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JOHNA.SEAVERNS 
 
RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
PRINTED BY 
 
 SPOTTISWOODE AXD CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE 
 
 LONDON 
 
RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 AND 
 
 EXPEEIENCES OF THE TUBE 
 
 BY 
 
 SIE GEOEGE GHETWYND, BAET. 
 
 IN T\YO VOLUMES -VOL. I. 
 
 SECOND EDITION 
 
 LONDON 
 LONGMANS, GEE EN, AND CO. 
 
 AND NEW YOKK: 15 EAST 16'" STREET 
 1891 
 
 All ri'/fits reserved 
 
DEDICATED 
 
 TO THE 
 
 SPOETIXG PUBLIC 
 
PEEFACE 
 
 The reader has doubtless observed, as I have, how 
 much interest is often aroused by a glance at an old 
 ' Eacing Calendar ' which revives memories of bygone 
 celebrities and of the events which made them 
 famous. We seem to hear again the thunder of their 
 hoofs as they dash past the Eowley Mile Stand, see 
 the flash of the bright jackets, and listen to the roar 
 of the crowd that follows the hoisting of the number 
 which proclaims that the good thing has come off — or, 
 as more frequently happens, has just been beaten on 
 the post. But in a ' Calendar ' there is necessarily an 
 absence of detail ; it is in its nature a dry record of 
 fact ; and I have ventured to think, therefore, that a 
 somewhat fuller account of the most interesting 
 events of which I have been a spectator — in which, 
 not seldom, I have been an actor — would perhaps 
 possess interest for my readers. 
 
 During my racing career I have also gathered — 
 and on many occasions paid dearly for — experience 
 of various kinds ; and this, it has struck me, is likely 
 to be of service to those who have a taste for the 
 ' great game.' Many men whose names live, and will 
 live, in Turf history have been my friends, and sketches 
 
Vlll RACING REMINISCEXOES 
 
 of them from the hand of one who knew them well 
 may I hope tend to preserve their memories ; more- 
 over, I have come across not a few curious characters 
 whose doings may be entertaining, and instructive 
 rather as a warning than as an example ; and of some 
 of these I have l3een tempted to speak. Practical hints 
 on various subjects, about some of which opinions 
 differ, are included in the volume. Of these I can 
 only say that the advice is that which commends 
 itself to me after careful study of the matters treated. 
 
 One other object I have had in view : to pre- 
 serve a record of the facts connected with an 
 action which I felt it my duty to bring against a 
 nobleman who had traduced my character. The 
 verdict was in my favour, as it was inevitable it must 
 be ; but the Stewards of the Jockey Club, who sat as 
 Arbitrators, failed to award me damages which would 
 have marked the magnitude of the wrong I suffered, 
 and I have felt bound therefore to vindicate myself 
 by printing as an Appendix a report of the trial. I 
 reo^ret its length if the reader finds it loner • but for 
 reasons which I state in the remarks preceding it I 
 could not make it shorter. 
 
 For some assistance in the, to me, unaccustomed 
 task of writing a book, I am indebted to my friend 
 Mr. Alfred Watson, the Assistant Editor of the 
 Badminton Library. 
 
 George Chetwynd. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 THE FIRST VOLUME 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 PAGE 
 V 
 
 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 1869 
 1870 
 1871 
 1872 
 1873 
 1874 
 1875 
 1876 
 1877 
 1878 
 1879 
 
