenged for at the different meetings, and is at present in the possession of Count Hahn." On the handle of Buckle's whip, which was covered with silver for the purpose, was the following list of races he had won with it in his hand: — Derby. 1792. Earl Grosvenor's John Bull. 1794. Earl Grosvenor's Daedalus. 1 796. Sir Frank Standish's, Didelot. 1802. Duke of Grafton's Tyrant. 181 1. Sir John Shelley's Phantom. Oaks. 1797. Earl Grosvenor's Nike. 1798. Mr. Durand's Bellissima. 1799. Earl Grosvenor's Bellina. 1802. Mr. Westall's Scrotina. 1805. Earl Grosvenor's Meteora. 1 8 18. Colonel Udny's Corinne. 1823. Duke of Grafton's Zinc. St. Leger. 1800. Mr. Christopher Wilson's Champion. 1804. Colonel Mellish's Sancho. A very pretty share of the great races to have fallen to the lot even of 9. Francis Buqkle, THE CURRAGH WHIP. 133 George the Fourth, when he visited Ireland in 182 1, presented the Turf Club with a costly gold whip, to be run for at the Curragh at each October Meeting; and to this gift he added annually 100 guineas from his privy purse during his life, and his successor continued the stake, the Duke of Leeds writing to Mr. Robert Browne, Ranger of the Cur- ragh, " that his Majesty has been graciously pleased to signify his intention of continuing the annual gift of a Whip, to which will be added the sum of 100 guineas, to be run for at the Curragh in the same manner as during his late Majesty's reign." 134 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. CHAPTER VII. TURF IN 1825 — HON. CHARLES WYNDHAM — JOCKEY CLUB CUP — JAMES HIRST — GEORGE THE FOURTH — BLACKLOCK — WILLIAM FLINT — EXTRAORDINARY MATCHES — MR. OSBALDESTON. ALTHOUGH the period from 1820 to 1825 was one of more than average Turf prosperity, and in 1824 it had been proposed to add a fourth day's racing to the Epsom programme, there were not wanting those who complained loudly of the declension of the Turf. The north, it was admitted, was still true to its love, but in the southern and western parts of E;igland, it was asserted, the taste for racing was on the decline, and Newmarket, " the very heart and headquarters of racing, woefully fallen off from what it once was." Pavilion and Sancho had galloped their last on the Heath, and what horses should fill their place ? The introduction of Produce Stakes at Newmarket, short races, and the trial practices of trainers and jockeys were given as the reasons for the decline in the popularity of the Turf Trainers were arraigned for having horses of their own in training, keeping the best for them- selves to carry off the winnings from their em- ployers. While the practice of training, it was TH& TURF IN J825. I3S alleged, remained pretty much the same, the prac- tice of racing had changed, and was still rapidly changing for the worse. A trainer of the olden time showed his horses to his employer, cap in hand, listened to his orders, and obeyed them. The new race of trainers showed their masters their horses, with hat on head, and in reply to an order to send a horse here or there, pointed out the futility of doing so, as they had a horse of their own going there, which was sure to win. , Long arguments were entered upon both for and against, but chiefly against, the modern practice of two-year-old racing; and this was stated to be a fertile cause of the decline of the English thorough- bred. Horses overstrained in their earlier years, by having to carry heavy weights and run dis- tances neither of which were adapted to their tender frames, became useless at five, six, and aged. But it was impossible to keep a colt back till, after he was four years old, as all the principal stakes at Newmarket were confined to horses under that age. There were plenty of tirades against the fashionable short races ; and comparisons were freely made between the horses then on the Turf with their ancestors, much to the advantage of the latter. Mr. Framptpn's Dragon, and the story attached to his last performance, pointed a moral and adorned a tale. The exploits of Childers, the general challenge to the kingdom, of the Duke of Rutland's Bonny Black at six years old, Partner, 136 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Lath the first son of the Godolphin Arabian, Cade his brother, Regulus, Sampson, and Match'em — to say nothing of Eclipse, Pyrrhus, Highflyer, and Hambletonian — were pressed into the service; and the Cambridgeshire and Suffolk squires and yeomen were almost brought to believe they had seen the best days ot the Turf, that the Heath would soon be stripped of its strings of sheeted thoroughbreds, and the town "sell sausages for a living." This, however, was not the case: matters were not really so bad as they were represented to be, and the parable was speedily taken out of the mouths of the croakers. Though the cry at New- market for several seasons past had been that there was "so little money stirring," and the town was said to be ruined by "the desertion of the gentle- men," the spring of 1825 saw the Duke of Portland, one of the best friends of the Turf, judiciously ex- pending a large sum of money upon the improve- ment of the permanent pasture, both on the racing and exercise grounds. A still greater improvement made to the Heath on the part of his Grace was the paring, turning, and breaking-up a part of the Heath intersected by roads many hundreds of years old, and, in consequence of the ■ unevenness of its surface, of no use whatever for the purposes of an exercise ground. The renewal of a flourishing era of the Turf at headquarters was further fore- shadowed by the repair and improvement of the poor, old mutilated palace in the town, which now THE TURF IN 1825. 137 underwent considerable alteration. Among other things, a wall in the front of the Palace, part built of brick by Charles, and another part by Anne of brick and stones, was finished by George the Fourth with flints; and the wretched screen or di- vision in the front court, formed of hurdles stuffed with straw, and secured with haybands, was re- moved, and a handsome palisade set up in its place. Still, there was cause for regret that losses, though not at horse-racing, had caused Lord Stamford, who, in the zenith of his career, alone seemed able to stem the torrent of Sir Thomas Stanley's success at Chester, to quit the Turf; and that similar causes had led to the retirement of Lord Stradbroke, and the sale of his stud. The retirement of these noble- men from the active pursuit of the Turf, however, almost entirely affected Newmarket and the South- ern Meetings. In the North all was well, and there at least there was no lamentation over the deca- dence of the Turf. At Doncaster the racing was all that the most ardent lover of the sport could wish. The Knavesmire, at York, played a most respectable second to the lead of the Town Moor at Doncaster; Chester and Manchester annually drew vast crowds of spectators to the races, and showed excellent sport; while Newton and Wolver- hampton were making good progress. Leeds made a capital start, the promise of which it was unable in after-years to maintain. In Shropshire and the Principality the only complaint was that there were 138 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. too few horses to run for the prizes offered, and the Welshmen were described as "racing mad." It will therefore be seen that, while Newmarket,, perhaps, had some cause for outcry at the state of affairs, any falling-off in the popularity of the Turf, and in the number of its aristocratic supporters, was felt only at headquarters of the sport. Hazard and Macao, in St. James's-street, often did more in a single night to impoverish the exchequer and cripple the resources of the patrons of the Turf than a whole year of betting on the Heath; and if the younger men could only be trusted to "keep their elbows quiet at night" they might safely be left to take care of themselves by day. On July 7th, 1828, the Hon. Charies Wyndham, brother of the Earl of Egremont (whose munificence and public spirit were the common topic of admira- tion), died at his house at Newmarket, in his sixty- eighth year. In Mr. Wyndham the Turf lost a good supporter; he was successful both as breeder and owner, and was celebrated as a gentleman jockey, and his ardent devotion to Turf pursuits only ended with his life. It was mainly through the assistance of Mr. Wyndham, a year or two before his death, that the Duke of Portland was mduced to. try his right at ,law to warn persons off the, Heath as tres- passers. A Mr. Hawkins had a grievance against the Jockey Club for what he considered ail unjust decision in the case of a disputed; bet between himself and a Mr. Ellis. In consequence of this HA WKINS'S CASE. 139 feeling there was considerable ill-temper displayed on the part of Mr. Hawkins, and he thought proper to use some very rude language to Lord Wharncliffe on the subject of the Jockey Club decision of his case. Upon this, Lord Wharncliffe complained to the Duke of Portland that such expressions as Mr. Hawkins had made use of should be allowed to go unpunished. Mr. Wyndham was consulted, and it was determined to warn Mr. Hawkins off the Heath. This was done; but Mr. Hawkins persisted in at- tending the meetings, whereupon an action for tres- pass was brought at the Cambridge Assizes. It was proved by a large number of witnesses that the course had belonged to the Jockey Club since 1753, and the jury, being satisfied of the trespass com- mitted, gave a verdict for the Duke of Portland, with damages against the defendant of one shilling. This is the precedent which establishes the right of the Jockey Club to warn trespassers or objectionable persons off the Heath at Newma,rket. In October, 1828, the autumn races at Epsom were revived with great ^clai, and under the happiest auspices — Mr. Maberly being successful in bringing a number of good horses to the post^ and attracting a very large company from town. " Epsom," as the report says, "from its contiguity to the metropolis, invariably draws thousands in every grade of life to gaze at the living picture exhibited on the healthful Downs." At the Second Spring Meeting at Newmarket, in 140 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. 1830, Mr. Delme Radcliffe challenged for the Jockey Club Gold Cup, with his b. h. Zingaree, by Tramp, out of Folly, by Young Drone, five years old, 8st. Bibs.; and Sir Mark Wood likewise sent in a challenge for this ancient Turf trophy, naming as his champion hisb.f. Lucetta, by Hedley, four years, 7st. gibs., to be run for at Newmarket, in October, agreeably to the conditions. There had been no challenge for this prize since 1774, a period of fifty-six years. The Jockey Club Cup had its origin in this way: At the first October Meeting at Newmarket, in 1768, the then Duke of Grafton entertained a large party of noble- men and gentlemen — most of whom were members of the Jockey Club — at Euston Hall. After dinner, the conversation turned upon the advisability of establishing some standard Challenge Cup, which it would be an honour for the successive winners to hold until the better horse of some luckier man could take it from them. Whereupon the whole party — which consisted of the Dukes of Ancaster, Bridgewater, Grafton, Kingston, and Northumber- land, Lords Barrymore, Bolingbroke, Grosvenor, Molyneux, Ossory, and Rockingham; Sir Charles Bunbury, Sir L. Dundas, and Sir John Moore; Colonel Parker, and Messrs. Blake, Fenwick, March, Meynell, Ogilvy, Panton, Pigot, Pratt, Shafto, Staple- ton, Vernon, and Wentworth, consented to sub- scribe, appointing Sir Charles Bunbury treasurer. A very handsome cup was purchased, and the con- ditions of the race were as follows:— The Cup might JOCKEY CLUB CUP. 141 be challenged for on the Monday or Tuesday in the First Spring Meeting, to be run for over the Beacon Course on Tuesday in the First October Meeting following, by horses, &c., the property of members of the Jockey Club; four-year-olds carrying 7st. i ilbs.; five, 8st. 8lbs. ; six, 8st. 1 3lbs. ; and aged, gst. Each gentleman, at the time of challenging, was to sub- scribe his name to a paper, to be hung up in the Coffee-room at Newmarket, and deliver to the keeper of the Match-book the name or description of his horse, &c., sealed up, which was to be kept till six o'clock on the Saturday evening; and if not then accepted, and only one challenger, to be returned unopened; but if accepted, or if more than one challenger, to be then opened, and declared a match or sweepstakes of 200 sovs. each, p.p. If the challenge was not accepted, the Cup was to be delivered to the keeper of the Match-book in the meeting ensuing the challenge, for the person who had become entitled to the same. 1768. — Mr. Vernon's b. h. Marquis, by Lord Rock- ingham's Godolphin colt, out of Flora, beat Sir C. Bunbury's Bellario, by Brilliant; Lord Grosvenor's Pacolet, by Blank ; and Lord Rockingham's Pilgrim, by Sampson; thus Mr. Vernon became the first holder of the Cup, 1769. — Mr, Shafto's b. h. Goldfinder, by Snap, beat the Duke of Ancaster's Jethro, by Blank; Sir C. Bunbury's Bellario, Mr. Vernon's Marquis, Sir L. Dundas's A-la-Greque, Lord Rockingham's Cosmo, and four others. 142 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. 1770, October 2. — Mr. Shafto's Goldfinder walked over. On the day following, he broke down, or he would have been started for the King's Plate against Eclipse. Goldfinder possessed extraordinary speed and power, and was never beaten, and never paid a forfeit. At Mr. Shafto's sale at Newmarket, in 1771, Sir Charles Sedley bought him for stud purposes for i>35o guineas. 1 77 1, October i. — The Duke of Cumberland's bay horse Jumper, by Snap, dam by Blank, beat Mr. Vernon's Pantaloon, by Matchem, and six others. 1772, September' 29. — Lord Ossory's gr. f. Circe, by Matchem, beat Lord Grosvenor's Alberac. 1773. — Mr. Foley's ch. c. Pumpkin, by Matchem, out of the Old Squirt mare, beat Mr. Strode's Ranger, and three others. Pumpkin once ran a match over the Rowley Mile in one minute four and a half seconds. 1774. — Lord Grosvenor's b. c. Mexico, by Snap, beat Mr. Vernon's Alfred, by Matchem, and the Duke of Grafton's Labyrinth. This was a well-contested race over the whole of the Beacon Course between the Turn of the Lands and the winning post. All three runners were suc- cessively favourites, 1775. — Lord Grosvenor's Sweetbriar walked over. Sweetbriar was never beaten. 1776. — Lord Grosvenor's ch. h. Sweet William, by Syphon, walked over. I ']']']. — Lord Ossory's ch. h. Dorimant walked over. JAMES HIRST. I43 1779." — Lord Grosvenor's ch. h. Potoooooooo, by Eclipse out of Sportsmistress, walked over, as he did also in the following year. In 1827, the Cup was next challenged for by the Hon. Charles Wyndham, having been held by Lord Grosvenor for forty-seven years. As his Lordship did not accept the challenge, Mr. Wyndham received the Cup. In 1828, Mr. Scott Stonehewer received the trophy under similar circumstances, as did Lord Sefton in 1829. On the 1 8th of October in the latter year, an ec- centric character, who had long been known on the Turf, died, in the ninety-second year of his age. James Hirst, of Rawcliffe, near Snaith, was for many years the " observed of all observers " at Doncaster Races. He was present in the St. Leger week of the year in which he died, distributing apples, as usual, to those whose attention he excited. He had attended Don- caster Races in his remarkable equipage for a period extending beyond the recollection of any living man. His remains were interred at Rawcliife, when his funeral attracted a considerable gathering of the country folk to his grave-side. It was his express wish to be carried to the grave by eight old maids, each of whom was to be paid los. 6d. for her trouble; but if this proved impracticable, eight widows were to be engaged, at 2s. 6d. each, to perform the same service. As the old maids could not be procured in 144 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. sufficient number, or of sufficient strength, the corpse was borne to the chapel by eight widows, to the solemn music of a bagpipe and fiddle, the former being played by a Scotch shepherd, the latter by an inhabitant df the village in which Hirst died. He had been by trade a tanner; but, having some small means, he retired, as he found business incompatible with his eccentricities. One of the first things he did, on leaving business for the pursuit of pleasure, was to buy a coffin (in which he was at last buried). In it he kept his food, and for many years exhibited his uncommon larder for any small remuneration. His habitation was one of the most curious places to be found in the county of York. A further account of him appears in the historical sketch of Doncaster Meeting, in the second volume of this history. In 1830 the Turf lost, in George the Fourth, one of the most ardent lovers and most faithful supporters it had ever known. A " horse-delighting Prince," it was his lot as Regent and King to wield the Impe- rial sceptre of Great Britain during one of the most eventful periods of her fortunes ; yet he never for a moment forgot his early love. He was passionately fond of a race-horse, and of all things appertaining to the sport ; and it is in this regard that it is our province to consider his career. The amorous de- votion of Florizel to Perdita or to Saccharissa, the doings of the fascinating Mrs, Robinson or of the respected Mrs. Fitz-Herbert, have no place in these pages. Our province is to consider his connection GEORGE THE FOURTH. 145 with the sport he loved so well. His first appear- ance on the Turf, as has been stated in a previous chapter, took place in 1784, when he was two-and- twenty. His stud then was very limited, consisting chiefly of Merry Traveller, with one or two young ones ; and one of his first tastes of the pleasure of victory was when Merry Traveller beat Sir John Lade's Medlycut, over Sir Harry Featherstone's course at Up Park, in Sussex. In the following year very large additions were made by the Prince to his stud, and by the spring of 1 786 he had no fewer than twenty-five animals in training at New- market. At the end of this year his pecuniary em- barrassments led him to adopt measures of retrench- ment, which circumstances rendered unavoidable. It was a hard blow to him; but, as an earnest of future economy, he determined on the sale of his stud. In him love of racing and race-horses was the ruling passion; and two years afterwards, his debts being paid, and his income increased by the generosity or justice of the House of Commons, he returned to the enjoyment of his favourite pursuit on a scale of Royal magnificence. From the re- appearance of the purple jacket in 1788, the Prince's success on the Turf was considerable, his stable car- rying off a fair share of. the prizes, and continuing to do so until his second retirement, in 1791, after the unfortunate Escape affair at Newmarket. In those years his horses carried off 190 races, some of them events of the first importance. In 1 799 he began VOL. I. 10 146 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. to race again, though not at Newmarket ; and be- tween 1800 and 1807 his horses won 129 stakes and Plates. Then for twenty years his name was absent from the lists of the Calendar ; but he undoubtedly had some valuable animals during that pferiod, which ran for their engagements in the names of Mr. Warwick Lake and Mr. Charles Greville. After the death of his brother, the Duke of York, George the Fourth appeared again publicly as the owner of race- horses, which ran in his own name, and continued to do so until his death, when his most successful horses were Maria, Fleur-de-lis, and the Colonel. He was almost as fond of following the stag, or the " red rascal," with hound and horn, as of -seeing his horses run kt Brighton or Ascot ; but there is no record that at any time in his life he was fond of shooting. As a sportsman he deserved what was said of him at the time of his death, that " whatever he entered upon he did gracefully, scientifically, and well;" and in reference to almost every British sport it may be truly said of him, "Nihil non tetigit, nihil tetigit quod non omavit." In 1831, Blacklock died at Bishop Burton, in con- sequence of having ruptured a blood-vessel. So much has been written against the stock descended from this sire in our own day, that it may not be mal- apropos to give a short account of his pedigree- and performances in this place. Blacklock, a bay colt, foaled in 18 14, was bred by Mr. Moss, of York, who BLACKLOCK. i47 sold him to Mr. Watt, ot Bishop Burton. He was got by Whitelock, dam (Theodore's dam) by Cori- ander (son of PotSo's); granddam Wildgdose, by Highflyer; great-granddam Coheiress, by PotSo's; great-great-granddam Manilla, by Goldfinder; great- great-great-granddam Mr. Goodricke's Old England mare ; great - great - great - great - granddam by the Cullen Arabian — Cade — Miss Makeless. Whitelock, the sire of Blacklock, was got by Hambletonian (winner of the St. Leger in 1795), out of Rosalind, by Phenomenon, son of King Herod (winner of the St. Leger in 1 783), granddam Atalanta, by Matchem; great-granddam Lass of the Mill, by Oronooko — Old Traveller (sister to Clark's Lass of the Mill), Miss Makeless, by Young Grey- hound — Old Partner — ^Woodcock — Croft's Bay Barb — Makeless (Desdemona's dam) — Brimmer — Dicky Pierson (son of Dodsworth) — Burton Barb mare. On the Turf, Blacklock was a very successful runner. In 181 8 he had eleven engagements, in nine of which he was successful; and in the next year he won the Gold Cup at York, and other races. He started, in all, twenty- three times, and was beaten six times; his net winnings were 2,515 guineas, three pieces ot silver plate, and the York Gold Cup. On being taken out of training, in 1820, he was advertised to cover forty mares by subscrip- tion at fifteen guineas. His popularity at the stud fluctuated, rising and falling with the success of his foals on the Turf; sometimes his fee was as low 10 — 2 148 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. as seven guineas, at others — and this includes the last three years of his life — as high as twenty-five guineas. It was calculated that, in eight years, seventy-eight of his sons and daughters won for their owners ;^3 7,310, exclusive of fourteen King's Plates, forty-one gold cups, and one silver cup — something more than a fair share of the spoils of the Turf. The following table, giving the descent of Black- lock in the paternal line, shows that he had some of the best blood on the Turf in his veins. The Darley Arabian Godolphin Arabian The Byerley Turk I Bartlett's Childers 1 Cade 1 Jigg Squirt 1 Matchem. Partner Marske j Tartar 1 Echpse King Herod 1 1 King Fergus Highflyer. Hambletonian 1 Whitelock 1 Blacklock. Frank Buckle, the most celebrated jockey of his day, died at Peterborough, on the 7th of January, 1832, in his sixty-ninth year. He had only a short time retired from the Turf, after a career extending over half a century. His son, Mr. S. Buckle, of Peterborough, had published a portrait of the famous jockey, from a painting by Mr. Richard Jones, a few FRANK BUCKLE. 149 months previously, which had a great sale at Acker- mann's Eclipse Sporting Gallery, in Regent-street. The features of the veteran, the pose of the head, his figure, and the details of the costume, combined to make the portrait a faithful presentment of the man ; and it is no wonder that, after his death copies were eagerly sought for by his admirers, for Frank Buckle had been a popular character on the Turf for fifty years. " No better rider ever crossed a horse ; Honour his guide, he died without remorse. Jockeys, attend — from his example learn The meed that honest worth is sure to earn.'' A personage of minor importance, whose name will go down to history — Mr. William Flint — died by his own hand in January of the same yean His celebrated match at York, in August, 1804, against Mrs. Thornton, had caused his name to be well- known in Turf circles all over the world, having occupied a large share of the attention of the pens and pencils of the humourists and caricaturists. Mr. Flint does not appear to have kept race-horses before his great match, but shortly afterwards he had several animals running in his name at York, Pontefract, Lincoln, and other meetings. His sole victory, however, was that he gained over Mrs. Thornton, not one of his other horses winning him a stake. He soon left the Turf, to distinguish himself " in flood and field," as an enthusiastic disciple of Izaac Walton and a constant rider to hounds. He ISO HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. wrote a book on the management of horses ; but the volume was no more successful than his horses had been under his management. Extravagant expen- diture brought him at last to comparative penury, and it was as manager of a horse bazaar about .to be established in York that he ended his career by an accident. He had been in the habit of taking prussic acid in small doses as a corrective: he was found dead in his bed, with a small phial that had contained prussic acid in his pocket. Circumstances, however, proved that the unfortunate man had not intended to put an end to himself, and the verdict of the coroner's jury was, " Died from having taken too large a dose of prussic acid as a medicine." Mr. Osbaldeston's great match against time — one of the most extraordinary efforts of endurance of the kind ever made — took place at Newmarket, during the Houghton Spring Meeting, 1832, and aroused a great degree of interest throughout the country. Before the Squire's day, matches on horseback against time had been no uncommon events, in which the pluck and endurance of the man, and the stoutness and speed of our native breed of horses, had been well shown. In the reign of King James, one John Lepton, of Kepwick, in the county of York, Esquire, a gentle- man of an ancient family and of good reputation, " His Majestie's servant, and one of the grooms of His Most Honorable Privy Chamber, performed so MR. LEPTON'S RIDE. 151 memorable a journey as deserves to be recorded to future ages ; because many Gentlemen who were good horsemen, and divers Physicians, did affirm it was impossible for him to do without apparent danger to his life." Mr. Lepton's undertaking was to ride five several times between London and York in six days, to be taken in one week, between Monday morning and Saturday night. Accordingly, this gentleman of ancient family, good reputation, and stout heart, began his match on Monday, the 20th of May, 1604, between two and three o'clock in the morning, start- ing from St. Martin's, Aldersgate, and arriving at York the same day, between five and six o'clock in the afternoon. Having slept soundly, Mr. Lepton started from York at three the next morning, and arrived at his lodgings in the City of London between six and seven in the evening. Wednesday evening saw him back again in York; Thursday night he slept in London; and Friday evening, between seven and eight, he was again in York. "So he finished his appointed journey to the admiration of all men in five days according to his promise. And upon Monday, the seven and twentieth of the same month, he went from York, and came to the Court at Greenwich upon Tuesday the twenty-eighth to His Majestic, in as fresh and cheerful a manner as when he first began." Mr, Bernard Calvert, of Andover, started at three o'clock in the morning of July 17th, 1720, from St. 1 52 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. George's Church, Southwark, and rode to Dover; crossed the Channel to Calais, returned to Dover by the packet, and rode back to St. George's Church, where he arrived at eight o'clock the same evening. Mr. Calvert, it may be presumed, was a good sailor, and had a fair wind. Mr. Cooper Thornhill, in the month of April, 1745, rode three times between Stilton and London in iih. 33m. 52sec. The distance is 213 miles. H. M. S. From Stilton to London (7 1 miles) ■•• 3 52 59 From London to Stilton ••■ 3 SO 57 From Stilton to London — 3 49 56 Mr. Thornhill's match was made for a considerable sum of money, and the Count de Buffon, writing an account of it to the Earl of Morton, states that Mr. Thornhill used eight different horses in the first heat, six in the second, and in the third heat he rode seven out of the fourteen horses that had already served him. " I question," writes the Count, " whether any race at the Olympic games ever equalled the rapidity of Mr. Thornhill's performance." In April, 1754, a brown mare, thirteen hands three inches high, the property of Mr. Daniel Corker, was backed to go three hundred miles in seventy-two suc- cessive hours on Newmarket Heath. She completed the distance with seven hours forty-two minutes to spare. The match was for 100 guineas P.P., and the mare was ridden by one bpy all the time, whose weight was 4st. lib., exclusive of the saddle and bridle. The course chosen was backwards and for- MR. SHAFTO'S MATCH. 153 wards from the Six-mile House to the ending post of the Beacon Course. MILES. Monday, April 22 — Twenty-four miles and baited ; 24 and baited ; 48 without baiting 96 Tuesday — Twenty-four miles and baited; 24 and baited; 24 and baited; 36 without baiting ... 108 Wednesday — Twenty -four miles and baited; 24 and baited ; 48 without baiting 96 Total 300 Not more than six miles of this match was done at a galloping pace. Miss Pond's celebrated match at Newmarket took place in April and May, 1758. Her undertaking was to ride the same horse 1,000 miles in 1,000 successive hours. Miss Pond won her wager of 200 guineas easily, and a few weeks afterwards her father rode the same horse 1,000 miles in two- thirds of the time. Mr. Jenison Shafto was the hero of two remark- able matches, the scene of both of which was New- market Heath. In the first, on the 27th of June, 1759, Mr. Shafto backed himself to ride fifty miles in two hours ; the conditions of the wager were that he should have as many horses as he pleased. He had ten horses, mostly thoroughbreds, and accom- plished the distance in i hour 49 minutes 1 7 seconds. His second match came off on the 14th of May, 1761. Mr. Shafto made this match with Mr. Hugo Meynell for 2,000 guineas, undertaking to find a person to ride one hundred miles a day for twenty- IS4 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. nine successive days, and to have any number of horses not exceeding twenty-nine, Mr. Shafto se- lected as his champion Mr. John Woodcock, who started on his arduous journey on the Heath at one o'clock in the morning of May 4th, and completed his task on the ist of June, in the evening, having used only fourteen horses. This undertaking was more difficult for the rider than the horses. The course was from Hare Park to the Ditch, making three miles, and three miles round the Flat on the Newmarket side. There were posts with oil lamps fixed to them, as Mr. Woodcock started very early in the morning of each day, in order to avoid the noon- tide heat. He was very nearly losing Mr. Shafto's money; for after riding a horse called Quidnunc sixty miles, it broke down, and Mr. Woodcock had to start afresh on another horse, to do his hundred miles, which he finished at eleven o'clock at night. Giles Hoyle, a century ago, was the hero of an exploit that gained him a considerable reputation, riding 540 miles in sixty-nine hours, in very wet and stormy weather. On the 4th of September, 1780, he rode from Ipswich to Tiptree and back again, for the purpose of obtaining leave of absence from General Parker for Major Clayton to attend the election at Clitheroe. Hoyle accomplished this distance, sixty-six miles, in six hours. ' The next day he started to ride, from Ipswich to Gisburne Park. The distance is 230 miles, accomplished in thirty-two hours. On the 7th, he followed his FAMO US MA TCHES. 1 5 5 master on horseback twelve miles, from Gisburne to Browsholme, the seat of the Parkers; and on the 8th, he took horse to Lulworth Castle, in Dorsetshire, where he transacted his business and returned at once to Clitheroe, having shown remarkable powers of endurance during his long journey. The Curragh has been the scene of some exciting encounters ; but rarely has that famous race -ground witnessed a match of greater interest than when, in 1 79 1, at the Curragh Meeting, Mr. Wilde rode against time — 127 miles (English) in nine hours. The wager was 2,000 guineas a side, and Mr. Wilde rode over a circular course of two miles. He ac- complished the distance in 6h. 21m., employing ten thoroughbred horses for the purpose, and was so little fatigoied that he appeared at the Turf Club- house the same evening. In April, 1802, Mr. Shaw left Barton-on-the-Hum- ber to ride to London, a distance of 172 miles, being engaged to accomplish it in ten hours. Mr. Shaw started at five a.m., and arrived at the Vine Inn, Bishopsgate-street, at thirty-three minutes past three o'clock the same afternoon "in good health and spirits," and having ih. 27m. to spare. He em- ployed fourteen horses for the match, and rode the first eighty-four miles in four hours, and 1 1 2 miles in six hours. In December, 1810, Mat Milton, who weighed fifteen stones, rode from London to Stamford, a dis- iS6 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. tance of over ninety miles, in 4h. 25m., employing eighteen horses. In May, 18 19, Mr. W. Hutchinson, for a wager of 600 guineas, undertook to ride from Canterbury to London in three hours. He won his wager, having done the 55 J miles in 2h. 2Sm. 51 sec. For a wager of ;^5oo, Mr. Lipscomb undertook to ride ninety miles in five hours, employing not more than eight horses. The betting was very heavy on time; but, starting from Hyde Park Corner early in the morning of November 6th, 1824, Mr. Lipscomb won his wager. He rode to the sixty-fourth mile- stone on the Bath road, and twenty-six miles back, a mile on the London side of Reading. The match was done in 4h. 53m. 3isec. ; the last horse — the fastest and best of the lot of eight — had 38m. 29sec. to perform the last ten miles, which were done cleverly in thirty-two minutes. Captain Polhill, of the First King's Dragoon Guards, then stationed at Leeds, appeared before a large concourse of people on the Haigh Park race- course, April 17, 1826, for the purpose of trying to win a somewhat extraordinary wager. He had undertaken to walk fifty miles, ride fifty miles, and drive fifty miles, in twenty-four hours. Captain Pol- hill won easily, with four hours and fifty-five minutes to spare. The horses were taken from his coach by the enthusiastic multitude, and he was drawn in triumph to the Barracks, when the whole company chose to sing the National Anthem in his honour. MR. OSBALDESTON'S MATCH. 157 Captain Polhill's plan was to vary his task — first walking so many miles, then riding, then driving. His track was three-quarters of a mile and 104 yards round so that he had to make 186 circuits of it. He walked his fifty miles in loh. 21m., drove the same distance in 4h. 24m., and rode it in 2h. 42m. In November of the same year, the gallant captain undertook, for a considerable wager, to ride ninety- five miles in five successive hours, on the same race- ground' that had been the scene of his former sport- ing wager. The event esfcited much interest, and the betting was very heavy. Starting at nine o'clock in the morning, the captaih accomplished his task in 4h. 7m., being fifty-three minutes less than the time allowed. He had nineteen relays of horses in readi- ness for his use, but he only found it necessary to ride thirteen of them. Not any of these matches, however, had created the amount of interest and excitement in the sporting world that attended Mr. Osbaldeston's undertaking to ride two hundred miles in ten hours on Newmarket Heath, for a wager of ;!^ 1,000, which he did on Satur- day in the Houghton Meeting of 1831. The Mon- day following having been the day originally publicly advertised for the match, the change of day caused many hundreds to be absent who would have been present had they known of the change to Saturday^ However, that "first of coaches," the Cambridge Star, driven by Joe Walton, brought down some rs8 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. sportsmen from town who had not been spending the last week of the season at headquarters — most of whom, finding it impossible to procure a hack or a pair of posters at Cambridge under three guineas for the great Saturday, were content to be transported from the University town to the scene of action on the old Bury Unicorn on the Friday evening. The generally expressed feeling was that Mr. Osbaldes- ton would win his wager. He was a great favourite, and on Friday night took a bet that he would win his match in nine hours. There were, on the other hand, always plenty of backers of time ; it being said that those who could not ride thought he would lose, while those who could knew he would win. The morning broke raw and wet, and Time became a much better favourite ; seven o'clock saw Mr. Osbal- deston, accompanied by Mr. Thellusson, his umpire, and Colonel Charitte, the backer of Time, with Mr. Bowater on his behalf, make their appearance at the Ditch Stand, where a thin sprinkling of company only had yet assembled. The Stand was cleared of all but those persons most interested in the match, the watches of the umpires set and locked up, and at thirteen minutes past seven " the Squire " started on his journey. He wore a black velvet cap, purple silk jacket, and doeskins — the only time he ever rode out of his own colours, Lincoln green. Notwith- standing the wetness of the day, he wore no flannel. Round his waist he wore a broad riding belt, with whalebone, which towards the end of the day proved MR. OSBALDESTON'S MATCH. 159 a great support to his back. His saddles were covered with lambskin, and he rode all the time with remarkably short stirrup leathers. His course was four miles, not exactly the Round Course — which falls somewhat short of that distance — but by going outside it, getting into the Beacon Course at Choke Jade, touching on the Bunbury Mile, and coming home close to the Ditch, he made it a four-mile course; and at the end of each round he changed his horse. After the fourteenth round Mr. Osbaldeston took his first refreshment, in the shape of a mouthful of weak brandy and water ; at the end of the twenty- fifth round he took a mouthful of bread and a little brandy and water, after which he rode his quickest four miles — eight minutes : remarkable galloping, when his weight, iist. 2lbs., is taken into considera- tion; Hambletonian and Diamond, at racing weights, having run their great match over the Beacon Course in eight minutes twenty-five seconds. The Squire completed his thirtieth round — 1 20 miles — in five hours and eight minutes. Though wet to the skin, he refused the change of clothes that was waiting for him at a good fire, and proceeded at once to lunch oflf a cold partridge, washed down with a modicum of weak brandy and water. For fear of stiffness setting in, through his getting cold in his wet clothes, he was off again on his journey in about six minutes. Notwithstanding a squall of rain and wind in the forty-eighth round, so great that Streamlet — the horse he was, appropriately enough, i6o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. mounted on at the time — refused to face it, Mr. Osbaldeston completed his task at nine minutes be- fore four in the afternoon, having ridden the two hundred miles, including stoppages, in eight hours thirty-nine minutes. As the day advanced, the com- pany present had swelled to large proportions, and the success of the popular foxhunter and all-round sportsman was hailed by the uproarious salutations and hearty cheers of his friends and the crowd. An eye-witness relates that he "came in as gay as a lark, waving his whip over his head. Some shook hands with him, some patted him on the back, all shouted; and one old, green-coated farmer, an im- portation, I guess, from Northamptonshire, gave him a view halloo which still rings in my ears." At the Stand, it required great exertions on the part of his supporters — Gully, Tom Oliver, and Harry England — to procure room for him to dismount. This done, however, the celebrated sportsman was received with enthusiasm by his assembled friends, among whom were two of the most beautiful women in England — Lady Chesterfield and her sister, Mrs. Anson. "There was no wrapping in blankets," says the authority before quoted; "no carrying to a post- chaise; no salts, smelling bottles, or lancets. The Squire jumped on his favourite hack. Cannon Ball, and, .followed by every horseman on the ground, led them at a slapping pace to his lodgings, at Perrin's, in Newmarket, where he got into a warm bath, took MR. OSBALDESTON'S MATCH. i6i a nap, and in a couple of hours was wide awake and enjoying himself at a good dinner." To Harry England, who had suggested a less palatable course, the hero of the Shires had replied, " Hang your salts and senna! I am so hungry — I could eat an old woman." Thus happily ended a great effort of endurance, and one of the most famous matches against time ever undertaken. At the date of its accomplish- ment Mr. Osbaldeston's age was forty-four. He had trained most carefully at Newmarket for his match, during which neither his eye nor his voice assumed any unusual character, and at the end his hand did not tremble. He had occasion, shortly after his match, to write a letter contradicting rumours that he won sums of from ^20,000 to ;^40,ooo by his powers. The fact was that, owing to the supineness and bad advice of his friends, he had not netted more than / 1,800 after all expenses were paid. They would not pro- perly exert themselves for him, and they refused to let him back himself in the Ring, because they saw he would spoil the betting. He complains, with reason, that although he wanted to bet 3, 4, or 5 to i on his performing his task, his friends insisted on his keeping quiet, v/hile they filled their own pockets handsomely at 6 to 4 at his expense. During the actual match, the betting was, after the first few rounds, strongly in his favour — "a diamond to a dumpling, or the Lord Mayor's thumb , to VOL. I, 1 1 i62 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. a toothpick," that the match was . done in ten hours. A great amount of comment followed the Squire's successful performance of a feat which has ever since been occasionally a topic of conversation or the sub- ject of allusion in sporting coteries ; and he found it expedient to put an end to discussions on what he would and could do, or could not do, by issuing a general challenge. He says: — "Having been pes- tered to death by so many inquiries about the match, and having been chaffed so much about a jockey doing it in eight hours, I thought it best to put a complete statement in the paper, and also to add the following challenges to the whole world; but of which one, at least, I should imagine, may be selected for their adoption " : — THE CHALLENGE. "I challenge any man in the world, of any age, weighing or carrying my weight, to ride any distance he prefers, from 200 to 500 miles, for^2o,oooj but if he will only ride for 200 or 250 miles, I will ride for;^ro,ooo. Or I will ride against the jockey of seven stone whpm they talk of backing to ride 200 mUes in eight hours, reserving thirty minutes for the difference between seven stone and eleven stone. Or I will take ^^ 10,000 to £ 3,000, or;^2o,ooo to £(>,Goo, that I ride 200 miles in eight hours, which it must be allowed would be a wonderful performance for eleven stone odd, and I think almost impossible— at least a single acci- dent would lose the match, and I should scarcely have time to mount and dismount. I am always to be heard of at Pitsford near Northampton. ' "George Osbaldeston. "Pitsford, Wednesday, Nov. 16 (1831)." Mr. Osbaldeston named large sums, because in ANONYMOUS CHALLENGES. 163 attempting to accomplish such tasks as he pro- posed, he would necessarily incur a large expense, and he risked his health and stamina besides. If nobody thought it worth while to accept his chal- lenge, he expressed a hope that he should not again "be bothered with, 'It is nothing to do — an old woman could do it, and a jockey could do it in eight hours,' and so on." He truly says that the spectacle of a man of his age challenging all the world to back a man of any age against him is unparalleled in the history of any Sporting, and hardly to be believed. The Squire was, however, too good game to be let alone; and for a long time after his match he was constantly being challenged by somebody to do something, generally something out of the scope of his attainments, though nobody thought proper to accept either of the challenges he had put forth in their precise terms. The following may serve as a specimen of the sort of challenges he received from various quarters : — An anonymous gentleman is anxious to go through all the items of the following unambitious programme with the Squire : — " To run him a mile across the course ; to run him four miles across the country ; to run him a hundred miles along the road ; to walk, trot, and gallop him three miles each ; to ride him over the highest leap ; to walk him a mile ; to walk him ten miles ; to run him a hundred yards ; to run him a mile ; to hop him a hundred yards ; to jump him one standing jump; to jump him one running II — 2 i64 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. jump ; to jump him in height ; to jump him — hop, step, and jump ; to play him a game at quoits ; to play him a game at billiards ; to play him a game at fives ; to play him a game at cricket." And after this list is exhausted, the Squire is again put on his mettle as an owner of horses by the following : — "And to wind up, I will produce a cart-horse, not more than fourteen hands high, that shall walk, trot, and gallop any cart-horse he can produce, of what- ever age and size he may be." As no prize is mentioned, if Mr. Osbaldeston is successful in all these contests, beyond its being a " feather in the cap " of the victor, it is fair to con- clude the wholesale challenger did not intend to make any wager. The Squire might well complain of being " pestered " by the Corinthians of his day. MR. DELME RADCLIFFE. 