 'AGE 
 1 
 
 1880 
 
 18 
 
 1881 
 
 35 
 
 1882 
 
 63 
 
 1883 
 
 79 
 
 1884 
 
 94 
 
 1885 
 
 120 
 
 1886 
 
 141 
 
 1887 
 
 154 
 
 1888 
 
 163 
 
 1889 
 
 181 
 
 1890 
 
 PAGE 
 
 191 
 198 
 202 
 209 
 215 
 223 
 229 
 242 
 253 
 262 
 273 
 
RACING REMINISOENOES 
 
 Ti'RP history during the last twent}^ years has been 
 of a notably eventful character, racing itself and its 
 surroundings and associations having changed to an 
 astonishing extent since, to fix a period, let us say 
 Blue Gown's Derby. At that time the great Epsom 
 contest was the event of the year par excellence, not 
 only because of the fame which attended a Derby 
 winner, but because the prize seemed, by comparison 
 with the fifty-pound plate which often attracted fields 
 good in quantity and quality, of very great value, 
 no one dreaming that within the time mentioned, on 
 courses that did not then exist, stakes of 10,000/. 
 or 12,000Z. would come to be regarded with perfect 
 equanimity. No less remote from the imagination of 
 the racegoer of twenty years ago was the idea that 
 horseflesh would reach its present standard — that, for 
 instance, 662 lots of foals and yearlings would be sold 
 in a year and fetch such a sum as 195,358 guineas, or 
 300 guineas each. The sale of Kangaroo for 11,000 
 guineas to the late Marquis of Hastings had been men- 
 tioned with breathless wonder ; whereas now we hear 
 without surprise of the refusal of nearly twice that 
 sum — 20,000/. — for a successful two-year-old. 
 
 B 
 
2 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 During the last twenty years tlie Turf lias gained 
 a stronger hold upon all classes of the community. 
 Among men talk about racing generally interests 
 a very much larger proportion of any given company 
 than any other subject that could possibly be started. 
 The talkers may know nothing about it, but they will 
 talk ; indeed, it sometimes appears that they do so 
 in proportion to their lack of knowledge. And they 
 gamble as well as talk, as also in most instances with 
 no better judgment. Those who remember the 
 haunts of the hole-and-corner betting men of two 
 decades since, who saw how many of them there 
 were, and how numerous were their ' clients,' may 
 hesitate to believe that backing horses has increased 
 to the enormous extent it has done ; but there is no 
 large town now without its larger or smaller circle 
 of bookmakers, and there are few small towns in 
 which those who know where to look for him cannot 
 find someone who is always ready to lay them the 
 odds. 
 
 Many wise reforms have been accomplished 
 during these twenty years, since half-mile scampers 
 were features in every programme, and, at the same 
 time, not a few legislative blunders have also been 
 committed ; but with these matters I shall deal at 
 length later in the book. As regards myself, I may 
 perhaps be excused for remarking that throughout 
 the period over which these reminiscences extend, I 
 have not only owned horses, but have taken, I think, 
 a more active and direct interest in their preparation, 
 engagements, and trials, than is the case with the 
 majority of owners. As a Steward of the Jockey Club, 
 and very frequently of race meetings in all parts of 
 
EAELY EXPERIENCE 3 
 
 the country, I liave necessarily made myself familiar 
 with the system of Turf legislation, and I trust that 
 the reader may consider these credentials as suffi- 
 cient to justify me in the task I am now undertaking. 
 With these brief introductory remarks I j)lunge at 
 once into my subject. 
 
 As these are reminiscences, I shall perhaps do well 
 to begin with the first thing that I remember in con- 
 nection with horses and silk jackets. 
 
 My earliest experience of a race was when, at the 
 age of eight or nine, I was taken with a large party 
 staying at my father's house to see some farmers' 
 steeplechases got up by the gentlemen of the Ather- 
 stone Hunt, the chief event of the day being a 
 match, owners up, between Colonel Maddockes and 
 Mr. William Oakeley, both of whom used to stay at 
 Grendon for the hunting season with the late Lord 
 Vivian, General Gipps, and others. The match was 
 made at Grendon, one night after dinner, and 
 there was great excitement over it, owing to the 
 popularity of the two riders. It was won by Mr. 
 Oakeley, but the result might have been different 
 had not his antagonist called his attention to the fact 
 that he had gone the wrong side of the flag, and 
 refused to take advantage of the mistake, waitino- 
 while his opponent retraced his steps. If it were my 
 purpose to be didactic I might here enlarge upon the 
 multitudinous chances and accidents of racing — the 
 result of which so often is to prevent the best horse 
 from winning, a lesson which, happily for the betting 
 ring, backers will never learn. 
 
 From Christchurch some of us used to go to small 
 steeplechase meetings ; but the first important flat 
 
4 RACING PtEMINISCENCES 
 
 race meeting I attended was Ascot in 1868. I have 
 good occasion for remembering it, as I had broken 
 the small bone in my leg three weeks before, and had 
 a boot with whalebone supports made on purpose ; 
 but it was a foolish thing to go, and I was in great 
 pain towards the end of the day. 
 
 Here too, thus early in, at the very beginning indeed 
 of, my brief career, I had my first experience of being 
 welshed. I laid a man in the outer ring 2 to 1 on the 
 Earl, when the proper price was 5 to 1, and gave 
 him my 20/. beforehand. The Earl beat Eestitution 
 a neck ; but when I went to collect the oOl. I had 
 won I was surprised to find that my bookmaker had 
 disappeared. 
 
 In August 1869 I went to Brighton races and saw 
 Bestitution win the cup for Baron Eothschild. Then 
 were the days when ' Follow the Baron ' was the 
 watchword which backers so often found it fortunate 
 to observe, and his lordship had justifiable confidence 
 in his own luck. So much so was this the case at the 
 time I am speaking of, that on seeing and admiring the 
 €up in the morning he made a bet that it would be 
 on his dinner table that night ; and there the loser 
 had the gratification of contemplating it during the 
 evening. 
 
 From this time I began to take a great interest in 
 racing, my one great desire being to possess a race- 
 horse. The following Doncaster meeting I confided 
 my wish to Captain Machell, asking him to buy a few 
 horses for me ; and after some demur, for I was not 
 of age, he consented, and attempted to purchase on 
 my behalf George Osbaldeston, which had just run 
 third to Pero Gomez and Martyrdom in the Leger ; but 
 
A BAD BET 5 
 
 the price asketl was too high, fortunately for me, as 
 the horse never won a race afterwards. 
 
 Well do I remember the race for the Leger of 
 this year. Fordham, seldom as he made mistakes, was 
 supposed to have laid off so far on Martyrdom, that 
 he incurred the censure of Captain Machell, Sir 
 Charles Legard (who would have won 10,000Z. on 
 him), and others in the box from which we saw the 
 race. From the Eed House he began to make up his 
 ground, but could never reach Pero Gomez, who won 
 cleverly by a neck, and the subsequent perform- 
 ances of Martyrdom make me believe that if Ford- 
 ham had laid up with him he would not have been so 
 near the winner at the finish. Sir Joseph Hawley won 
 little or no money on the race ; his horse defeated 
 Pretender many a length, but the latter had turned 
 roarer and was fast degenerating, in fact I do not 
 think he ever won again, and it is wonderful he 
 should have remained such a firm favourite to the 
 finish, odds being laid on him at the start. 
 
 To show my ignorance of prices and the inten- 
 tions of owners at this period, I will relate an amus- 
 ing incident that occurred at this meeting. Mr. Jar- 
 dine, now Sir Eobert Jardine, who then ran his horses 
 in the name of ' Mr. Johnstone,' who was his bosoiu- 
 friend and part proprietor of the animals, had two 
 horses in the Cup, Lord Hawthorn and Good Hope. 
 He declared to win with the former, starting the 
 other to make running for him ; but not knowing 
 this, directly the numbers went up I took three 
 fifties about Good Hope from a bookmaker named 
 Berkeley who settled my account, and who if only for 
 that reason certainly should not have been so sharp 
 