165 CHAPTER VIII. MR. RADCLIFFE — WILLIAM THE FOURTH — ARABIAN PLATES MR. BOWLES — PLENIPOTENTIARY'S YEAR — RIDSDALE V. GULLY — EPSOM DOWNS — LORD DERBY MR. MYTTON. MR. DELME RADCLIFFE, who had been an excellent amateur jockey in his time, and at Bibury, in rivalry with Lord George Germaine, had often steered a son of Eclipse to victory, died this year (1831). He was a firm supporter of the Turf, and au fait with all its doings ; his judgment and knowledge of horses commending him to George the Fourth, who appointed him his Gentleman of the Horse — a post he filled also in the establishment of the Sailor King, whose horses lost their engagements at his death, which was unexpected, and was thus announced : — " Who suddenly was taken off this fretful scene of ours at his domicile in Conduit- street, when surrounded by his friends, Lord Albe- marle and Sloane Stanley " — a style of notice that fulfils the conditions deemed suitable to such an occasion by the New England Elder, being at once religious and neat. William the Fourth — whose sincere desire to further the interests of sport had led him to command that i66 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the "whole fleet" should be started, "and may the best horse win," when his late brother's horses became his property — ^had never cared for horse-racing. He felt, however, the necessity of maintaining the national supremacy in the breeding of horses, and was at all times anxious to do all in his power to promote the prosperity of the Turf. Accordingly, he formed the idea of establishing a new Challenge Prize, consisting of a hoof of Eclipse, mounted in a costly manner; and he, very sensibly, left the regulations of the race to the Jockey Club, who at once framed the following conditions, the race to be run for the first time on Thursday in the Ascot week, 1832: — "The Eclipse Foot, with ;^2oo given by his Majesty, added to a sweepstakes of ;^ 100 each, for horses the property of members of the Jockey Club: three-year-olds to carry 7st.; four, 8st. lolbs. ; five, 9st. slbs.; six and aged, gst. gibs. ; mares and geldings allowed 3lbs. To start at the Cup Post in the New Mile, and to go once round; about two miles and a half" The ;^200 of added money was not to be given if the race ended in a walk-over. The Eclipse Foot would remain in the possession of the winner until somebody else be- came entitled to it under the conditions, which were, that after the year 1832 the Eclipse Foot might be challenged for in the Newmarket Craven Meeting, to be run for, on Thursday in the next Ascot Race week, by horses the property of members of the Jockey Club. If the challenge was not accepted, the Foot was to be delivered to Mr. Weatherby, in Oxenden- THE CHALLENGE PRIZE. 167 Street, in the week preceding Ascot Races, for the person who might be entitled to it. The King undertook to add ;^200 every year if ten or more horses started for the Foot. Lord Chesterfield's Priam, five years; Mr. Scott Stonehewer's Zany, four years ; and General Grosvenor's Sarpedon, were the animals entered to run on the first occasion for " this truly national prize." At the present day challenge prizes on the Turf are by no means attractive, and for very obvious reasons. The days when such prizes would confer any greater distinction upon their winners than other leading prizes of the Turf have long since passed, and owners of horses naturally endeavour to run them for stakes that have both money and glory to recommend them. The King gave his annual dinner to the Jockey Club at St. James's Palace on the i6thof May, 1832; a sumptuous repast was served on three tables in the Banqueting-room, covers being laid for seventy. The company included the leading patrons of the Turf; and after dinner the Hoof of Eclipse, ele- gantly mounted in the middle of a gold salver, was brought into the room, and presented by the King to the Club. In front were the Royal Arms in gold, in high relief. The hoof was supported by a golden pedestal, on one side of which was engraved the following inscription: — "This piece of plate, with the Hoof of Eclipse, was presented by his Most Gracious Majesty William the Fourth to the Jockey 1 68 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Club— May, 1832." Nor did the King's kindly in- terest in the Turf end here :■ he made liberal allow- ances to his trainer and jockey, settling ;^300 a-year for life on Mr, Edwards, the use of the Royal stables, and apartments in the Palace at Newmarket. At the same time he settled on George Nelson, his jockey, ;^ioo a-year for life. About this time certain theorists who still believed in the overwhelming excellence of the pure-bred Arab, Barbary, and other Eastern horses, set on foot a proposition for establishing a Plate at Ascot for the produce of Arabs. It was necessary that they should have a race to themselves to give them a chance, as it had often been proved that, cceteris paribus, they stood no chance against the English thoroughbred. The proposed Plate for the produce of pure Arabian sires was by annual subscription among the owners. The distance of the course was settled at two miles, and the weights were — three- year-olds to carry 7st.; four, 8st. slbs.; five, gst. ilb.; six and aged, gst. 7lbs. Mares and geldings to be allowed 3lbs. As a matter of course, the produce only of such horses or mares whose owners subscribed were to be allowed to start. At that time there were at least a dozen pure-bred Arab sires covering in England; the best known among them being the Cole Ara- bian, Champion, Harlequin, Honesty, Humdanieh, Muscat, Orelio, Signal, and Soliman. The idea of establishing a Plate to be contested PLATE FOR ARABIANS. i6g exclusively by the produce of Arabs was not by any means a novel one. A sweepstakes of lOO guineas each for the produce of Arabs was run for in the First October Meeting, 1775, D.I., and was won by Mr. Strode's Pudenda, by the Sedley Arabian, beat- ing six others. At the Second Spring Meeting, 1 776, Lord Clermont's gr. c, by the Damascus Arabian, won a sweepstakes of 100 guineas over the Beacon Course, beating two others ; and in the First Spring Meeting, 1777, Mr. Vernon's Glory, by his chestnut Arabian, received forfeit from Lord Bolingbroke's colt by his Arabian, and two others, 200 guineas each, D.L Other instances of races of this description might be adduced from the pages of the Calendar; but the only lesson they teach is that such Plates must end in failure : they neither attract company to witness them, furnish amusement, or the basis of speculation for such as do come, or do anything to further im- provement in our breed of horses. ^ As a writer on horseflesh and racing in the early years of the present century, when speaking of an Arab Plate, puts it : — " The horses ran in so mediocre a style, having little speed and less game, that the plan was in a few years abandoned." It must not be thought, however, from these re- marks about the uselessness of attempting to revive the employment of Arabian sires at the stud in this country, by subscribing small sums in the way of Plates for their produce to race for, that it is argued 170 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. that the giving of special Plates of small value can under no circumstances promote the interests of English breeders. On the contrary, such plates have often been productive of much good, and notably in the instance of an annual Plate for horses of all ages, lost. each, run for at Kipling Coates for a great many years, which, though of very small amount, attracted some very good horses. Among these, in old times, may be mentioned the celebrated Miss Neesham, by Hartley's Blind Horse, dam by Croft's Commoner, who won the Kipling Coates guineas no less than five times between 1728 and 1734. The nature and intention of this and similar free prizes may be drawn from John Cheny's de- scription: — "This prize," he says, "was founded by a body of foxhunters, appointing it to be annually run for on the third Thursday in March, who, taking an affection to the wolds of Yorkshire, in some re- spects resembling the Downs of the Southern coun- ties, were pleased to deposit the sums whence the prize annually rises ; and although but sixteen guineas, yet, as the time of running for it is in the infancy of the season, it is looked upon as a proper taste-trial, or proof how horses have come through the winter." Mr. Bowles, a veterinary surgeon who established himself at Cambridge, was one of the first members of his profession to treat the diseases of horses in a scientific manner, as opposed to the rule-of-thumb MR. BOWLES. 171 methods of the old-fashioned practitioners. Having speedily acquired a reputation in the University and town, his fame spread through Cambridgeshire and the adjoining counties; and Newmarket was among the first places to avail itself of his skill. During a very long period of practice, he treated nearly every horse of note trained at head-quarters, carefully adapting his treatment to the circumstances of the case. When called in to find out the ailment of a race-horse, he gave unusual time and care to the performance of his duty. Having settled the ques- tion of what was the matter, he would invariably ask what engagements the animal had. "If he has three engagements in April, where is the use," Mr. Bowles would say, "of giving them up, that by rest and regular treatment a; cure may be performed in May — during which time something inferior may have run away with the stakes? No, keep him going as well as you can till these are over, and then, as the comrnon people say, let ' Dr. Green' (spring grass) cure what the farrier cannot." Mr. Bowles pos- sessed not only extraordinary skill in his profession, but a large fund of common sense, which recom- mended him to the Newmarket trainers, and many quaint sayings acceptable in all quarters. His frame of mind was religious, and, "improving the occasion," as it is called, he was often heard to say, " Let a man make himself thoroughly to understand the structure of a horse's foot, its economy, its bearings, its beauties, its provisions, and elasticity, and should 172 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. he then turn and say 'There is no God,' that man is a fool and a liar." To Mr. ■ Bowles's open-handed generosity and native kindliness of heart must be attributed the fact that he left but a modest fortune behind him at his death, his life-long maxim having been that "money honestly got and well-spent is the only real riches," During his life, no one was better known on the Turf; and when he quitted it, he left no one behind more esteemed than he had been. Plenipotentiary's year (1834) was a time of trouble and litigation for the followers of the national sport. Mr. Ridsdale and his quondam partner, Mr. Gully, having quarrelled and come to blows, the trial came on in the early part of the year. No sooner was the course cleared for the first race at Epsom than a notice, issued by the bailiff of the manor of Epsom, was served on the Stewards, informing them that they were "hereby forbid from entering or coming upon any of the waste lands of the manor," or, in other words, upon the racecourse on the^ Downs ; and, lastly, the St. Leger ended in a cloud of obloquy thrown over the doings of those persons who had the management of the favourite. Curiously enough, the cause cHebre of " Ridsdale v. Gully" was tried at York, in the same Court that, a quarter of a century previously, had witnessed the trial of Colonel Thornton against Flint, also a horse- whipping case. The able counsel for the plaintiff RIDSDALE V. GULLY. 173 (Mr., afterwards Baron, Pollock) opened the case in a temperate speech, and the facts, as set out, showed that Gully, who was an ex-prizefighter and Member of Parliament for Pontefract, had been on many- occasions partner with Ridsdale in making a book ; that both were professional bettors ; and that they had quarrelled and separated some time before. Ridsdale, who, probably, had excellent means of ascertaining the truth, had put it about that Gully had won ;^i 2,000 over a race. They met in the hunting-field. Gully said, very angrily, to Ridsdale, " You knew I had not won so much ; I told you so myself," and then, without further provocation, struck Ridsdale on the back, " not lightly, but with as much force as the arm of a Gully could bestow." Old John Singleton, of Great Givendale, son of the celebrated jockey, who was present, was one of the witnesses called. The defence set up was provocation; but the jury found for Ridsdale, with ;^5oo damages, exactly the sum awarded by a York jury to Colonel Thornton when he sued Mr. Flint, The Epsom case was as follows : — Mr. John Ivatt Briscoe, who was lord of the manor of Epsom, was also Member of Parliament for the Eastern Division of the county of Surrey. He refused to subscribe to the races at Epsom, on the ground that his religious views and opinions were opposed to the sport; but as he had previously executed a lease for the erection of the Grand Stand — a step calculated more firmly to establish the races on , 174 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the Downs — and as he had likewise offered to accept a yearly rent of a hundred pounds in lieu of the tolls or collections annually gathered from the booths, it is clear that religious scruples had not much to do with the action he took to assert his rights as lord of the manor. He had let about an acre of ground — the fee- simple value of which might be.;^20 — for the pur- pose of erecting a Grand Stand, which cost ;^20,ooo, reserving to himself a ground rent of ;^30 per annum, and, of course, the ultimate reversion to the building. Mr. Briscoe's proceedings made him certainly the most unpopular man in England among the followers of the sport, as it was plain from the first that if, on his action of trespass against Mr, Roberts being tried, he recovered only a farthing damages, he might, if he chose, stop the races altogether; and this, it was reported, he intended to do. It is not very easy to discover what motive Mr. Briscoe had in the matter, except that which he asserted — namely, the main- tenance of his manorial rights. He certainly gained little else by his action against Mr. Roberts ; for, a general election intervening between the entering of his action and the trial, he lost his seat, as he himself was candid enough to admit, " from being misunder- stood in his intentions towards the races annually holden upon his manorial Downs." When the result of the action was known, a jere- miad for the future of the Turf rent the skies. Ep- som was doomed: what might not be expected to THE EPSOM DOWNS CASE. 175 follow? No ill resulted, however. Mr. Briscoe did not, as was prophesied, turn the Grand Stand into a Synagogue or a Bethesda, but accepted a payment of £,^ from the Race Committee as an acknowledg- ment of his right as lord of the manor, and ;^ioo towards the costs of his action. It was not until July, 1836, that the matter was finally adjusted. The Jockey Club and the Stewards of the Races at Epsom entrusted to Mr. Rush their interests in the matter, and with him Mr. Briscoe arranged to guarantee, in the most extensive manner, the appropriation of the Downs for racing purposes. It was settled at this time that the entire management of the Downs should for the future be vested in the Stewards for the time being, to whom every au- thority the lord of the manor could give was to be delegated, with power to act in all matters connected with the sport in the fullest manner possible for the benefit and encouragement of the races. Mr. Briscoe, however, stipulated for the right to protect the in- terests of the proprietors of the Grand Stand, this being, as their landlord, at once his duty and his in- terest. The Epsom difficulty of the early summer was fol- lowed by the sensational defeat of Mr. Batson's chest- nut. Plenipotentiary, for the St. Leger. Odds of 1 1 to 10 and 5 to 4 were laid on the favourite on the morning of the race ; but Plenipotentiary made a very sorry figure, being altogether a different animal from the horse that cut down his field at Epsom, Lord 176 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Westminster's Touchstone Avon, Lord Sligo's Bran , being second, out of a large field; and at that time Bran was believed to be a much better horse than the winner. Plenipotentiary, whose victory had been looked upon as a certainty, was ridden by Patrick Connolly, upon whom and Mr. Batson a great amount of obloquy was thrown. The horse, there can be no doubt, was not properly trained, though it may be too much to say that he was not run to win. A contemporary account speaks of him as, "a racehorse, within forty-eight hours of his starting for a race with hundreds of thousands of public money on him, carrying as much blubber as would have swamped a South Sea whaler." Plenipotentiary's year, too, saw the last of as great a sportsman as ever lived, and one of the steadiest and most liberal patrons the Turf ever knew. Ed- ward Smith Stanley, twelfth Earl of Derby, whose career on the Turf lasted for nearly sixty years, was the founder of the Oaks, named after his seat in Surrey; of the Derby, named in his honour; and of the Meeting at Aintree, near Liverpool, famous as the arena over which the Grand National is decided. Having succeeded to the title soon after the attain- ment of his majority, on the death of his grandfather in his eighty-seventh year, his name immediately appears in the records of Weatherby as an owner of race-horses. He made his ddbM on the Turf in 1 776, and gave his support to the sport at Manchester, THE EARL OF DERBY. 177 Lancaster, Chester, Liverpool, and all the other Meetings held in what may be considered his own neighbourhood. During his long connection with the Turf, he appears as the breeder and owner of a very long list of winners : his horses often carried off the Dee Stakes, the Palatine, Produce, and other North country prizes. At Epsom he was successful in winning the Oaks at "the first time of asking," having the satisfaction of seeing his filly, Bridget, by King Herod, defeat a field of eleven, and effect the enrolment of her name at the head of what has since become the long list of Oaks winners. His lordship won the Oaks a second time, with Heroine, in 1794. He was only once victorious in the Derby, winning the Blue Riband with Sir Peter Teazle, by Highflyer. At the time of his death, and for some years before that event, Lord Derby was the Father of the Jockey Club, at whose councils he had been a regular attendant for something like fifty- eight years. Among the supporters of racing whom he had known intimately, either as members of the Club or habitues of the Turf, and who had quitted it before him, were George the Fourth, the Dukes of Portland, Devonshire, Bolton and Grafton; Lords Abingdon, Rockingham, Lincoln, Edward Bentinck, Scarborough, Thanet, Clermont, Grosvenor, Mil- sington, Ossory, March, and Stawell ; Sirs C. Sedley, H. Harper, F. Molyneux, J. Moore, C. Brand, C. Danvers, J. Shelley, and W. Vernon; Messrs. Vernon, Wentworth, O'Kelly, Pratt, Shafto, Panton, VOL. I. 12 178 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Clifton, and Scarisbrick. What other period can boast an ampler list of warm supporters among the followers of the Turf ? Lord Derby's colours, before the year 1787, were green and white stripes ; but two other noblemen using jackets of the same colours, the Knowsley colours were changed to black and white cap, in which colours Lord Derby's horses always after- wards ran. Besides his, horses in training, Lord Derby had a very extensive stud at Knowsley, where he bred some first-rate animals. His trainers were, succes- sively. Old Saunders, Young Saunders, and Bloss ; and his jockeys. Old Peirse, R. Spencer, Dunn, Ben Smith, Johnson, and Lye. Fond as the Earl was of seeing his home-bred horses carry the black and white to victory, if it was possible for him to love anything better than a thoroughbred horse, it was a thoroughbred game- cock. Under his care and superintendence, the Knowsley breed of black-breasted reds was brought to perfection, and at Chester and Lancaster the North-country Earl was well-nigh invincible. It may be truly said of him that he was the greatest cocker that ever lived; and in saying this, it must be recollected that since his time opinion has changed very much as to the humane treatment of animals ; but in his day cocking was as respectable a sport- ing taste as a gentleman could have. Nobody had thought of writing it down, far less of legislating MR. JOHN MYTTON. 179 against it ; and it was as reputable to fight a main of cocks as to hunt the fox. Lord Derby was mar- ried twice— first to Lady Elizabeth Hamilton, and secondly to the celebrated actress and beauty, Miss Farren: by both wives he had three children. No man lived more esteemed, or died more universally regretted. He was born on a great day in the sportsman's calendar — the festival of St. Partridge, 1752 — and died at Knowsley, October 21st, 1834. Sans changer — the motto of his illustrious race — may well be applied to his untiring devotion to all manly sports. " He was English, sir, from top to toe." In sad contrast to the career of Lord Derby, is that of another brilliant all-round sportsman, who at the same time ran horses at the principal North- country meetings, and whose colours were likewise green with white stripes. Mr. John Mytton, of Halston, in the county of Salop, was the posthumous son of a gentleman of high standing in the county. During his long minority, his estates were well managed ; and on his attaining his majority he came into possession of a very large fortune. He was the hero of a thousand escapades. As a boy at West- minster School, he wrote to the Lord Chancellor (Eldon), and told him, at fourteen, he was going to be married, and could not live in his altered state on his allowance of /400 a year. " Sir," wrote the Chan- cellor, "if you can't live on your allowance, you may starve; and if you marry, I'll commit you to prison." 12 — 2 i8o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. , Two or three years later, he left school; aii'd: ob- tained a commission in the Seventh Hussars; A residence in Paris with the Army of Occupation did not contribute to his stock of .prudence; and when he acquired, in due course, the sole control of his large property, he soon "played ducks and drakes" with it. He was a man of great physical strength, and ex- celled in all outdoor sports ; he was liberal and open- handed with his money to the extreme of generosity. On the Turf he cut a great figure for a few years, owning some first-rate horses, which he did his best to race off their legs ; and when the racing season was over, he would ride his best animals hunting and coursing. He owned Banker, who won for him six- teen races ; Euphrates, who placed thirty-eight stakes to his credit; Longwaist, Halston, and other horses of note. No fortune, however, would stand the re- peated attacks of a man who would gamble away ten thousand pounds at a single match at billiards— this Mr. Mytton did with Mr. Ester, at Calais— and in 1 83 1 all was gone from him, and the furniture, pic- tures, and plate of his stately home at Halston came to the hammer of the auctioneer. 'He died in the rules of the King's Bench, three years later, a prisoner for debt. A paper published in the chief town of his native county thus noticed his demise: — " On Satur- day, the 29th March, in the King's Bench, London, aged thirty -eight, John Mytton, Esq., of Halston, in this county. This gentleman inherited large estates in Shropshire and Merionethshire, had been High THE EARL OF EGREMONT. Sheriff for both counties, and M.P. for this town. His great munificence and eccentric gaieties obtained him notoriety in the gay and sporting circles, both in England and on the Continent. While a few faith- ful friends, esteemed to the last remembered kind- nesses, we fear there are many partakers of his bounty who have treated him with ingratitude." .Such was the end of one for whom fortune had done so much, the eccentric Jack Mytton, of Halston. George Wyndham O'Brien, Earl of Egremont, the pattern of an English country gentleman, lived to the good old age of eighty-five ; and for sixty years was an ardent supporter of the Turf, carrying on his stud on a scale of magnificence never before attempted, and, perhaps, never since equalled by the enterprise of an individual owner. His stud at Petworth con- tained sixty brood mares, whose produce Lord Egre- mont trained. He won the Derby of 1782 with Assassin, by Sweetbriar; in 1804, with Hannibal, by Driver; 1805, with Cardinal Beaufort, by Gohanna ; in 1807 with Election, by the same sire; and in 1826 with Lapdog by Whalebone. This great sportsman was equally fortunate in the Oaks, carrying off that prize also five times — namely, in 1788 with Night- shade, by Pot8o's; 1789, with Tag, byTrentham; in 1795, Platina, by Mercury; in 1800, with Ephe- mera, by Woodpecker; and in 1820, with Carohne, by Whalebone. In his earlier years as an owner of race-horses. Lord Egremont had them trained at home, on a capital course in his park at Petworth ; 1 82 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. but it was not found to answer, and they were after- wards all trained at Newmarket. The Marquis of Westminster's and Sir Thomas Stanley's experience was the same — that young stock trained in the pri- vacy of home hedgerows invariably discovered a ten- dency to leap over all bounds when tried in public ; no gallop being comparable to that afforded by a common training-ground, where from their first sweats they are always in the company of other horses on an open track. In 1838, the Turf Benevolent Fund was first pro- posed by Mr. John Whyte, the proprietor of the Hip- podrome at Notting-hill. " I shall be enabled at the Hippodrome," he says, "if I am supported, to give the plan a fair trial, by imposing as a condition upon the winners of Plates and Stakes given by me, and upon the jockeys winning races, the payment of sums to the Fund." ■Mr. Whyte's circular advocating the establishment of the Turf Benevolent Fund set out that it was in- stituted for the benefit of decrepit or maimed jockeys, and their widows and infant families, and for those reduced to poverty whose characters are unble- mished. He remarks that the lives of jockeys are ex- tremely arduous, and much bodily suffering has to be sustained, which occasionally leads to incurable dis- ease, or premature old age and death. They are like- wise a class peculiarly liable to meet with accidents, more or less severe. He therefore proposes an in- stitution for their relief, under circumstances recom- MR. WHYTES FUND. 183 mending them as objects of charity. The objects of the Fund were to be : — The relief of jockeys, of unimpeachable character for integrity, reduced to destitution ; the relief of the widows, orphans, and parents of such jockeys left destitute. The reward of skill and meritorious conduct. Every jockey, to have any benefit from the Fund, was to subscribe ten shillings a year while able to do so. Owners of horses winning a stake of ;^50 to pay ten shillings, ;^ioo one pound to the Fund; and so on in proportion. Every jockey winning a race to pay one shilling to the Fund. " Better nerve also," says Mr. Whyte, "will be pos- sessed by the jockey from the consciousness that, if temporarily injured by an accident, he will be taken care of by the Fund, if he be without means, until he has recovered. The provision, likewise, that assist- ance can only be afforded to the jockey of unble- mished character would surely have the best tendency in keeping jockeys strictly honest, and worthy of the high confidence which is necessarily placed in them." What form this excellent proposal of the pro- prietor of the Hippodrome assumed in the course of years is well known. 1 84 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. CHAPTER IX. , ASCOT GRAND STAND — THE QUEEN AT ASCOT — RAIL- WAYS V. COACHES — SUe's HISTORY OF SCHAM — SIR JOHN LADE — PARIS THE CANADIAN AFFAIR LORD GEORGE BENTINCK V. CONNOP THE DUKE OF CLEVELAND^MR. WILSON MR. THORNHILL NIMROD THE DERBY OF 1 844 RUNNING REIN. THE foundation stone of the Grand Stand at Ascot was laid on the i6th of January, 1839, by the Earl of Errol, Master of the Buckhounds, in the presence of a numerous assemblage of county gentry and other persons interested in witnessing the ceremonial. Lord Errol wielded the silver trowel in true Masonic style, after which he made a short speech, in which he expressed the great pleasure it had given him to take a part in founding a structure which would be the source of so much convenience to the public frequenting Ascot Races. " I can assure you," said his lordship, " that on all future occasions I shall feel gratified in giving my influence to further the public interests of this national sport, for the view of which this build- ing is particularly erected" — a sentiment from the noble Master of the Buckhounds which was re- ceived with three-times-three cheers and " one cheer ASCOT GRAND STAND. 185 more." The building thus begun was completed in time for the reception of the company attending the races of the same year. This Stand, which has since been considerably extended, was designed by Mr. Higgins, the necessary capital being raised in one hundred shares of ;^ 100 each, ;^5 of which was to be paid off annually, so that at the end of twenty years it might become entirely free, when the receipts per annum were to be totally appropriated for the benefit of the races. The shareholders were pro- mised five per cent, for their money, a bonus out of the receipts, and a perpetual transferable admission to the Stand. The original trustees were the Earl of Errol, Captain Seymour, and Messrs. T. R. Ward and M. Gilbertson. Her Majesty was present on the occasion of the opening of the Grand Stand to the public, having journeyed to the Royal Heath from Windsor in Ascot state. Immediately after the race for the Stakes had been decided, her Majesty was graciously pleased to command that the rider of the winner, a very young jockey, named Forth, should be brought in her presence. This was accordingly done, and the highly delighted boy was presented to his Sove- reign by the Earl of Lichfield. The Queen compli- mented him on his riding the winner with so much judgment and skill, and at the same time gave him the substantial reward of a ten-pound note. Railways were rapidly making their way, and it is easily to be understood that the " abomination" met i86 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. with more hearty and complete opposition, wherever it appeared, from sporting men and lovers of horses than from any other class of the population. The • Times began to express strong fears that the turn- pikes and stages were doomed, and its gloomy note of apprehension struck terror into the hearts of squires and yeomen. The country must be ruined, the landed gentry were deeply implicated in the turnpike trusts, the farmers would not be able to sell their horses, coach-making as an industry would be blotted out, innkeepers would be bankrupt, inns deserted, and the country, deprived of its veins, would pour out its life-blood through its arteries. The leading journal recommended a timely reduc- tion of the duty on horse-coaches and posting, before all such interests were swamped. It was hardly credible that in free Britain a set of speculators should be allowed to rob the public and set them at defiance ; and one thing at least was certain, that no decent woman, however protected, would ever be prevailed upon to place herself in a railway carriage. When the novelty of the thing had subsided, no English gentleman would be found condescending to assume this hasty mode of transit, compatible only with the lot of men of business and bagmen. Des- perate as the case of the partizans of the coaches was, there was a gloomy satisfaction in the know- ledge that the railways could not carry heavy goods, as the wear and tear was so great, the charges would not cover it; that the expenses of superintendents, THE LAST COACHES. 187 clerks, policemen, porters, and other attendants, with hosts of labourers and engineers, were enormous; that the engines were very costly, and were not very fast. There remained, also, the consolation that at least one great coaching establishment — the Bull and Mouth — had coaches on the Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester, and other roads, in spite of, and in op- position to, the iron monstrosities ; and this led to the conclusion that "the question whether railway conveyances will supersede the use of coaches on their respective lines must take time to solve." Time has solved the question. The coaches, at the time of their being superseded by a more expeditious if not a more pleasant mode of travelling, had arrived at a high degree of per- fection, running on all the main roads of the king- dom with great punctuality, safety, and speed. The " Shrewsbury Wonder," which began running in 1825, was the first coach to do so long a journey as a hundred and fifty-four miles in one day; hence its name. It started from Shrewsbury at a quarter before five, and in its last years at a quarter before six, in the morning, and arrived in London at a quarter before ten at night, having stopped twice on the road for the refreshment of its passengers. The coaches running to York, to the North, to Bristol, to Exeter, and the Brighton stages, were among the most famous vehicles of the palmiest days of profes- sional coaching — the days that immediately preceded •I 88 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. its extinction. Happily, the Coaching Clubs and amateur coachmen of to-day keep up in perfection the art and sport of driving a four-in-hand in work- manlike style; and from the White Horse Cellar, in Piccadilly, any man may realize the sensations of his grandfather as he surveyed the road from London to Brighthelmstone, and decide for himself between the rival claims of the London, Brighton, and South Coast Railway and four good horses with a good road and a level stage- The best description to be found of the opposition made to the "railroad invasion" in a country town, and of the ruinous effect of the success of the "steel abortion" upon a country innkeeper, is not to be found, as might be expected, in the pages of a pro- fessedly sporting writer, but in an admirably realistic sketch from the pen of Mr. John Hollingshead ("Mis- cellaneous Works," vol. H.). It was about this time that M. Eugdne Sue did for the Godolphin Arabian what Mr. Harrison Ains- worth soon afterwards did for Turpin's mare. Black Bess. The imaginative French novelist made that famous horse more famous by lending to slender fact the charm and spell of fiction. His " History of the Godolphin Arabian" ran through a dozen numbers of La Presse, in which he depicted the life, character, and behaviour of this father of the English Turf in a novelette, which he said he founded upon the English and French Racing Calendars, the "Sport- ing Magazine," and the portrait of the animal in the SU£'S HISTORY OF SCHAM. 189 library at Gogniagog. Agba, the Arab groom, to whom the horse is profoundly attached, and the celebrated Godolphin cat, figure prom.inently in the narrative. A Quaker staying in Paris hears that he is a grandfather, and, according to the custom of his sect, M. Sue says, at once resolves to perform some charitable action. He sees a horse in a cart, fear- fully overtasked, and brutally belaboured with a stick, at the foot of the Pont Neuf. He buys the horse, to save him from the torture of having a lighted torch applied, vice the stick discarded; and becomes the owner of Scham, the Godolphin Arabian. His his- tory, from the time he left the stables of the Bey of Tunis, in 1 73 1, to his death, is then told in the glow- ing language of the novelist, who concludes his nar- rative thus : — " They returned to Gogmagog ,in tri- umph ; and to prove his admiration of the wondrous powers of the Barb, Hobgoblin's splendid stable was appropriated to Scham, and the words ' Godolphin Arabian,' which name the Noble Lord had given to Scham, engraved in letters of gold on its marble pediment. This celebrated horse died at Gogmagog, in 1753, aged twenty-nine. Grimalkin had preceded him to the tomb, and Agba did not long survive im. Sir John Lade, who had been for many years the friend and associate of George the Fourth, when Prince of Wales, died at Egham on the loth of February, 1838, in his eightieth year. The vener- able baronet had retired from taking any active part 190 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. in Turf pursuits for some years before his death; but his had been, in the lifetime of his illustrious friend, a well-known and conspicuous figure at all the fashionable meetings. Sir John had the reputa- tion of being the best charioteer of his age as a Jehu sans peur and sans reproche. He was the hero of many stories of startling feats of skill on the bo:^, one of the most remarkable of which was driving the off-wheels of his phaeton over a sixpence placed on a certain spot in the road, for a considerable wager. All his contemporaries of the whip, even the celebrated bucks of the Four-in-hand Club, ac- knowledged Sir John in his prime to be " first-and- first" with the ribands. One of the numerous duties liable to be imposed upon a country gentleman in his own county is that of Steward at a Race Meeting — a post of consider- able responsibility, and likewise one the nomination, to which carries with it a high compliment. Up to a comparatively recent date, many races at the country meetings were run in heats. The distance chair was an important adjunct to the furniture of the racecourse. For such races as were run in heats, it was of course necessary to have a man in the dis- tance chair, who dropped a flag the instant the judge lowered his, and whose special duty it was to observe what horses, if any, did not pass the post. He was provided with a list of the horses and the colours of the riders, accurately made at the time the jockeys were weighed, in order, of course, that he might not ARTHUR PAVIS. igi mistake one horse for another. Though two hun- dred and forty yards had always been recognized as the proper space between the winning post and the distance post, there were many country racecourses on which the distance post was placed much nearer to the judge's chair; by which means the jockeys were often deceived in their calculations, and made mistakes in finishing their races. Arthur Pavis, the celebrated jockey, died at New- market on the 15th of October, 1839, at the early age of thirty-one. His first publib appearance in the saddle was at Exeter, in 1821, when he rode Nightshade in a handicap, his own weight being 3st. I libs. He was light-weight rider to George the Fourth, and also rode regularly in his later years for the Duke of Richmond and Colonel Peel. Whilst few of his most able contemporaries could scale at anything less than 8st. 4lbs., Pavis was always able to ride at seven stone without wasting. This, of course, gave him great advantage in light weight handicaps, and was one cause that led to his immense practice in his profession, which was larger than that of any other jockey of his day. Pavis was a good man, respected by his employers for his straightforwardness and honesty, and liked by all who knew him. After his death it was said of him that he was one who " had done his duty in that state of life to which it pleased God to call him." The case of Smith v, Pond was tried before Lord 192 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Abinger and a special jury, at the Middlesex Sittings after Michaelmas Term, 1842. It was a common gaming-house case, brought under the statute of Anne (9th, chap. 14), which was enacted to repress excessive gaming. The parish of St. George's, Ha- nover-square, swarmed with "hells," and hitherto the efforts of the parochial officers had been unable to put them down. The play at such houses was notoriously unfair, and the keepers had thrived in proportion to the number and wealth of the victims they had been able to fleece. It was resolved, there- fore, to bring an action under the statute above-men- tioned, which not only prohibits "excessive" gaming, but enables the loser of above ^lo at a sitting to re- cover treble the amount of his losses ; or, if he does not choose to take this course him'self, any informer is enabled to sue for and obtain the penalty, one-half of which is to benefit the poor of the parish in which the offence was committed, and the other half is to go into the pocket of the person bringing the action. In the case tried before Lord Abinger, the " hell " went by the high-sounding name of the Junior St. James's Club-house ; but there was not the least pre- tence for calling it a club : anybody went in to play, with hardly the formality of a first introduction. The keeper did a thriving trade, at French hazard chiefly ; and it was proved by the pUintifl", who had been one of the coterie who kept the table, that Mr. Bredell had lost .^200, Mr. Fitzroy Stanhope ^50, the Mar- quis of Conyngham ^500 on each of two separate SMITH V. BOND. 193 occasions, Lord Cantalupe ;^400, and other noble- men and gentlemen various sums. An ingenious plea was put in by counsel on behalf of Bond, the keeper of the "hell" — viz., that as the sums in question were paid by cheques, and inas- much as a cheque is not held to be a payment in law till cashed, and as the banks at which the cheques were payable were not in the parish of St. George's, Hanover-square, the offence was not completed in that parish, and defendant could not recover. The learned Chief Baron, however, overruled the objec- tion, and, under his direction, the jury returned a verdict for the plaintiff for ;^3,5o8, being treble the amount actually proved to have been lost; thus teaching a very useful lesson to the keepers of gaming-houses generally. Had Lords Conyngham and Cantalupe and Mr. Stanhope come forward as witnesses, and certified to their losses on the two oc- casions mentioned, additional penalties would have accrued to the amount of ^5,820. This obsolescent Act of Queen Anne did great service towards the suppression of badly-conducted gaming-houses, as, after the ruling of Lord Abinger and the finding of the jury, many of them closed their doors rather than run the risk of entertaining an informer unawares. Not only in the parishes of St. George and St. James were there causes of complaint. What unfair play and loaded dice did at night, defaulting bettors "welshers," as they are now called — practised by VOL. I. 13 194 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. day. The best legitimate Meetings, as well as the minor country-side ventures, were infested with the rogues. They dressed well, wore frilled shirts and "flash" rings, and were, perhaps, better able to pay their way about than honest men. The Chichester " extortioners," with their guinea a bed for a single night's lodging, were unable to keep these gentry away from the ducal Meeting; and the unmerciful dealings of mine hosts of Doncaster, Windsor, War- wick, and Newmarket, who enjoyed in those days an unenviable notoriety for the extravagance of their charges, were likewise powerless to clear their coifee-rooms of the welshing fraternity. Measures were taken to reduce the. evil. To begin with, the Messrs, Tattersall issued a {code of new rules and regulations, to be observed in future by all subscribers to the betting-room at the Corner, A subscription of two guineas per annum was fixed. Gentlemen desirous of subscribing were to give a week's notice in writing to Messrs, Tattersall and Son, submitting references for their approval. Non- subscribers might be admitted on payment of a guinea, and, the room being under the sanction of the Jockey Club, all the members were to be obedient to any suggestions made by the Senate of the Turf from time to time. Lastly, special attention was called to the forty-first rule of the Jockey Club, which enacted that any bettor ad- judged to be a defaulter by the Stewards should not be permitted to go on the Heath at Newmarket, DEALINGS WITH DEFAULTERS. 195 and they should also be excluded from the betting- rooms there, and at Tattersall's. This step in a right direction was followed, a few months later, by the action of the Trustees of the Grand Stand at Ascot, who gave notice that all defaulters in respect to stakes, forfeits, or bets on horse-racing, would be peremptorily excluded during any Meeting on the Heath at Ascot; and if any one in default did gain admittance, on being pointed out to the Noble Master of Her Majesty's Buckhounds, or to the Clerk of the Course, he would, if necessary, be expelled by force, unless he were able to show that he had discharged all his obligations. At Goodwood a similarly active policy was pur- sued; no person being notoriously a defaulter upon bets on horse-racing would be permitted to "assist" at the Meeting. A contumelious defaulter having obtained admission to the Enclosure, he received peremptory orders to quit; and the example set by the Stewards of Ascot and Goodwood was promptly taken up by the better class of country Meetings; and notices were posted that if any person noto- riously in default as to either forfeits or bets gained admittance he should be peremptorily expelled. At Doncaster it was requested that all parties who had claims for bets would not fail to notify the same to Mr. Butterfield, Land Steward to the Corporation, prior to the races, at his office, or at the Grand Stand. Lord Eglinton, who had taken a prominent part in the endeavour to stamp out this evil, wrote to the 13—2 196 HISTORY fiF THE BRITISH TURF. Town Clerk: — "It gives me much pleasure to find that the Corporation of Doncaster have passed the resolutions. Defaulters have become so numerous, and so audacious in their proceedings, that it is ab- solutely necessary that the strongest measures should be adopted against them." The Corporation of Don- caster, at their meeting, when his lordship's letter was read, resolved unanimously that the Town Clerk be requested immediately to confer with the pro- prietors of the betting-rooms, and that Lord Eglinton be permitted to purify those rooms, as well as the Stand and Enclosure. But to the influence and exertions of Lord George Bentinck, the "legitimates" owed the clearance of the Turf from the hordes of welshers and other non-payers that infested it. This " pleasing reform of the Turf" was brought about by his active mea- sures; and it was admitted that, had he not per- severed to the utmost, even his powerful influence would have been blighted, and the host of rotten sheep left to infect the sound constitution of the remaining flock. But such was the effect of the sharp remedies employed, that for some time after it was safe to make a bet with almost any man whom you might meet in the Betting Ring at respectable Race Meetings, so effectually was the Turf ridded of the pests that had infested it. The Riddlesworths, at Newmarket, which had been two of the greatest races of the year, were falling MH. THORNHILLS STUD. 197 into the sere and yellow leaf of their existence; but at his seat in Norfolk, from which the old-fashioned stake took its name, Mr. Thornhill maintained one of the best breeding studs in England. His white body, scarlet sleeves, and white cap had been pre- eminently popular colours for a quarter of a century, figuring in every race of note. He had won his first Derby in 181 8, with Sam; and his second, two years later, with Sailor. He had won the Oaks in 18 19 with Shoveller, and run a dead heat with Euclid for the St. Leger twenty years later. Connolly and Chifney were his favourite jockeys; and Pettitt, of Newmarket, took care of his horses in training. His stud Mr. Thornhill directed himself; and no breeder of thoroughbred stock ever brought greater skill and judgment to bear upon that difficult expe- riment than the Norfolk squire. The strains of Orville, Merlin, and Whisker were among the most successful employed at Riddlesworth ; and Emilius, Albemarle, and the Commodore did justice to their hereditary reputation. At the Norfolk stud farm everything was done in the best and most systematic manner. Expense was never spared ; and the result was that the lots, when they came to the hammer as yearlings, invariably brought remunerative prices. Foreigners especially, desirous of securing our best blood, resorted to Riddlesworth as affording them the safest market; for there every lot had its fixed price. As will shortly be noticed, the Turf had by this time regained whatever it might have lost of its 198 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. ancient prestige. The Duke of Portland, whose resignation had been announced and the sale of his stud advertised, decided to remain, as he had ever been, the steady friend and patron of the national sport, entering into a confederacy with the Duke of Rutland — a union which proved eminently successful. Her Majesty was likewise pleased to show some interest in the welfare of the Turf, and to reflect, in so far as became her sex, the regard shown for horse-racing by her immediate predecessors, George the Fourth and William the Fourth. Accordingly, at the time of Epsom Races, her Majesty, with Prince Albert, drove over from Claremont to Scott's Stables, near Leatherhead — John Scott then holding an unrivalled position as a trainer at the head of his profession. The Royal party witnessed the gallops of Cotherstone, the Derby favourite, and other horses engaged in the great race. The whole string of Scott's horses entered for the Derby were galloped on the Downs, and it was said that the Queen selected Cotherstone from the lot as the best, and made some very flattering remarks to his trainer upon his condition. Afterwards, her Majesty and the Prince inspected the extensive establishment at which Scott's horses were located ; and on their de- parture left a handsome present to be distributed among the grooms and others connected with the stable. The question of what should constitute a gentle- man rider had long been the subject of discussion. GENTLEMEN RIDERS. 199 Something like a definition arose out of an objection at the Warwick Meeting in 1843. In the days of heavy betting on the great three-yeaV-old races long before the events were decided, Warwick held a very important position, occurring, as it did, the week before the St. Leger was run for, just as Bath, pre^ ceding the Derby, was the scene of heavy betting. At the Warwick Meeting in 1843 a sweepstakes was run — three-year-olds, gst. 7lbs! ; four, lost. lolbs. ; five, list. 51b.; six and aged, i2st. : heats, once round. The incidents of the race, at this distance of time, are immaterial ; suffice it to say there was a squabble, and the report says, " as may be imagined from the highness of the weights, this was a ' gentle- men race,' and most gentlemanlike was it carried out." An objection was taken to one of the riders, on the score that he had been brought up in a racing stable, and in consequence, at the eleventh hour, another jockey had to be found and substituted, who, as it happened, was able to ride very well, so that the result was not altered by the change. The descrip^ tion of a gentleman rider was very indefinite, and on all hands it was felt desirable that it should be under^ stood distinctly who was and who was not qualified to assume the title. " We are no advocates," says a writer at the time, " for gentlemen riders; but as long as the absurdity is perpetrated, we should wish, for the sake of the character of the English gentleman, that something more in accordance with the generally HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. received opinion of what a gentleman is like should appear than the half buck, half hawbuck, pothouse- looking snobs we sometimes see attempting the cha- racter, and throwing silk jackets and leather breeches into convulsions," It was accordingly settled that it should not be a sufficient qualification for riding in a race for gentlemen riders only that a man was " on shaking hands intimacy with lords" — this being one of the pleas once put in against the validity of an objection — but that he should not be a professional rider, should never have ridden for hire, and should be at least known with some good pack of hounds. By this means it became pretty nearly impossible for any jockey less respectable than the son of a well- to-do tenant farmer to mount in a race one of the conditions of which' was that the riders should be gentlemen. No name was ever better known in connection with the literature of English sport, but more especially in connection with fox-hunting, than the nom de plume "Nimrod," borne by Mr. Apperley. He was the Dickens of his day in the sporting world. He wrote with a full knowledge and with a faithful perception of the most minute .objects in the scenes he de- scribed, and his "Hunting Tours" remain to this day the best works of their kind in the language. To him all doors were thrown open, and all men made him welcome, as it was well known his im- pressions of the visit would probably appear at an early day in th6 pages of the " Sporting Magazine." MR. APPERLEY. 201 There may, therefore, be some truth in the remark, that "the certainty of being 'shown up' in print, and the laudable anxiety of all men of cutting a respectable appearance, especially in the perma- nent record of a book, induced many to 'launch out' who could ill afford it, and so placed a stum- bling-block to the future prosperity, if not the lengthened existence, of some hunts." It was, in- deed, no trifling matter for a master of hounds to receive Nimrod on one of his tours of inspection. " Men ripped off their bridle-fronts, steeped their coat-laps in horse-pails to purple them, discarded their country boots and breeches, and the hunting- field became more like a field-day review than a great assembly of friends, each anxious to lend a hand in furtherance of the all-important object of killing a fox." The writer who created all this commotion in the shires, Charles James Apperley, died on the 19th of May, 1843, i" his sixty-seventh year, at his house. Upper Belgrave-street, Pimlico. The Oaks day, 1844, saw the last of another well- known character both at Newmarket and in St. James's-street. There was not much to be said for him in his lifetime, except that it was generally be- lieved that he always played fairly; and his decease was thus made public at the time : — " It is with sincere regret that we have to an- nounce the death of that well-known sporting cha- racter, William Crockford,! Esq., of Carlton-terrace, 202 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. and late proprietor of that costly establishment, Crockford's Club-house, St. James's-street, which took place on the Oaks day. He was in his sixty- ninth year, and his loss will be much felt in the betting circles." Four and thirty years have passed, and the face of St. James's-street has changed; but it may not seldom happen that some who pass the stone-fronted house by Piccadilly, and recollect what it once was and what they were then, as they are hustled at the corner by a member of the Devonshire, heave a sigh of regret for the old times gone for ever. The abortive attempt which had been made in 1817 to establish races on Wormwood Scrubs was followed, twenty years later, by a somewhat similar effort to introduce a racecourse into the metropolitan area. The Hippodrome, at Bayswater, was projected by Mr. John Whyte, who had acquired for this pur- pose a large piece of ground at Notting-hill. From first to last a few persons living in the vicinity made themselves conspicuous by their opposition to Mr. Whyte's project, their reasons being rather that a great racecourse at Bayswater would be detrimental to the interests of owners of property, in the neigh- bourhood than any objections to horse-racing per se. After Mr, Whyte had expended several thousand pounds in preparing the ground for a racecourse, at the eleventh hour, just before the Hippodrome was to be opened to the public, a question of right of way across the ground was raised. Mr. THE HIPPODROME. ■ 203 Whyte was summoned before the petty sessions at Kensington, to answer an information preferred against him that he had " obstructed the passage of a certain footway situate in the parish of St. Mary Abbot's, Kensington." The Hippodrome comprised a course well suited to the purposes of racing, two miles in extent, and a steeplechase course of like dimensions. In the centre of the course was a hill, from which the spec- tators could see well all round the course, and the view from this hill was at that time very beautiful. Notwithstanding the opposition of the inhabitants of the parish of St. Mary Abbot's, and the asserted right of way across his land, Mr. Whyte, who was a man of enterprise and spirit, determined to hold a meeting at his Hippodrome as soon as the prepa- rations in progress were completed. Of the first meeting the Sunday Times of June 4th, 1837, gives the following account: — " Despite opposition of all sorts — despite of claimants of right of way, and every other obstruc- tion — the Hippodrome was opened; its huge cir- cumference being duly encircled by very high wooden palings, at least seven feet in altitude, and guarded internally by iron hoopings. But all this availed not against the gigantic efforts of the Ken- sington right-of-wayers. Down went bolt and bar- rier; prostrated were hoops and hoarding; the claimants fairly made their way over the course. The proprietor, finding it impossible to oppose such 204 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. a demonstration of public feeling, consented to the ' way ' remaining open, and some thousands thus obtained gratuitous admission. " There certainly was a call upon the inhabitants of the metropolis to show what they were made of, to which they unanimously responded. Every vehicle that coach, cab, or cart builder ever con- structed or imagined was en route soon after mid- day. Oxford-road looked like Sutton on the Derby Day. Every order of man, woman, and child, ve- hicle and quadruped, showed. We must, on such an occasion, be allowed to break away from the common course of description, and dash into the invocation we can imagine the projectors having vociferated. " Success to the public-spirited individual who first proposed bringing Epsom nearer town, transferring Doncaster to Bayswater, and carrying the heretofore afar off scenes home to our very hearths. Come, ye dwellers of the West — come from the squares of , Belgrave and Berkeley! Come from Mayfair and Marylebone, from Pall Mall and Piccadilly! Come ye also of a far different grade — come from Petticoatr lane and the purlieus of Houndsditch! Come, ye thousands, from the hundreds of Drury! Come from the counting-house in Cornhill, from the chamber in Fig-tree-court! Come all, of every sort, either ' on the ten-toed machine that haymakers use in Ireland,' or across anything that by the utmost stretch of invention may possibly pass for an eques- trian quadruped!" THE CANADIAN CASE. 205 The Hippodrome venture was abandoned in May, 1842, when the following announcement was made: — "We are extremely sorry to say this spirited undertaking has been abandoned, as we learn from an announcement in the Racing Calendar, of the 5 th of April, from the proprietor of the racecourse, ' that the ground having been taken possession of by the mortgagees for the purposes of building, it would be out of his power to run the races advertised.' " A great deal of unpleasant criticism had been provoked by the withdrawal of Canadian from the Derby at the eleventh hour. It was called " a rob- bery," an "infernal swindle," and other equally strong names; and the Sunday Times supported this view of the case, publishing an article in which the owner was accused of scratching his horse be- cause he had laid very heavily against it, following up this article, when an apology was demanded, by a justification and a still more severe article. Cana- dian was the property of an honourable and upright sportsman — Mr. Fulke Greville — ^who had a joint betting-book with Colonel Peel. Mr. Greville brought an action for libel, which was heard before Lord Abinger, to whose lot it generally fell to try horse cases, as he was supposed to understand more about the noble animal than most of his brethren 'on the Bench. The action came on for trial at Croydon, on the 14th of August, 1842, when Mr. Thesiger appeared for the plaintiff, and the Solicitor- General 2o6 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. for the defendants. A large number of witnesses — among them Mr. Field, the veterinary surgeon; and Isaac Day, the trainer; Mr. Weatherby, and Lord John Fitzroy — ^were called. Colonel Peel proved that, although he and Mr. Greville had laid /6,ooo to £2>\^ against Canadian, and of course won that sum "by his being withdrawn, yet if he had won they would have netted ^8,000 on their book, as there were only two better horses in the race for them than Canadian. Lord Abinger, in his summing up, told the jury that the allegations on which the articles in the Sunday Times were grounded were proved to be false; and then Mr. Solicitor-General turned round and said, " Oh, it may be all very true that the horse was lame ; but the plaintiff ought to have made the public acquainted with the fact sooner." This was very ingenious, but it formed no answer to the present action. The jury awarded Mr. Greville damages to the amount of £,2^0. The Marquis of Westminster, the Duke of Rich- mond, Lord George Bentinck, Colonel Anson, the Hon. G. S. Byng, Colonel Udney, Mr. Payne, and a large number of sporting men of all ranks were subpoenaed by the defendants, but were not called. The case excited the greatest interest in sporting circles, and the inconvenient court at Croydon was crowded to suffocation at the hearing. Colonel Peel and Mr. Greville were sportsmen of the most unblemished character, and the verdict gave the most general satisfaction. CONNOPS CASE. 207 The attempt to upset the verdict on appeal was unsuccessful ; and on the same day that the rule for a new trial was discharged in the Queen's Bench, Lord Chief Justice Denman delivered judgment in another case of great interest to the sporting world — ^that of Lord George Bentinck v. Connop. The defendant had entered three horses for the Grand Duke Michael Stakes of fifty sovs. each, and thus became liable to pay Lord George, who had won the race, 150 sovs. This Connop refused to- do; sheltering himself under the statute 16 Charles IL, which enacts that no action in horse-racing can be maintained to recover a stake exceeding ;^ioo. The Court decided that the case was one that came within the meaning of the words as well as the spirit of the Act, which was enacted for the purpose of restraining the practice of gambling, and was clearly of opinion that judgment be entered for the de- fendant. Lord George Bentinck had no expecta- tion of gaining his case, but brought the action purely for the purpose of showing in his true colours a man who refused to fulfil his engagements. The Duke of Cleveland, who was perhaps better known as a sportsman under his younger title of Lord Darlington, was a loving follower of all manly English sports. He was great with the gun, and one of the best supporters of the Turf of his time; yet, perhaps, his greatest pride was to be found in such an entry as this in the book kept at Raby 2o8 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Castle:—" Killed eighty-eight foxes, earthed twenty- one; blank days none" — for the heart of this princely fox-hunter was with his hounds. He "began his racing career in 1791, when Lord Barnard, with a horse to which the calendars give no pedigree. In the next year he succeeded to the title of Earl of Darlington, and soon after he formed a large stud, both of brood mares and horses in training, which he maintained regardless of expanse from that date till the time of his death. He was for fifty years a leading patron of the Turf, and during that long period no man owned more good horses. St. George, Haphazard, Pavilion, Whisker, Memnon, Liverpool, Voltaire, and Muley Moloch were some of his Grace's best animals. William Chifney trained for him at Newmarket, and his brother Sam was first rider. In the North, William Peirse trained his Grace's horses at Belle Isle, near Richmond, Yorkshire, and was at his death succeeded by his son Thomas. Heseltine and Smith also trained for the Duke; and John Day succeeded Chifney as leading jockey, upon the retirement of the latter. The Duke of Cleveland must have ex- pended an enormous sum upon his horses from first to last, and probably the debit account was very great. It curiously happened that on one Derby Day early in his Grace's career on the Turf he had mentioned that the account current of his stud stood on the debit side to the extent of some ;^30,ooo. In the course of the afternoon he received, by an express sent to the course, news of the death of MR. CHRISTOPHER WILSON. 209 a relative, which at once added ;^40,ooo a year to his income. The Duke died at his house in St. James's-square, on the 29th of January, 1842, at the age of seventy-five. He was born Lord Barnard, succeeded to the Earldom of Darlington in 1792, was created Marquis in 1827, and Baron Raby and Duke of Cleveland in 1833. A few weeks later, the Duke's old friend, Mr. Christopher Wilson, passed away, at the good old age of seventy-nine. For a great number of years Mr. Wilson was the Nestor of the Turf, and, indeed, during the latter portion of his life bore the honour- able title of the Father of the Turf. He was con- stantly appealed to in matters of dispute connected with racing, and always endeavoured to settle them with justice to all parties. His judgment was naturally sound, and the respect felt for his character caused his dicta to be followed without a murmur by those against whom he might at the time be compelled to decide. Mr. Wilson was an English gentleman of the old school, keeping up all good old customs, and liberally dispensing his hospitality at Oxton House, near Tadcaster, his residence. For sixty years he attended nearly every meeting at Epsom, Ascot, Newmarket, York, and Doncaster, at the same time rarely missing any other meeting of interest. He was well-known from North to South, and his memory was kept green by the many friends who held his character in the highest esteem. At the time of his death, Mr. Wilson was the only man who had won VOL. I, 14 2IO HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the Derby and the St. Leger in the same year. This was in 1800, with his celebrated horse Cham- pion, which was bred by his friend the Duke of Cleveland. The Father of the Turf breathed his last on Derby Day, May 2-5th, 1842. At this time a notorious informer began proceed- ings against a great number of licensed victuallers to recover penalties for permitting drawing of Derby, St. Leger, and other " sweeps." The publicans, in consequence, applied to the Home Office to know if such "sweeps" were against the law. To their me- morial Sir James Graham replied that he niust refer them to the Act prohibiting lotteries, adding that "any person offending against the statute is liable to be proceeded against as therein directed;" thus stamping the practice of holding "sweeps" as illegal, to the great consternation of the licensed victuallers generally, who for many years past had promoted " sweeps " on every great race. Another veteran, who was all his life devotedly attached to Turf pursuits, did not long survive his old associates and friends, Mr. Kit Wilson and the Duke of Cleveland. George, Duke of Grafton, died in his eighty-fifth year, at Euston Hall, Suffolk, on the 28th of September, 1844. Like his father, the'Duke had a passion for sport, especially racing; and by their efforts a great improvement was made in the natural breed of race-horses. The Duke's most celebrated brood mares were Prunella and Penelope, her daughter. Prunella was dam of Parasol, Pledge THE YEAR 1844. (dam of Tiresias), Pawn, Waxy Pope, Piquet, and other good aniriials ; while from her daughter Pene- lope were descended Whalebone (winner of the Derby in 18 10), Whisker (Derby, 18 15), Web (dam of Middleton, who won the Derby in 1825), Woful, Waterloo, Whizgig, and Wire. Buckle was his Grace's first choice to steer his horses to victory; and after that great jockey's death, John Day ap- peared most frequently in the popular scarlet jacket and black cap of the Duke of Grafton. The year 1 844 was not remarkable only for the twin chickens hatched from the same &gg at the Royal Aviary at Windsor, though they attracted no little attention — one being a cock bird of the Cochin China breed, and the other a hen chick of the Dork- ing kind. The Derby was won by Orlando, the pro- perty of Colonel Peel. A horse, entered on the card as Mr. A, Wood's Running Rein, by the Saddler, out of Queen Mab, by Duncan Grey, ridden by Mann, came in first, but was afterwards disqualified. Ratan, who started second favourite for the same race, was also the subject of an ugly scandal, and the numerous qui tarn actions afforded something more than amusement to the large number of noblemen and, gentlemen who were served with writs. Altogether it was a stormy time. The story of the Running Rein case is as fol- lows: — In the autumn of 1843 the horse falsely called by this name won a race at Newmarket in the October Meeting. He was then — as was fully 14 — 2 212 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. proved after his coming in first for the Derby of the year following — three years old, and his appearance was such that the Duke of Rutland entered an ob- jection to him immediately after the race. The matter was thus reported at the time: — "There were some grounds for supposing that Mr. Goodman's Running Rein was a year older than he ought to be to qualify him for a two-year-old race; and, to speak plainly, the colt is as well-furnished as many of our bonA fide three-year-olds." The Duke having ob- jected, the onus probandi was thrown upon him. There was a dispute about the payment of bets, and, at Captain Rous's suggestion, they were paid under protest. On this occasion the colt was ridden by Buckle; and Goodman, having backed him from ten down to three to one, won a large stake. The report says: — "Mr. Goodman made a good specu- lation of this, but, as we have before observed, the paying was done under protest. Running Rein, if he be only two years old, is one of the forwardest that ever caught our eye." The stakes were duly paid to Goodman after the Duke of Rutland's objec- tion had been sifted, and the bets of course followed the stakes. Although he had successfully got over the two- year-old difficulty, Goodman could hardly have been surprised when Colonel Peel objected to his horse, after coming in first for the Derby. The Colonel's objections were — first, that the colt was not identical with one purchased of Dr. Cobb ; and secondly, that THE RUNNING REIN CASE. 213 he was four years old. The Derby of 1844 was the sixty-sixth anniversary of the great race, and it may safely be said that none of its predecessors had ever given rise to so much and such general confusion — the death of Mr. Crockford and Colonel Peel's objec- tion making settlement very difficult for all the Ring men. The following pedigree was given of Running Rein by his party. He was foaled in 1841 ; bred by Charles Cobb, Esq., Surgeon, Low-street, New Mal- ton; was got by the Saddler out of Mab (bred by E. Ewbank, Esq., who sold her to W. Allen, Esq., of The Lodge, Malton, from whom she was trans- ferred by purchase to Mr. Cobb), by Duncan Grey, &c., going back to Flying Childers, In connection with Mr. Goodman, the trainer, were Wood, the reputed owner, a notorious scoun- drel named "Pickle" Higgins, and several other swindlers. Mr. Weatherby paid the stakes into the Court of Exchequer, and Baron Alderson and a special jury tried the case of Wood v. Peel, for the possession of the stakes, on the istof July. The issue to be tried was "whether a certain horse called Running Rein was a colt foaled in 1841, whose sire was the Saddler and dam Mab." The case of the plaintiff was that his horse was three years old and no more, and that the pedigree he gave was the true one. The defend- ant's case was that the colt Running Rein, which came in first for the Derby, was a bay colt by 214 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Gladiator, dam by Capsicum, bred by Sir C. Ibbot- son in 1840, bought by Goodman at Doncaster Races in 1 84 1, and sent thence to Northampton, where he was handed over to one Worley, a resident at Sywell, a small village near that town. From this point the history of the colt was traced up to the night on which it was delivered at Hayne's stables in Langham-place, September 24th, 1842, For it was admitted by the plaintiff" that the colt that went from Hayne's stables and the horse that came in first for the Derby were the same. The case was heard by Baron Alderson and a special jury, at Westminster, on the ist of July, when the proceedings lasted over a couple of days. Before the case came on for trial, however, Baron Alderson gave an order for the horse to be shown to veterinary surgeons and other experts, who might satisfy the Court at the trial as to the horse's age. This order of the Court the plaintiff" refused, or evaded compliance with. As soon as the trial began, therefore, the judge intimated to counsel that he should require the horse to be produced. Counsel struggled hard, but his lordship said: — " Produce your horse — that's the best answer to the whole question. Is it sufficient to hear the surgeon's deposition as to the appearance of a dead body ? And shall the jury be told they are not to see that body?" The first day passed over, nevertheless, without the production of the noble animal; and on the THE RUNNING REIN CASE. 215 morning of the second, counsel stated that it was the plaintiff's most anxious desire to produce the horse, after the observations his lordship had been pleased to make, but that it was quite out of his power to do so, as the horse had been removed by- some parties without his knowledge or consent, and he did not know where it was to be found. The late Baron Alderson, however, was one of the least likely of his brethren on the Bench to allow dust to be thrown in his eyes by a tale of this sort. " If," said he, " Mr. Goodman or any of that sort of people have taken away that horse for the pur- pose of concealing it, against Mr. Wood's will (which I suppose), I have no doubt it is a case of horse- stealing, and a case for the Central Criminal Court ; and I can only say, if I try them I will transport them for life to a dead certainty." The impression produced on the minds of the jury was conclusive, and the subsequent perjuries of Worley and Odell as to the identity of the colt were thrown away. Wood, stating through his counsel that he was satisfied that some fraud had been prac- tised on him with reference to the horse, intimated his desire to withdraw from the case. As Wood had bought the horse with his engage- ments, there was no imputation against him, and nothing in the evidence to show that he had had any part in the fraud. It then only remained for the judge to direct the jury to find a verdict for the de- fendant, as the plaintiff declined further to contest 2i6 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the case. So ended the trial of this cause cillbre, the most remarkable case of substitution of one horse for another, for the purpose of winning great stakes and bets, ever known on the Turf. It may be well to reproduce the closing observations of Baron Alder- son to the jury : — " Before we part, I must be allowed to say that this case has produced great regret and disgust in my mind. It has disclosed a wretched fraud, and has shown' noblemen and gentlemen as- sociating and betting with men of low rank, and in- finitely beneath them in society. In so doing they have found themselves cheated and made the dupes of the grossest frauds. They may depend upon it that it will always be so when gentlemen associate and bet with blackguards." , The jury, of course, immediately returned a ver- dict for the defendant ; the effect of which was to give the stakes to Orlando, and to make his backers entitled to receive, while those who had backed Running Rein had to pay. The large funds locked up in Derby " sweeps " were also promptly distri- buted; a settling day at Tattersall's was immediately fixed; end the Jockey Club, at its general meeting, passed the following resolution : — " That, it being now proved that Running Rein was three years old when he ran for the Two-year-old Plate at New- market, Crenoline must be considered the winner of that race, and that the Duke of Rutland is entitled to the Plate. That the thanks of the Jockey Club are eminently due, and are hereby offered, to Lord THE RUNNING REIN CASE. 217 George Bentinck, for the energy, perseverance, and skill which he has displayed in detecting, exposing, and defeating the atrocious frauds which have been brought to light during the recent trial respecting the Derby Stakes." With regard to the former part of the resolution, the Jockey Club having further decided that bets were to be paid to the backers of Crenoline, the re- port says : — " The question respecting Running Rein (Maccabeus) and Crenoline, so long in abeyance, was decided in the morning by the Jockey Club in favour of Crenoline ; so that those who betted the odds against the filly have to get their monish back — if they c^n. We can only add, we wish they may get it." No doubt, the layers of odds, who had already paid over the winner to persons many of whom they would never see again, took the most effective mea- sures in their power to avoid compliance with the order of the Turf Senate. With regard to the recognition of Lord George Bentinck's services, the action of the Jockey Club had already been anticipated ; for on the evening after the trial was concluded, at a meeting of gentle- - men connected with the Turf, a resolution was passed to present to Lord George a piece of plate, in token of the high sense entertained of his indefatigable and successful exertions, not only in the Running Rein affair, but for the services which he had rendered in promoting the stability and prosperity of racing in general. The result was that a considerable sum 2i8 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. was subscribed in the room ; and that the Messrs. Weatherby, who acted' as treasurers, soon had in their hands a handsome fund to be applied to the purposes of the Bentinck Presentation. Lord William George Frederick Cavendish Ben- tinck, always known as " Lord George " on the Turf, who held a position in the sporting world seldom equalled, and rarely, if ever, surpassed, was born on the 27th of February, 1802, at Welbeck, the second son of the Duke of Portland, himself an excellent sportsman. His mother was Henrietta, daughter of Major-General Scott, and sister of the Dowager Lady Canning. Lord George Bentinck early chose the profession of arms, and about the year 1819 entered the army as a cornet in the Tenth Hussars. Upon the appointment of Mr. Canning as Governor- General of India, he received the nomination of Mili- tary Secretary. Castlereagh died suddenly, Canning became Foreign Secretary and leader of the House of Commons ; and Lord George Bentinck became private secretary to his relative, instead of under- taking the duties of Military Secretary, as he had expected. After discharging the duties of this honorary appointment for three years, with great zeal and ability, his attention was directed once more' to his first choice among professions. The change came about in this way: Lord George was riding off New- market Heath on his cob, in company with the Duke of York, then Commander-in-Chief, who loved horse- LORD GEORGE BENTINCK. 219 racing as much as the young officer by his side ; when, after a little pleasant chat, he made his companion a presentation to an unattached majority then vacant. But Lord George Bentinck's connection with the army was not destined to last ; for two years later he was elected to Parliament by the borough of Lynn, and shortly afterwards his name ceased to appear in the Army List. It was only natural that the son of his father should take kindly to racing; and we find him riding a winner at Goodwood — always his favourite course — in 1824, when he appeared in silk for the first time, on Mr. Poyntz's Olive. And for this race there were two dead heats between Olive and Swin- don, and a hard struggle for victory in the deciding heat. Beginning with a small stud of well-selected animals, among which may be reckoned the stout Venison and the Drummer, _ Lord George's string gradually increased, till, in 1844, we find him with forty horses running in public, and nearly a hun- dred to which he "belonged" in all, Elis (St. Leger), Grey Momus, and Crucifix (Oaks), did good service, and Gaper ought to have won the Derby, on which his owner's heart was set. Unfortunately, although he could not win a Derby for himself, Lord George sold in his stud, when they came to the hammer, the Derby winner of the year following. At all manly sports Lord George was an adept. He rode well to hounds; shot well In the old- fashioned style, with spaniel, pointer, and setter; was 220 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. a good oarsman, and a good cricketer; and on the racecourse he was facile princeps. In the House of Commons he rapidly and surely made his mark. His is the greatest name among Turf reformers, and in his measures he always had chiefly an eye to the comfort and happiness of the sightseers who flocked to the racecourse for an afternoon's amusement. Of what was thought of his achievements in his life- time let contemporary criticism speak. Lord George, says a writer in 1 847, made it his great care to pro- vide for the inasses — a portion of the company that previously had little thought or attention bestowed to their wants. He forced stewards, trainers, and jockeys to come out punctual to that time they had never hitherto professed to keep. He heralded, for the benefit of every spectator within sight, the names by numbers of the fields preparing to start. And, to perfect this part of his design, suggested that fine treat — the saddling, walking, and cantering the horses before the Stands. Previous to these admirable ar- rangements, many a man, wearied with waiting, left the course ere the race he came down to see was run ; or, thanks to an indifferent card and one transient view, without a glance at the horse he had pinned his faith to. But, useful as were the improvements introduced by Lord George Bentinck for the benefit of the public, they are put into the shade by his reforms of Turf abuses. He cleared the race- courses of England of defaulters by his stringent code of laws; he suppressed the prevalent system of LORD GEORGE BENTINCK. 221 false starts, and he was constantly ready and active to put down swindling in whatever form it reared its hydra head. " The memory," says our author, " of the great Reformer of Turf abuse& and racecourse monopoly will live as long as an Englishman has a taste for the amusement, or a sympathy and ad- miration for one who alone effected what a whole body allowed themselves unequal to attempt." Lord George once fought a duel against no less redoubtable a foeman than Squire Osbaldeston, who behaved with characteristic generosity in the affair. It is said that the quarrel originated in regard to a betting transaction between the parties at Heaton Park. At the Newmarket Craven Meeting, Mr. ' Osbaldeston, riding up to Lord George Bentinck, said, " Lord George, I want four hundred, won ot you at Heaton Park." To this the reply was, " You want four hundred pounds that you swindled me of at Heaton Park." Such a rejoinder hardly admitted of apology, and, after the usual preliminary arrange- ments, a duel was fought. It fell to Lord George Bentinck's lot to fire first. His pistol missed, where- upon, without any appearance of excitement, he said to his adversary, " Now, Squire, it's two to one in your favour." " Is it?" said his opponent. "Why, then, the bet's off," and discharged the contents of the pistol in the air. Though spared by the generosity of Mr. Osbaldes- ton, Lord George Bentinck did not live long to lead the Protectionist party in the House of Commons. HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. He left a scene in which he was-described as a giant among pigmies, to throw himself into the troubled waters of politics. He was a man who, from his natural temperament, was unable to do anything by halves ; and it was the opinion of many of his friends that had he stuck to his sporting pursuits, and never been tempted by the glitter of a parliamentary fame, his naturally fine constitution might have enabled him to emulate many of the old Fathers of the Turf in length of days, while he had already exceeded anything they had ever attained in influence. For eleven years he was the steady and unflinching sup- porter of Sir Robert Peel, having openly joined the ranks of the Conservative party after Whig intrigues which led to the treaty of Lichfield House, and the resignation of Sir Robert. Lord George's death wis of a most painful charac- ter. His body was found dead in a meadow of his father's, at Welbeck, in Nottinghamshire, on the 21st of September, 1848. The verdict of the coroner's jury at the inquest was, " Died by the visitation of God — to wit, a spasm of the heart." His premature death created the most painful sensation throughout the country, and his friends thought that his end had been brought about by late hours, insufficient sleep, and overwork. The following anecdote may serve to show that he had just notions of the obliga- tions imposed by a debt of honour: — A man who owed him ;^4,ooo for bets called upon him, and, having explained his utter inability LORD GEORGE BENTINCK. 223 to pay in full, tendered ten shillings in the pound down, and promised to pay the remaining moiety of the debt by instalments. " Sir," replied Lord George, " no man has a right to bet if he cannot pay should he lose. The sum I want of you is ^4,000, and until that is paid you are in the list of defaulters in the Ring and on the course." In Lord Beaconsfield's account of the life of Lord George Bentinck, he says that on the 25th May, the day after the Derby Day, he met Lord George Bentinck in the library of the House of Commons. He was standing before the book-shelves, with a volume in his hand, and his countenance was greatly disturbed. His resolutions in favour of the colonial interest, after all his labours, had been negatived by the Committee on the 22 nd, and on the 24th his horse Surplice, whom he had parted with among the rest of his stud, solely that he might pursue without distraction his labours on behalf of the great interests of the country, had won that paramount and Olym- pian stake to gain which had been the object of his life. He had nothing to console him, and nothing to sustain him except his pride. Even that deserted him before a heart which he knew at least could yield him sympathy. He gave a sort of superb groan — " All my life I have been trying for this, and for what have I sacrificed it ? " he murmured. It was in vain to offer solace. "You do not know what the Derby is," he moaned out. 224 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. " Yes, I do. It is the blue ribbon of the Turf." " It is the blue ribbon of the Turf," he slowly repeated to himself; and sitting down at the table, he buried himself in a folio of statistics. The excellent charity so well known as the Ben- tinck Benevolent and Provident Fund was started with a sum of £2,100, subscribed for the testimonial to Lord George Bentinck, of which previous men- tion has been made. The qui tarn actions were causes brought under certain statutes enacted in the reigns of Queen Anne and King Charles the Second, by which it was .made illegal to bet or wager beyond a small amount on any game at cards or dice. The persons who brought these actions, belonging to the lowest dregs of society to be found in the purlieus of the Hay- market, sought to recover three times the amount of sums won at various race meetings throughout the kingdom; their contention, of course, being that the words "and all other games," following the games defined in the statute of, Arine, included horse-races, coursing with greyhounds, and other sporting contests. In the spring of 1844, a large number of noble- men and gentlemen, the principal patrons of the Turf, were served with writs in these qui tarn actions. Until the actions should come on for hearing at Westminster, there was plainly only one advisable course open to them, and that was to petition Parliament for a repeal of the statutes. A VEXATIOUS SUITS. 225 numerously and influentially signed memorial accord- ingly went the round of sporting circles, and in due course was presented to Parliament, praying the relief of the petitioners' grievance. A return of the number of writs of summons issued out of the plea side of the Court of Exchequer between July i and December 31, 1843, was furnished to the House of Commons, when it appeared that no less than thirty- four such writs had been issued against Lord George Bentinck, Lord Eglinton, and some of the best- known names on the Turf, including those of Messrs. Anson, Bowes, Greville, Gully, Hill, and Jonathan Peel. All these writs were issued by an attorney named Russell — thirty at the suit of one Russell, a relative; three at the suit of John Lewis, and one at that of the attorney. The return was headed vexatious suits. Meanwhile Parliament was not idle. Committees of inquiry to examine into the laws of gaming were appointed, both in the Lords and Commons ; and in the former Lord Campbell, and in the latter the Attorney-General, Sir F. Pollock, expressed their readiness to co- operate in revising the obsolete statutes on which the actions were founded. In a few days a Bill was drafted which was designed to put a stop to qui tarn actions. This measure was rapidly passed through both Houses, and became law on July 29th, on which day the Royal assent was given. It was styled the Gaming Acts Suspension Continuation Bill, and one of its VOL. I. .. '5 226 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. provisions was that in future, to recover penalties, the sanction of the Attorney-General must be first obtained before an action shall be brought with reference to any of the following games: — Horse- races, foot-races, regattas, rowing matches, sailing matches, coursing matches, fencing matches, golf, wrestling matches, cricket, tennis, fives, racquets, bowls, quoits, curling, putting the stone, and any boncifide variety of any of the above sports, pastimes, or games, and any sport, pastime, or game of a like or similar description to the above-mentioned, to which a different name may by general or local usage be given. This provision covered the whole ground as far as the future was concerned, in so far as all manly English sports were involved under the enactments'' of obsolete statutes. But as the new law could not, it was thought, be made retrospective in its action; the cause of Russell and Others v. Lord George Bentinck was set down for trial at the assizes at Guildford, and in due course came on for hearing before Mr. Baron Parke and a jury. There was an array of counsel on both sides; and counsel for plaintiff stated that this was an action brought to recover ;^3,ooo, which, it was alleged, the noble defendant had won of John Day; and three times the amount of that sum, amounting in all to ;^ 12,000. There was a second count, alleging substantially the same matter, but applied to the betting by the defendant with one Henry Hill, and claiming a similar penalty. ACTION AGAINST LORD GEORGE BENTINCK. 227 Baron Parke asked how the case could be pro- ceeded with, in the face of the Act just passed to stay proceedings in qui tarn actions. Upon this it was intimated that Lord George Bentinck did not wish to avail himself of this new statute, but wished to have the case settled on its merits as the law had Stood before the passing of the Act. Baron Parke reserved this question of law for the consideration of the judges, but said he was willing to try the case. It was like the thoroughly plucky spirit of such a sportsman as Lord George, who had at different times more than his share of vexatious actions, to wish to see the question settled on its merits, once and for ever, if possible; as he had been advised no jury would ever find a verdict for the plaintiffs in actions of this description. It was also characteristic of the learned Baron Parke, who had a strong regard for all good English 'sports, to second the desire of the defendant to take the verdict of his country rather than move the Court above on the point of law. The case, therefore, proceeded, counsel for the plaintiff stating that at the last Epsom Races John Day had betted Lord George Bentinck ^^20,000 to £2^0 against his lordship's horse Gaper, but the horse having risen very much in the betting on the day of running, he applied to Henry Hill, com- mission agent, to induce the defendant to hedge, and the bet was then permitted to stand over at >^20,ooo to ;^3,ooo. Mr. Hill also laid Day ^20,000 IS— 2 228 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. to ;i^3,ooo against the horse, and both these bets were paid at Tattersall's on the settling day. John Day was put into the witness-box, and Mr. Bovill, who, somewhat curiously, was retained for the witnesses, objected to his being sworn. Baron Parke ruled that he must be sworn. This done. Day appealed to his lordship whether he was obliged to answer questions which might criminate himself, as he was himself proceeded against with regard to the same bet. The judge ruled that he need not answer questions which might implicate him, but he must answer all other questions. For instance, if he lost in a certain transaction, he must answer; but he need not if he won, as the Act inflicted penalties on the winners only. John Day then gave his evidence. Mr. Hill, on whose behalf a similar objection was made to that in the former case, but nothing could be got out of him tending to prove the plaintift's statement that Lord George Bentinck had won ^3,000. " I have not brought my betting-book, my lord," said Mr. Hill, in reply to a question from the Bench; "the moment I heard of the qui tarn actions I burnt it." At the end of Mr. Hill's evidence. Baron Parke said: "Then the second count is done for — ' that the defendant had won a betof/3,000.'" To prove the first count, Mr. Gully was called, and he also claimed protection from having to answer questions which might implicate himself Mr. Gully explained that he made a bet of ^20,000 to ;^3,ooo, ACTION AGAINST LORD GEORGE BENTINCK. 