6 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 on me, as I naturally trusted him to deal fairly with a 
 gentleman who was in the habit of employing him. At 
 the start the betting was six to four against Lord Haw- 
 thorn, fifty to one Good Hope, offered, but, as it hap- 
 pened. Lord Hawthorn fell and Good Hope won by a 
 length from the second favourite Blueskin. How 
 changed is Doncaster now from what it was in those 
 days ! Then, after dinner, you would go into the sub- 
 scription rooms and back horses for the Cesar ewitch and 
 Cambridgeshire at 100 to 1 to win large stakes, and 
 even small bookmakers thought nothing of starting 
 20,000/. books. After making their bets people used 
 to go into an inner room where hazard was being 
 played. Hour after hour the game continued in full 
 swing at a table crowded with punters, with green, 
 black, red, and white ivory counters before them, 
 denoting 10/., 5/., 25 Z., and 11. There was an impres- 
 sive stillness in the room, only broken by the voice of 
 Mr. F. Hall, one of the croupiers, who, rake in hand, 
 gave vent to such utterances as, ' The castor is back- 
 ing in at seven, gentlemen. Ill take on the nick.' 
 Then came the rattle of the dice, the bang on the 
 table of the box, the quick announcement of the 
 point, and the raking in of the counters on the losing 
 columns by the two croupiers, one of whom looked 
 like a respectable tradesman or a magistrate's 
 clerk. Behind the players stood the proprietor, a 
 tall handsome man with carefully trimmed white 
 beard and moustache, more like a General than the 
 keeper of a hell ; his countenance immovable, except 
 when it relaxed as he replied courteously to any one 
 who addressed him. 
 
 He is dead, so is one of the croupiers, so are 
 
NEWMAEKET TWENTY YEARS AGO 7 
 
 half the players, old and young, whom I saw at that 
 table twenty years ago, when for the first time I was 
 initiated into the mysteries of hazard, how to dash 
 down a ten or dribble a four, as if really there was 
 skill about a game which consists of rattling two 
 dice in a box, and winning or losing by the points 
 they declare when rolled out on the table. 
 
 A fortnight after the Doncaster meeting, I went 
 to Newmarket for the first time, to stay with some 
 friends near that famous town. I had heard very much 
 of it, but at first it came very little up to my expecta- 
 tions. How delightful it was then, nevertheless, 
 compared to what it is now ! There was only a 
 small stand at the Eowley Mile post, containing one 
 large room for luncheon with a balcony outside, and 
 a small room downstairs to afford shelter from the 
 rain. The only possible way of ' doing ' I^ewmarket 
 with any comfort or satisfaction was to ride all 
 day long. I well recollect how delightful it was 
 on a fine bracing day to gallop up to the Birdcage, 
 to hastily alight, and throw one's reins to one of 
 the many men on the look-out for a shilling; 
 take stock of the horses, remark the number of 
 runners, and settle what to back ; then came the 
 hurried stampede of the riders to their horses, the 
 mad race down to the Eing, the forcing one's way 
 in to get at the chief bookmakers, the booking of 
 the bets, and the rush to see the race. And what 
 racing it was then, with Fordham, T. Cannon, F. 
 French, Chaloner, Osborne, Custance, Daley, J. Adams, 
 Grimshaw, Wells, Maidment, Goater, Kenyon, and 
 many others, who are certainly not to be matched 
 in the present year of grace. One event that 
 