229 not for Day, but took it himself of the defendant. Baron Parke then said: "Mr. Gully, with respect to this bet, could you, without any violation of any arrangement with Day, have transferred it to any one else?" To which the witness replied: "Oh, yes, my lord; no doubt of it." In his summing up to the jury, the learned Baron said that what Mr. Gully did must have been eo animo, that he was acting at the time as the agent of Day. He says that he made the bet for the purpose of benefiting Day ; but that he himself was respon- sible for it, and that he should have had a right to transfer it to a third person. Now, to make the defendant liable to this count of the action, Mr. Gully must, at the moment he made the bet, have made it as the agent of Day. If you think he was not the agent of Day, the verdict must be for the defendant; if you think, on the other hand, that Mr. Gully was the agent of Day, then the verdict will be for the plaintiff. As to the payment of the money, there is no reasonable evidence for the jury to conclude that it was paid. The jury at once returned a verdict for the de- fendant; and so an effectual stop was put to the subtle hangers-on of the Turf, who thought to fill their pockets with ill-gotten, if lawful, coin, by bring- ing qui tarn actions against the chief patrons of the national sport. The Select Committee appointed by the House of Commons to inquire into the laws respecting 230 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. gaming had very properly thought it undesirable to inquire into the matters connected with the qui tarn actions, feeling that to inquire into the matters to which those actions related would be in some respects to prejudge the cases. The Committee thought proper to divide the old laws in force against gaming into four classes. First, they made a class of those laws of very early periods, which prohibited certain games and amusements on political grounds, and in order that the people might not be led by such diversions to disuse the practice of archery — a general skilfulness in which was deemed essential for the defence of the realm. (17 Ed. IV., c. 3; 33 Hen. VIII., c. 9.) A second class was formed of such statutes as were of the nature of sumptuary laws, being intended to prevent what the framers of those laws considered excessive gaming; and being thus destined to restrain individuals from wasting their substance by losing too much money on gaming and pastimes. The third class consisted of those enactments which belong to the class of laws against fraud, and which have for their purpose the prevention of cheating and other unfair practices in games upon which money is to be lost and won. The fourth and last class comprised laws relating to public morals, which prohibit common gaming- houses and public gambling as public nuisances, by which the peace of society may be disturbed, and by which simple and unwary men are liable to be led SELECT COMMITTEE ON GAMING. 231 into dissolute and vicious habits, whereby the morals and interests of the community would be injured. The sanctions imposed by these statutes are chiefly of three kinds — the imposition of pecuniary penalties upon offenders, by rendering winnings null and void ; in certain cases by giving losers the power to recover what they have lost ; and in some cases by making offenders liable to imprisonment. The results of the Committee's deliberations went to show that, with the exception of the laws against common gaming-houses, these various statutes had very rarely been called into operation. The report of the Committee recommended that the old statutes restraining persons from playing at certain games, many of which are conducive alike to health and innocent amusement, should be repealed ; that the sumptuary laws, prescribing the amount of money which individuals should win or lose at a sitting, should be repealed, as the Committee saw no differ- ence between the offence (if offence it be) of winning ^10 or a greater sum. But, while they took this view of wagers, the members of the Committee put in the cautious proviso that, although they recom- mended that wagering should be free, and subject to no penalty, it was also concurrently their opinion that wagers are not matters which ought to be brought for adjudication before courts of law. The law of England considered wagers in general as legal contracts, and there are many occasions on which the winner of a wager or stake may enforce HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. his contract in a court of law. On the other hand, the law of Scotland is the reverse, and the Com- mittee recommended that in the matter of wagers, and disputes arising out of wagers, the law of England should be assimilated to the practice of the courts in Scotland. Active steps had recently been taken to clear the better racing-courses of gambling booths, much as strong efforts had been made, as we have seen, to put down gambling-houses, or " hells," in the metro- polis. On this subject the Committee very properly expressed a strong opinion, holding that booths for gambling on race-courses can never be of use towards keeping up races and maintaining the sport in a flourishing condition; and since it had been given in evidence that certain races could not be held except for the rents received for the booths, the Committee held that it was desirable that such races should be done away with. Again, in their report the members of the Committee strongly urge the necessity of abolishing the gambling-tables kept by proprietors of clubs; but as to the frauds stated to take place in horse-racing and. betting, they reniark that they Jiave " some evidence to show that frauds are occasionally committed in horse-racing and in betting on the Turf; but they feel difficulty in suggesting any remedies for this evil more strin- gent or more likely to be effectual than those already in existence." Admiral— then Captain— Rous, Captain Berkeley, DUKE OF RICHMOND'S BILL. 23^ R.N., and John Day and John Scott, the trainers, were among the numerous witnesses examined by the Committee on Gaming; and the questions asked covered very wide ground in relation to betting in connection with Turf matters; and the conclusion arrived at by most of those who waded through the voluminous evidence given in the committee- rooms of both Houses was that the expenses of keeping race-horses were too great' for any but the deepest pockets, were it not for the system of wagering which obtains, by which the owner of a good animal may easily recoup himself for the losses on many bad ones. By the Act 3 and 4 Vict., cap. 5, sec. i, is repealed so much of an Act passed in the thirteenth year of the reign of his Majesty King George the Second, intituled an Act to restrain and prevent the exces- sive increase of horse-races; and this statute also amends an Act passed in the previous session, in- tituled an Act for the more effectual preventing of excessive and deceitful gaming. It was on the 3rd of March, 1840, that the Duke of Richmond moved, in the House of Lords, the first reading of the Bill which repealed the thirteenth of George the Second. This Act prohibited any person from running more than one horse in a race, or from running any horse otherwise than in his own name. The reason of the latter provision of the Act is plain; but it is not so easy to explain the reasons upon which a law restricting a man to run- 234 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. ning only one horse in a race is based, except in so far as it applies to Plates which shall not be given unless a certain number of horses, the property of different owners — usually three — start for them. The Americans were large buyers of thoroughbred stock in our markets, as they had been for years before; and Mr. Tattersall, in his evidence to the Lords' Committee on gaming, after instancing the large sums given by firms and individuals in America for first-rate horses, gave this characteristic opinion: — " They (the Americans) were most noble buyers. My orders were almost unlimited. They trusted to me. And all the best horses now in America are by English horses. Whenever racing is done away with there is an end to the noble animal, and the manly sport, and to your humble servant." . MR. JOHN ORTON. 235 CHAPTER X. MR. JOHN ORTON MR. WEATHERBY CROMMELIn's CASE WILLIAM SCOTT— THE FLYING DUTCHMAN AND VOLTIGEUR STATE OF THE TURF IN 180O- 1825-1850 — TIPSTERS — THE BETTING-HOUSES — THE ACT OF 1 853. THE great service rendered to all students of racing matters by his " Turf Annals of York and Doncaster," as well as his short but accurate bio- graphical notices of famous jockeys, should commend, the name of John Orton to all lovers of the sport. With much laborious research, and equally good judgment, he collected the records of the sport of horse-racing from 1 709 — the earliest year as to which he could discover any trustworthy records — down to the date of the last edition of his historical work. He was Clerk of the Course and Judge at York; Judge at Richmond, Carlisle, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Burton Constable, and Catterick Bridge; and at one time, also, Mr. John Orton was Judge at nearly all the Scotch Meetings, He died at York, on the 19th of May, 1845. A few weeks previously (22nd of April), in the same year, Mr, William Weatherby, who had been stakeholder at Newmarket for sixty years, died at 236 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. that town, in the eighty-second year of his age. The veteran official, who frequently Jiad upwards of ^20,000 of stakes in his hands at a time, never in his life gave or took a receipt for money received or paid for stakes, no error was ever found in his ac- counts, and in all his extensive money transactions in connection with the Turf no item was ever disputed. Crommelin's case, which occupied the attention of the Stewards of the Jockey Club for some time, denounced as a swindle of the first rank, and called in the press a " diabolical disclosure," deserves notice, perhaps chiefly for its romantic feature of a meeting at an inn at Winchester between the ""John Day junior of that time (1840), and a mysterious figure disguised in a cloak, spectacles, and a huge mous- tache, with something to his advantage to tell the jockey in private. The matters connected with this scandal did not come before the notice of the Jockey Club until June, 1845. The evidence was this: — In •Litrie Wonder's year — 1840 — Mr. Etwall, M.P. for Andover, owned the Melody Colt, afterwards named Discord. Young John Day was engaged to ride it in the Derby. Mr. Etwall stated (four years or more after the event) to the Stew;ards of the Jockey Club, that young John Day told him that he received an anonymous letter a week before the Derby, which intimated that a friend of his would meet him at the George Inn, Winchester, on an evening named, and tell him something for his future welfare. He was to CROMMEUN'S CASE. 237 ask at the bar for Mr. Webb. He kept the appoint- ment; and at the inn he met a person enveloped in a domino, wearing coloured spectacles, and a heavy- moustache. The cloak being thrown off, Mr. Webb proved to be Mr. Crommelin, a well-known Ring man. Day said Mr. Crommelin told him he was very bad against the Melody Colt, produced a ;^50o note, and promised him ;^500 or ;^ 1,000 more if the colt lost the Derby. This scheme Day declined, he said, to fall in with; and he further stated that it was agreed between him and his father and Mr. Etwall that he should take the bribe, and " put the tempter in the hole," by winning the race if possible. And his riding in the race, to which no exception could be taken, proves that he did his best to win. The matter was gone into at very great length before Lords Stradbroke and Exeter, and three other members of the Jockey Club. They con- sidered the case — supported only by the evidence of Day junior — utterly unworthy of credence; and animadverted very strongly on the fact that, although Crommelin had thus tried to draw away the alle- giance of the younger Day from his employer, and make him rob that employer and the public, yet the intimate* connection between the Days, father and son, and Crommelin had continued. The nature of this connection they held to be discreditable to all parties concerned; but as a long time had elapsed since the transactions complained of had taken place, they thought it unnecessary to do more than express 238 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the Strongest opinion that such a connection as had been established was calculated to destroy that con- fidence in the faithful attention of pubhc trainers to the legitimate interests of their several masters, on the security of which the continued prosperity of the Turf alone could rest. But in the case of the jockey they passed a sen- tence which at the time was considered of much too harsh a nature, having regard to all the circum- stances of the case. " John Day, jun.," reads their written award, " having before us endeavoured to support a criminal charge by wilful falsehood, we direct that he be turned off the course at Newmarket, and out of the coffee-room there, and be not per- mitted to ride in any race at Newmarket." And, in addition to this, the Stewards of the Jockey Club recommended all other proprietors and stewards " to prevent him from appearing on their courses" — a decision in all respects intended to be just, but one which created confusion in the minds of owners ; for young John at that time was certainly one of the best jockeys in England over any course ; while, as far as he was concerned, if irrevocable, it practically ended his career in the saddle. The year 1846 was one of great prosperity for the Turf, and afforded the lovers of racing a large amount of first-rate sport. The season of '46 was thought to have been " infinitely the most brilliant in the annals of the British Turf ; " and it was set down at the time as the "millennium of the sport of THE SEASON 0F'\6. 239 horse-racing, so far as it has yet been enjoyed." The racing year began properly with the Coventry Meet- ing, though there was the Liverpool Meeting as early as the 4th of March, followed by Warwick and Northampton. The licensed victuallers of London had behaved with much liberality, having added ;^300 as a bonus to the Metropolitan Stakes on the Downs, the net value of the Stakes being thus raised to £,2>2 in ponderous coaches, TURF IN 1800. 249 drawn by richly caparisoned horses, with gay- liveried outriders. The progeny of Eclipse were in great request, owing to the staying qualities and fine speed of their sire, who, in the belief of the country breeders, divided with Flying Childers the honour of having galloped a mile in a minute. King Fergus, Gunpowder, Javelin, Aurelius, Soldier, Apollo, Pegasus, Satellite, and Traveller, the last son of Eclipse, were the fashionable sires in request among the cognoscenti. No such thing as a regular betting-ring existed; a few "round bettors," since called bookmakers- — Jerry Cloves, Joe and Jem Bland, Myers, Crutch Robinson, and Mat Milton — having the business of laying the odds all to them- selves. Newmarket occupied an altogether different position in the racing world. Its designation of head-quarters was a reality: it was the metropolis of the sport. Goodwood, Chester, Liverpool, and Epsom Spring and Summer Meetings were able to show no rivalry with the paramount attractions of the Heath; and then all the three Spring Meet- ings had their full complement of six days' racing, and two-year-olds were easily distinguishable in the strings on the exercise grounds by their rough coats. The growth of horse-racing in public favour and importance during the first quarter of the present century was remarkable; but it was small as com- pared with the extension which the national sport saw in the succeeding twenty-five years. In 1825 there were sixty-six places where races 3SO HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. were run in Great Britain, but, in 1850 there were a hundred and four. In the former year, five hundred and ninety-five races were run in Great Britain, while in the latter the number rose to one thousand and twenty-five. The Derby of the year 1825 was won by Lord Jersey, with his chestnut horse, Middle- ton; and the Doncaster St. Leger by Mr. R. Watt, with Memnon. To the Derby of 1825 there were fifty-eight subscribers, and to the Derby of 1850 there were two hundred and five. The Chester Tradesmen's Cup, in the former year, had fourteen subscribers, and in the latter its nominations amounted to one hundred and ninety-three. The advance in the facilities for wagering were even more remark- able. In the earlier part of the century it was often matter of difficulty to find a respectable person who would lay the odds, even to so small a sum as five or ten pounds, against anything fancied by the backer. In 1850, such a business had laying the odds become that it was possible to back a horse for a large race for thousands of pounds. The racing statistics of the last five years of the first half of the present century are as follows: — Year. Horses Started. Events. Two -year-olds., . Matches. 1846 , i,6SS • 1,510 255 ••■; .. 156 1847 • 1.59° • 1,435 220 .... .. 129 1848 . i>67S ■ 1,375 285 .. 13a 1849 . ...... 1,72s, ••••• • 1,41s 275 ■••■ ... 117 1850 , . ..... 1,610 ■ 1,335 295 ••-• •• 59 These figures at once show the flourishing state of the Turf, the increase in tw;Q-year-old races, JUNIOR TATTERS AIDS. COMPANY. 251 and the decline in that old-fashioned sport, match- making-, which, at the present day, has almost died out. By this time the racing season began at Lin- coln as early as the 5th or 6th of February, with that mixed kind of sport which has since become so common at the Spring and Autumn Meetings, namely — steeplechasirig, hurdle-racings and racing over the flat. ■ At this period a scheme was put before the public which the promoter stated in his prospectus would confer a great boon on honourable men. This was the Junior Tattersall's Association and Cornpany, which was provisionally registered pursuant, to Act 7 and 8. Vict., cap. no. The proposed capital was ;^6oo,ooo, in 30iOOO shares of ;^20 each. The profits were to be derived , from commission on sales of stock, letting stables and coach-houses, and a veterinary establishment. It was, proposed to have both a metropolitan and a suburban establishment — the former on a scale far exceeding that of any exist- ing West-end Club; the latter to enibrace two or three. h.undred acres of freehpld ground, upon which the. Metropolitan Junior Ta,ttersairs. racecourse was to be laid put. The . proposal, however, to establish an opposition to the "Corner" did not mget ys^ith support. The scheme had its partizans, however, who said, that the establishment of a large betting resort, to which all classes could easily obtain access, would tend to the extirpation of the racing clubs.and betting offices -that "polluted the streets and lanes 3S3 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. and alleys of our great towns;" but a much more certain mode of getting rid of these social nuisances was found a few years later, in the suppression of these houses by the police, acting under a statute passed for the purpose. The appetite of the public for the prophecies of the advertising tip-giving fraternity and their patronage of the betting lists stepped hand-in-hand together. The journals read by the sporting world were filled with advertisements promising any number of certain winners for an incredibly small number of postage stamps. Stamford, Vatican, Besborough, and Abd- el-Kader, baited their traps with alluring records of past successes and darkly suggestive hints at secret channels of information to which they alone have access, and golden promises for their subscribers. The modesty of the tipster equalled his benevolence. " J. B., although hating self-praise and idle puff, so prevalent in the present day, boldly defies the world to find his equal." This "J. B." was a Mr. James Desborough. Another of the fraternity thus denounces a rival : — " N.B. — A person having advertised my tips lately in the papers, I not only disclaim all knowledge of him as a subscriber, but emphatically pronounce the tips sent by him not to be mine. I merely state this to put gentlemen on their guard against being duped by such humbugs." A firm boasting the aristocratic names of Howard and Clinton informs the world that — TIPSTERS. 253 " All the betting circles in town ring with nothing but Howard and Clinton's extraordinary successes." One Alfred Milo "defies all England, and all the wonderful would-be prophets to boot, to equal him in the extent and value of his information ;" but Joe of Kensington seems to have been the greatest advertising genius of his time in that walk of life to which his steps had turned, as witness the following advertisement : — " Joe begs to acknowledge the receipt of numerous congratulatory letters from his grateful friends, one of which, being a fair sample of the rest, his pride induces him to publish. "Copy: — 'Dear Joe — Having backed your two horses freely, from the straightfor- ward nature of all your communications, in which you have never deceived me, I am proud to say I am now a winner to a considerable amount. You are certainly a first-rate fellow, and I would give the world to know you personally. I shall be staying a fortnight, before my return to Ireland, at Hall, and if you will come and spend a few days with me, either this week or next, I will put down £2^, to head a subscription for a piece of plate for you. — Yours faithfully, .' Joe's terms : — Single events, 3s. 6d. ; Derby or Oaks, 5s. each ; yearly subscrip- tion, 2 IS. ; half-yearly, los. 6d." There can be no doubt, from the number of adver- tisements of this class that appeared in the sporting papers up to the time of their prohibition by law, that the persons, Joes and others, who put them into the 3S4 HISTORY OF- THE BRITISH TURF. papers found the operation a profitable one, although their tips were worthless, and money entrusted to them to invest found its way at once into a private bank, whence it was impossible to withdraw it. At the same timei it is only fair to admit that among the tipsters were some men who supplied their sub- scribers with really trustworthy information, which they collected with much painstaking and intelligent labour on their behalf, who could be trusted with money sent for investment, and who did the best they could to put their patrons on a winner or a "good thing." It is, however, extremely doubtful if such persons were more likely to be successful in what is termed "spdtting- the winners" than the sporting writers of the daily papers, who, writing from day to day, with the best sources of information at their dommand, are frequently able to direct the readers of their articles to the winning-post. The public betting-houses were largely fed by the wages of persons ignorant of the sport, many of whom had never even seen a horse-race, but who were subscribers to the circulars of the Kensington Joes and Abd-el-Kaders. The profits of the tipsters were great, and the advertisements of their successes proportionate to the length of their purses.- The sporting prints, then comparatively very few in number, were filled with the advertisements of the fraternity, which, in some cases, were as long as an ordinary newspaper leading article. Promises were made of' a sure for- THE BETTING-HOUSES. 255 tune and no risk by backing the outsiders they were able to select-^victory, nine times out of ten, of course following their selection. To the more sensible classes of Englishmen such puffs carried the opposite conviction to that they were intended to produce; but the inexperience of boyhood and youth — children of ten were known to make bets of pence on their own account — and the ignorance of servants and others of the least intelligent class fell an easy prey to the wiles put forth to entrap therri. Servants, porters, shopmen, and clerks, who should have known better and acted very differently, not seldom came before the City magistrates, charged with the offence of embezzlement, traceable to their having unfortunately become customers of the betting- houses with which the City of London abounded, with moneys taken from the tills of their employers. The existence of the betting-houses became a public nuisance and a public scandal in the metropolis and other great towns; and, not any too soon in the interests of those exposed to tempations they found it hard to resist, the Corporation took iip the matter, with a view to the suppression of the list-houses. In 1852, at a meeting of the Aldermen at tbe Guildhall, the foireman of the inquest of Farringdon Ward Without handed in a presentment which he said related to a subject of great importance in the City of London, the gambling and betting-houses in the Wafd, by which great mischief was done. Facilities ■yvere given at these houses, of which there were a 2S6 "HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. great number in the ward, for betting, from sums of threepence or fourpence upwards; and by these means many servants and boys, who certainly had no money of their own to bet with, were induced to lay wagers that too often led them into a career of crime. There were, of course, among the betting-houses others of a different and entirely respectable kind where a large business was transacted, and where the frequenters were mainly persons who could be trusted to make bets, from their being men of some means, who presumably were betting with their own money in all cases. Of these houses the chief was a tavern, The Dolphin, in Milk-street, off Cheapside, kept by Mr. Beeton; and this Eastern Tattersall's, as it was called, was a thoroughly well-managed and reputably conducted house. The newspapers quoted the state of the odds at " Beeton's" as regularly as they pub- lished the condition of the Turf market at Hyde Park Corner. / The Act for the Suppression of Betting-houses was introduced into the House of Commons by the Attorney-General, on the 12th of July, 1853. In moving for leave to bring in the Bill, Sir Alexander Cockburn said that in doing so he considered it unnecessary for him to make any long speech on the subject, as the evils which had arisen from the introduction of these establishments were perfectly notorious, and acknowledged upon all hands. The difficulty, however, which existed in legislating SUPPRESSION OF BETTING-HOUSES. 257 upon this subject was to be found in the disin- clination which was felt in interfering with that description of betting which had so long existed at Tattersall's and elsewhere in connection with the great national sport of horse-racing. But in these modern establishments — the betting-houses — a totally different aspect was assumed, and a hew form of betting was introduced, which had been productive of the greatest evils. The course now was to open a house, and for the owner to hold him- self forth as ready to bet with all comers, contrary to the usage which had prevailed at such places as Tattersall's, where individuals betted with each other; but no one there kept a gaming-table, or, in other words, kept a bag against all comers. The object, then, of this Bill was to suppress those houses, without interfering with that legitimate- species of betting to which he had referred. It would prohibit the opening of houses, or shops, or booths for the purpose of betting; and inasmuch as it appeared that the mischief of the existing vicious system seemed to arise from the advancing of money in the first instance, with the expectation of receiving a larger sum on the completion of a certain event, it was proposed to prohibit the practice by distinct legislative enactment. The mischief arising from the existence of these betting- shops was commonly notorious. Servants, appren- tices, and workmen, induced by the temptation of receiving a large sum for a small one, took their few you I. 17 2S8 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. shillings to those places. The first effect of their losing was to tempt them to go on spending their money, in the hope of retrieving their losses.; and for this purpose it not unfrequently happened that they were driven into robbing their masters and employers. There was not a prison or a house of correction in : London which did not every day furnish abundant and conclusive testimony of the vast number of youths who were led into crime by the temptation of these establishments, of which there were from loo to 150 in the metropolis alone- while there was a considerable number in the large towns of the provinces. He believed this Bill would have the effect of suppressing most of ; them, or, at all events, of preventing the spread of an evil which was admitted on all hands. It had been sug- gested that the more effectual course would be the licensing of these houses; but for his own part he believed that would be discreditable to the Govern- ment, and would only tend, to increase the mischief instead of preventing it. On the 20th of August, 1853, the Act became law, and such was the feeling for its urgent necessity that it passed both Houses with barely the shadow of a debate, and received the Royal assent on the day above-mentioned. The preamble was of the shortest, reciting merely that whereas a kind of gaming has of late sprung up, tending to the injury and demorali- zation of improvident persons, by the opening of places called betting-houses or offices, and the THE ACT OF 1833. 259 receiving of money in advance by the owners or occupiers of such houses or offices, or by persons acting on their behalf, on their promises to pay money on events of horse-races, and the like con- tingencies. The Act itself made it illegal to keep such houses or offices, and imposed a penalty of £,^00, or six months in the House of Correction, on such persons as, after the coming into force of the Act, should keep such houses. The Act came into operation on the ist of December following, and did not apply to Scotland. Its effect was at once to put an end to the nuisance created by the public betting- houses. 17 — 2 26o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. CHAPTER XI. FAMOUS JOCKEYS. JAMES CHAPPLE, the jockey, was born at Exeter, in or about the year 1802. He first mounted a thoroughbred horse in the stables of Frank Neale at Newmarket: his first public appear- ance in the pigskin took place at Beccles, in Suffolk, and his second at Newmarket, He won a great many of the good things at country meetings, and the Derby in 1833 on Dangerous, and again in 1838 on Sir Gilbert Heathcote's Amato. He also rode the winner of the Oaks in 1833, Sir Mark Wood's Vespa, the filly starting at 50 to i. For some years after this he was rarely seen, except in the colours of Sir Gilbert Heathcote — not for want of mounts in plenty, but because he had saved a moderate com- petence, sufficient for all his wants. In 1850, how- ever, he came out again, apparently as young and fresh as in his best days, and carried off the Cesare- witch, on Glauca, for Mr. Payne, and the Cam- bridgeshire, on Landgrave, for Mr. Gratwicke. His ability, honesty, and excellent judgment recom- mended hini to the gentlemen who employed him to ride for them, the integrity Qf "Old Jemmy Chappie" being proverbial, CHAPPLE AND ROBINSON. 261 James Robinson, a contemporary of Chappie, en- joyed a still greater fame as a master of the art of riding. He was born at Newmarket on the 22nd of June, 1794, the son of John Robson, the trainer to Mr, Panton, At the beginning of the present century Robson enjoyed a unique reputation as a trainer, and it was esteemed a privilege to get a boy apprenticed in his stables. To young Robinson this favour was accorded, and in Robson's stables accord- ingly he began his Turf education. He rapidlyshowed to the eye of his astute master that he was made of stuff out of the common, and he was soon taken from the common routine of stable work and exer- cise to the more responsible but better practice of riding in private trials. He deported himself so well in his earliest essays in the racing saddle, that the delighted Robson exclaimed, over and over again, " Why, he can't be a boy, he must be a little man," Having attracted the notice of Frank Buckle, and others of the Newmarket cognoscenti, the young jockey got plenty of riding, and was but little over the age of twenty years when he carried off the Blue Riband of the Turf, winning his first Derby on Mr, Payne's Azor, in 181 7, His success in the following years was most remarkable ; no jockey of his time rode so many winners, or so often displayed to the lovers of. the sport the finest qualities of horsemanship. The story is told that when he was still in his teens he had succeeded in " gammoning" 262 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the great Frank Buckle in a finish on the Heath, when his master in the art of riding paid him the compliment of telling him to " try that on somebody else next time." Seven years after he had steered Mr. Payne's Azor to victory, he was again first past the famous post at Epsom, on Sir John Shelley's Cedric. But the year 1824 saw him snatch a still greater victory from the hands of chance. He won the Oaks on Lord Jersey's celebrated mare Cobweb; and in riding this race, the gag which had been put on the mare having got entangled in the bit, Robinson contrived to lean forward and take it off in running the race. He had previously won the Oaks on Lord Exeter's Augusta, Nor must the great jockey's famous treble event bet be for- gotten, in connection with his Derby and Oak? suc- cesses of 1824, He took long odds that he would win the two great races at Epsom and be married in the same week, and had the satisfaction of win- ning his wager, by tnarrying, on the Saturday of the Epsom week, Miss Powell, whom he had been courting for some time before. But more Turf trophies were in store for the lucky jockey. In 1825 he won the Derby on Middleton, and in 1827 on Mameluke, and in 1828 on the Duke of Rutland's Cadland. He also won the St. Leger in Mame- luke's year, on Mr. Petre's Matilda, after a brilliant and exciting finish with Sam Chifney, who rode the Derby winner in the September race. Robinson's last Derby was on Lord Jersey's Bay Middleton. . JAMES ROBINSON. 263 He was particularly well calculated to handle this horse, as his own temper was as good as the famous bay's was bad. His style of finishing in a race was very fine, and Robinson's rushes passed into a pro verb. His character in the social relations of private life was as high as his repute in his profession waS widespread, and it was with regret that frequenters of the Turf of all classes heard of his accident when riding Lord Clifden's Feramorz in a match at New- market. The horse — ^a two-year-old — ^was an ill- tempered brute; and almost immediately after the signal to start was given, it swerved round, and Robinson's stirrup-leather breaking, he fell and broke his thigh. This accident was most serious to a man of his years, but it was rendered the more disastrous in its consequences by the injured limb being set four inches shorter than the other. Other distinguished contemporaries of Chappie and Robinson were to be found in Nat Flatman, Frank Butler, and Job Marson. Elnathan Flatman> called Nat from the first day he entered a racing stable, was born at Holton, in Suffolk, in 18 10. Most of his earlier years, however, were passed at Billesdon, in the same county. At this place lived Mr, Wilson, the breeder of many famous race-horses» and through this gentleman little Nat was introduced into Cooper's stables at Newmarket. Having learned the rudiments of his interesting business in the visual way — namely, from riding horses at exercise and riding them in private trials, at last having a 264 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. mount in a race — Flatman's first appearance on a racecourse was some three years after his appren.-' ticeship to Mr. Cooper began. He rode Gold Pin, a two-year-old filly of Lord Exeter's, at the Craven Meeting in 1829, in which race he met Sam Chifney. His weight then was under six stones, and up to 1840 he could ride under seven; so that he enjoyed a very large practice in his profession when his name was once well known. His first great stroke of luck was in getting the chance to display his abilities in the saddle on Lord Jersey's Glencoe, when he won the Goodwood Cup, in 1834. The next year he rode the winner of the One Thousand Guineas, in the purple and black of Mr. Greville; and from this time his success was assured. But he did not become one of the heads of his profession until about the year 1840, when Arthur Pavis's death, followed by that of Patrick Connolly, left open to Flatman many of the best mounts the Turf afforded. His style of riding was by no means brilliant ; his seat and form were more suggestive of strength than neatness of finish; and he owed his practice, which was very large, rather to a steady course of good riding and good conduct, extending over many years, than to any characteristic qualities in his jockeyship clearly dis- tinguishing his riding in a race from that of other men. Celebrated for his quickness at getting off, his great forte lay in the riding of T.Y.C. races; but although he just managed to keep within the edge ELNA THAN FLA THAN. 265 of the law, and avoid being fined, he sadly tried the tempers of the starters. Though he had no great dash, and made some downright failures in attempting to finish with a horse all the way from the distance post, his judgment as regards pace and measure in the last few strides was rarely, if ever, at fault. 1848 was his great year, as it saw him first past the post 104 times; but Orlando's year was financially his best, as he succeeded in earning upwards of ;^5,ooo in fees and presents, having taken, besides, some lucky bets. It has often been remarked that many of our most famous jockeys have died at the time of great meetings — for in- stance, Connolly's death took place at Newmarket First Spring Meeting; Job Marson's death was made known at Doncaster; and Nat Flatman's at York August, i860. It was his misfortune to have outlived his reputation, this decline dating, from his being taken off Toxophilite for the St. Leger, and proving a blow from which it never recovered. He came to be called all of a sudden "Old" Nat; people began to say he had grown nervous, and could not be trusted for a big race. Many of his friends, how- ever, thought that the public, who had perhaps too readily given his riding extravagant praise, now proclaimed the decay of his powers upon very slight ground, and that he was up to the hour of his last illness as efficient a rider as he was a respectful servant and an honest man. Frank Butler, who enjoyed perhaps as great a 266 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. reputation as Nat Flatman, was born in 1817, the issue of a marriage that promised to give the world a jockey. His father was trainer to the Duke of Richmond, and afterwards for many years to the Duke of York, in whose employment he died in 1827 ; while Frank's mother was the sister of Samuel and William Chifney. Under the care of this excellent mother — who lived to rejoice at the successes in the saddle of her boy, who bade fair to rival the prowess of his famous uncles — Frank Butler received a good education at Dr. Nichol's, at Ealing. The wish of his heart was to be a jockey. Under the eye of William Chifney he learnt the rudiments of the art which was to be the business of his life. From "Uncle William's" careful training the boy went into Lord Orford's stables. The fall in the fortunes of his two relatives influenced to a considerable extent the success of his early years as a jockey. He found few patrons, and it was not until 1842 that he escaped from the cloud that had enveloped his family, to show first-rate qualities in the saddle. From this period his lucky star was in the ascendant, and he rode many winners of great races. Butler was a good judge of pace and a most brilliant finisher; and it was said of his Derby on Daniel O'Rourke that he could have won on either of the three placed, and that "in the list of Derby winners to be handed down to future generations, the name of Francis Butler should stand in place of Daniel O'Rourke." Quite as famous, if not quite so fortunate, Was STOCKWELL. 267 the Yorkshire jockey, Job Marson, who was a thorough Tyke, born at Belle Vue training stables, near Malton, occupied by John Scott after Job Mar- son senior removed his establishment to Beverley. His earliest experiences were gained in riding gallops on his father's horses on Langton Wolds. His first public appearance was at Beverley, in 1831, when he won a race on Mr. Bell's Cinderella. For several years his progress in his profession was slow, but sure ; and he obtained considerable employment and a fair share of mounts. His masterly riding of Nut- with in the St. Leger at last made his name famous throughout the racing world. He had shown- that he possessed the secret of the " Chifney rush," and that there was something in "knowing how to finish." Lord Eglinton secured his services as first master. Lord George Bentinck and Sir Joseph Hawley having the next claims upon his services; but it was in the popular Zetland spots that he made himself dearest to the hearts of the Yorkshiremen. There was no "show off" in Job Marson's style of riding: he rode in a plain, straightforward way; his seat was admirable for its ease and power, and his hands were perfect. The year 1852 would, doubtless, have been Stockwell's year, if he had not gone amiss, and been altogether out of sorts on the Derby Day, when odds of 16 to i were laid against his running. The great merits of a lafge family of children and 268 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. grandchildren have made the name of Stockwell a household word, and probably no horse of modern times has ever been more widely known, especially among a class of persons who, as a rule, take but little interest in thoroughbreds or in the sport. As a rule, people who know nothing of sires and dams, and of the pedigrees of racers, can tell that Stock- well was got by the Baron, out of Pocahontas. This most famous among modern sires was a bright chestnut, sixteen hands high, and of great power, with remarkably sound legs and feet. But he was anything but a handsome horse, having been de- scribed at three years old by a sporting writer of celebrity as "the very incarnation of ugliness." He was bred in 1849, by Mr. Theobald, and was named after his breeding establishment at Stockwell. The Baron, Stockwell's sire, was bred in Ireland, by Mr. Watt, in 1842, got by Birdcatcher out of Echidna, by Economist. The Baron's racing career was very successful, and he carried off the St. Leger and Cesarewitch of 1845. He was speedily put to the stud, and — perhaps unfortunately — after Mr. Theo- bald's death was sold to go to France — his price at the hammer being the very moderate sum of 1,010 guineas. Pocahontas, the dam of Stockwell, was bought of Mr. Theobald from Mr. Greatrex; bred in 1837. She was put to the stud in 1842, but up to the time of the Ba:rdn cross was distinguished for nothing but having cut up very badly in the Oaks of her JOHN WELLS. 269 year, for which she had been a favourite, and for her very bad temper. At Mr. Theobald's sale, Poca- hontas was knocked down to Captain Thellusson; but after Stockwell's successes she was purchased by Lord Exeter, whose Turf career had then ex- tended over more than thirty years. The blue and" white narrow stripes of Burleigh had begun well in 182 1, with the Oaks, won by Augusta; and two other Oaks Stakes had fallen to the Marquess's lot, with Green Mantle and Galata; but for a number of years luck seemed to have forsaken the stud, and it was not until rumours of retirement were rife that Lord Exeter's patience was at last rewarded with Stockwell's St. Leger and other victories. Stock- well was ridden in the St. Leger by Norman, a homebred jockey, whose riding was confined, entirely to that stable, and who succeeded Connolly and Mann in the service of the Marquess. The follow- ing year saw Mr. Bowes win his fourth Derby, with West Australian, than whom a finer specimen of the English race-horse has seldom been seen ; sent to the post with the true Whitewall polish on him from the able hands of John Scott, who had "schooled" all Mr. Bowes's previous winners. West Australian was bred by Mr. Bowes, in 1850 — got by Melbourne, out of Mowerina, by Touch- stone. John Wells, the jockey, whose name was a house- hold word before he was out of his teens, was born at Sutton Coldfield, in Warwickshire, on Christmas 270 HISTQRY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Day, 1833. He left the care of his parents at a very early age, for Flintofif's stables at Hednesford, where many a good jockey had received his school- ing for success in after-life. Master Wells soon dis- played his ability on the backs of one or another of Flintoff's long string of horses ; and in due time he got a mount in a race. Mr. Fowler, one of those now old-fashioned sportsmen who hated the sight of a racecourse between the Glasgow Stakes day, in the Houghton Meeting, and the " Oyez, oyez " of the scarlet-coated, brass-buttoned Northampton bell- man, in front of the little gilt horse, brought out Wells at the race meeting of the bootmaking town. His first essay was on a mare called Ribaldry, for the Trial Stakes, in 1848, and he finished second. Ribaldry proved to be the foundation of Wells's success ; for after winning a race or two on her, the country filly and country lad started first favourites for the Cambridgeshire in the following season, and finished a very good third in the big race. The boy's great strength for his light weight, and good judgment for his age, soon gained for him the con- fidence of owners and trainers, and he got plenty of mounts in handicaps after his Cambridgeshire place. His diminutive size earned for him the sobriquet of "Tiny;" and the little man— for he was never a boy, always a mannikin — soon became one of the greatest of public favourites, and numbers of people made it a practice to back Tiny Wells's mounts in the big handicaps. His successes in the black and ALFRED DAY. 271 orange cap of the gentleman who ran horses under the assumed name of Mr. Howard; his triumphs on Virago, in whose gfeat year he rode the third in the Derby, as well as the winners of eighty-two races in all, warranted the confidence of the public. That yesir he led off at the head of the list of winning jockeys, and won the Doncaster St. Leger with Saucebox the next year — perhaps the most moderate horse that ever won that great race. Mr. Parr's horses were very lucky in his hands, and Wells and Fisherman are a pair that will not easily drop out of racecourse story. In later years Wells was identified with the colours of Sir Joseph Hawley, for whom he rode many winners in the cherry jackets Fourth on Rataplan, third on Hermit, and second on Yellow Jacket, and "almost first" in 1857 on Adamas. Beadsman was his Derby mount in '58, when he had a very unpleasant time of it after the race was over, sitting in the scale waiting for bis bridle before the " All right " was said. Great as were his after-triumphs, however, he never had a year like Virago's, when he ran away with all kinds of good things— the Metropolitan and City and Suburban, the two Spring Handicaps at York, the One Thousand Guineas Stakes, and the Xjoodwood and Doncaster Cups. The name of Day has been for many years one of the best known on the Turf, old Grandfather Day's numerous descendants having kept the family name well before the, public. The plentiful Ed- 372 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. wardses of the Prince Regent's Days on the Heath have since been outnumbered by the jockeys and trainers answering to the name of Day. The subject under consideration, Alfred Day, was the son of John Day (the first "honest John" of Danebury), who trained for the Dukes of Grafton and Portland ; his uncle was that excellent horseman, Sam Day ; and two other uncles, Charles and William, were well- known riders. Their mother, old Mrs. Day, had actually on one occasion seen four of her sons riding in the same race. The next generation con- tained a Sam Day of great promise, who met with an accident; John Day, "who sat a savage as if he were screwed on ; " and " Our William," whose fame as a trainer eclipses his reputation in the saddle. Of the twelve children of old John Day by his first wife, Alfred was one of the youngest, having been born in 1830. His father gave him a good education at Winchester; but in holiday time, at home, he naturally took to riding his father's horses in their gallops on Stockbridge Downs, and before he was thirteen years of age he had ridden a race at Newmarket, when, at 4st. ylbs., he rode the Squire's Shocking Mamma in the Cesare- witch of 1843. His progress in his profession was steady, and quite fast enough to please his father. His first great coup was when he beat Flatman, in a race for the Thousand Guineas at Newmarket; Chappie, Frank Butler, Jem Robin- son, Job Marson, Sam Rogers, Sam Templeman, ALFRED DAY. 273 and Bartholomew, all having mounts in the same race. The name of Alfred Day soon after became widely known, and his brothers John and William willingly resigned all the riding to him. After carrying off the Two Thousand Guineas, and riding second for the Derby, he won the great race on Andover, land- ing a large stake for the Danebury party. Lords Clifden, Derby, and Palmerston, the Duke of Beau- fort, Sir Robert Peel, and Mr. Harry Hill, were some of the principal masters for whom Alfred Day rode ; and with all his employers he was popular, and de- servedly enjoyed their confidence and esteem. One of the great difficulties with which owners of horses have to contend is the risk of fraudulent conduct on the part of the trainers. Misconduct of this kind is really and truly very rare, and there can be no question that trainers and jockeys are far more honest in the present day than in the past, and that they are certainly quite as honest as em- ployers. Very many devices have been invented by employers who thought themselves clever. One of the most singular that has been suggested, and yet one that has certainly at times been tried, is that of lending money to the trainer. Thus, a very know- ing personage gave advice to a novice in racing. "When you begin to keep horses," said this mentor, " start with lending your trainer a thousand pounds, and then you can say to him, ' Look here, my friend, jf you sell me it will be no Victoria by the grace of VOL. I. 18 274 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. God, but the bum-bailiff in your house, and your wife's bed sold from under her.' That," said he, "is the way to keep them in order." Another difficulty which has always beset owners of horses is how to keep secret the results of private trials. Old Sir Mark Wood, who, many years ago, kept race-horses at the Upper Hare Park, near Newmarket, hit upon a very extraordinary plan to accomplish this object. One day, having tried a fine colt for the Two Thousand Guineas, he called the lad who rode the horse into his private room, and said to him, " Now, then, sir, do you know the horse you rode this morning?" "Yes, sir," replied the lad. " Do you know the weight you rode?" "No, sir," answered the boy. "Well," said Sir Mark, producing a five-pound note and a pistol, " here are five pounds for you. Now, mind you hold your tongue. If this trial gets about I will blow out your brains with this pistol." John Day, of famous memory, trained for many years for Lord George Bentinck, but he once com- mitted a sad mistake, unworthy of his general skill and shrewdness. Lord George had a horse which was much fancied both by his lordship and John Day for a big event. One fine morning, after the horse had done a most satisfactory gallop, John Day sat down to his desk to write two letters — one to his lordship, and the other to a celebrated bookmaker at Tattersall's. The letter to his lordship ran thus : " My Lord— The colt is quite fit, and has done a JOHN DAY. 375 rattliiig gallop. I fancy he is bound to win. Pray- back him for all you can on Monday next, if you can only get a fair price." The other letter was as follows: — "Dear Joe — The long-legged lord will be at Tattersall's on Monday. Lay him all you can, the horse is a dead one." Unfortunately, Mr. Day put the letters in the wrong envelopes. The result is obvious. John Day, in his time, trained many celebrated and successful horses for Mr. Padwick and Mr. Gully. Among them were Hermit, winner of the Two Thousand, Andover, winner of the Derby, and Virago, who won twelve races out of thirteen as a three-year old. He also trained a horse named Scy- thian, who won the Chester Cup. For reasons best known to himself. Day did not intend that Scythian should win the Chester Cup ; and for other reasons, best known to themselves, his two sons, J. and W. Day, were determined that Scythian should, if he could, win the race. About four days before the contest Mr. Padwick received a letter from J. Day, junior, imploring him to come to Stockbridge, and accord- ingly Mr. Padwick went. On his arrival the state of affairs was fully explained to him by the sons, and the resolution was. formed to exclude the old John from the stables, and to entrust the horse to the care of the two brothers, John Day does not appear to have been at all hurt by this slight upon his honesty, but to have been very much hurt at the prospect of losing all the money he had laid against Scythian; 18—2 276 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. and the story goes that he was even heard to declare outside the stable door that he was a ruined man, and to implore that he might be let in to the stable, if it was only for ten minutes. The celebrated old John died early in i860; but his great career in the' saddle had termi- nated fifteen years before, when he rode Worthless for his excellent master, Mr. Wfeford, and won a race for him at Ascot. He had not ridden in the Derby since Attila's year, when he had the mount on Coldrenick — " the great mistake of his training life." Old John's dress was more like that of a dignitary of the church than a member of the famous family of trainers and jockeys at Danebury. His manner was remarkable for its solemnity, which well became the cravat and black surtout which the " Lyndhurst of the Turf" always wore in his later years. This honourable sobriquet he had earned by his habit of talking sound sense, and no man ever did more to maintain the respectability of his order than old John. Nature had given him a frame capable in an unusual degree of resisting the wear and tear of a jockey's life, and his natural strength was never impaired by excesses of any kind. His father was one of the best trainers in England, and certainly the best in the county of Hants. His mother was, as a judge of a yearling's chances of training on, only second to her husband ; whilst her medical skill enabled her to perform the dqties of veterinary-in. JOHN DAY. 277 ordinary to the establishment. In his father's train- ing stables he learned his business. The school was a severe one, but it developed and confirmed habits of temperance and self-denial that served him well in after-life. His preliminary period of dressings and exercise canters over, son John made his first ap- pearance in public at a pony race in Wales, and fell off — an ill omen, it might seem, for a successful jockey's career. He married young, and much against his father's wishes, whose opposition appears to have been based solely on the knowledge that if his son got married his services would be lost to the stable. The son, however, was resolute. In his stable suit, and with ten pounds and a wife, he began the world for himself His weight was seven stone, and he was, early in his career, lucky enough to " get over" Buckle in a finish at Newmarket. Fresh masters were added to his list, and, knowing his steadiness and skill, he could feel that his bread was buttered for life. The Duke of Portland, some of whose horses he had ridden, sent for him. " John Day," said his Grace, " I am about to make you a handsome present for the way you have ridden my horses this week." The young jockey began to thank his Grace in fitting terms. " I am about," interrupted the Duke, " to give you two ten-pound notes." John lived to see the presents given by ducal owners to successful jockeys something very differ- ent from the serviceable and timely reward received 278 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. at the hands of the Duke of Portland. On another occasion, on Newmarket Heath, the Duke, who had his full share of old-fashioned pleasantry, called out to his jockey that he was a thief. " A thief, my Lord Duke!" cried John. "I do not understand your Grace. I never did anything wrong in my life." " Yes, John Day, you have, you stole that race for me this afternoon." A reply that brought young John's cap to the ground. Other masters were the Duke of Grafton, Lord Berners, Mr. Batson, and Lord George Bentinck, for whom he rode Crucifix* Generally admired and respected, old John had the confidence of a host of the patrons of the Turf, and among them of two such excellent sportsmen and statesmen as Lords Derby and Palmerston. Perhaps his distinguishing charac- teristic was his ability to read character, and to this he owed it that he was never dismissed by a master. If luck was against him, and a change was coming, John always resigned, but not a day too soon. Racing in Australia had by this time assumed considerable proportions, and the enthusiasm of the colonists for the sport of Kings was remarkable. Their feelings with regard to racing may be gauged by the following quotation from an after-dinner speech, reported in BelUs Life in Victoria, in i860, after an animal called Flying Buck, a son of War- hawk, selected by Mr. Yuille in England, had won an important race at Geelong. Mr. Simpson, pro- AUSTRALIAN LOVE OF SPORT. 279 prietor of the Bonnefield stud, said he was proud of the position he found himself in as breeder of the champion. He admitted, however, that he had scarcely ever seen a race-horse until he came out to Australia. He was born in an island on the West Coast of Scotland, and the only race meeting he had ever attended in the old country was at Paisley, where they ran for silver bells and ^10 and ;!^ 15 prizes. But he had some innate and intuitive feeling about what a race-horse should be; and when he had a few pounds in his pocket he went to Maitland, and ran a filly there. He said to himself that at any rate she was better than anything he had seen at Paisley, and he bought her for £?>o in 1837. For years he had studied breeding ; he had consulted every work upon the subject; and what Coke upon Littleton was to a lawyer the literature of the Turf was to him. And speaking of the breed of horses in the colony, Mr. Simpson said that when his friend, Mr. Yuille, went to England and shipped Warhawk to him, he thought he had got what he wanted, for in War- hawk were combined the speedy blood of Epirus and the staying qualities of Voltaire. The taste for sport is born with our Australian brothers, as it is with Englishmen, and there is no danger of the breed of horses degenerating, or horse- racing becoming obsolete in the colonies, while they contain so many gentlemen like Mr. Simpson, the breeder of Flying Buck, who possess an innate and intuitive feeling of about what a race-horse should 28o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. be, and who take such great interest in breeding, and in the welfare of the thoroughbred horse. In 1859, Mr. Tattersall, grandson of "Old Tat," the founder of the house, passed away. It was several years since he had wielded the hammer at the Corner, and his memory had begun to fail him; at the early age of eighteen he became the head of the firm, through the untimely death of his father, and with his brother, Mr. Edmund Tattersall, set to work in earnest to maintain the prestige that the firm had acquired under the first and second of the family name. Mr. Tattersall's character was of the right sort for the work he had in hand, and all his life he enjoyed the entire confidence of the public. He was very fond of seeing a good race; but he had a great dislike to betting, and never did more than take the odds to five or ten pounds on the Derby or the St. Leger. Mr. Tattersall had received many marks of favour from George the Fourth, who held him in high esteem, and he was always one of the guests at Goodwood House during the race week. At the beginning of 186 1 Touchstone retired from his honoured position at the stud; and a few weeks afterwards his death was recorded, after a short illness. He died at Eaton Hall, Cheshire, in the paddocks of his owner, the Marquis of Westminster. He had left the Turf at six years old, after defeating Slane for the Ascot Cup. At Goodwood, Touch- stone never ran, but he was never beaten for the Ascot or Doncaster Cups. He left behind him a be- LORD EGLINTON. 281 quest to "Weatherby" — some thirty sons at the stud in Great Britain, and about a hundred and twenty mares, with the dams of West Australian and Hobbie Noble heading the list. Surplice was the finest-looking and biggest of his stock, and Orlando the most beautiful and blood-like. In naming the Touchstones, the vocabulary of words ending in "stone," and the names of the characters in Shak- • speare's play, "As you Like it," had been exhausted before the old horse's death. Lords Eglinton and Chesterfield have written their names indelibly on the page of Turf history. The former of these noblemen began to race in 1 83 1, when he rode his Paul Pry and Lucifer in welter races. Confined at first to the provincial meetings in. Scotland, as the stud became larger Lord Eglinton's horses were entered for the meet- ings on the Northern Circuit; and' Potentate — the Fisherman of his day — won eleven races but of nineteen he started for in 1838, and fifteen out of twenty-three in 1839. At this time his horses were trained by Dawson; but shortly after he had won the St, Leger, Lord Eglinton conceived a dislike to having his horses trained in a public stable, and he accordingly engaged Fobert, who trained for him until he gave up racing. Under Fobert's rdgime his horses ran well, and won ihree Northumberland Plates in five years; the Great Metropolitan Stakes with Glensaddle, the Great Yorkshire Handicap with Pompey, and the Ascot 282 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Stakes with Lucia, were among the substantial suc- cesses of the stable. Van Tromp and the Flying Dutchman, however, were the two immortals of Lord Eglinton's stud, and the defeat of the first- named for the Derby was a great disappointment to his owner and to Lord George Bentinck, who on the Derby Day stood to win ^20,000 on him. So anxious was Lord George, indeed, for the success of Van Tromp in the great race, that he sent his own confidential servant to Epsom to see that the box was in proper order for the winter favourite to pass the night in ; but, arriving early at Epsom on the morn- ing of the Derby Day, he went straight to the box in which Van Tromp was placed, performed his own toilet with a cake of yellow soap, a jack towel, and a basin of water set on the corn-bin, and never left the stable until Fobert led the horse on to the Downs, and he had seen him handed over to the care of Job Marson. A careful investigation of all the facts will lead to the acquittal of Marson upon the charge of not doing his best to win. Lord Eglinton and his friends, however, at the time did not think so, and the tartan jacket was taken away from the old jockey and given to Marlow — a blow from which Job Marson never recovered. The St. Leger gave Van Tromp an ample revenge over Cossack ; and the Flying Dutchman, two years later,, placed the Derby to the credit of the Eglinton party, and followed that success with another St. Leger triumph. With the exception of West Aus- LORD EGLINTON. 283 tralian, the Flying Dutchman was the worst horse Davis ever had on his books ; and in these times of cooler arid more limited speculation on the Turf, the sums Lord Eglinton's famous horse was backed for seem almost incredible. The fame of the perform- ances of Van Tromp and the Flying Dutchman will never be allowed to die out while horse-racing flou- rishes in England ; nor is the other undertaking with which Lord Eglinton's name is associated likely to be sooner forgotten. The rehearsals of the Knights armed cap-ci-pie at St. John's Wood, and the grand tournament at Ayr, when the lists of Ashby-de-la- Zouch were transferred for the nonce to the Scotch county, to be literally , washed away by the , storms of rain which fell on spectators and combatants, had something more in them than is common to a mere file. Lord Eglinton desired to show his love of all manly sports, in many of which he was an adept. In about a dozen seasons his horses — of which Knight of Avenel, Hippolytus, and Claverhouse were among the luckiest — won about ;^8o,ooo in stakes ; but politics called Lord Eglinton from Turf pursuits, though he always had a kind word for Fobert, and a chat about times gone by, whenever he met his old trainer. It was said of the late Duke of Beaufort that he was the most popular man in England; of Lord Eglinton it might be said, with truth, that he was the most popular man in the three kingdoms. As Viceroy he had won the hearts of the Irish, in England he was esteemed as the soul HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. of honour, while his own countrymen reverenced him for his devotion to their national sports. Lord Chesterfield's connection with the Turf was hardly so fortunate as that of the Scotch earl, but many of the prizes of racing fell to his share, among them being several of the chief three-year-old stakes. Coming of age in 1826, after a long minority, and finding a fortune of a hundred thousand pounds in cash and an income of fifty thousand a year at his disposal, Lord Chesterfield had every reason for gratifying his love of a thoroughbred horse by keeping a stud of his own. Accordingly, in the same year in which he attained his majority, his name appears among the list of winning owners. A year or two later he entered into a confederacy with Mr. Greyille, and trained with Prince. Money was no object, and in 1829 he bought Zinganee for 3,000 guineas, and won the Ascot Cup of that year with him. Sam Chifney rode, of course, and his reply just before the flag fell to the question, " How do you feel?" was that he should be very much better in five minutes' time. The field for the Cup on that anniversary was a fine one, comprising as if did Mameluke and Cad- land, Derby winners; Colonel and Green Mantle, winners of St. Leger and Oaks respectively; together with two other animals of great repute, Lamplighter and Oppidan. Priam Lord Chesterfield gave the same sum for, LORD CHESTERFIELD. 285 and won the Goodwood Cup twice in succession with him, and afterwards sold him to go to America for 4,000 guineas. This purchase was made of William Chifney, as Zinganee's was, and both horses proved cheap at the prices paid for them, which were then considered fabulously high. For with Priam, in addition to the Goodwood Cups, Lord Chesterfield won the Eclipse Foot at Ascot, and. a very heavy match against Augustus at Newmarket. Two Oaks winners like- wise were left in his lordship's stud before this sire was sold at a profit of 1,000 guineas on Chifney's price. Shortly afterwards Lord Chesterfield sent his horses to John Scott to be trained at Whitewall; and the St. Leger with Don John, and the Oaks with Industry, justified the change to the North. Lord Chesterfield's horses, when trained by John Scott, were ridden by W. Scott and Connolly. Afterwards Taylor trained his horses at Bretby, and Frank Butler, Flatman, and Wells rode for the stable. Lord Chesterfield's interest in his horses was very great, and he was enthusiastic about their winning. When he ran out from the enclosure to meet Don John coming in to weigh, after he had won the St. Leger, Lord Chesterfield, in his hurry, ran against and knocked down the time-keeper, who remonstrated. "Oh, hang the time, I've won the Leger!" was the reply of the excited and jubilant owner of Don John. During his lordship's tenure of the office of Master of the Buckhounds, a "Golden Age" ob- 286 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. tained, in which the prominent figures were the Duke of Beaufort, Colonel Anson, Count D'Orsay, Sir George Wombwell, and Sir David Baird. When a change of Ministry caused his retirement, his friends decided to give him a dinner at the Clarendon. An unequalled banquet was the result. D'Orsay composed the minu, and in doing it laid all quarters of the globe under contribution. The price was six guineas a head. Mtnu of dinner given in May, 1834, to Lord Chesterfield, on his quitting the office of Master of the Buckhounds, at the Cla- rendon. The party consisted of thirty. Premier Service. Potages. — Printannier, k la reine, turtle {two tureens). Poissons.—'lmhot {lobster and Dutch sauces), saumon k la Tar- tare, rougets k la Cardinal, friture de morne, whitebait. R'elevis. — Filet de bceuf k la Napolitaine, dindon a la chipolate, timballe de macaroni, haunch of -venison. Entrees.— Q.xQ(^t\X.&i de volaille, petits patds aux huitres, cote- lettes d'agneau purde de champignons, cdtelettes d'agneau au pois d'asperges, fricandeau de veau k I'oseille, ris de veau pique' aux tomates, cotelettes de pigeons k la Dusselle, chartreuse de legumes aux faisans, filets de cannetons k la Biggarrade, boudins k la Richelieu, saute de volaille aux truffes, patd de mouton montd. CotL — Bceuf roti, jambon, salade. Second Service. Rots. — Chapons, quails, turkey poults, green goose. Entremets.— As^ergts, haricots k la Frangaise, mayonnaise d'homard, gelde Macedoine, aspices d'ceufs de pluvier, Charlotte Russe, gel^e au Marasquin, crgme marbre, corbeille de patisserie, vol-au-vent de rhubarb, tourte d'abricots, corbeille des Meringues, dressed crab, salade au galantine, champignons aux fines herbes. Releves.—Sowmie. k la vanille, Nesselrode pudding, Adelaide sandwiches, fondus, pieces mont^es, &c. Dessert. MR. DAWSON'S BANK NOTES. 287 CHAPTER XII. Ellington's derby — john gully — sir tatton sykes — ^ascot cup — the marquis and buckstone — george osbaldeston luke snowden. ELLINGTON won the Derby in 1856. His victory was marked by a singular incident in connection with his trainer. The hOrse had been heavily backed for the race, but suffered defeat some few days before the great event. The conse- quence was, neither his owner nor his trainer was able to hedge any of his money. His trainer was Mr. T. Dawson, of Middleham, the eldest brother of the well-known family of which Mr. Jos. Dawson, Mr. Matt. Dawson, and Mr. John Dawson, are equally distinguished members. The result was that Mr. T. Dawson, against his will, won p^2 5,000 by the victory of Ellington. On the Monday after the race, he went to Tattersall's to receive his money. The whole of it was paid to him in bank notes. After the settling he dined, and took the train for home, first having packed his bank notes in. an old leathern hat-case, without any lock, but simply tied with a piece of string. Mr. Dawson fell asleep in the train, and when the guard, who knew him well, 288 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. awoke him at Northallerton, and told him he must change carriages, Mr. Dawson got out of the train, leaving the old hat-case behind. In those days tele- graphy was not quite so simple a matter as now, and Mr. Dawson did not recover his hat-case for a whole week, during which time it had travelled to Edin- burgh, Aberdeen, and various other places. Ulti- mately it came back to the rightful owner, with the string neither cut nor untied, and with all the bank notes safe inside. We need hardly say that Mr. Dawson, with that astuteness which never forsakes the, professional Turfite, took particular care not to display the slightest anxiety about his hat- case, but merely informed the station-master that he had possessed the article for a good many years, and as there were some papers in it which could not possibly be of any use to any one but himself, he should like to recover it. Two men of great celebrity — one a Yorkshireman and the 'other a native of Somersetshire — ^both of whom lived to a good old age, died in the spring of 1863 — Mr. John Gully and Sir Tatton Sykes. Mr. Gully's career was remarkable and interesting. He was born in 1783, at Wick-and-Abson, a village between Bath and Bristol, the son of a small yeo- man. Early in life young Gully showed a precocious ability to use his fists for the purpose of damaging other people's faces. He had many youthful "sets- to," and finally fought his way to London, when he was about one-and-twenty, and speedily got locked FIGHT WITH THE " CHICKENS' 289 up for debt. In prison, one Pearce, well known in pugilistic circles as the " Chicken," found him. Pearce was a countryman, an old acquaintance and one of the Fancy. They put on the gloves together, merely to pass away the time, when Gully showed such aptitude for the manly art that a match was made by willing backers for him to fight his friend the "Chicken;" and his debts were paid in order that he might win their money, prizefighting being one of the few amusements not permitted to thet- occupants of our old debtors' prisons. " Chicken" Pearce's backers staked six hundred pounds to four hundred on their champion. The encounter of pluck and muscle came off in October, 1805. Gully, fearfully punished, was removed by his party after the fifty-ninth round, defeated but not dis- graced. His prowess had won for him many ad- mirers; and on Pearce's retirement he was offered the proud title of Champion of England, However, before the honour was proffered him, he had. fought a great battle with Gregson, the Lancashire Giant, at Six-mile Bottom, near Newmarket, for two hun- dred goiineas ; and, after a battle of thirty-six rounds, had convinced the Giant that he had come from the North on a fool's errand. Not so, however, Greg- son's backers. They would not believe that their man could be beaten on his merits by an opponent of inferior height and size ; and accordingly another contest between the men took place in Sir John Sebright's Park in Hertfordshire, when Gully gave a VOL. I. ' 19 290 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. most decisive beating to the Giant. So large were the crowds which were brought together to witness this prize fight, that the country people fancied the French must have landed to cause such an influx of stran- gers, and called out the yeomanry and volunteers. "Boxiana,"agreat authority on pugilistic matters, thus sums up Mr. Gully's merits as an exponent of the noble art of self-defence : — " Gully as a pugilist will long be remembered by the amateurs of pugilism as peculiarly entitled to their respect and consideration ; and if his battles were not so numerous as those of many other professors have been, they were con- tested with decision, science, and bottom rarely equalled, and perhaps never excelled, and justly entitle him to the most honourable mention in the records of boxing. His practice in the art, it was well known, had been very confined, and his theo- retical knowledge of the science could not have been very extensive, from the short period during which he had appeared in the lists as a boxer. But his genius soared above these difficulties ; and, with a fortitude equal to any man's, he entered the ring a consummate pugilist. In point of appearance, if his frame does not boast of that elegance of shape from which an artist might model to attain perfect sym- metry, yet nevertheless it is athletic and prepossess- ing." Honour and upright conduct in the field had placed Mr. Gully in possession of a moderate com- petence. Following the almost invariable rule with' MAMELUKE. 291 his predecessors among the champions of the prize ring, on leaving it he took a pubHc-house — the Plough, in Carey-street, Lincoln's-inn Fields. From the publican to the sporting publican was an easy step ; and after a profitless period of two years as a backer (1810 — 1812), Mr. Gully appears in the cha- racter of an owner of racehorses, and a bettor of the odds — or, as he was then called, a leg, or bettor round — surely establishing his position, until some years later (1827) he became the purchaser of Mameluke from Lord Jersey, at the price of 4,000 guineas, after that ungenerous horse had won the Derby. In the St, Leger, backed by his owner to win an immense stake, he had to be flogged from the post by the stout arm of the ex-prizefighter, and was beaten by Matilda. This was the first really good horse Mr. Gully had possessed; the price at which he had secured him was a great one, and for that day enormous. Among his bets were two with Crockford of ten thousand pounds each level — one that Mameluke beat ten different horses, the other that he, beat nine, and Matilda was in both the lots. Immediately after Mameluke became Mr. Gully's property he was sent to Sykes to be trained, and as the Derby winner he was first favourite for the St. Leger, for which event his price was five to two. This price, to the astonishment of his backers, was always forth- coming, from parties better known on the Turf for their rashness than their solvency. On the St. 19 — 2 292 ' HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Leger day it was believed these persons had " got at " the starter, and he was subsequently discharged. Half a dozen half-broken horses were started, in order, by delays at the post, to further irritate Mameluke's temper, never the sweetest; and these tactics were so successful that after a number of false starts the Derby winner became so fractious that it was almost impossible to make him face the flag. When Forth and Matilda were seventy yards ah^ad, the word was given ; yet so great was Mameluke's turn of speed, that if Nicholson would have con- sented to pull aside in the race at the Red House, as Chifney asked him to do, it is probable, nay, almost certain, he would have won. To foul play Mr. Gully ascribed the defeat of his horse; and so satisfied was he that Mameluke was a better animal than Matilda, that he challenged Mr. Petre for a match on the Friday, offering him a seven pound pull in the weights. But John Scott would not hear of it, telling Mr. Petre he had won the St. Leger by a fluke, and advising him in strong terms to let well alone. Mr. Gully was the first at the Rooms on settling day, and the last to leave them, paying freely the large sums he had lost by his unlucky venture. At four years old Mameluke retrieved his posi- tion, and recouped his owner by winning the Whip and the Oatlands, then a very heavy betting race; and as a five-year-old he ran second to Zinganee. After this, Mr. Gully sold him to Mr. Theobald, of SIR TATTON SYKES. 293 Stockwell, somewhat hurriedly, and, repenting his action,, offered old "Leather-breeches" any sum in reason to get the horse back; but Mr. Theobald would not sell until, years after, the Americans bought the horse from him. The Ugly Buck, Pyrrhus the First, and Mendi- cant have made Mr. Gully's name famous in con- nection with the Two Thousand Guineas, the Derby, and the Oaks, when old Sam Day was his jockey. He was elected member of Parliament for Pontefract — an honour for which he did not very much care, as his heart was with his horses. His partner in making immense books on the great races was Mr. Ridsdale, whom he finally quarrelled with and assaulted in the hunting field, as is recorded in a previous chapter. Mr. Gully lived to the good old age of eighty. Sir Tatton Sykes, for years an object of venera- tion with YorkshiremeUj passed away in the spring of the same year. As the meetings on Knavesmire and the Town Moor came round in the autumns of succeeding years, one of the first questions asked by old habituds, one of another, was, " Well, and how is Sir Tatton looking ? " His last visit to Doncaster was to witness his seventy-seventh St. Leger; but his friends, with justice as the event showed, feared this would be his last. He was the centre of interest and attraction on the Grand Stand, and strangers were always told they would never see such a man again — a doctrine which Yorkshire had good reason 294 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. to believe. Sir Tatton might almost have remem- bered the effect produced in his native county by the Declaration of Independence by the States, and, as a matter of fact, had never seen the Derby run for after the year 1792, which was the second and last occasion of his presence on Epsom Downs. Born at Wheldrake, his father's seat, on the 22 nd of August, 1772, he enjoyed a long life, spent in works of benevolence. His father. Sir Christopher, sent his sons first to a tutor at Bishopthorpe, and after- wards to Westminster. School-days over. Sir Tat- ton Sykes went to Oxford, spending some time at Brasenose. He was then placed for a short time in London with a firm of attorneys, Messrs. Atkin- son and Farrer, and finally set to learn the business of a country banker at Hull, walking thence to his father's seat at Sledmere, thirty-two miles, after the day's business was done, on his first Saturday there, and repeating the feat on Monday morning, arriving early, and perfectly fresh for the duties of his desk. It was his habit all his life to be up with the lark in the summer, and before the songster in winter; a favourite breakfast was an apple tart and a hearty draught of new milk, a great deal of healthy exercise, on horseback or on foot, always intervening between Sir Tatton's early breakfast and his luncheon. The latter meal was very often a crust of brown bread, Yorkshire cream cheese — of which he was very fond — and a pint of the Sledmere home-brewed. His ales were famous, not only over the county of York, THE SLEDMERE STUD. 29S but throughout the North of England, and in his cellar the tap was always turned. With perfect truth, and to his great honour, it has been said that from Sir Tatton's hospitable door none ever went away hungry or thirsty. There were three things that Yorkshiremen always expressed a wish to show to strangers and visitors — the first was York Minster; the second varied according to circumstances and tastes; but the last was always " Old Sir Tatton." But the doings of this admirable example of the country landed proprietor really belong more to the records of agriculture, stock-breeding, and fox-hunting, than to the History of the Turf. True, Sir Tatton was one of the largest breeders of blood-stock in England at the time of his death, his stud numbering upwards of two hundred horses and mares; but the story of his actual connection with the Turf, except as a skilful breeder, is soon told. His name first appears in the annals of Weatherby in 1803 as an owner of race-horses, when his Tele- machus ran at Middleham. In 1805 he rode his own horse, Hudibras, at Malton, in a sweepstakes of five guineas each — gentlemen riders, twenty-five subscribers — and won the race. A few years later, 1808, he matched his mare Theresa over a four- mile course at Doncaster, owners to ride. For twenty years after this date, Sir Tatton, from time to time, kept a few horses in training at Malton, chiefly for the purpose of mounting them himself in ;296 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. races for gentlemen riders. His colours were orange and purple; and the last time he wore them on a winning horse of his was in 1829, when he won the Welham Cup at Malton. The name of the horse suggested the quality of his owner — it was All Heart and No Peel. Some years before he succeeded to the baronetcy he became M.F.H., and continued master of a pack of foxhounds for forty years. He loved a good horse, a good hound, a good shorthorn, a good sheep ; and at Sledmere he gratified his taste for all of them on the grand scale. He had a very large stud of thoroughbred horses, and among his hundred and twenty brood mares all the best blood of the Eng- lish Stud-book was represented. Grey Momus, The Lawyer, St. Giles, Gaspard, and Elcho, were among the best horses bred by Sir Tatton Sykes. He was seventy-four when he led back his name- sake to scale a St. Leger winner, and from that hour till the day of his death every jockey that rode a St. Leger winner claimed, as one of the rewards of winning, a shake of the hand and a kind word from the Yorkshire patriarch. Keen and shrewd, yet in many aspects of his character a Sir Roger de Coverley, Sir Tatton Sykes lived to an age far beyond the Biblical threescore years and ten, honoured and beloved by a whole county as few men have been before. He had lived an ideal patriarchal life: he was everybody's adviser that wanted advice, everybody's friend that wanted help ; BUCKSTONE AND TIM WHIFFLER. 1^7. he was his great county's pride; his name was a proverb and a household word over all the broad acres of Yorkshire; and at his funeral three thousand persons were present to pay the last tribute of respect to as fine an English gentleman as any age has seen. There has never been a more magnificent contest than that witnessed in 1863 for the Ascot Cup, when Tim Whiffler, belonging to the Duke of Cleveland, and Buckstone, belonging to Mr. Merry, ran a dead heat. Buckstone had run third for the Derby in the previous year, with Caractacus and the Marquis in front of him, and he had been defeated by the Marquis for the St. Leger by a head. Tim Whiffler had also been an. extraordinary performer as a three-year-old, and was made the favourite for the Ascot Cup, and there really can be little doubt but that he was the better horse of the two. When the race was run a second time, Buckstone won ra.ther easily by about a length and a half. The result of this contest was, and always has been, a mystery to most sportsmen ; but, if rumour can be trusted, there was a very easy explanation of the mystery. It is commonly believed in Newmarket that Tim Whiffler carried nearly a stone more than his proper weight. Both horses were four-year-olds, and the weights were 8st. ylbs. But the jockey who rode Tim Whiffler always had great difficulty in later years in getting himself down to that weight, and gst. 7lbs. was about his normal weight. It is not imputed to 298 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. him that he purposely carried extra weight with any fraudulent intention, but that he was too lazy to waste, and that he really thought Tim Whififler was so good a horse that he could win with the additional weight on his back. It may be asked how could the skilful clerk of the scales be deceived ; but it is said that immediately the dial reached 8st. 7lbs. the jockey dug his spurred heel on the ground, and lifted himself out of the chair. Certain it is that in the present day Mr. Manning always insists on jockeys keeping their feet in the air while they are in the scales. In connection with this story, it may be mentioned that the rider of Musjid, in the Derby, is said to have weighed in and weighed out with a whip weighing 7 or 9 lbs., and to have exchanged it for a lighter whip before and after the race. Another famous veteran of the sporting world, Mr. George Osbaldeston, universally known, how- ever, as "the Squire," survived for some three years the death of Sir Tatton. His celebrity, however, was not nearly so much in connection with the pursuits of the Turf, though he occasionally rode a horse of his own over the flat at Newmarket, The Saddler was one of the best racers the Squire ever owned, his other animals being able to win a race for him only now and then. He generally had a race-horse or two in training, and for some time before his death they were entered for engagements in his wife's name. The hero of a thousand sport- MR. GEORGE OSBALDESTON. 299 ing exploits, the subject of a thousand sporting stories, it was said of Squire Osbaldeston that cours- ing and fishing were the only two manly sports for which he did not care, and in which he did not excel. Fox-hunting was his devotion, and at the cover-side or across country he was hardly ever equalled as a sportsman. He rode a race in a manner equal to the best professional style; he was in the first rank in his day at driving, pigeon- shooting, cricket, and billiards; whilst his powers of endurance were almost beyond belief. George Osbaldeston was born on the 26th of December, 1787, in Wimpole-street, Cavendish- square, and was the son of Mr. Osbaldeston, of Hutton Bushell, near Scarborough. The fashion of the day, which took country ladies of station to London, caused the squire to be born a Londoner, and not a Yorkshireman. When only six years old his father died, and his mother went to live at Bath, where Dash, a fashionable teacher, gave the boy his first lessons in the saddle. Eton followed in due course, after which Dr. Carr, subsequently Bishop of Chichester, prepared him for Oxford. He was entered a gentleman commoner of Brasenose on the 3rd of May, 1805. So early as this, the young Squire was master of a pack of foxhounds or hariers, which he bought from Lord Jersey, and hunted in the neighbourhood of his mother's property at Hutton Bushell. This was an earnest of sport in the future, when he became master of the Ather- 30O HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Stone, the Quorn, and Pytchley packs. His extra- ordinary match and his no less notorious duel with Lord George Bentinck have already been sketched in the pages of this work. The great match called forth pages of doggrel, and also some fair verses and epigrams. Perhaps the following lines are the best : — Time and the Squire — a Match. "Time 'gainst the field," the parsons cry; And add by way of commentary, To warn each racing sinner — " Whatever length life's course may be, A.T.M.M. or T.Y.C., Time's sure to be the winner.' " Out upon their authority!" The Squire exclaims; "What's Time to me. That I his steps should follow? To challenge him I'm not afraid." " Done," replies Time. A match was made; And Time was beaten hollow. Rarely has a jockey established a reputation in so short a time as was the case with Luke Snow- den, whose short career in the saddle was identified with many successes in the green and gold of Mr. Saxon, and the red and yellow jacket of Lord Ailes- bury. He was born near Scarborough, in 1840, and in due time articled to Mr. Lister, at Beverley, and afterwards served out his apprenticeship with Mr. Saxon, who was always his firm friend. Snowden began to ride in public in 1854, when he won five times; and his last season was i86i, when he rode a winner sixty-four times. His doings in connection LUKE SNOWDEN. 301 with the St. Leger are remarkable, for he only had four St. Leger mounts. In 1858 he won on Sun- beam, for Mr. Merry; the next year he was second for Mr. Saxon, on Defender. In i860, he rode the winner. Lord Ailesbury's St. Alban's; and in 1861 he was second on Kettledrum. Luke Snowden died at the early age of twenty-two, of typhus fever, having as high a place for honesty and skill as any man in his profession. There is, it is asserted, no other instance on record of a lad who was for only eight seasons on the Turf, and yet was the victor in two St. Legers, second in two more, and a winner of the Oaks. During the last five seasons his average was fifty-eight winning mounts per year. 302 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. CHAPTER XIII. THE NEW TATTERSALl's — TESTIMONIAL DINNER — BAD SPORTSMEN MILITARY RACES. ON the loth of April, 1865, Messrs. Tattersall removed from the old premises at Hyde Park Corner to their new yard at Knightsbridge, their ninety-nine years' lease of the "Old Place" having run out, the business having begun in 1766. The occasion was very properly marked by a tes- timonial dinner to the proprietors of the " Corner," which took place at Willis's Rooms on April 1 1 th, when about three hundred of Messrs. Tattersall's friends sat down to dinner. The sideboards and table were decorated with a very large number of racing cups and trophies, lent for the occasion by the noblemen and gentlemen who owned them, and collected and arranged by Mr, Hancock. The ,chair was taken by Admiral Rous, and all the principal patrons and habihi4s of the Turf sup- ported him. The gallant Admiral proposed the toast of the evening, " Prosperity to the house of Tattersall," in a happy speech. In speaking of their esteemed guests, Mr. Tattersall and Mr. Edmund THE TATTERSALL DINNER. 303 Tattersall, he said it was not the duration of time a great trade had been carried on which commanded our respect, but it was the probity and straightfor- ward conduct which had characterized that firm from father to son. " My Lords and Gentlemen," said Admiral Rous, "we shall long regret the old Cor- ner, the gravel walk, the green lawn, the very cow — so emblematical of milk— and the plane tree under whose shade mysterious books have been scrutinized and judgment recorded. But we are not here to express our regret for what we have lost, bu£ to compliment our guests on having completed a mag- nificent building, which may be regarded as a national institution, with a world-wide fame, which gives its patronymic to similar establishments in our colonies and in many cities in Europe. Every gentleman in this room, and thousands outside, must cordially hope that the house of Tattersall may flourish until Macaulay's New Zealand chief moralizes over the ruins of St. Paul's." Mr. Richard Tattersall said : " My Lords and Gentlemen — I cannot find words to express, the feelings of pride and gratification which fill my heart at seeing so many noble and distinguished guests assembled here this evening to do honour to so humble an individual as myself. I cannot but be aware that this compliment arises from no merit of my own or of my partner, but rather from a feeling inherent in the breast of every Englishman — to wish success to a business carried 304 HISTORY. OF THE BRITISH TURF. on by the same family and in the same locality for so long a time. It is now a hundred years, bar one (much laughter), since our great grandfather leased from the Earl Grosvenor the piece of ground on which he established our place of business. He was best known to his contemporaries by the name of 'Old Tat,' and by his honesty and uprightness he acquired the goodwill and respect of all who knew him. The Prince of Wales, afterwards George the Fourth, then a young man, was a constant patron of the establishment, and it was at his own desire that his bust was placed in the middle of the yard, where it remained until we were turned out, and which has now been transferred to the yard of the new premises. The Prince was also a frequent visitor at my great- grandfather's seat, Highflyer Hall, near Bury St. Edmunds ; and many strange stories have been told of the Prince of Wales and his companions there. Among other things, I have heard of a postchaise galloping into the town of Newmarket at night, with his Royal Highness riding the leaders, and Charles Fox the wheelers. Towards the end of the last century, my great-grandfather was succeeded by his son, my grandfather, who, like his father, had the reputation of being an honourable and an honest man. He was joint proprietor, with the Prince, of the Morning Post newspaper. In 1810 my father and uncle succeeded to the business, which they carried on successfully for fifty years. No man, per- haps, was more popular with all classes than my MR. TATTERSALL'S SPEECH. 