8 llACIXG EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 occurs to me as I write was the desperate race for 
 wliat was tlien considered the ' rich ' Buckenham 
 Post Produce Stakes. Well do I remember that lovely 
 September day when poor Tom French on Kingcraft 
 beat Goater on Normanby a short head ! Another 
 reminiscence of the period was the scene in Tattersall's 
 ring, just before the numbers went up for the 22nd 
 Triennial Produce Stakes. Eumours had been current 
 that Lord Palmouth, who could easily have won the 
 race, as everyone felt confident, with Kingcraft, would 
 depend on his second string, Linsey Woolsey. These 
 rumours had evidently reached the ears of Steel, the 
 ' Leviathan,' and in the hope that he would find a 
 backer, as he regarded it less well informed, he 
 shouted out ' Lord Falmouth don't win for a hundred! ' 
 Lord Eoyston (now Lord Hardwicke), supposing that 
 he could get on Kingcraft at even money, promptly 
 took the bet, which Steel booked with great satis- 
 faction. What rumour does not get to the book- 
 makers if it is likely to do them any good ? However, 
 on occasions rumour is wrong, and so it was here. 
 For once Steel had a very bad bet for himself on his 
 book, and was unmercifully chaffed when Kingcraft's 
 number was exhibited on the board, for not less than 
 two to one on was the price, and a good price for 
 backers it was, as the horse won in a canter by half-a- 
 dozen lengths. Li this year a young man called ' the 
 Infant Plunger,' probably from his diminutive stature, 
 caused some little sensation amongst turfites by the 
 magnitude of his betting transactions, but he quickly 
 disappeared from the ranks of the backers, as plungers 
 infantile and otherwise have been invariably in the 
 habit of doing. 
 
MY FIIIST AVl^NT 9 
 
 From Newmarket I went to Bedford races with 
 Captain Macliell, lie being as keen about racing as I 
 w^as, but the meeting was not very remarkable and is 
 one of the many country fixtures which carried on a 
 more or less fitful existence twenty years ago and have 
 since disappeared from the list. Mr. Watts's Mysotis, 
 a Newminster filly and a rare stayer, carried off the 
 Queen's Plate from Mars and Adolphus, the latter 
 ridden by his owner and trainer, John Nightingall, 
 who is still with us alive and as jolly as ever. From 
 Bedford we proceeded to Leicester, a meeting ever 
 memorable to me, for there I made the acquaintance of 
 Mr. George Payne, which ripened into a friendship and 
 continued to the day of his death. About this good 
 sportsman I shall have more to say hereafter. 
 
 Here it was that I won my first race, the County 
 Cup Stakes, with Ben-an, purchased the week before 
 with other horses from Lord Calthorpe, and actually 
 the first racehorse that ever carried my colours. He 
 succumbed the next day to M^^sotis in the Queen's 
 Plate, but I was quite satisfied with his winning the 
 first race, thus gratifying one object of my ambition. 
 The next week took me to Newmarket, where on the 
 Tuesday Mr. Naylor's Cherie won the Cesarewitch by 
 a length and a half from old John Davis. I re- 
 member the race well, for Captain Machell, Sir Charles 
 Legard, and all of us connected with the stable were 
 beguiled into backing a horse called Phantom, 
 ridden by our stable jockey. He was one of the 
 first beaten in the race, and was a phantom indeed 
 to us. An amusing story of this race is told ot 
 Mordan, who rode John Davis and was ordered to 
 make the pace as fast as possible. Whether he saw 
 
10 KACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 Cherie in front of him or not I do not know, but 
 probably not, for the jockeys who were riding near 
 him heard him chuckhng to himself and saying 
 ' Mrs. Samuel Mor dan's husband will win the Cesare- 
 witch to-day.' Fordham on Taraban was then hope- 
 lessly beaten, and yelled out to Mordan to go on, but 
 to no purpose, as the old horse had no speed and it 
 was then too late to catch Cherie. 
 
 Next day that memorable Middle Park Plate was 
 decided, when in a desperate finish Chaloner on 
 Frivolity beat Daley on the beautiful Sunshine a 
 head, Tom French on Kingcraft third, only a short 
 head from him. The subsequent Derby winner was 
 close under the judge's box with Sunshine next him, 
 and Frivolity on the Stand side. The excitement 
 after the race was intense, but close as the finish was, 
 I never heard either of the two beaten jockeys 
 blamed for losing the race. The Houghton week of 
 that year opened auspiciously for me, as I won the 
 Maiden Plate with Stumps. 
 
 The next day Vestminster won the Cambridgeshire 
 by three-quarters of a length from the French mare 
 Cerdagne, who was giving the winner 18 lb. and 
 not thought much of by her connections as she 
 started at 66 to 1. Famous names occur at this 
 period. In the All-aged Stakes we saw Eosicrucian 
 and Wells beat Formosa and Fordham a neck after a 
 good race, the course being too short for both of 
 them. 
 
 On Friday I won another selling race with Fugi- 
 tive, but did not back him, reserving myself for a 
 dash on Mask in the next race. According to the 
 very best advice that Newmarket afforded. Mask was 
 
LIBEL 0^' SIR JOSEPH HAWLEY 11 
 
 a certainty and could by no possibility be beaten. 
 Nevertheless, lie failed to get nearer than third, a 
 position frequently occupied by certainties, if, indeed, 
 they are not beaten out of a place altogether. Fugi- 
 tive was claimed by the late Joseph Dawson, an 
 excellent judge of form, who of course felt confident 
 that the colt would win him races. Fugitive, how- 
 ever, never once got his head in front again, and he 
 broke his leg in a race a year after. 
 
 Passing on to Liverpool, I won a couple of races 
 with Mask, after a dead heat, and Zerlina, but the 
 event of the meeting was the Liverpool Cup, won 
 by Sir Joseph Hawley's Lictor, a race that will long- 
 be remembered as giving rise to an action for libel 
 brought by Sir Joseph Hawley against Dr. Shorthouse, 
 the founder of the Sporting Times, and a prominent 
 Turf writer, who had published a scurrilous article 
 based on the fact that Sir Joseph had scratched the 
 whilom favourite, and accusing him of fraudulent 
 design in so doing. The origin of this article is one 
 of the most remarkable instances of journalistic enter- 
 prise that has come to my knowledge. 
 
 The staff of the Sporting Times was wont to 
 meet at a weekly dinner to discuss the forthcoming- 
 issue, and at one of these gatherings the question 
 arose of how best to push the circulation of the 
 paper. The collective wisdom of the company 
 ultimately decided that a series of attacks on well- 
 known owners of racehorses would go down with 
 the public, provided the men were of character 
 sufficiently stainless to throw into strong relief such 
 mud as might stick. Sir J. Hawley, General Peel, 
 and Lord Derby were the three selected notables, and 
 
12 RACING EEMINISCEXCES 
 
 it was very possibly by lot that the clioice fell on Sir 
 Joseph as the first victim to this nefarious bid for 
 popularity. A young man, a junior partner of Mr. 
 Tod Heatly, the wine-merchant, either volunteered or 
 was delegated to carry out this precious piece of 
 dirty work. How it was done and how terribly it 
 recoiled on its perpetrators is a matter of legal 
 history. They had, of course, contemplated a civil 
 action being brought and damages being awarded, but 
 an increased circulation was to pay for all that. 
 What, however, the libellers had overlooked was 
 that libel had just been made a possibly criminal 
 offence, and great was their consternation, when, by 
 Mr. George Lewis's advice, criminal proceedings — I 
 fancy the first under the new law — were commenced 
 against Shorthouse and his printer ; while an offer 
 was made to give up both actions in exchange for 
 the writer's name. This was resolutely refused, for 
 though the Doctor rather admired and respected Sir 
 Joseph, and was not, I think, even present at this ill- 
 starred dinner, yet he was too staunch a friend, too 
 loyal an employer, to reveal the name of the actual 
 culprit. Nevertheless, it was discovered, and included 
 in the indictment, while counsel were instructed to 
 press for punishment against editor and writer, and 
 not against printer. The writer's wife did all she 
 knew to get him off, and though she failed in moving 
 the prosecutor to pity, she was, it is suspected, more 
 successful with counsel, who, to the amazement and 
 wrath of Sir Joseph, urged at the trial that an 
 example should be made of Dr. Shorthouse, but said 
 that his client did not wish the other two to be 
 punished! So the poor Doctor paid in his own 
 
DREAMING A AVIXNER 13 
 
 person with a year's imprisonment, which, if it did 
 not kill him, at any rate materially shortened his life, 
 though he lived long enough to shake hands and make 
 friends with Sir Joseph, assuredly the worst man 
 that could have been selected for an experiment in 
 calumny. 
 