305 lamented father ; and no man, perhaps, ever made more sincere friends, and among others I may men- tion the name of an English nobleman who was a model in every relation of life — I mean the late Duke of Richmond. Time and the Marquess of Westminster have driven us out of our time- honoured locality, and we have taken a piece of ground as near as we could get it to the Corner. But although we have changed our premises we; have not changed our principles, and we hope and trust we may still be honoured with the same con- fidence and patronage which we have enjoyed for so many years. There is one important point in our establishment upon which -I should like to say a few words. Although large sums of money depend upon horse-racing, yet the occupation of the book- maker was a few years since a very small business. It was confined to but few persons. Like the electric telegraph and the railways, it has sprung into importance only of late years, and has now passed from noblemen and gentlemen of high stand- ing and means to persons of lower rank, who, years since, would as soon have thought of keeping a tame elephant as a ' book.' The art of book-making has, however, increased with the number of trainers and horses. In 1818, my father opened a small room, then used as a laundry, in his house for a subscrip- tion-room. The number of members gradually in- creased, until, in 1842, the room not being large enough, a more spacious one for this class of patrons VOL. I, 20 3,o6 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. of the establishment was opened on the l^wn. That was the room in which we have seen so many ups and downs in horses and races, and where such large smi^s qf money have changed hands during the last few years. That room, however, had also become tpo small; and in our new premises we have spared no money to make the new room worthy of the objects for which it has been erected; for this portion of the business has now becorne one of the institutions of the time. In conclusion, I thank you for the handsome manner in which you have spoken of our firm, and for your kind attendance this even- ing ; apd as long as I live I shall ever look back to this day as one of the proudest of rriy existence," Mr. Edmund Tattersall said : " I beg tp thank you each and all for the great honour you have copferred upon us this day — an honour, I believe, such as was never paid before to a private firm by so distinguished a company; for, when I look to the right and left ot me, I see the highest and the noblest of the land; and I look upon the owners of the magp^ificent cups which adorn the table as present in feeling,, if not in person, to do us honour. I take this great compli- ment as paid in some measure to the high character of those who have gone before us — my father, fol- lowing his father, who was so, well known to all of you; while I svicceeded my uncle, who was, equally esteemed lay all who knew him. I think, when I see around me all the great elements of the sporting worid, that you will agree with me that those gentle- MR. E. TATTERSALUS SPEECH. 307 men who, like our chairman and the gentlemen who support him, take the trouble to regulate the affairs of the sporting world, do as much good as those who make our laws, by inculcating a manly spirit of fair play. What but a love of racing could take 300,000 persons annually to Epsom on the Derby Day ? And the spirit which animates that multitude is the love of sport, and the knowledge that the best horse will win. We have present, also, many gentlemen distinguished 'as masters of hounds, who do more good by bringing all classes together in the pursuit of sport than could be done in any other way. And here, too, are those gentle- men whose names are so well known to the world as the great spirits of the Sporting Stock Exchange, who will lay you the odds to any amount, and are safe as the Bank to pay. There are, besides them, gentle- men of all classes, each one of whom comes here to do honour to us; to each of whom I tender our warmest thanks, because that honour is paid simply because we have done our duty — as our ancestors did before us, and as we intend doing as long as we represent the 'Old Firm' at the 'New Tattersall's.'" Betting men are considered, and not without reason, to be very bad sportsmen. They know nothing about pedigrees, and they care nothing for the noble animal. To them he is nothing more than a dice box or pack of cards — a medium for gambling and money making. A singular illustra- 20 — 2 3o8 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. tion of their ideas as to pedigree was afforded a few years ago on Newmarket racecourse. A horse gal- loped up the course before the race, and Lord West- moreland, on his hack, called out to Mr. W. Nicoll, asking how the horse was bred. Mr. Nicoll had a secretary, who, although bearing the aristocratic name of Percy, was not supposed to have any close con- nection with the great Northumberland family. In answer to Lord Westmoreland's question, Mr. Nicoll exclaimed, having evidently laid long 'odds against the horse, " So help me, he is like Percy and me here — he has got no pedigree at all." In the present day, when military races are all the rage — at Aldershot, Sandown, and the Curragh — the Plungers and the Light Brigade have a good day's racing for cups and stakes, on the flat, over hurdles, and in steeplechases. The unsophisticated observer would naturally suppose that these, of all races, were worthy of encouragement ; that they con- stitute sport in the best sense of the word ; that they were got up for the amusement of the regiments, to test the horsemanship of the officers and the courage and endurance of their hacks. We do not pretend to say that the observer in the present day would be wrong in his conclusions, but many singular stories have been told of " arrangements " for military races. One of the most celebrated trainers of the day had an astounding experience, many years ago, of what military men can do on the Turf. At that time, this trainer — who now has forty or fifty horses in his A MILITARY ARRANGEMENT. 309 Stables, and who certainly has the most magnificent house, grounds, and stables of any trainer in England — was asked by an ofiEicer to find a horse to run in a military flat race. The regiment had borrowed Ascot Course for the day; and the trainer, being clearly of opinion that his horse would beat anything of the military class at a mile, readily assented to the pro- posal. The officer assured him that the stakes were of no object at all, and that he merely wished to borrow the horse for the honour of coming in first. It was arranged that, if successful, the horse should put the stakes to his master's credit, the officer being satisfied with acting as jockey on the occasion. About half an hour before the race, the trainer, having looked over his adversaries, came to the conclusion that his horse could not possibly, lose, and sent a friend into the Ring to back the horse for a "pony." He then took up his station near the well-known turn for home on the course. As soon as the flag fell the horse jumped to the front, and had all his opponents settled in the first quarter of a mile. To the horror and astonishment of the trainer, however, the officer turned in his saddle, and shouted to the twelve other riders, " Come on, you beggars — I shall never be able to hold him!" And finding he could not hold him, the officer, instead of coming round the turn, rode straight across the course into the furze bushes. When the race was over, insult was added -to injury, for the officer rode up to the trainer, and severely censured him for 3IO HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. lending him a horse which he could neither guide nor hold. The trainer, smarting under his defeat and the loss of his money, immediately challenged any horse of the twelve for ;^5oo, over the same course, the trainer's horse to run with a boy on his back, and in a snaffle bit; the fact being that the animal was one of the gentlest and most tractable in his stables. As may be supposed, the challenge was declined. About a year afterwards, the trainer was passing Long's Hotel, when the officer suddenly came out, and, after mutual recognition, the officer asked the trainer to come in and take a glass of wine, and then said he desired to offer a thousand apologies for the wrong he had done him. " The fact is," said the officer, "we had arranged the night before which horse was to win, and I had no idea yours was such a good one," "Why, bless me," said the trainer, " thirteen runners, and arrange which was to win ! Well, I have heard of arranging the winner out of three or four at Kingsbury and Bromley, but I never heard of settling it with thirteen runners. I thought officers were gentlemen ; but I find that you are a bigger set of thieves than can be found on any racecourse in England." "Oh," said the officer, " that is nothing, I don't mind telling you that we had arranged the winner of every race the night before." " Well," replied the trainer, " I never had anything, to do with military races before, and I will take care I never do again." THE MARQUESS OF EkETER. 311 It is by no means intended that an inference should be drawn from this anecdote, to the discredit of hiilitary face& generallyj or of this officers who get them up, and take part in them. On the contrary, such races afford much harmless amusement in rural districts where out-doof sports are held in due regard; aild commonly^ doubtless, military races are managed with as much honesty and straightforward- ness as the best meetings in the countrys The fore- going anecdote, however, is a matter-of-fact relation of what took place On such an occasion, those par- ticular officers probably acting in the belief that to settle the winner beforehand was a natural and entirely proper course to pursue in connection with their Garrisoa Cup or Stakes. It is only charitable to hope that tio regimental mess has acted upon such a conviction since. A conspicuous example of unswerving honour and uprightness during a long career on the Turf is afforded in the person of the late Marquess of Exeter, who,- born in 1795, succeeded to the marquisate on the death of his father in 1804. The late Lord Exeter was an old-fashioned sportsman of the best school, educated at Eton and St. John*s, Cambridge, the ancestral college of the Burghleys ever since the time of William Cecil, Elizabeth's minister. We find him early showing an inclination for the sport, and happy in the possession of a thoroughbred horse. His trustees had for some years previous to 18^6 given a fifty-pOund Plate to be run ftir at the Staitl- 312 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. ford Meeting, and here in that year Lord Exeter inaugurated the long existence on our racecourses of his blue and white stripes by winning a Plate with Woodpecker. The rent-roll of large estates of the Cecils, which he inherited, in the counties of Northampton, Rut- land, and Lincoln, enabled him to gratify his tastes for sport on the grand scale. His first purchase, after he attained his majority, was Captain Candid, a horse which he bought to run at Stamford Meeting, and for which he gave eight hundred guineas to Mr. Watt. These were the days of the Cadland blue and the Grafton scarlet, and, as well as the noble owner of the latter colours, there were the Dukes of York, Portland, and Rutland, with large studs and great enthusiasm for the sport. Matches and weight- for-age races afforded opportunities of equine dis- tinction to such stout animals as Whalebone, Waxy, Whisker, and Selim, piloted to victories by Clift, Jackson, Chifney, Arnull, and Buckle. Lord Exeter early saw the necessity of a large establishment, if he was to cope successfully with such opponents as he had to meet on the Turf at that time. Marson first, and after him Harlock, was chosen for the post of trainer, and a range of stabling, which included a covered riding- school and tan gallop, soon rose, adjoining Foley House, his residence at Newmarket; while the breeding establishment at Wothorpe, near his seat of Burghley, was the finest of its time. Sultan was the wo THORPE VICTORIES. zn sire chiefly employed, and in one year (1832) the winnings of his stock amounted to twenty thousand pounds. The engagements of Lord Exeter's horses in training were second only to those of Lord George Bentinck's string, while his considerate care provided for the numerous regiment of lads in attendance upon them a schoolmaster, who, in their more leisure hours, should give them an education suitable to their position in life. It was in the fifth year of his career on the Turf that Lord Exeter, to his great delight, carried off the Oaks with Augusta, ridden by Jem Robinson. Seven years afterwards, his beautiful filly. Green Mantle, with Dockeray on her back, repeated the triumph on Epsom Downs ; the same race falling once again to his lot — in 1832 — when Conolly bore the blue and white stripes first past the post on Galata. The Derby he never won, so that Lord Exeter always, and justly, thought Epsom an unlucky course for him; while Ascot and Goodwood had proved just as fortunate for the Foley House colours. Newmarket, however, was his favourite racing-ground ; for, rivalled by few of the veterans of his day in the art of match-making, and excelled by none, it was on the Heath that he had oftenest seen his own judgment proved to be correct by the issue of a well-contested race over the T.M.M. or Across the Flat. Among Lord Exeter's principal successes on the Turf might be mentioned — in addition to his three victories in the Oaks — three Two Thousands: 1829 314 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. and 1830 with Patron atld Augustus, and in 1852 with Stockwell, with whom^ it is well remembered, the St. Leger was afterwards won, to the g-reat joy of Wothorpe; the Goodwood Stakes, the Ascot Cup^- his Galata beating Lucetta, deScribfed as "the woilder of the age," in 1833, in the presence of William the Fourth and his Court. It was Oti the Rciyal Heath, too, that Stockwell ran such a tremendous race with Teddington for the Empet-or's Vase, a prize which might have gone to the sideboard at Burghley, had not the afterwards famous sire pulled Norman quite out of the saddle and overpowered him when half the distance had been covered, which Was probably the cause of Job Marson's being able to land Teddingtott the winner by a head on the post. Lord Exeter's sideboard might, indeed, well spare the Vase, as it was already laden with Cups and other trophies, placed there through the fleetness and stoutness of its owner's coursers. But in later years the successes of the Wothorpe pad- docks were few and very far between ; and the immensely popular narrow blue and white stripes were much oftener seen carried hopelessly in the rear rather than in the van, where all, and especially the bookmakers, would have preferred to see them. The cause of this was probably to be found in an attachment of Lord Exeter's — like that of Lord Glasgow — to certain strains of blood, and persever- ance in breeding from them long aftef their worth- lessness for the purposes of competition had been STOCKWELL. 31S demonstrated to everybody else acquainted with the subject of bfeeding and racing. Lord Exeter always bred for stoutness, and his haras near his seat at Burghley produced many good horses ; and the stable contained Stockwell — though it had not the good luck to breed him — who proved at the stud one of the most successful horses of modern times. Stockwell, bred by Mr. Thellusson in 1849, was by The Baron out of Pocahontas by Glencoe. He won the St. Leger in Lord Exeter's colours, and by Marquis's year was already the sire of three St. Leger winners iri succession — St. Albans, i860 ; Caller Ou, 1 86 1 ; and The Marquis, 1862— a feat that had only been rivalled by Sir Peter; atid in the next five years was the sire of three more St. Leger winners, Blair Athol, Lord Lyon, and Achievement. On the decease of Lord Londesborough, to whom the horse had passed from Lord Exeter, Stockwell was sold to Mr. Naylor for 4,500 guineas. His stock first appeared on the Turf in 1858. In 1855, Lord Exeter had to provide a sum of seventy thousand pounds for the construction of a branch railway to Essendine, and he thought proper to offer his stud for sale in one lot for ten thousand pounds, as Lord George Bentinck and Colonel Peel had done in previous years. The purchase would have contained Stockwell — as the Bentinck lot in- cluded Surplice — and so would have been a very advantageous bargain for whomsoever had bought it. Lord George sold incontinently a Derby win- 3i6 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. ner, and missed the prize he had so long striven for when it was within his grasp. Lord Exeter's horse was good enough to have " spread-eagled " his field for the Derby of his year, " Stockwell, but for an attack of lampas, which came on between the Two Thousand Guineas and the Derby, and an accident in running the race, would have won for the Mar- quis of Exeter that prize which he so much de- served ; but his disappointment was atoned for by the St, Leger, which Stockwell carried away in a canter, the litde Daniel looking like a pigmy beside him." One of Stockwell's grandest performances was his victory over Kingston in the struggle for the Whip at Newmarket, In that race, over the Beacon Course, each horse carried ten stones, and the race was run at a splitting pace, both jockeys having orders to make the running. Those in charge of Stockwell were convinced that he could beat Kingston for stoutness; and those in charge of Kingston thought, and not unreasonably, that Stockwell was not thoroughly trained. Indeed, it is a tradition to this day at Newmarket that Stock- well never was really " fit " during his whole racing career, and that his immense superiority to other horses of his time was never shown. In the race for the Whip, Kingston collapsed at the Turn of the Lands, and Stockwell rolled in, much distressed after his terrific gallop. No private offer for Lord Exeter's horses being forthcoming, it was decided, in October of the LORD DERBY. 317 same year, to call in the assistance of Mr. Richard Tattersall, who disposed of them under the hammer. Except the sale of the Hampton Court stud on the death of William the Fourth, and of the Londes- borough stud, no sales had previously created so much interest in the sporting world; but so high were the reserves that only sixteen animals were disposed of — namely, four brood mares, two year- lings, and ten foals. Stockwell was the subject of a great contest; but at last Scott, the manager of Lord Londesborough's stables, venturing to exceed his commission, secured the great sire of the next generation of horseflesh for Yorkshire, in opposition to the spirited biddings of the French buyers. A Tory in politics. Lord Exeter, like his illus- trious ancestor of the Elizabethan period, was in high favour at Court, and, under successive adminis- trations, he became Lord Chamberlain and Groom of the Stole to the late Prince Consort. Lord Exeter died in 1867, and his successor — a respectable officer of militia, and county magistrate — has shown no sign of reviving the glories of Wothorpe and Foley House. Contemporaries of the .Marquess, Lords Derby and Palmerston, though both lovers of the sport, raced from different motives. The nobleman whose career on the Turf has been sketched in the pre- ceding pages, kept a large stud, bred horses exten- sively, and entered them liberally for engagements, because, probably, among the less serious pursuits of 3i5 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. life, he loved seeing a horse-race best, though a herd of shorthorns was almost as dear to his eyes, The two statesmen, who for so many years took a leading part in the politics of their country, were undoubtedly both of them keen lovers of the sport; but, honest as they were, they had a regard to popu- larity as well; for it has long been held as gospel that the leader of either of the two great parties but considers his own interests in the country if his colours are occasionally seen to the front at Epsom, Goodwood, Newmarket, Ascot, and Doncaster. Lo;"d Derby, who was equally a good sportsman in the stubble and on the moor, may well be supposed to have inherited the great partiality of his father and grandfather for the sport of which he was for so many years one of the strongest supporters* While his father's horses were under his management, Pearce and Saunders, trained them; but after his fa,ther's death, when the stud became his own, he transferred the horses in training to the care of John Scott, with whom he remained, leaving to the great Northern trainer the entire control of his racers. Un- fortunately, De Clare and Boiardo, horses of whom much was expected, broke down during their training for their three-year-old engagements, while Dervish and Toxophilite pjoved non-stayers. , In spite, how- ever, of Derby disappointments, the scholarly Tory statesman had his share of the good things of the Turf, winning the Oaks, the Two Thousand Guineas, the One Thousand Guineas, the Cesarewitch, the LORD PALMERSTON. 319 Goodwood and Dqncaster Cups, the Great Yorkshire Stakes, innumerable produce Stakes at Newmarket, Ascot, and York, besides a whole host of minor races d\\ over the country, which fell to his lot. In 1858 Lord Derby decided to sell the greater portion of his stud — an announcement that created rnuch surprise at the time. Mr. Tatters'all sold the lots at Don- caster Meeting, when the amount realized by those sold was upwards of ^5,oqo. Lord Derby was a large breeder at Knowsley, and his crosses were very judicious, resulting in some good animals. His favourite jockey w^s Frank Butler, whose riding he admired, and whose services; he held in high esteem. Lord Palmerston, though perhaps rather more |han Lord Derby's equal in statesmanship and popularity with hia countrymen, cut a decidedly inferior figure on the Turf. But the reason may well have been that he had not a Knowsley rent-roll at his back. He was a good judge of horses, a clever breeder, though on a small scale, and a good patron and supporter of the national sport ; and had his fortune been larger, there can be no doubt his nanie would have appeared in the pages of " Weatherby " as, the owner of a very long string of horses in train- ing, for nobody knew better the value to a popular statesman Qf being seen pxetty often on a race- course, and winning a fair share of straight run races between March and No.vember every season. A H[ampshire proprietor, Lord Palmerston, natu- 320 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. rally gave his first support to his own county ; and so far back as 1816 his name appears as an owner of a race-horse running at Winchester. This was a filly named Mignonette, by Sorcerer, trained for him by Grandfather Day, sire of Honest John; and grandsire of the present old John Day. To Ough- ton Downs Lord Palmerston was true in his alle- giance for many a year, and would have remained so to the end had it not been for his stud groom. Ward, quarrelling with the Days, and insisting on his lordship's sending his horses to Goater. Lizbo- rough, Greyleg, and Conquest did good service to Lord Palmerston at all the South-country Meet- ings. His best animal, however, was Iliona, knocked down to him for sixty-fiye guineas at Lord George Bentinck's sale at Tattersall's. With this capital mare he won the Cesarewitch and several other races. Her breeding, by Priam out of Galopade's dam, suggested the name Iliona — " Prseterea sceptrum, Ilione quod gesserit olim Maxima natarum Priarai." though it was usually Lord Palmerston's custom to name his horses after his farms ; and a pretty squabble followed as to the quantity of the "i''— Lord Maidstone, who had taken a first-class at Oxford, maintaining at a white heat that the "i" was long; while Mr. W. H. Gregory, then member for Dublin, a scholar of repute, at an equal temperature took the short side. Mr. Greville, Mr, Payne, and other followers of the sport who knew the classics, were LORD PALMERSTON. 321 consulted; but their opinion was not considered of sufficient authority to settle the bets, which were heavy — "long or short" at the time being suffi- cient to provoke an almost interminable argument and many wagers in any company of gentlemen. It was at length decided to refer the matter to the Master of Trinity, and abide by his decision. The Master said the " i " was short, and " an immense amount of money changed hands." In Iliona the racing fortunes of the great states- man culminated. After this his stud rarely if ever contained an animal of first-rate merit; but he always kept a few " second-raters " in training, in which he took a great personal interest whenever political business and the cares of State permitted him to visit them. His jockeys were confined to the Day family, who were proud of their connection with Broadlands, five of its members having had Lord Palmerston's jacket. At last, however, when Alfred Day was no longer able to ride the weight, Sam Rogers and George Fordham had the mounts. If Lord Palmerston won few great races during his long connection with the Turf, and was unable to add to the plate at Broadlands or Cambridge House any of its most splendid trophies, his influ- ence upon the national sport was none the less marked. To his assistance in a large measure must be ascribed the passing of the Act to restrain those nefarious qui tarn actions which form the subject of VOL. I. 21 322 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. a previous chapter. For these services Lord Pal- merston received the unanimous thanks of the Jockey Club, and was elected a member of the Club without ballot. To him the Epsom week owes the title of "our Isthmian games," and by him the Derby was called "the Blue Riband of the Turf," it is said, before Lord Beaconsfield used the phrase in his conversa- tion with Lord George Bentinck. MR. GREVILLE. 323 CHAPTER XIV. MR. GREVILLE — CARACTACUS — CALLER OU — GLADIA- TEUR — BLAIR ATHOL — JOHN OSBORNE — J. F. HER- RING. THE name of Greville, well known in political circles as that of a Whig of the old school, always in the list of guests at the dinners at Lansdowne House, powerful at Brooks's and White's, was omnipotent with the Jockey Club. At the two former institutions, Mr. Charles Greville often filled the position of arbitrator upon various affairs of honour and matters in dispute, while at Tattersall's his dicta were rarely or never appealed from. True, as we have seen, he was unable to calm the troubled waters raised over the "i" in Iliona; but upon most social political and racing matters referred to him his word was law, while his extensive and accurate knowledge of classical literature pointed to him as a proper referee in such a controversy. As he was a Whig of the Whigs, so he was a sportsman of the old- fashioned school, adhering as rigidly to the singlcr breasted green coat of the Regency as the Duke of Wellington did to the blue frock coat and white trousers. Liberal almost to a fault with his ser- 21 — 2 324 . HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. vants, he always avoided the error of rushing into an excess of lavishness after a great race, and giving the jockey and trainer the stakes between them, as some owners have done. Mr. Greville was, after the manner of the generation to which he belonged, what would now be considered a heavy bettor, as he often stood to win many thousands over a race; for example, when Teddington won the Derby, Davis, the "Leviathan," handed him a crossed cheque for ;^i 5,000 on the Thursday morning. Mr. Greville's greatest success on the Turf was with Mango for the St. Leger in 1837, when he won a great stake, having backed his horse very heavily after Honest John's trial of him with The Drummer on the Winchester racecourse. Lord George Bentinck was a sharer in the spoil, and at his suggestion ^500 each were given to John Day for his artistic trial of Mango; to Sam Day for his admirable jockeyship, and his courage in "splitting" Abraham Newland and The Doctor in the race, and so securing the first place for his own mount; and to Dilly for his skilful training. Dilly continued to train for Mr. Greville until Muscovite's victory in the Cesare- witch, when he retired into private life, with a competent fortune, with the kindest wishes of his employer, the reputation of having passed a long life on the Turf in incorruptible integrity, and with the knowledge — probably rare in those days — that he had never once been under an obliga- tion to a betting man, and never had backed CONFEDERACIES. 32S a horse for a greater sum than ten pounds in his life. After Dilly's retirement, Mr. Greville's horses were sent to be trained, some to Alec Taylor at Fyfield, and some to Tom Taylor, his brother. As the number of horses in training was reduced, the breeding stud was increased; Orlando, purchased of General Peel, being the lord of the harem and the most fashionable sire of his day. The mares were selected with rare judgment Irpm. the reputed best blood to be obtained; and Mr. Greville's stud at Hampton Court was for years one of the finest in England. Mr. Greville was partial all his life to racing in confederacy with one or another of his friends. First, on Lord Chesterfield taking to the Turf he was associated with him; when at length a separation between them occurred, he joined the " Napoleon of the Turf," Lord George Bentinck. They parted, some years after, because Mr. Greville insisted upon their horse Preserve being started for the Good- wood Stakes, a course strongly objected to by Lord George Bentinck. The third and last con- federacy was with that splendid sportsman and most honourable of men, Mr. George Payne, in whom Damon found a Pythias, and their close friendship continued to the end. But, considerable as were Mr. Greville's successes on the Turf, large as was the number,^f good horses he always' kept in training, and numerous as were 326 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. the prizes which fell to his share, his career but illustrated the line — " Man never is but always to be blest; " for his Derby favourites, Canadian and Alarm, did but disappoint the hopes they had raised. Alarm, who had been tried and found good enough to carry off any Derby, was knocked down in the race — Merry Monarch's year — by The Libel, and so had his chance extinguished. Mr. Greville was not then on good terms with Lord George Bentinck. They were standing near each other in the Ring at Epsom when the accident occurred, and the first intimation Mr. Greville had of the wreck of his hopes was hearing the cold tones of his old con- federate's voice, as he remarked to a bystander, with his telescope to his eye, " There is a horse down on the ground; he is kicking violently; his jockey lies insensible. I don't think he will be able to ride again this season. He has a dark blue jacket, and I believe it is Mr. Greville's Alarm." At the time, Mr. Greville stood to win forty thousand pounds by the victory of his horse, of which but a moment before he felt assured, and he had also the first call on the services of the disabled jockey, then at the zenith of his popularity, Elnathan Flatman. The Canadian affair, with all its attending un- pleasant circumstances, has been recorded. Here there was no after-satisfaction; but Alarm did make up for his owner's misfortune by winning for him the MR. GREVILLE'S STUD. 327 Cambridgeshire and a good stake in bets ; the Ascot Cup, defeating the otherwise unconquered Orlando, ridden by Flatman ; the Orange Cup at Goodwood, the Claret Stakes at Newmarket, and three out of four very heavy matches made for him. Adine was another valuable animal to Mr. Greville, as with her he won the Ebor Handicap in 1852, landing a large sum in bets, and in the next year the Goodwood Stakes; and an idea of the state of the market in the Ring at that time may be formed from the fact that upon John Osborne's remarking to Captain Scott, a great bettor of that time, that Adine "went better than anything else," the Captain was able in ten minutes to back the mare to win him ;^ 1 5,000 without materially altering the betting. Frantic was another good horse, as he beat Daniel O'Rourke at York, and won the Manchester Union Cup in a large field. Concerning this victory there is a curious contemporary anecdote preserved. Mr. Greville, taking his ticket at Euston Station, over- heard a person in the crowd instruct a friend at once to "wire" an agent to back Frantic for all he could get on at certain odds, as "the old gentleman would never have gone down to such a place as Manchester unless he had at least a stone in hand." Muscovite, although he carried off the Cesare- witch, was an unfortunate horse for Mr. Greville's friends, as they had backed him heavily in the Metropolitan Stakes at Epsom, when he was beaten by Mr. Padwick's Virago. He was the "sensation " 328 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. horse of the year. In spite of his going to New- market thoroughly trained, he was the subject of the constant opposition of the Ring, or rather of a few in- dividuals connected with it. Dilly, the trainer, was afraid of his horse being "nobbled," so furious was the opposition of the "pencillers;" and only Mr. Payne, Mr. Greville, Nat Flatman, and the head lad, who had been in the service of the stable for twenty years, were allowed access to the horse. "He came to Newmarket as fine as a star, went like a bullet, and was located in Nat's own stables ; but the same fearful hostility was displayed against him in the Ring as had been exhibited on previous occasions ; and so frightened were both Mr. Greville and Mr. Payne that they hardly dared back him." The trainer's opinion, publicly stated, was that, if his horse was not shot on the Heath, he would go in alone. This he did ; and one of his opponents had to pay £1 7,000 over the victory of Muscovite. Mr. Greville was very unfortunate in what his friends termed "falling foul of the press." In the days of his managing the Duke of York's stud at Newmarket, the Daily News attacked him in his capacity of Clerk to the Privy Council — a post he held through several Administrations ; but to these violent party diatribes he never replied. The Sun- day Times charged him with " milking " Canadian for the Derby. This drew forth an answer, in the shape of an action for libel, and damages for the plaintiff, ^250, followed in due course. Ihe. Racing CARACTACUS. 329 Times made a hubbub about his lending Cariboo to Lord Derby to make the running for Canezou in the Goodwood Cup, instead of trying to win that race for himself with his horse. The article was un- doubtedly libellous. Mr. Greville rode down to the Strand, to the office of the paper, on his roan hack, when he found the leading line of the contents bill to be "Old Greville and his Cariboo! — boo! — boo!" His features were well known at the publishing office, and he caused some alarm by purchasing a copy — it was supposed for the purpose of proving publication — and riding off with it. This time, how- ever, Mr. Greville only laughed, as he showed the paper to his friends, and told them that he was called in it the greatest villain under the sun. Mr. Greville died in January, 1865. The Derby of 1862 brought with it a surprise to most backers and followers of public form, in the victory of Caractacus over an immense field, which included Mr. Hawke'sThe Marquis and Mr. Merry's Buckstone. A large number of persons, however, were " on;" and as the horse started at 40 to 50 to i, a large stake could be won against a small sum. Caractacus was bred by Mr. Blenkiron, at Eltham, in 1859, by Kingston out of Defenceless by Defence, her dam by Cain out of Ridotto by Reveller-^Wal- ton. Kingston was bred by General Peel, in 1849, by Venison out of Queen Anne by Slane. It was rather through Caractacus being started three times 330 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. as a two-year-old, and five times as a three-year-old, "without winning, than to any want of appreciation of his good qualities as a yearling, that he was allowed to start at such a forlorn price ; for on his appearance in the sale ring at the Middle Park sum- mer auction in i860 he created much interest by his fine appearance. " Great stir," we read, " was occa- sioned by the appearance of the next lot, a rich bay colt by Kingston out of Defenceless, having, oddly enough, the near hind leg grey, his quarters being also ticked. Combined with the finest symmetry, he could boast of rare strength, his hocks, knees, and legs being as good as ever stood under a thorough- bred. From 100 guineas, the first bid, he quickly reached 250 guineas, up to which, by 'tenners' at a time, he was pertinaciously bid by Mr. Snewing, who seemed little to relish the hesitation Mr. Tatter- sall displayed when obliged to give the final knock at a figure so little commensurate with the colt's really fine appearance, and for which, had he be- longed to the Royal Stud, at least double the price would to a certainty have been obtained." Mr. Snewing got a great bargain, and Mr. Blenk- iron lived to turn the tables on the Royal Stud sales. But Caractacus did not at first fulfil his yearling promise. He was sent to William Day to be trained, and his first appearance was made at Har- penden; but this and his subsequent attempts at two years old proved failures. At three years old, after five losses — though one was a head second for the SUCCESSFUL PROPHECY. 33i Metropolitan Stakes at Epsom — Caractacus won the Somersetshire Stakes at Bath, ridden by J. Grim- shaw, and with lo to i betted against him. On that day week, with J. Parsons on his back, he carried off the Derby. Goater was selected to ride him for the great race, but he preferred a mount on Spite; and in the emergency it was decided that Parsons, the lad who had always " looked after " the Somerset- shire Stakes winner, should have the 'mount. To prevent his having a nervous week before the event, he was simply told that in a few days he would have to ride- a trial. He was told also to live as well as he could, eat whatever he. liked, and get as heavy as he could. Parsons obeyed instructions with a will, heard the news of his luck and advancement with- out trepidation, and " finished in front " past Epsom Stands with a coolness- that showed him a jockey. But he had hardly eaten enough; for the "all right" at the scales was almost as near a thing a:s it had been with Wells and Beadsman. The bridle was brought in to him, and he pulled the scale. On this occasion, " Orange Blossom," the poet and prophet of Bell's Life, specially distinguished himself by these lines, which were published on the Saturday preceding the Derby : — " Caractacus, whose wonderous shape Sets every country mouth agape — And if, of the outsiders there, One horse should pass the winning chair, Enrolled in the successful thfee, Be sure Caractacus is he." 332 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Caractacus did not start for the St. Leger, which was won by the Marquis, beating Mr. Merry's Buckstone second, and Lord Glasgow's Clarissa filly third, for the great North-country race. The Marquis, bred by Mr. Stanhope Hawke, in 1859, by Stockwell out of Cinizelli by Touchstone, her dam Brocade, by Pan- taloon — Bombasine by Thunderbolt. Soon after the Marquis's St. Leger, there passed away Bill Chifney, brother of the great Sam, at the ripe old age of seventy-eight.. For years he had been in very poor circumstances, living in the Model Lodging-houses at Pentonville, and getting down to his "dear Heath" when the state of the exchequer allowed of a third-class return ticket to Newmarket. Even there he was sometimes too feeble to get farther than the top of the town, where, with his back to the cemetery wall, he would watch the horses returning to stables after their races. When it was one of his good days, he braved the blasts of the Heath in an ancient blue cloak, and a hat made secure with a parti-coloured bandanna. He was in appearance "like a tall, thin, elderly clergyman, rather lame; but he retained all that high-bred manner which marked him as a relic of the Prince Regent's Turf prime." He was garrulous, but a laudator temp oris acti. In his London lodging, or at a Newmarket tavern, he would gather round him a knot of such as were willing to listen to the tradi- tions of the giants — the history of the palmy times. Of his father, of Buckle and Robinson, of Connolly, CALLER OU'S ST. LEGER. 333 and his nephew, Frank Butler, he would talk by the hour; but his brother Sam he rather affected to pooh-pooh. Then, with his pipe in his mouth and a cup of ale before him, he was Sir Oracle. " There he sat, as I thought, expounding the law and the prophets, until, on drawing a little nearer, I found he was only expatiating on the merits of a brown horse" — though poor Bill Chifney talked rather of men than of horses, Zinganee being the only animal he ever seemed to have a pride in mentioning. 1 86 1 saw the victory of Caller Ou by Stockwell, in the St. Leger, to the intense surprise of every- body who witnessed it. The breeder and trainer was Mr. I'Anson, already well known on the Turf as the owner of Blink Bonny, and the breeder and owner of her famous son Blair Athol by Stockwell ; and his principle of going to work was identical with that of his old friend, the author of the maxim that if horses want sweating, " let 'em sweat for the brass." Caller Ou, as much as any animal that ever trod the Turf, did " sweat for the brass" as a two- year-old. She was started no less than twelve times with very indifferent success. Her first ap- pearance was at Beverley Races, in June, 1860, where, ridden by Charlton, and carrying 8st. 3lbs., she was unable to get a place even for the Bishop Burton Stakes, for which, however, she started favourite, at 2 to i against her, in a field of twelve runners. Altogether, she won three times out of her twelve attempts as a two-year-old, on 334 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. these occasions beating nothing of particular merit; but she ran three highly respectable seconds in her first year, and was regarded by her party at home in a very different light from that in which she was viewed by the public at large. Her winnings amounted at this time to ;^230, but the next year was to tell a very different tale. She started seven- teen times, and won eight eyents, ranging in value from a ^50 Plate at Malton to the St. Leger at Doncaster, ;^4,300 — her total winnings for the season being ;^5,784. Challoner was chiefly asso- ciated with her in her performances, riding her in her head victory in the St. Leger with great skill and judgment ; and with him in the saddle she walked over for her first Queen's Plate, at Rich- mond, Yorkshire — a race in which she afterwards became as famous as Fisherman had been in his day. In this year, Mr. Percy Wyndham began a crusade against Queen's .Plates, by a motion in the House of Commons, which, after a speech and some dis- cussion, he withdrew. This motion came with singu- larly bad effect from the mouth of a descendant of Lord Egremont, living at Petworth, rich in memories of Whalebone and Gohanna, and close to the town of Lewes, pre-eminent for the annual struggle for its Royal Plate over a period of three-quarters of a century. The grounds on which Mr. Wyndham thought proper to urge the withdrawal of the Royal grant were those of economy. ;^5,ooo a year might be saved if Parliament would agree to his motion. QUEENS' PLATES. 33S and refuse the vote this year, being as nearly as possible ;;^2,ooo a year less than Mr. Gladstone was at that time obtaining for the national exchequer from the duty on race-horses. It was urged on the other side that Royal Plates had conserved their original object of improving the breed of horses; that this small boon was still as important almost to the welfare of racing as when it was granted for the "Royal Diversion," and furnished forth only the race at Black Hambleton. It was admitted that to the great Meetings it made no difference whether they had a Queen's Plate or not; but to small Meet- ings, at which it is a matter of difficulty to get sub- scriptions, where the attendance of the Ring and the public in the Stand enclosure is small, the matter is of the first importance ; whilst the saving to be obtained by the withdrawal of the annual grant would be hardly an appreciable benefit to the public purse. This subject has very often been debated, and various proposals for the modification of the existing grant have been taade, sometimes by persons versed in Turf affairs and cognisant of its requirements, at others by dilettanti improvers, themselves alike ignorant and unimprovable. The great increase in the value of other Stakes at all the great Race Meetings which the last twenty years has seen, arising from the greater liberality of the various executives in the matter of added money, very likely called for some alteration in the stereotyped hun- dred guineas doled out from the national purse, and 336 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. appearing as one of the charges in the Civil List. Accordingly, at length a change was made — some fifteen years after Mr. Wyndham's motion for the abolition — that involved no increase of expenditure of public funds, nor any diminution of the small sum annually given in the-way of State support to the national sport. In effect, it was this: to roll two or three Queen's Plates into one stake, and so endea- vour at the better class of Meetings to attract more competitors, and those competitors of higher quality. The change came into force for the first time in the racing season of 1876, the Master of the Horse having decreed the alteration, in conformity with generally expressed opinions, and with the sanction of a majority of the members of the Jockey Club. The sum annually given for Queen's Plates in Eng- land amounted to 3,200 guineas, divided into sums of 100 guineas each, and distributed among thirty- two different Meetings. For years past the number of starters for Queen's Plates had been generally very small, owing to the large sums of money added to races at all good Meetings, and the Royal guineas had constantly been either walked over for or won by horses of the most moderate calibre. A reform suggested in many quarters had been previously carried out. The three Queen's Plates allotted to Newmarket had been consolidated into one Plate of 300 guineas, to be run for in October; and this had been found to answer so well that Lord Bradford followed the precedent in dealing with the twenty- NE W REGULA TIONS. 337 nine Queen's Plates which were run for in what in sporting language are termed the " provinces." The Ascot Queen's Plate was suppressed; the York and Richmond prizes were arranged in such a way that there should be one of 200 guineas, to be run for at the former place every year, and at Richmond every two years; and the twenty -six others were grouped into thirteen, to be run for in alternate years, at Northampton and Huntingdon, Chester and Shrews- bury, Ipswich and Chelmsford, Manchester and Liverpool, Winchester and Salisbury, Hampton and Egham, Newcastle and Carlisle, Nottingham and Leicester, Goodwood and Epsom, Lewes and Can- terbury, Weymouth and Plymouth, Lichfield and Warwick,. and Lincoln and Doncaster. They were run for in that year at thirteen of the places in the list, and also at Newmarket and York, and there were altogether fifty-nine competitors for the fifteen prizes. Lilian, who secured seventeen Queen's Plates in 1874 and six in 1875, was first in the list, for she was successful in four of the new prizes. The effect has been good from the first, as Mr. " Launde's " celebrated mare, Apology, won the two races at Manchester and Newcastle before her with- drawal from the Turf; and upon the whole the quality of the winners has been better since the alteration than it was for years before it. There can be no doubt that the experiment, successful as it has been, would have been much more so had the Master of the Horse followed the Newmarket prece- yoL. I. 22 338 HISTORY OF' THE BRITISH TURF. dent, and reduced the number of races still further, so as to make the value of each Plate 300 instead of 200 guineas. That such would have been the case may be inferred from the fact that the largest and best field of the year 1876 assembled at the post for the Newmarket prize, there being eight runners for it; while at Winchester, Hampton, and Notting- ham there were six; at Lichfield and Lincoln, five; at Ipswich, four ; at Northampton, York, and Wey- mouthj three; and only two at Chester, Manchester, Newcastle, Goodwood, and Lewes. To return to Caller Ou. The great mare was bred by Mn FAnson, in 1858, by Stockwell out of Haricot by Mango or Lanercost, her dam Queen Mary by Gladiator, her dam by Plenipotentiary out of Myrrha by Whalebone. Haricot was also bred by Mr. I' Anson, in 1847, and was the first foal of Queen Mary, dam of the famous Blink Bonny. Haricot was herself a good performer on the Turf. She threw Canty Boy and Cramond before Caller Ou, after whose birth she was sold by her owner to Colonel Towneley. Caller Ou's appearance was anything but prepossessing, though she was known in the stable as one of the " cut and come again" sort. She was described at three years old as an odd, old-fashioned filly, standing fifteen hands three inches high; of a bad mealy or rusty- brown colour, with wonderful depth of girth and fine shoulders as her chief points. Her thighs were voted good, but otherwise she was a "short, common^ CALLER OU. 339 looking mare," of "hacky" appearance. She had a swish tail, mean quarters, a plain head, and a quick, vulgar walk, altogether resembling very much her distinguished aunt, Blink Bonny, in appearance, action, and, it may very well be added, in perform- ances. Her price for the St. Leger, when she beat Colonel Towneley's Kettledrum and a good field, was nominally i,ooo to 15, but 100 to i could have been obtained as often as wanted. Challoner's riding in Caller Ou's St. Leger gained him great praise, and he has maintained, by ability and good conduct, the opinions formed of him. Trained for his profession by John Osborne, at Ash- gill, in ten years from his first mount he was at the head of contemporary jockeys. His first appearance in public was in 1854. In the seven years that parsed between his race on The Spinner at Warwick and his riding Caller Ou for the St. Leger, he had had a large share of business. That race, and his dead- heat on Gaspard against Artless for the Cesarewitch of 1859, stamped him a jockey. " At Doncaster, on Caller Ou, he electrified the whole world of Tykes and strangers by beating Luke Snowden and Kettle- drum by a head for the St. Leger," with any odds you pleased from 100 to i against the mare. Chal- loner had also ridden her for the Oaks, but her pecu- liar temper had not then been quite interpreted. In days gone by nobody but a Sam Chifney would ever have dared to be seen so far out of his ground, as the layer's of the odds on the green and gold have now ' 22 — 2 340 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. pretty generally to watch and wait for the old mare "a-coming." With Caller Ou it was always necessary to ride a waiting race, and in Queen's Plates she was often so distanced that to all but those who knew her rare staying powers it seemed impossible that she could ever again rejoin her field. Twenty to one was once laid on her in a Queen's Plate at Liverpool, won by Stanton: a well-known Ring man, who took 2,000 to 100, remarking at the time that he had only one chance, " There's t' canal at bottom of t' coorse — her may roon into that." In this instance she was beaten by an inferior horse, through having got hopelessly behind her field in the first half of the race. Good judges have held that the three best horses of modern times have been Blair Athol, Favonius, and Cremorne; and they have asserted, with much show of confidence, that either of the three could have galloped Eclipse or the Flying .Childers to a standstill. If this is the case — and it is a matter which it' is, impossible to settle in this world — there has been not only no deterioration in our thorough- bred stock, but a certain and steady improvement from equine generation to generation, culminating in perfection — the English Derby winner in the third quarter of the nineteenth century. Like Caller Ou, Blair Athol was bred — in 1861 — and trained by Mr. William I'Anson at Malton: by Stockwell out of Blink Bonny by Melbourne, her dam Queen BLAIR ATHOL. 341 Mary by Gladiator, grand-dam by Plenipotentiary out of Myrrha by Whalebone. The celebrated Blink Bonny, like Eleanor, winner of both Derby and Oaks, was also bred by Mr. I'Anson,. in 1854. She did not train on, and was in consequence put to the stud. She was put to Newminster, and her first ' foal was Borealis, a filly of more than average merit, foaled in i860. The next year she threw Blair Athol, and in 1862 his own brother, Breadalbane. To the great loss of her owner, the Malton trainer, this splendid mare died soon after dropping Breadal- bane — Mr. Chaplin's sensational Derby candidate three years later — and her orphan foal was brought up on the milk of another mare. Blink Bonny's dam, Queen Mary, the mother of Mr. I'Anson's stud, had also a somewhat peculiar history ; for she was originally made a present to Mr. I'Anson by Mr. Ramsay, of Barnton, and some time afterwards, not being valued at much more by the trainer than she had been by her former owner, she was sold for a small sum. Subsequently Mr. I'Anson altered his mind, and bought her back again, with her produce, Braxey and Balrownie, in addition to " the flower of the flock," Blink Bonny. Queen Mary als,o threw, in successive years, Haricot, Blooming Heather, Bonnie Scotland, Balnamoon, Bab-at-the-Bowster, Bonnyfield, Bonny Breastknot, and Bonny Bell. At the time of his running for the Derby in 1864, Blair Athol was stated to be the joint property of Cap- tain Cornish and Mr. I'Anson. This grand colt was 342 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. ridden by James, brother of Luke Snowden, with great judgment. But it is matter of history that the colt was so raw in running his first race, that at Tat- tenham Comer his jockey was obliged to raise his whip and give him a smart side-binder; at the dis- tance, however, he had all his horses beaten, and he won very easily by two lengths. The public were on the horse to a very large extent; but the winnings of his immediate party were comparatively small, considering the good prices obtainable about hii^ all through the winter, and that he started at 14. to I. The race over the historic mile and a half was run in two minutes forty-eight seconds. The field was. very large and very good in quality, including Lord Glasgow's General Peel, second, and Mr. Merry's Scottish Chief, third. To the astonishment of the sporting world, he suffered defeat, on the Sunday week following the Derby, by M. Hi Delamarre's Vermout, for the Grand Prix de Paris, of 100,000 francs and the piece of plate given by the late Emperor. Blair Athol had continually disappointed the public by not Appearing for any of his engagements as a two and three-year-old, never having left his owner's and trainer's stables at Malton until he faced the vast crowd on Epsom Downs, The general backer, however, was not to be "stalled off," and in the event was the greatest winner. At the time of his first appearance in public, Blair Athol was a beautiful bright chestnut horse, standing within half FILLE DE L'AIR. 343 an inch of sixteen hands, but hardly looking his height. A handsome head, a blaze of white in his face, a strong, muscular neck and shoulders well laid back to gracefully rising withers; a very short back, splendid loins, and a great depth of girth; one white heel and sound feet, rather inclined to be small. He was further described as " a light, wiry, short horse, as full of go as an India-rubber ball, and, indeed, better in his stride than to stand along- side of, when his appearance is not so telling; while his action, though rather high, is very free and dash- ing." Count Lagrange's Fille de L'Air, winner of the Oaks, was the heroine of the same year, and one of the finest movers ever seen on the Turf. She was bred by the Count at Dangu Stud Farm, in Nor- mandy, in 1 86 1, by Faugh-a-Ballagh out of Pauline, by Volcano (son of Vulcan), her dam Bathilde, bred in France, Faugh-a-Ballagh, winner of the St, Leger and Cesarewitch, carrying eight stone, was bred in 1 841. by Mr. George Knox, of Brownstown, County Kildare ; and, after covering, the same season was sold to the French in 1855. Faugh-a-Ballagh, by Sir Hercules out ot Guiccioli by Bob Booty, and was own brother to Birdcatcher, Among the best of his progeny may be reckoned Leamington, Polestar, The Hadji, Master Bagot, and The Brewer. At the Dangu haras likewise was bred, in the following year, the best horse owned by' Count Lagrange, Gladiateur, winner of the three-year-old 344 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. treble event — Derby, Oaks, and St. Leger — in 1865. Gladiateur, bred in 1862, by Monarque out of Miss Gladiator by Gladiator, her dam Taffrail, by Sheet Anchor — the Warwick mare, by Merman — Ardros- san. The sire of Gladiateur, Monarque, had been bred in France ten years before the birth of his great son ; but it was not very certain whether he was got by ' The Baron, Sting, or The Emperor — the first, being esteemed the best of the three horses, is ge- nerally credited with the authorship by the Jennings' connection. Monarque's dam was Poetess, by Royal Oak, her dam Ada, by Whisker — Anna Bella, by Shuttle — by Drone. Monarque was a good per- former on both sides of the Channel, and was familiar to Englishmen, having won the Goodwood Cup in Count Lagrange's colours in 1857, and the New- market Handicap in 1858 ; while he had previously supplied our Turf with a number of sons and daugh- ters not strangers to the winning-posts at New- market, if they fell far short of the ej^cellence dis- played by the French champion of 1865. Miss Gladiator was bred by M. Aumont, and bought at his sale by the Count. She was out of Taffrail, a mare bred by Lord Wenlock, claimed by General Peel out of 3, selling race at Newmarket, bought from the General by Count Waldstein, who shipped her to Germany in 1853, and subsequently sent her to France as one of a lot bought by M. Aumont. GLADIATEUR. 345 As Gladiateur appeared at the time of his three- year-old engagements, he was a bay, with black legs, standing sixteen hands one inch high, with a large, plain, but eminently sensible head, a beautifully arched neck, well set on powerful sloping shoulders. His arms and thighs were very muscular, and his girth deep. As a two-year-old he only won one out of three attempts, his victorious essay being for the Clearwell Stakes at Newmarket. But his three- year-old doings were splendid, as he took not only our three great prizes, but the Grand Prize of Paris, which Blair Athol had missed the year before. The subscriptions also were very good, the value of the Derby being ;^6,825, of the Two Thousand Guineas ^5,100, of the Grand Prize of Paris (with an object of art) ;^S,744, and of the St. Leger ;^5,95o. Although Breadalbane was very heavily backed, yet the public won largely by the success of the French horse, which altogether was very well re- ceived. It unfortunately happened, however, that, as Gladiateur was a remarkably well-grown horse of his age, some doubts existed in the minds of many persons as to his being really only three years old. His owner having run his horses in honour- able fashion, it was putting an affront upon him to in- sist upon a veterinary examination. This, however, Mr. Graham, the owner of Regalia, did, principally because he had heard geople say they would accept him as a five-year-old without wanting to look into his mouth ; for when Mr. Graham was informed that 346 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. affidavits df Gladiateur's age had been put in after the Derby, he had no further cause to show, and no evidence to produce, simply saying, " People thought he was older than three." The proposal was the more annoying to the Count Lagrange and his friends, because, the year before, Fille de I'Air's mouth had been opened to satisfy John Osborne. At that time there was a good deal of suspicion about "forward" French colts and fillies, and ob- stinate people persisted, as long as Gladiateur was in training, in saying that he was a year older than he was represented to be. The veterinary surgeons and the stewards, however, were satisfied that he was two years old, and no more, when he came to be trained by Jennings for his engagements, and that the French certificates of date of foaling were cor- rect. Indeed Gladiateur had an exceptionally "young mouth," so that there really was no foundation even for the theory that he was born very late in the summer of 1861, instead of in the spring of 1862. Gossips, however, persisted in the fable that his age was not correctly stated ; and when, ijpon his death being announced to T. Jennings on Newmarket Heath, the trainer inquired what the horse died of, his informant coolly, replied — "Why, of old age, to be sure." Gladiateur was ridden in his great races by Harry Grimshaw, a promising jockey, who had all the riding for the French stable, but who, unfortunately, met FISHERMAN.' 347 his death by being thrown from a dogcart, on a dark night, near the toll-gate on the Cambridge and New- market road, about a mile and a half out of the Uni- versity town. Regalia, the heroine of that year, winner of the Oaks and second in the St. Leger, was bred by Mr. James Cookson, in 1862, by Stockwell out of the Gem by Touchstone, her dam Biddy by Bran — Idalia by Peruvian. Regalia exhibited a most striking likeness to her half-brother, Blair Athol; for, besides being a bright chestnut and a " Stockwell all over," her white face arid legs, and general conformation, reminded all who knew him very strongly of the Derby winner of the year before. Fisherman, " the ugly brown, with the big hips, long, crooked thighs, high legs, knife-like back, aaid jumping bump, all in keeping," quitted this earthly scene in August of Gladiateur's year. His name will ever be remembered in connection with the number of Queen's Plates he won, and the "cracks" he broke down. The Stakes he ran for were gene- rally small. In sixty-nine races he won ;^io,7o7, and in his one hundred and thirteenth struggle he was beaten only a head — game as ever. A sporting paper gave him the sobriquet of Pride's Purge, and he well deserved the title. He "had a cut," as George Hall called it, at most^ of the "cracks" of his day over long courses, and was always in train- ing, and always at work-r-a couple of days' rest and 348 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. a gallop at home always sufficing to send him to the post in fit condition to win. Ellington, Lord Zet- land's good mare Zeta, Winkfield, Gemma di Vergy, Warlock, Skirmisher, and a host of other horses, had every reason to recollect him, whether he quite "landed" or not. For the power of doing the work of any ten ordinary horses, for ugliness of appear- ance and hardiness of constitution. Fisherman must be regarded as one of the most remarkable horses the Turf ever saw. Though a "glutton" at long dis- tances, his best course was considered to be one mile arid a quarter. Fisherman, like Monarque, was a " bastard," for his pedigree was given as " by Heron, Stork, or Gobler." John Osborne, sen., the well-known trainer, began life as a hunting groom to Mr, Taylor, of Kirton, and his appearance in connection with the Turf dates back to Charles the Twelfth's year. He gradually got into the way of having a long string of indif- ferent horses in his hands year after year, until 1842, when the Marquess of Westminster entrusted his string to his care— Sleight of Hand, Maria Day, Auckland, and a number of other animals. Of the last-named horse the Marquess was always very fond, and he placed a very high figure upon him. What were styled the London and North-Western Boiling Stakes, however, were the best he ever won. He was reared at the Moor Park Paddocks, and was travelling North, in the early days; of the railways, JOHN OSBORNE. 349 with another filly of the Marquess's in the same box with him. The boiler of the engine, which was next the box, burst, and nearly killed the filly on the spot, her scalds being so terrible that she died soon after; but Auckland was lucky enough to escape with some rather bad scalds on his back, taking some of the skin off. The compensation -given for the two — and chiefly for the injuries to Auckland's back — was ;^5,ooo. John Osborne was unable to make a show with the colt in the Derby — which the Marquess was anxious to win; and after nearly winning with Maria Day and Job Marson at Doncaster, he resigned the charge of the Eaton yellow jacket, which "had nearly given him the jaundice." There is no doubt that when Osborne left the service of Lord Westminster he had little more of this world's wealth than when he entered it; but a turn in the tide of his fortunes came, and he afterwards acquired a considerable fortune, became patron of a living, now held by one of his sons, and lord of a manor, ,now held by another son, owned what had been a deer park, and left per- sonalty sworn under ;!^4d,ooo. With Black Doctor, 1850, the fortunes of Ashgill began steadily to rise, and as an artist in the treatment and ripening of two-year-olds old Johnny had no superior. Exact, Lambton, Little Stag, Prince Arthur, King Arthur, Wild Agnes, and the others of the lucky Agnes family, completed what the Doctor had begun, and made the eccentric Ashgill trainer a rich man. 35° HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Lords Zetland and Londesborough, Sir Charles Monk, and other Yorkshire owners, were among the best patrons of Plain John, who, by the way, would have been an immortal if it were for nothing else than his grand maxim with two-year-olds, " If they are to be sweated, let 'em sweat for the brass. Do not keep them at home to run one against another for love on Middleham Moor, but let them stretch their young legs on any racecourse in England where good guineas are going, and they have the same chance as the rest — of pouching them for me." It was a policy that in Johnny's clever hands paid well for many a year. Among the best jockeys turned out at the Ashgill academy were John Osborne junior, Challoner, Harry Grimshaw, and Carroll. The old trainer was buried in Coverham Church- yard, in the Coverdale Valley, sacred to the memory of so many Yorkshire jocks. Of all the men who have painted the English race-horse, John Frederic Herring, without doubt, is entitled to stand first. The efforts of Marshall, Gilpin, Stubbs, and Sartorius are far behind those of the last and greatest master of the art. Herring was born in 1795, the son of a fringe maker, in Newgate-street, and was originally bred to his father's trade; but having, to his father's disgust^ shown some artistic tastes, and expressed a desire for instruction, he was placed under a Mr. Phelps, who, being an honest man, returned him after one y. F. HERRING. 3SI lesson, declining to teach him any longer, on the ground that his pupil knew more than he did. The stories that are told in the New Sporting Magazine of Herring's early life, by. a friend who knew him, have all the air of a romance about them. The lad falls in love, and at an opportune moment his father takes ship for Holland. In the father's absence he is able to win the young lady's affections, and before his father's return, knowing the old man's objection to early marriages, young Herring elopes with his mistress when the ship from Holland is nearly due. They have no money; and, except that they intend to get out of the way of a wrathful parent, they do not know where they shall go. An expedient sug- gests itself: they possess a gazetteer; the husband tells his wife to hold it while he at random sticks his penknife among the leaves. "Wherever this knife points, my girl, there we go." The blade indicated Doncaster as their future home, and to Doncaster they went. In the quaint old Yorkshire town, as luck would have it. Herring found a bungling painter botching a white horse on the boot and two panels of a yellow coach, to indicate that it ran to the inn of that sign in Fetter-lane. The man lends him his paints and brushes while he goes to dinner. Her- ring wipes out the anomalous quadruped freshly daubed on the boot of the coach, and when the man returns he finds a well-painted horse in its place. The proprietor of the coach appears on the scene in the nick of time. He discharges the incompetent 352 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. workman, and Herring earns his first three guineas by his art for the three white horses he painted on the yellow coach. The fame of the young painter grew. Innkeepers ordered new signboards from him; farmers saw the lion, the bull, or the boar, for the first time looking natural, "in his habit as he lived," and bespoke the artist's attention for their hunters and shorthorns. The young painter also, for the purpose of attaining proficiency in the delineation of horses and coaching scenes, drove a coach running out of Doncaster for several years. He was a good whip, and handled "the ribands" in professional style; while the acquaintances he made on the road became in many instances customers for the production of his easel. He was likewise a skilful musician, playing the clarionet well, and singing the old-fashioned songs with such effect that he was once induced to sing for a period of three weeks at the theatre at Doncaster. His disguise was complete, only his wife knew the handsome painter in the fat, old, snub- . nosed fellow on the stage, and her he told, after twice deceiving her as to his identity. From Doncaster, with his reputation made, Mr. Herring removed to Fulbourne, between Cambridge and Newmarket, rightly considering the headquarters of the Turf the best place for the exercise of his pro- fession. He had for his patrons all the wealthy lovers of the horse, from her most gracious Majesty down- wards; and the subjects he painted were numberless. His masterpieces were Arabian horses, and one of SALE AT CHRISTIE'S. 353 his best pictures is the Queen's Arab, with the camp background, in the collection at Windsor. Mr. Her- ring died in 1865, at Meopham Park, a short distance from Tonbridge, where he had resided for about ten years, and was buried in the churchyard at Hilden- borough, with his son Charles, whose untimely death he felt very keenly. At the sale at Christie's, in February, 1866, the pictures sold well ; but the host of. unfinished sketches and studies, as might be expected, fetched but small prices. The "Horse Fair" brought 180 guineas, and the " Cattle Market " being held in Tonbridge High-street, with Market House and Butter Cross complete, sold for ten guineas more; ten somewhat similar lots making an average price of £^1 a piece. There was a spirited competition, also, for the finished portraits of horses — sketches made for the larger pictures painted for owners. Among these were likenesses of Bay Middleton, the Flying Dutchman, Glencoe, Irish Birdcatcher, Stock- well, The Baron, Touchstone, Whalebone, Emilius, Orville, and a large gallery of the equine notabilities of the Turf, The result was considered satisfactory by the family, as 190 lots brought £i,2>o6 5s, The sale was well attended by friends and acquaintances who had known the painter in life, out of respect to his memory after he had joined the majority, " It was a good finish to a great career," wrote a friendly pen, when the day was over. VOL, I. 23 3S4 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. CHAPTER XV. LORD Hastings's horses — the duke — kangaroo — LADY ELIZABETH — RACING DEBTS — EXTRAVAGANCE THE SCRATCHING OF THE EARL — CORRESPOND- ENCE — DEATH OF THE MARQUESS — COMMENTS OF THE PRESS ON HIS CAREER. THE Marquess of Hastings was one of the most prominent figures on the EngHsh Turf during his connection with it. A plater called Con- sternation was the first animal he owned to carry the Donnington scarlet and white, and this was in 1862, when his age was barely twenty. Seven seasons on the Turf saw the end of a career that provoked much comment and many severe remarks ; but in dealing with such a man as the late Marquess of Hastings, it is well to bear in mind the injunction contained in a couplet applied to a man of somewhat similar cha- racter, and "Be to his foibles somewhat blind, And to his virtues ever kind." The son of the Lord Hastings whose connection with foxhounds in the Donnington country — a district formed out of the Quorn — made him famous among M.F.H.s, the late Marquess was born on the 22nd of July, 1842. He succeeded his brother in the THE STRING AT DANEBURY. 355 Marquessate, in January, 1851, and his mother in the Barony of Grey de Ruthyn, in November, 1858. Eton and Oxford had the care of his education in the various branches of polite learning; but his stay at the latter seat of sound learning and religious doctrine was brought to a premature close, through a visit he paid to John Day's stables at Danebury, at the invitation of a nobleman of his acquaintance. A liking for the Turf and its pursuits, long half- dormant in his heart, was awakened by a realization of all the charms of a racing stable and training- ground. Consternation became his property, and John Day soon added a string which included Garotter, Tippler, Redcap, Old Fuller, and Attrac- tion. Thus the season of 1863, his second on the Turf, was brought to a close; his platers having rendered a good account of themselves, and paid their way from Northampton right through to Shrewsbury. Lord Hastings was now of age, and something more; and the season of 1864 saw him with a number' of animals added to the list of his horses in training. Of these were Trumps, Grinder, Lady Egidia, Lady Florence, Ondine, Olive, Panta- loon, Catalogue, and Ackworth. This year, also. The Duke, with which all the Danebury party hoped to secure Derby honours, was brought out in a Bien- nial at Stockbridge, and won very cleverly in the hands of Judd, so that after his race he was within an ace of being first favourite for the Derby of the following year; and notwithstanding his double 23—2 " 3S6 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. defeat at Newmarket July Meeting, in the July Stakes and the Chesterfield Stakes, he was until a fortnight of the great race always second or third favourite for the Blue Riband. Influenza having struck him down, he was scratched about fourteen days before the Derby, This was a great blow to the Danebury party, as John Day had stoutly main- tained the opinion that he would beat Gladiateur when they met on Epsom Downs. Up to this time, as far as the backing of his own horses was concerned, Lord Hastings had been very fortunate, for his string had among them carried off a host of the smaller events. The first great, race, however, that fell to his lot was the Cambridgeshire Stakes, won by his horse Ackworth, whom he pur- chased, from Mr, Hill, after running third for the Cesarewitch Stakes to Lord Coventry's Thalestris and Mr. W. Robinson's Gratitude. Ackworth's victory brought a very large stake in bets to the exchequer; and Cannon, who rode the winner, re- ceived a very liberal sum as a mark of his master's appreciation of his riding in the race. This year also saw him married, after a romantic elopement, to Lady Florence Paget, daughter of the Marquess of Anglesey, By the year '65, the string of horses carrying the scarlet and white hoops, in the hands of John Day at Danebury, was rarely, if ever, less than fifty, among the lot being many good animals. A "sensational" purchase was made in the spring, by the advice KANGAROO. 357 of his friends, who doubtless thought their counsel sound. Kangaroo had won a three-year-old Bien- nial at Newmarket, very easily beating a Danebury favourite, and was engaged in the great races". It was urged that the owner of such a wonderful per- former would have the historic prizes of our Turf in his grasp. In an evil hour for his purse. Lord Hast- ings adopted this conclusion as his own, and paid Mr. Padwick for Kangaroo the highest price that had ever been paid for a race-horse. The colt turned out to be the rankest of impostors, his win in the Biennial on the Heath had been a fluke, and his trial on the Stockbridge racecourse a mistake. But the Marquess bore his great disappointment with that stoicism which always distinguished him until his nerves became shattered. He had reason, indeed, to regret an error in con- nection with his estimation of the merits of a horse even more than the mistake he made when he con- sented to become the purchaser of Kangaroo. Her- mit he believed to be unable to win [the Derby, and this opinion cost him probably ten times as much as he lost over Mr. Padwick's Biennial winner. Lady Elizabeth and Lecturer got him back some of the money he had lost, but he was never to know ease of mind again: an intolerable burthen of money troubles he had to support for the remainder of his short life. All was paid at that time. After the "rose" of Mr. Chaplin had shot to the front in the Derby, the Marquess dashed into Epsom in a 3S8 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. barouche and four, apparently as gay as any of his friends. " Let the galled jade wince" was written on his face, but his heart had received a blow it never recovered. When he admitted to a friend, a few days before' his death, that the Hermit hit had fairly broken his heart, he added, " I didn't show it — did I?" His debts to the Ring led to a great scandal, kept up for months; and it was at New- market, on his last visit to the Heath, that the bookmaker who had laid him -a small bet on one of the races of the day reminded him of his fallen state, in the proviso, " Mind, I'm to have this paid." To this sketch of the Turf career of the unfortunate Marquess of Hastings may, perhaps with advantage, be added two contemporary articles, one written in his lifetime, and showing the state of feeling about his gambling debts; the other after his death, by a not unfriendly hand. The newspaper articles are from a leading sporting journal and a Liberal daily paper : — "It is a thankless task to rake up the muddy waters of Turf scandal; but when they threaten the stability of the institution itself, every one who would see it preserved should gird up his loins for the work. It is, we are assured by the adage of popular wisdom, impossible to touch pitch without being defiled ; but the cleanest of hands should not at times shrink from the risk of contamination. These observations, introductory of some few com- ments on a flagrant scandal which at present forms the chief topic of conversation in Turf circles, and THE RACING DEBTS. 359 which more deserves the strictures it arouses than anything of the kind in the modern history of our national sport, are in no degree intended as an apology, for I consider it a duty to assume for the moment a Curtian part, and speak out boldly in the interest of justice, decency, and fair dealing. After these remarks, it is almost unnecessary to add that the esclandre referred to is that in reference to the position, in regard to the Turf, of the Marquess of Hastings, whose non-settlement or non-arrangement of his last year's racing accounts has excited an un- precedented amount of consternation and ill-feeling, not only among his creditors, but throughout the sporting world. When the' argument of the whole story is, that his lordship owes large sums of money to men from whom it is possible he may, through his agents, in a few days demand a fortune; that they will have to pay him, while he distinctly refuses to pay them ; that, in a word, the greatest defaulter on the Turf is at the same time the owner of the first favourite for the coming Derby, your readers will be somewhat prepared for the miserable details I must lay before them. In the Sporting Gazette of last Wednesday, I find the following sweet paragraph — a work of art, executed with all the skill that bene- ficent nature and long practice furnish to the aristo- cratic toady: — The Marquess of Hastings's Accounts. — The gentleman who has hitherto exerted himself towards effecting a settlement of the Marquess of Hastings's accounts ' retired from the contest ' yesterday, on finding so many impediments thrown in his Way. 36o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. In the ordinary affairs of life, as conducted by straightforward, honourable, and business men, the only recognized mode of settling an account is to pay it. Strange as it may seem to the soi-disant pious, who regard sport as the broad road with the un- desirable terminus, there are on the Turf straight- forward, honourable, and business men, who take precisely the same view of their own and other people's liabilities. There are, undoubtedly, others who delude the unwary into entrusting them with money, with which they subsequently run off"; but, as a rule, they are not marquesses — they are looked upon by sporting men as scoundrels, and they are known under the generic title of ' welshers.' It is all very well for our friend Jeames to give ' the gen- tleman' credit for 'exertion,' and to attribute the non-payment of his lordship's debts to ' impediments thrown in his way.' The writer evidently knows on which side his own bread is buttered, and un- doubtedly deserves all credit for an ingenious mode of stating the case, which serves his own interests, by at once ' smoothing down' the Marquess of Hast- ings, in leading the world to suppose he has been hardly dealt with, and, by implication, throwing the onus of the unfortunate ' situation ' on the shoulders of the very men on whom it entails the greatest hardship. In the face of a representation so plausible and yet so misleading, I feel it my duty, knowing STATE OF AFFAIRS. 361 the whole facts of the case, to lay a ' plain, unvar- nished tale' before the sporting world. During the early part of the present year, after much diplomacy on both sides, and a vast amount of smooth words and broken vows on that of his lordship's advisers, a definite proposal was at length made during the Newmarket First Spring Meeting to the more pro- minent creditors. It was to the effect that a sum of ;^ 1 0,000 should be immediately forthcoming, and that at the same time a guarantee should be given that a similar sum should be furnished in six months. It was estimated that the total amount, ;^20,ooo, would be sufficient, after clearing off some of the smaller claimants, to allow of the payment to those of larger interests, of a dividend of something like seven shil- lings in the pound. That these are the true facts of the case I am in a position to assert fearlessly, as some of the principal creditors — representing among them more than half of the whole liabilities of the Marquess — did me the honour to consult me as to what was best to be done in the matter. I sug- gested that they should demand a guarantee for the settlement in full of their claims, in the event of Lady Elizabeth winning the Derby ; but at the same time strongly advised that in any case they should accept the terms offered as described above. My proposals meeting with favour, they were adopted as a line of action ; and it was confidently hoped that at length a most annoying and harassing dis- pute would be brought to a happy termination. 362 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. What was the result ? That the programme chalked out by his lordship's advisers during the First Spring Meeting was wholly abandoned, and that on Monday last the creditors were offered a new arrangement, to the effect that they should be paid ;^ 10,000, but without any guarantee that a like sum would be forthcoming in six months. The creditors were, in fact, offered what would positively amount to a pre- sent payment of three shillings or three and sixpence in the pounds and were left to imply that they .might at once 'abandon hope' of the balance. Is it a matter of wonder that some of the principal claim- ants, feeling that they have been dallied with and humbugged beyond endurance, have now indig- nantly determined to reject all such proposals, and leave their noble debtor to be dealt with by public opinion and by his own conscience — if he has not long ago got rid of such a troublesome article? From first to last the affair has been most discredit- able and disgraceful, and connected as it is with a member of the Jockey Club, must be excessively annoying to members of that august body. It is idle for the legislators of the Turf to urge that they take no cognizance of betting, and therefore must occupy the position of mere spectators in any dispute of which it may be the foundation. They can never get over the fact that a notorious defaulter takes part in their dehberations, on a footing of equality with themselves; they can never forget that they are men of high social standing, of unimpeached LADY ELIZABETH. 363' honour and of unbounded influence over not only the business but the morality of the Turf; and in view of such dignity, character, and power — in view of the slur that is cast on them by the association with a man in the^ position of the Marquess of Hastings, it behoves them — and I for one earnestly implore them — to save from further disgrace the sport whose destinies are in their hands, by the immediate adoption of such steps as will prevent the repetition of so flagrant a scandal and cause of reproach. It is well known that, from the peculiar framing of the laws in regard to defaulters at Good- wood, York, and Ascot, such a state of things as I have described is utterly impossible, as any creditor can prevent his debtor's horses running so long as he fails to absolve himself from his "default. Is it not a grievance that at Newmarket, Epsom, Don- caster, and all other meetings but those I have named, this very stringent but necessary law does not obtain; and that any man, even though steeped to the lips in debt, may run his horses, and make money on them if he can — all the while snapping his fingers at the creditors whose just claims he refuses to recognize ? As the case now stands, a member of the Jockey Club, a body whose power in such matters is unlimited, is at once the greatest defaulter of the Turf and the owner of the first favourite for the Derby. It is known — in fact, it is not denied — that he has backed his mare to win him an enormous sum at long odds; and it is certain 364 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. that, by merely guaranteeing the liabilities of the commissioners who in this case have acted in his behalf, he actually stands to win a fortune from the very men to whom he is at the same time so deeply indebted. In fact, should Lady Elizabeth win the Derby — and the present market odds are only 3 to 1 against such a contingency — the bookmakers will have to pay to his lordship's agents the money they have betted against the mare; while, though they know that every farthing of the money so obtained from them will pass direct into their debtor's pocket, they have, under the present laws affecting racing and betting, absolutely no power to deduct either what is due to them on past accounts, or even reim- burse themselves for the bets made by the Marquess on this very race — some of them so long ago that they are now possibly so much lost money. Is it not high time that the laws which sanction so monstrous an injustice should be swept into the dusthole of all effete, oppressive, and absurd legisla- tion ? Is it not high time that the Jockey Club, who alone can institute a reform — sweeping, indeed, but indispensable to the welfare of the Turf— should bestir themselves to prevent a repetition of the gross scandal which has drawn attention once more to the subject ? And is it not high time that all honour- able men should join in a respectful but earnest appeal that they who hold the reins of the sport should no longer be indifferent to the ruinous course which it is pursuing ? THE DERBY BETS. 365 If I might venture to make a suggestion to Lord Hastings, or his advisers — on the supposition, of course, that they entertain a real intention to at least attempt the clearing off his liabilities — I think there would be no difficulty in devising a plan which would at once accomplish their object, without entailing much real cost. It is well known, as I have before said, that his lordship stands to win an enormous stake on Lady Elizabeth at long odds. If he desires a relief by honourable means from his embarrass- ment, he has only to send into the market a com- mission to hedge his money, which could now be done on such highly favourable terms as to realize a sum which, added to the ^10,000 he and his friends pretend they are willing to produce, would at once very nearly clear off the whole of his liabilities. By this means he would be able to pay the bookniakers from the profits he could even now realize upon the transactions he has at present outstanding with them. I am quite aware that, should a large sum of hedging- money be suddenly thrown into the market, it might possibly affect the favourite's position in the quota- tions; but even this difficulty might readily be got over, for I fully believe not one of his lordship's creditors, if good names were given, would refuse to take the present market odds about the mare to sums proportionate to the amounts owing to them. Providing these bets were to be taken in part pay- ment of their demands, they would, I am quite sure, take their chance of finding an opportunity of retail- 366 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. ing them. In this view of the case, supposing that the Marquess owes a Httle over ;^40,ooo, in set-ofF against this he is the present holder of bets upon which, were he so disposed, he could easily realize a ready profit of upwards of ;^ 2 0,000 of the amount. I throw out this suggestion, confident that it would prove an easy means of rescuing the Marquess of Hastings from a position disgraceful to himself and his ancient name, embarrassing to his friends, and discreditable to the order to which he belongs, and of, at the same time, doing justice to a class of men by whom he has never suffered any pecuniary loss, who have never dealt unfairly by him, and who suffer in mind and pocket from his ungentlemanly and un- just treatment of them. Let it be noted that it is capable of proof that his lordship has not lost money on the Turf; that, as a matter of fact, he has abso- lutely won from most of the bookmakers; that three of his heaviest creditors have assured me they have on the balance paid him large sums of money; -and that one gentleman who paid him last year ^^ 24,000 is now out of pocket by his transactions with him to the extent of no less .than ;^4,ooo, and cannot even get an offer of settlement. Let it be remembered, also, that this defaulter has from the commencement trifled with, laughed at, and now defies his creditors ; that he owes them thousands of pounds which they have little hope of ever recovering; and that he has every prospect of winning an immense fortune from them, which he will put into his pocket, and pro- THE RACING DEBTS. 367 bably keep there; and the racing world and the general public have some means of arriving at a true conclusion as to the honour of a nobleman, and the prospects, under present laws, of the national sport of England." It was understood at the time that the writer of the foregoing article on the financial position of the Marquess of Hastings with regard to his betting debts was a bookmaker of the highest standing, him- self a creditor for a large amount, and one of the proprietors of the paper in which it appeared. The facts that the Marquess was very heavily indebted to the Ring, that he had no present means of paying such debts of honour, and that had Lady Elizabeth won he would have been a great winner, are suffi- cient excuse for the publication of such an article. The pique shown at the appearance of an apologetic paragraph in another paper arose from its being matter of notoriety that the Marquess was himself one of the founders and proprietors of that paper. It was the constant assertion of the members of the Ring that they had not won any money of Lord Hastings, as the balance of their accounts showed. To his own outrageously extravagant style of living, wholly disproportioned to his means, they attributed — and it is stated, on the best authority, with truth — his financial distresses. Of course, upon the first default of his agents to pay at Tattersall's, a demand was made by his creditors for payment in full of their demands. This was continued for some 368 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. weeks; but when the real state of his affairs was confidentially disclosed to a few of the principal bet- tors in the Ring', and among others to the writer of the article above quoted, it was agreed that seven shillings in the pound should be accepted by the large creditors, while the small ones should be paid in full. It must be admitted that this was a very liberal offer, as Lord Hastings was to be treated in the Ring after this settlement as if he had never defaulted ; and it must be remembered that, had his mare won the Derby, he would again have been in possession of an immense sum in ready cash, and there appeared at that time every probability of her carrying off the Blue Riband for him. Such was the basis of settlement agreed to by the Ring cre- ditors on one side and Lord Hastings's advisers and agents on the other. But the seven shillings in the pound was not forthcoming, for the very good reason that Lord Hastings, having parted with his interest in nearly everything he possessed in the world, could not find reasonable security for more than half the amount required to carry out the arrangement that had been entered into on his behalf. In this state of affairs, the proposition that the debtor should sur- render to his creditors his bets on Lady Elizabeth, — then, as the article sets out, a 3 to i favourite for the Derby — was a most proper one, offering as it did an easy mode of releasing a prominent member of the Jockey Club, popular with the public, and not unpopular even with the great majority of his ere- THE EARL. 369 ditors, from a position most unhappy for a man of honour. So large were the investments Lord Hastings had made on Lady Elizabeth through his commissioners, that the Ring men would have been willing to give him ^20,000 down for his chances of winning, provided he would apply the sum to the part payment of his debts to them. The suggestion, however, came to nothing, and Lady Elizabeth's misfortune prevented her owner from winning the bets he had taken about her. The article was published at the time, it was thought, in the interests of the Ring, and certainly with the knowledge and concurrence of several of the largest creditors of Lord Hastings, but it was really as much in his own interest that he should settle with his creditors as in that of the creditors themselves. It has all the bitterness of contemporary criticism on his doings, but since his death a different feeling has generally prevailed. The unfortunate Marquess was very frequently in what is termed " hot water" about his horses; much, ,if not all, of the unpleasantness arising from his constant state of pecuniary embarrassment. The scratching of The Earl for the Derby, and the report that Admiral Rous had put down Lady Elizabeth's shameful defeat in that race to the ad- ministration of an overdose of laudanum, created a great sensation. The Earl, one of the best horses ever possessed by Lord Hastings, was bred at the Royal Paddocks VOL. I. 24 370 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. at Hampton Court, in 1865, by Young Melbourne out of Bay Celia by Orlando, her dam Hersey, by Glaucus out of Hester by Camel — Monimia by Muley — Sister to Petworth by Precipitate. Young Melbourne, bred by Lord Glasgow in 1855, is by Melbourne out of Clarissa by Pantaloon, her dam by Glencoe out of Frolicsome by Frolic — Stamford — Alexina. Young Melbourne never started but once, in 1857, as a two-year-old, when he was beaten in a match at even weights by Lord Derby's Whitewall; but Lord Glasgow's colt fell in the race. Young Melbourne's stock came out in 1 86 1, and he is the sire of the following winners: — Maid of Masham filly, Beauvale, Coalition filly, Passion, Rapid Rhone filly out of an Orlando mare, filly out of a Birdcatcher mare, filly out of a Game- boy mare. Brother to Rapid Rhone, General Peel, Emigration, Chessman, Melbourne, Mary, Arcade, Strafford, Barmaid, Satanella colt, Bab -at -the - Bowster filly, colt out of a Teddington mare, Lizzie Hesham, The Earl, Epigram, Geelong, Kingsland, Owain Glyndwr, Python, Scotchman's Pride, Actress, Agrippa, Anne Boleyn, Baroness, Miss Sarah colt, another Maid of Masham filly, Clovis, Di Vernon, Liberal, Poinsettia, and Prince Imperial. Bay Celia, bred by General Peel, in 1851, passed into the late Mr. Henry Elwes's hands, when as a two-year-old she showed great promise, winning the Lavant at Goodwood and the Hopeful at New- market; her only other appearance during the year ADMIRAL ROUS'S LETTER. 371 being at Bibury, where she ran second to a large field for the Champagne. Bay Celia never ran afterwards. The correspondence on the subject of The Earl's being scratched was begun by Admiral Rous, who never minced his words when he was engaged in what he considered the discharge of his public duty. He wrote as follows, under date June 15th, 1868: — To THE Editor of the "Times." Sir — Observing in your paper of to-day the following paragraph quoted from the Pall Mall Gazette: — "The Sporting Life, with more audacity, mentions what Admiral Rous said on the course — that if he had taken as much laudanum as had been given to the mare, he would have been a dead man.'' Permit me to state that it is perfectly untrue. My belief is that Lady Elizabeth had a rough spin with Athena in March, when the Days discovered she had lost her form — a very common occurrence with fillies which have been severely trained at two years old; that when the dis- covery was made they reversed a commission to back her for the One Thousand Guineas Stakes at Newmarket; and they declared that Lord Hastings would not bring her out before the Derby, on which he stood to win a great stake. I am informed that when Lord Hastings went to Danebury to see her gallop, they made excuses for her not to appear. If he had seen her move, the bubble would have burst. But the touters reported " she was going like a bird." Ten pounds will make any horse fly if the trainer wishes it to rise in the market. She has never been able to gallop the whole year. Lord Hastings has been shamefully de- ceived; and with respect to the scratching of The Earl, Lord Westmoreland came up to town early on Tuesday from Epsom to beseech Lord Hastings not to commit such an act. On his arrival in Grosvenor-square, he met Mr. Hill going to Weatherby's, with the order in his pocket to scratch The Earl, and Mr. Padwick closeted with Lord Hastings. In justice to the Marquess of Hastings, I state that he stood to win thirty-five thousand pounds by The Earl, and did not hedge his stake money. Then you will 24 — 2 372 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. ask, " Why did he scratch him?" What can the poor fly demand from the spider in whose web he is enveloped? I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, H. J. Rous. 13, Berkeley-square. To this outspoken statement Lord Hastings re- plied in the following terms : — Sir — I have read with the greatest astonishment a letter in The Times of to-day bearing the signature of Admiral Rous. I can only characterise this letter as a tissue of misrepresentation from first to last. There is no one single circumstance mentioned as regards my two horses — Lady Elizabeth and The Earl — correctly stated. I wish also to add that, so far from being "shamefully deceived," as stated in Admiral Rous's letter, The Earl was scratched by my express desire and authority, and that I myself wrote to Messrs. Weatherby to scratch him, and that no one either prompted me or suggested to me to adopt that course. I trust that this distinct contradiction will induce Admiral Rous to ab- stain in future from publishing statements which he could find to be unfounded if he had previously taken the trouble or sought the opportunity of verifying them. Your obedient servant, 34, Grosvenor-square; Hastings. Mr. Padwick, who was mentioned by the Admi- ral as "closeted with Lord Hastings," was much blamed by public opinion as an interested party to the scratching, and was perhaps wrongly believed to be the Spider of the Admiral's letter, also published his reply :^ Sir-— Admiral Rous having thought himself justified in using my name in a letter which he has addressed to The Times, I beg you will be good enough to permit me to make in reply the follow MR. PAD WICK'S EXPLANATION. 373 ing statement: — I was desired by the Marquess of Hastings (who did not intend to be at Epsom on Tuesday before the Derby) to scratch The Earl for his Derby 'engagement. Lord Hastings in- formed me that he had determined upon that course, as Lady Elizabeth had arrived safely at Epsom, and was to run in the Derby. In consequence, however, of a conversation which I had with the Duke of Beaufort, I did not comply with Lord Hastings request, but returned to town for the purpose of representing to him the conversation which I had had with the Duke of Beaufort. The conversation was to the efifect that his Grace wished Lord Hastings to reconsider his intention of scratching The Earl, as his doing so would be unsatisfactory to the public. I faithfully repre- sented this to Lord Hastings, who, notwithstanding, decided upon scratching the horse. This he himself did, by writing a letter to Messrs. Weatherby, which was conveyed to therh by Mr. Hill. Shortly after the letter had been sent. Lord Westmoreland came into Lord Hastings' room, where there were already Mr. Coventry, Captain Barlow, and some other gentleman, whose name I do not remember. Before leaving the room, I mentioned to Lord West- moreland that I had reported to Lord Hastings, the representation made by the Duke of Beaufort, but without effect; and I added that Lord Hastings had sent a letter to Messrs. Weatherby desiring them to scratch The Earl. I had no control over or interest in the horse, and I was no party to his being scratched ; and Lord Hast- ings, in the presence of the gentlemen whose names I have men- tioned, accepted the exqlusive responsibility of the act. In conclusion, I beg most unhesitatingly to state that I had not betted one single shilling either on or against The Earl for his Derby engagement. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, Henry Padwick. 4, Hill-street, Berkeley-square, June 16. The Days, however, who were accused of having shamefully deceived their employer, and, as a conse- quence, helped to bring about his ruin, had most cause for complaint at the Admiral's strong Saxon. 374 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. Their injury they evidently thought to be too great for mere explanations to the public. They instituted proceedings. Sir— We have been consulted by Mr. John Day, of Dane- bury, in reference to a letter which appeared in The Times of the 1 6th instant, signed by the Hon. Admiral Rous. We have been instructed by Mr. Day to institute legal proceed- ings against Admiral Rous, with a view of vindicating Mr. Day and his family against the imputations which have been cast upon them, and we have, by to-day's post, written to Admiral Rous, requesting to be furnished with the name of his solicitor. In the meantime, we rely on your sense of justice to permit us to give, on behalf of Mr. Day, in your columns, the most unqualified and un- conditional contradiction to the aspersions which Admiral Rous has thought proper to cast upon Mr. Day. We are, Sir, Your obedient servants, Vallance and Vallance. 20, Essex-street, Strand, June 1 7. The feeling, not only of the followers of the sport, but of the general public, was now thoroughly aroused. The conspicuous position on the Turf of the parties to the correspondence, and the prospect of an action which should clear up all the mystery surrounding the wretched performance of Lady Elizabeth in the Derby, and the non-appearance of her stable companion for that event, which all England believed he could have won, excited unusual interest in this " most notorious Turf scan- dal," as it was termed. There was a necessary lull until, in the autumn, THE CORRESPONDENCE RESUMED. 375 the correspondence was further resumed after this fashion : — 4, Hill-street, Berkeley-square, W., Sept. 28, 1868. Sir — I applied, as you are aware, to the stewards of the Jockey Club, to institute an inquiry into the circumstances connected with the scratching of The Earl for the Derby and St. Leger, and felt confident, had they complied with my request, I should have been able to refute the imputations cast on me by your letter to The Times. The Jockey Club declined to entertain the subject, stating no charge had been made affecting my character. Having no other tribunal to appeal to, I now ask you to reduce to some distinct form the imputations cast on me by your letter, that I may meet and deal with them in a manner which I have every confidence will induce you to acknowledge the injustice of those imputations, and withdraw the charges you have made against me. I remain, Your most obedient servant, Henry Padwick. To the Hon. Admiral Rous. Mr. Padwick having been refused the favour ot a full hearing by the Jockey Club, had called upon Admiral Rous to put his charges into distinct terms, to which the Admiral replied post haste next day by asking a most awkward question, and expressing a charitable wish after it that it might turn out that the Marquess and his financial agent had been the victims of a conspiracy. Newmarket, Sept. 29. Sir — In answer to your letter, requesting me to reduce to some distinct form the imputation cast upon you respecting your con- nivance at scratching The Earl for the Derby after he was paraded at Epsom, and requiring me to withdraw the charges I have made against you, I shall be happy to do so if you will explain why The Earl (by your orders to Messrs. Weatherby) ran at Newmarket in 376 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. your name and colours in the Biennial, and received forfeit ij^ the match as Mr. Padwick's The Earl against See Saw. If you had no interest in the horse, which you stated to me in yoiur June letter, why were all the winnings, including the three Ascot sweepstakes, paid to your account? These facts must be ex- plained by Lord Hastings and yourself, under oath at the tribunal you have advised Mr. Day to appeal toj and, wishing that you should exculpate yourself, and that you and Lord Hastings have been the victims of a conspiracy, I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, H. J. Rous. To Hy. Padwick, Esq. Then it is Mr. Padwick's turn. He explains the state of affairs with regard to the Marquess's horses at the time, and points out his kindly and disin- terested anxiety for his noble friend and for the public at large. 4, Hill-street, Berkeley-square, W., Sept. 30. Sir — In reply to your letter of the 29th, I beg to state that, previous to The Earl running at Newmarket, in the Craven Meet- ing, the solicitor to the Marquess of Hastings applied to me for a loan of a large amount, to meet some claims' requiring prompt attention; and in making the advance I received, with other securities, a bill of sale, which included The Earl and other race- horses of the Marquess. That bill of sale was duly registered. The Marquess had various creditors pressing him and an execution about to issue, in which case the sheriff would have seized the race-horses, and removed and sold them, unless protected by myself. I was advised that The Earl, at the time you refet to, had better run in my colours, but neither his winnings on that occasion nor any subsequent were ever carried to my private account by Messrs. Weatherby, but placed by them to a separate account; and every shilling appropriated by the Messrs. Weatherby to the payment ot the forfeits and engagements of the horses sold to various persons by Lord Hastings, under Lord Exeter's conditions. Even the FURTHER EXPLANATIONS. 377 winnings of the animals I purchased at his pubhc sale (one-third of which the Marquess became entitled to) were paid over to Messrs. Weatherby to the private account of the Marquess, and I have further contributed the sum of ;^r,40o out of my own pocket, up to this moment, to enable him to keep faith with the public. I give you the benefit of these facts, which will be con- firmed on oath when required; but, in the meaniime, being anxious to give you every possible information, I enclose two letters, received at different periods from Messrs. Weatherby, on the subject of my own account, and that marked No. 2, which is that of Lord Hastings; and you are at perfect liberty to apply to Messrs. Weatherby for any information with reference to the above, and they will have my authority to afford it. I am, Sir, ir obedient Hy. Padwick. Your obedient servant, To the Hon. Admiral Rous. The only reply to this letter to be got from Admiral Rous was a curt line returning Messrs. Weatherby's letters. After waiting a fortnight, Mr. Padwick again returns to the charge, announcing his intention of publishing the correspondence, a course he took. 4, Hill-street, Berkeley- square, W., Oct. j6. Sir — I have now waited a fortnight since my last letter to you and your return of Messrs. Weatherby's letters, in the expectation held out to me, not only by your letter of the 29 th ult., but by many gentlemen with whom you have conferred, that you would not only withdraw the imputation cast on me by your letter to The Times, but would award to me the only reparation in your power, by an admission that the charges made against me by you had no foundation. With everything placed before you in my power to enable you to satisfy yourself as to facts, I am entitled to demand from you a full retractation, or to attribute the absence of it to a want of moral courage on your part to admit a wrong, or remedy 378 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. — so far as you can— a most unwarrantable and wilful injustice. In the absence of any satisfactory reply, I shall take the liberty of publishing the further correspondence which has passed between us, leaving the public to form their conclusions. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, ■ Henry Padwick. The Hon. Admiral Rous, Newmarket. And to this the Admiral, who was at head-quarters, sent the following reply: — Newmarket, October 20. Sir — Tn answer to yours of the 16th instant, I must remind you that you misinterpret mine of the 29th of September. The explana- tion as to the interest of yourself in The Earl, which I told you I should await before any further public statement on my part, was an explanation (as appears by my words) to be given at the ensuing trial of the pending action. Day v. Rous. In your letter of the 30th of September, you refer, among other matters, to a bill of sale from Lord Hastings to yourself. A copy of this document is now before me, and I am bound to tell you that, having regard to the terras and other circumstances of the case, I do not feel justified in saying more at present than that, for the sake of everybody, it is essential that the facts should be thoroughly sifted by the examination of all parties before the tribunal before which you yourself have advised Mr. Day to appeal. Should you publish the correspondence between us, may I beg you to include this letter. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, Henry John Rous. The Earl had been struck out of the Derby on the day before the race, at seven o'clock in the evening. He was struck out of the St. Leger, and all his other engagements in 1868, on the Friday afternoon before ■DAY V.ROUS. > 379 the Doncaster race, whereupon the following certi- ficate was issued : — London, September 5, 1868. I hereby certify that I have this day examined at Danebury, by request of the Marquess of Hastings, a thoroughbred horse called The Earl, and am of opinion that the said horse is lame from a strain of the suspensory ligament of his near fore-leg, and quite unfit to run in the approaching St. Leger race. William Mavor, M.R.C.V.S. The backers of The Earl were as much dissatisfied with his St. Leger non-appearance as they had been with his failure to run for the Derby. Opinion was very strong at the time, and was expressed in terms as strong; but when it came to be established as a fact that the unfortunate colt had really broken down, much sympathy was expressed for his owner, broken in health and in fortunes. The scarlet and white hoops had always been a prime favourite up to a few months before, when, for the first time, the Marquess, or those who controlled his horses, were suspected of not running straight. The curious and interesting proceedings regarding " The Earl affair " came to a most lame conclusion. The action Day v. Rous was never brought. The following letters were interchanged between plaintift and defendant, the excitement ended, and this Turf scandal was left to rest, if not to be forgotten. Sir — On the i6lh of June last a letter appeared in your columns from Admiral Rous, under the title of " Admiral Rous on the Turf," containing reflections upon me and my family. 38o HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. I have now to request the favour of your giving publicity to a letter which has been addressed to me by the Admiral, withdraw- ing his former letter, arid a copy of which I beg to enclose. I am. Sir, Your obedient servant, John Day. Danebury, Stockbridge, Hants, Jan. ig, 1869. 13, Berkeley-square, Jan. 18. Sir — As the legal proceedings pending between us have been stopped by you, I now withdraw my letter published in The Times newspaper on the i6th of June; and the fact of my having ad- dressed a second letter to the editor on the same day, requesting him not to insert the first, is a proof that I did not consider myself justified in desiring it to be published. I am, Sir, yours, H. J. Rous. To Mr. Day. The opinion expressed by a writer in the Saturday Review, on the occasion of the publication of the last two letters of the correspondence, was precisely in accord with that of the public generally: — "The action is withdrawn, and the letter is withdrawn; but whether the action is withdrawn on condition of the letter being also withdrawn, or whether the letter is withdrawn on condition of the action being withdrawn, and which withdrawal was first pro- posed and first accepted, and from which side the surrender was suggested, we, at any rate, know not. Very likely we shall hear that the sporting oracles congratulate themselves and their peculiar people on the good feeling displayed by all parties, on the neces- sity of avoiding public scandal, and the happy termination of t his painful matter. But then we are not sporting people, and to our poor minds the termination of this queer business is just the most discreditable thing about it. To hush up such a case aggra- vates it. ' Brother, brother, we're both in the wrong,' may be a very amiable sentiment, and is a very convenient conclusion in this THE EARL'S YEAR. 381 case. But th.e case is just one of those in which two wrongs cer- tainly do not make one right." But some two months before the foregoing letters, which brought to a conclusion the exciting contro- versy of Lady Elizabeth's and The Earl's year, their unfortunate owner had been laid with his fathers. Remarkable and brilliant as Lord Hastings's career had been, its end was wretched. Worn out in body and in mind, broken-hearted and bankrupt, died the still young man, who had succeeded to the jaunty lad, with an honest liking for a race-horse of his own, of a few short years before. There is sufficient evidence that the ruin of his fortunes was brought about, not by betting on horse-races, but by extrava- gant expenditure and high play : that of his consti- tution — never a strong one — by late hours and in- dulgence. The second article previously mentioned as worthy of republication here appeared in a leading daily paper on the 12th of November, 1868, as fol- lows : — " ' The Earl's year' has reached a sad climax in the death of its leading actor. The Spider and the Fly drama is ended.. That poor coroneted youth, who had crowded into six years more Corinthian excitement and weightier Turf cares than many 'fast men' know in a lifetime, has laid down his weary load. He was only twenty-six in July, and he had frittered away two fine family estates. Betting is said to be the touchstone of the Englishman's sin- 383 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. cerity, but with the Marquess a craving for the odds had really become a disease. He worshipped chance with all the ardour of a fanatic. His wits were, he considered, worth to him in the Betting-ring at least ^20,000 a year, and he sometimes threaded his way through the mazes of trials and public running with a)l the sagacity of a wizard. His public coups were often so brilliant that it was hardly to be wondered at that he believed in his own destiny and his power to break the Ring. He cared little whether the draining or other improvements on his Donnington estate were stopped, if he only got fresh supplies for another Newmarket campaign. The Ring, on the other hand, had marked him for their own, and never left him. They would cluster beneath the Jockey Club balcony at Epsom, holding up their hands to claim his attention, and catching at his replies like a flock of hungry hawks. There he would stand, smiling at the wild tumult below, wear- ing his hat jauntily on one side, a red flower in his button-hole and his colours round his neck, and cool and calm, while ' the talent' made his horse a ' hot favourite' at once, and a few slipped back to the Ring to follow his lead. For a time he was a perfect Cocker; but he fell at last in the unequal strife, and the men who had 'drawn' him most copiously were among those Avho set their faces most sternly against him when he wished to see the Heath once more. The Marquess's taste' for the Turf was not an hereditary one. His father's heart was with hound THE QUORN MASTERSHIP. 383 and horn. He loved to halloo 'the red rascal' over the> rides far better than watching the Leger horses close up round the Red House turn. The men of the Midlands still speak of him as quite a represent- ative sportsman with Will Goodall and the 'Sir Harry' whom they lost so early. He would hardly have stepped aside to see a race; but a scarcity of foxes in Charnwood Forest, or finding himself above twelve stone on the scales, would have sorely vexed his soul. His son cared for none of these things. Still, he could not bear to see the Quorn v/ithout a .master, and he stepped boldly into the breach when Mr. Clowes resigned in '66. He wore the horn at his saddle bow for conformity's sake, but he never blew it; and he let the field go its own way, and hunted the country on no system. A bit of a gallop, a check, and then trotting off to sift a favourite gorse for a fresh fox, jumped much more with his humour than an old-fashioned hunting run, where hounds had to puzzle it out. Often, when his hounds had reached the meet, ten or twelve miles away, he was hardly out of bed, and he would turn up 'on wheels,' and occasionally from London by special train, and give Wilson the word, to draw when half the field had gone home. No wonder that caricatures were drawn, and squibs flew gaily about, and that even Leicestershire said it would rather be "bled in the purse-vein than have the country hunted gratis in such fashion. Satirical verses failed to sour him. He took the sting out of their tail by reprinting 384 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. them at his own private press, and posted them far and wide. On the last day of his mastership he shpped quietly away to the station/and when they looked for him to give him a parting cheer he had been well-nigh gone an hour. The honour of being 'the man who belongs to' The Duke, or The Earl, or little Lecturer was no burden to him. He took quite naturally to the Turf from the first, enfolded under the wing of Danebury, In 1862 not six people at Newmarket knew who the slim lad was on the grey cob ; but the Ring soon saw that he was a veritable Hampshire ambassador when he put down the money so unflinchingly on a Danebury pot. To John Day's suggestion that in his position he was morally bound to have a nice yearling or two of his own, he leant no ungracious ear. When the rivalry round the Hampton Court and Middle Park Rings almost foamed into madness, and 2,500 guineas and 2,000 guineas were among the yearling prices of one afternoon, he was never tempted beyond 1,650 guineas for King Charles- and 1,500 guineas for Robespierre. The former would have been dear "at fifty guineas, and the latter won well in the colours of another. His two best horses. The Duke (500 guineas) and The Earl (450 guineas), were among his cheapest purchases. The late Alfred Day first wore his colours on Garot- ter, in the Althorp Park Stakes at Northampton, and Sam Rogers won a Maiden Plate on that colt a few weeks afterwards. The first great victory for the HERMIT'S DERBY. 385 'red and white hoops' was the Cambridgeshire of 1864, with Ackworth, which had been esteemed a dear two thousand purchase. Gradually his, stables swelled to upwards of thirty, and about ;^7o,ooo were the spoils of six seasons. Catalogue was a great pet of his Lordship's, and he did not care how much he backed her for in a Selling Sweepstakes, and how dearly he redeemed her. A cycle of barren- ness followed one of profusion, and Mr. Padwick graciously allowed him, in 1865, to have Kangaroo at, it was said, ^12,000, and he never won as many halfpence; while The Duke was useless, from influ- enza, till half the season was over. In 1866, which produced him a One Thousand Guineas winner in Repulse, and a Goodwood Cup one in The Duke, the stable was once more at a deadlock for a Cesare- witch horse ; but little Lecturer, a foal from the Sled- mere sale, carried 7st. 3lbs., and won, it was said, ;^40,ooo for the Donnington party. A winter's reflection convinced his Lordship that Hermit could never win the Derby,, and ;^i03,ooo was the price he paid for his thoughts. People were once wont to tell, almost below their breath,, that ' Davis, the Leviathan,' had been known to pay away ^60,000 on the Derby. The present age is capable of greater efforts, as before the Monday the bankers and solicitors had consulted, and the whole •of the Marquess's losings were found for him. Thus panic was averted from 'The Corner;' but the fair lands of Loudoun passed from his hand. At Ascot VOL. I. 25 386 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. his lucky star rose once more. Lady Elizabeth and Lecturer were both in form, and his Lordship kept backing them, and piling on the winnings, again by a sort of geometric progression, gambling till he had won nearly half 'his ain again.' It was now the turn for reverses. His Lordship rather fancied The Earl, but the stable overruled him in favour of Lady Elizabeth. The flying filly came back with a sadly chequered fame, a bad fifth for the Middle Park Plate, and yet the victress in one of the most wonderful of modern matches at gibs, with the three- year-old Julius. The Marquess had now fallen back again to nearly the same ' agony point' in finance as when he saw the 'all rose' handed home for the Derby. A weary winter followed, and he was so driven from pillar to post by many troubles and Turf creditors that he lost his interest in Tur^ matters, and his head for calculations with it. The irritable Lady Elizabeth wasted to a shadow in her training; and how The Earl was scratched, and then became the hero of the Parisians and the Ascot visitors, and how the few words that were dropped at York proved the precursor of his Leger doom, are all dark passages of Turf politics, and not easily for- gotten. We saw the last of The Earl when he was bought in, as stout as a burgomaster, for 3,900 guineas, at Tattersall's; and then he departed to Findon, with a leg upon whose chances of standing a preparation each man seemed to differ with his fellow. DEATH OF LORD HASTINGS. 387 The late Marquess had been abroad all the summer in his yacht; but no northern breezes could fan him back to health. He came to Doncaster, from Nor- way, on crutches, and looking very ill and nervous; and well he might, as, instead of having a St. Leger winner, he had only the lean comfort of a veterinary certificate from Mr. Mavor. At the First October he was on Newmarket Heath in a basket carriage, which he only quitted to say a word to the pretty Athena, ' which once was mare of mine,' when she was led back a winner. As at Doncaster, he did not go beyond 'a pony' or two. 'Mind, I'm to have this paid,' said one Ring man when he booked it to him; and after that week they saw him no more. Nearly seven seasons had passed by since he first came, a lad of nineteen, fresh from Eton, to Newmarket; and he left it, a shattered man, only to die. He spent some time at Folkestone, and visited town for a few days, before he set out for a winter sojourn with his wife on the Nile. Some few friends dared to hope that he might come back a new man, and live quietly in his old country home, and train the foals by The Duke. It was not to be. ' All the wheels were down,' and now the fourth and the last Marquess of Hastings only lives in racecourse story." The figure of the late Marquess filled so large a space in the Turf world during his short connection with it; his career was regarded with such great interest, not only by Turfites, but by the public .at large ; and his sad death at an early age evoked so 25—2 388 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. much sympathy for him, and caused such torrents of abuse to be poured forth upon the system of things which it was alleged had brought about his ruin, that no apology needs be made for reprinting the previous articles concerning him. As, however, it may appear that they are not representative, but merely expressions of opinion — one from a writer who, familiar with the incidents of the Marquess's life, had no sympathy for the national sport; the other from the pen of a man who, if not piqued himself, was, at all events, the representative of the pique of others — appended are five or six short extracts from as many different journals, which will sufficiently show the opinion of the press upon what was the subject of universal comment — the career of the Marquess of Hastings. Baily's Monthly \ Magazine said: — "The daily journals have well worked out this new vein of sensationalism, and, amid the excitement and attrac- tion of political strife, have found a place in their columns for pitiless attack and outpourings of bitter resentment upon one whose past life mercy would fain consign to oblivion. What influence, whether for good or evil, his example has had upon Turf morals, it is beside our purpose to inquire. To trace his ruinous downfall to his connection with the Turf alone would be as notoriously ridiculous as to attribute the present state of Turf affairs to any influence he may have exercised upon them during the period of his devotion to racing pursuits." COMMENTS OF THE PRESS. 389 The Saturday Review said : — " Though a master of hounds, he was the worst sportsman that ever hunted the Quorn; and on the Turf he seems to have neglected, or never found himself able to comprehend, that which alone makes horse-racing a refined pursuit. It was not so much the blood or bottom of the horses that he studied, as their practical use as the chequers by which he played his tremendous games of gambling. Whether it was simple fatuity that consigned him as a prey to the devices of the Ring, or whether gambling had become a fanaticism to him, it is not for us to know. We have not the materials on which to pronounce. Enough that conscience, judgment, and feeling must have all been obliterated before such a career was lived through. And now the end has come. A con- stitution feeble from the first has been actually long- lived, when it has taken a lustrum of such a constant strain on body and mind, culminating in such a crash of ruin and disgrace, to destroy it." The Field said: — "There was something ap- proaching to insanity in the way in which he scattered his means; a suicidal rendering of the tela sparsimus which speaks to the honours of his family. And then the return — the great object to be obtained — was so small in comparison with the risk he courted. Let us make the most we can of it, and say he ' Blazed forth at once, Newmarket's brightest star, With knaves of all descriptions popular;' 390 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH TURF. and the notoriety of the Marquess of Hastings is at its zenith. He had not even a sportsman's excuse for his prodigality. He had no personal prowess; was no horseman, and cared little or nothing for the hounds he kept for a season or so, for he would leave them in the field on the first opportunity ; whilst the thousands he, wagered on a plating race might, as' far as real sport vyas concerned, as well have depended on the length of a straw or the colour of a cow." The Sportsman said : — " The Hermit losses of Lord Hastings, like his gains on Lecturer, were unparalleled in the history of racing. When Mr. Chaplin's, horse came in to weigh, after winning the Derby, we recollect that the man who was almost the first to pat him on the neck was the nobleman of whom we are now writing; and knowing, as we did, how he must have lost by the result, we could not but wonder at the composure with which he sur- veyed the scene before him, not an expression of mortification escaping his lips." BelVs Life in London said : — "As a master of hounds he totally ignored all the recognized rules of the noble science: Of hounds he knew nothing; could scarcely distinguish a badger-pied one from a black and white. Of riding across country he knew as little. To describe Lord Hastings as a friend of racing would be impossible ; and we fully endorse the remark of a leading Turf authority; that the Marquess of Hastings was the worst COMMENTS OF THE PRESS. 391 enemy to the Turf he ever recollected during the course of his experience." The. Sporting Gazette said: — "On being recently- asked his reason for scratching The Earl by a legal emissary, the simple answer the Marquess gave was, ' Because I chose.' , He had a great eye for neatness to appointments, and has been even known to find fault with his chargd d'affaires if the men did not loop their boots up to the same button on the knee. He cared little really for his shooting, though he liked to have it 'well done;' and it would almost seem as if he never ex- pected to see his pheasants shot again, for he sent out all his annual game presents this year for the first time in partridges instead," Severe as were the comments of the Press, it is impossible to say they were undeserved. At first the Marquess undoubtedly loved his race-horse qu& race-horse,* but soon he learned to value him only as an instrument of gambling. His influence on the national sport was bad, and it is for the good of the Turf that the inflated gambling spirit and high wagering that distinguished the Hastings period of its history passed away soon after the disappearance of their chief supporter. INDEX. PAGE Act, Betting, 1853 . . .258 Acts of Parliament relating to horse-raouig 7, 9, 11, 15, 17 Age, a golden .... 286 Alarm, Mr. Greville's . . 326 Antonio's St. Leger . . .118 Apperley, Mr. C. J. . . .201 Arab plates . . . .168 Ascot at the end of last century 49 Cup .... 284 Grand Stand . .184 The Queen at . .185 Athol, Blair . . . .340 Australia, racing in . . . 278 Baily's Magazim on the Mar- quess of Hastings Banquet to Lord Chesterfield . BarheUe . Barclay's matches, Captain 99, Ban-ymore, Lord Bay Celia Bay Malton's winnings Bay Middleton Bedford, Duke of . Bell Courses . Bellario . Bell's Life on the Marquess of Benevolent Fund, the Turf ' . Bentinck, Lord George — his career and the welshers V. ConTiop and Running Rein . Betting Act of 1853 Betting hells .... Betting houses Act for suppres- sion of .... Betting men, bad sportsmen . 388 286 246 III S3 370 38 246 105 8 121 390 182 218 196 207 217 258 192 254 256 3°7 Blacklock's pedigree and per formances . Blair Athol . Bolingbroke, . Booths on Ascot Heath . Bowles, Mr. . Buckle, r. . . . Buckle's whip . Bunbury, Sir Charles Butler, F. . . . Cailee Otr . . . 334, Calvert's match, Mr. Canadian's withdrawal from the Derby .... Caractacus Cardinal Puff . Challenges for the Whip . Challoner Chappie, J. . . . Chesterfield's stud. Lord . banquet to Lord, Chifney's " Genius Genuine" and George IV. " Narrative " . death Chifney, "W. . . . Childers's performances . Clermont, Eai-l of . Cleveland, Duke of Club-house, Crockford's . Coaching u. Railroad Cockfighting, Earl of Derby and Colours of the Earl of Derby Connop and Lord G. Bentinck Corkers match, Mr. Correspondence on the scratch- ing of The Earl . Costume of jockeys . Craven Meeting Crockford, Mr. W. . 146 340 242 SO 170 148 132 120 266 338 IS2 205 329 124 129 339 260 284 286 66 67 67 80 332 37 107 207 202 ^H 178 178 207 152 371 42 45 201 INDEX. 393 PAGE CumlDerland, Duke of . .87 Dablington, Lord . . . 208 Day, Alfred .... 272 John .... 274 Dawson, Daniel . . .114 Dawson, Mr. T. . . . 287 Delits, racing .... 362 DenunciatioES of horse-racing . 13 Derby, the first ... 40 Derby of 1793 • • • 55 Derby, twelfth Earl of . . 176 ^ his colours . 178 ' cock-fighting 178 fourteenth Earl of, as a sportsman .... 318 Dpiy „■ 32s Diomed s career ... 40 Dispute as to definition of gen' tlemeu riders Disputed bets . Doncaster Cup of 1850 . Doncaster, Turf annals of Dragon .... Duke, The . . . Duke of Bedford . Clereland Oomberland Queensberry Richmond Rutland . York 176—8; Eabl, The Earl, the, of Derby of Clermont Earl EgremoHt's stud Grosvenor Eclipse Eoot, The . Eglinton, Lord, and the welsh ers ' stud Egremont's, Lord, stud . Elizabeth, Lady Ellington's Derby . Elwes, Miser . E. 0., description of the game of Epitaph on Mr. E. Tattersall Epsom, M. Grossley's descrip' tion of 105 difficulty of 1834 . 173 Escape affair, the . . .65 Exeter, Marquess of . . 287 Fathbk of the Turf, The . 22 MM, on the Marquess of Hast- ings's death .... 389 198 112 242 235 22 362 —105 207 87 87 24 96 123 369 318 107 181 106 167 195 280 181 368 282 55 46 63 FiUedel'Air . Fisherman Flatman, ITat . Flint, W. Flying Dutchman, The Voltigeur . Foley, Lord Thomas Fox's love of horse-racing Frampton, Tregonwell . Frantic .... V. Bid/mead Game of E. 0., description of . Gaming Acts Suspension Con- tinuation Bill Gaming houses in 1842 . Gaming Laws, Select Committee on " Genius Genuine" . Gentlemen riders, dispute about at Warwick .... definition of . George I. Eoyal Cup George IV., first appearance on the Turf . . . . connection With the Irish Turf Jockey Club ■ and Chifney . ■ dispute with the Gladiateur Godolphin Arabian, M. Sue's history of . Goodman, Mr., and Running Rein Greville, Mr. C. . . . V. SmuMy Times Grimshaw, H. ... Grossley's "Tour to London" description of Epsom Grosvenor, Earl GuUy, Mr. J. . Hamblbtonian, death of Haricot Hastings, The Marquess of — his stud . his debts . his death . — : comments of the Press on Hawkins's case Henry VIII. and horse-breed- ing . . . .8, Herring, J. F. 343 347 263 149 246 244 57 108 21 227 »7 46 225 192 229 66 198 25 64 133 67 68 65 343 188 212 323 205 346 103 103 106 288 n6 338 354 357 388 388 138 II 35° 394 INDEX. High stakes eighty years ago . 56 HigMyer!s career and pedigree 57 winnings . . 38 Hippodrome, the . .182, 202 abandonment of . 205 Hirst, James . . . .143 Horse racing, origin of . . S Horsesin Britain, early existence of ..... 3 not indigenous to Eng- land 3 Hoyle's match . . . • 1 54 Hugh Capet's running horses . 5 HutchinsQii's (Mr.) match . 156 Iliona 320 Irish Turf Club and George IV. 133 James I. and horse-racing . 5 Jockey Club Cup, origin of the . 140 conditions of ' the race for . . . . 141 Jqckey Club and disputed bets . 112 and George IV. . 68 Jockeys, celebrated — Buckle, F. . Butler, F. . Challoner, T. Chappie Day, A. Day, J. Fitzpatrick . Flatman Grimshaw, H. Marson, J. . Parsons, J. . Robinson, J. Scott . Snowden, L. Wells, J. . Jockey's costume Junior Tattersall's Co. Kangaroo Lade, Counsellor . Lade, Sir John ■ his trousers 91 266 339 262 272 274 93 263 346 267 331 261 240 300 269 42 141 356 lOI 187 Legislation on horse-breeding in Henry VIII. 's reign . . g to restrain excessive horse-racing. . . -15 Lepton's match, Mr. . 99, 1 50 Lipscomb's, Mr., match . .156 Long courses . . ... 25 Mameluke 292 FAOE Man and dog fight . . .100 Marquess of Hastings . -354 death of . 387 1 — comments of the Press on ... 388 Marquess of Exeter . . .311 Marson, Job .... 267 Matches in the early part of eighteenth century . . 23 popularity of eighty years ago . . .98, il Matches — Mr. Calvert's Mr. Corker's Flying Dutchman and Vol tigeur Giles Hoyle's Mr. Hutchinson's, Mr. Lepton's Mr. Lipscomb's Lord March's Mat Milton's Mr. Osbaldeston's, Captain Polhill's Miss Pond's Mr. Shafto's Mr. Shaw's . Mr. Thomhill's Mr. Wilde's. Melbourne, Young Mi.nv, of banquet to Lord Chesterfield . Military races . Monarque Muscovite Mytton, Mr. J. 152 244 154 156 «5i 156 97 155 157 156 153 153 154 152 154 370 286 328 344 328 180 Nbwland's match. Captain . 98 Newmarket meeting . . 44 in 1825 . . .136 Heath, the right of the Jockey Club to . .139 Nimrod's " Hunting Tours " . 200 Oaks, the, intention of giving up Oatland Stakes, the . 49, Orton, J. Osbaldeston, Squire, his career and death . challenge match duel with Lord G. Bentinck Osborne, J. 46 45 23s 298 151 162 221 348 INDEX. 395 Padwick, Mr., and Admiral Eons . . '. . .371 Palmerston, Lord, as a sports- man 319 Panton's, Mr., death . . 109 Parsons, J 331 Pavis, A 191 Pictures of famous racers . . 30 Plates, " give and take " . . 26 Plenipotentiary's year . . 172 Pocahontas .... 269 Polhill's, Captain, matches . 156 Pond's, Miss, matches . . 153 Pratt, Mr. . . . -. K9 Puff, Cardinal . . . .126 Queen Anne's Gold Cup . 24 Queen's Plates . . . 334 change in distri- bution 336 Queen Victoria at Ascot . . 185- at J. Scott's stables 198 Queensbeny, Duke of . .87 Qjii torn actions . . . 224 Eaoe-hobses, tax on . . 17 Race meetings, spread of, in , last century . . . .29 Racers, pictures of famous . 30 Races in Henry II. 's reign . 6 Races, military . . . 308 Racing at Chester ... 6 Racing debts .... 362 Racing, first, under rules as to weight and distance . . 12 in Australia . . . 278 legislation to restrict . 15 flourished since 1700 . 20 statistics 1846-50 . 250 Radcliffe, Mr. ... 165 Railroads v. Coaching . .185 347 Repeal of George II. Act on horse-racing. . . . 233 Riddlesworths, The . . 196 Bidmead v. Gale . . .17 Ridsdale v. GvMy . . .172 Robinson, J 261 Eoodee, The .... 7 Rous, Admiral, and the scratch- . ing of The Earl . . .371 Running Rein case, the . .211 Russell V. Lord 0. Bentinck . 227 Scott, W. 240 Select Committee on Gaming Laws 229 Shafto's, Mr., matches . ■ IS^ Shaw's Mr., matches . • ISS Shepherd, J 241 Simpson 279 Smith y. BoTid . . .191 Snowden, L 3°° Sporting Gazette on death of Marquess of Hastings . .391 Sportsman on death of Marquess of Hastings . , . . . 390 St. Leger of 1819 . . . n8 of 1834 . . .175 Stakes in the middle of last cen- tury 33 Stallions for covering in 1752 . 32 Stockwell . . . 268, 316 Sue's History of the Godolphin Arabian . . . .188 Sweeps 210 Sykes, Sir Tatton . . .293 Tattersail, Mr. Richard . $% his journalistic experiences . . . . 60 death and epi- taph . . . . , . 62 son of ' ' Old Tattersail " 112 Tattersall's death, 1859 . . 280 Tattersall's, the New . . 302 -• Co., Junior . . . 251 Tax on race-horses . . .17 Thornhill's match . . .152 stud . . . .197 Tipsters 252 Touchstone .... 280 Turf annals ot York and Don- caster 23s Turf Benevolent Fund . .182 Turf, the, after the Battle of Waterloo . . . .116 the, flourishing state of, in 1800-1810 . . . 122, 248 the, in 1825 . . .134 Value of thoroughbreds eighty years ago .... 109 Voltigeur . . . 244, 247 Weatheebt, Mr. W. . .235 "Wells, J 269 "Welshers" . ; . .193 Weltje, the Prince of Wales's cook 102 Wentworth'a death, Mr. . . 109 . Whitelook . . . -147 396 INDEX. Whip, the . . . Whyte, Mr. J. Wilde's, Mr., match William IV. and the Turf Wilson, Mr. Christopher . Wooi V. Peol . PAGE 127 182 154 16S 209 213 Wyndham, Hon. C. York, Duke of Turf, annals of Races . Young Melbourne . 187, PAOE 123 23s 26 370 END OF VOL. I.