 Stories of dreams about races are not uncommon, 
 and at the Liverpool meeting I had one. The night 
 before this race I dreamt that Lictor won, and that 
 Lopez was second ; and as the horses passed the post 
 the following day I saw my dream almost realised, 
 but Lopez was not actually second, having been 
 beaten a short head for second place by Cocoanut. 
 I had no faith at the time in my capacity for finding 
 winners in the visions of the night, and did not profit 
 by what had been revealed to me in my slumbers as 
 probably most people would have done. Perhaps it 
 is just as well, for I have often dreamed about races 
 since, but do not remember that I ever dreamed 
 correctly. 
 
 From Liverpool we went to Shrewsbury and 
 "Warwick, at both of which places there were large 
 fields and good racing, owners being content in those 
 days to bring out good horses to run for 50/. plates, 
 or to match good or bad horses against each other 
 for sums varying from 50/. to 200/. Many a time 
 have I assisted at these match makings when the cloth 
 has been cleared after dinner at the Eooms, the Ad- 
 miral in the chair, supported by such men as General 
 Peel, Mr. Henry Savile, Lord Annesley, Lord Fal- 
 mouth, Lord Vivian, Lord Wilton, Colonel Forrester, 
 and a host of others, all good men and true. After 
 the snuff-box made out of Eclipse's foot mounted in 
 
14 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 gold had been duly handed about, it was the custom 
 to write down on paper the names of horses with 
 which owners were willing to make a match. The 
 Admiral after consulting two of the owners as to 
 whether they were willing to run, after also due consi- 
 deration, and sometimes a scrutiny of a well-thumbed 
 handicap book (of which I am constantly reminded 
 nowadays when asking Colonel Forrester's opinion 
 as to the merits of two horses, for he invariably pro- 
 duces a similar one that would be so much Arabic to 
 anyone else if it happened to fall into other hands, 
 so curiously is it constructed), would stand up and 
 say, ' Gentlemen, put your hands in 3^our pockets. 
 You shall run the last five furlongs of the Abingdon 
 Mile for 100 sovs. 50 forfeit. The Blank colt shall 
 carry 8 st. 10 lb., and the other 8 st. 2 lb.' All eyes 
 were then turned on the two owners. If, on examina- 
 tion, it was found that both of them held money in 
 their hands, the match was made and the half-crowns 
 went to the Admiral, who smiled benignly on them 
 and pocketed the coins ; if one only held money, the 
 non-content paid him ; if neither held money, there 
 was neither match nor exchange of coin. In 1869 
 and 1870 there is no doubt that Newmarket was at a 
 very low ebb, and matches helped to swell a card that 
 would have looked very weak for a day's racing 
 without them. Indeed, I have known as many as 
 four walks over in one day. 
 
 The Jockey Club were in debt, no funds were 
 coming in, and it is really difficult to guess what 
 would have happened if the Franco-German war 
 had not broken out and caused a despatch to this 
 country of many French and German horses with 
 
A TERRIBLE ACCIDENT 15 
 
 their owners, all of whom were welcomed by English 
 sportsmen, who never grudged them the many 
 victories their good horses won. 
 
 In July of this year, by the way, I went over to Ireland 
 with Captain George Goddard to stay with Mr. John 
 Montgomery for the Down Eoyal Summer meeting, 
 taking place on July 14 and 15, over Maze Course. 
 Eight weU did this generous-hearted Irishman enter- 
 tain us. There was a large party of men. At night 
 the loo was rather high, and I won 500/. from mv 
 host, a sum which I immediately offered the next morn- 
 ing for a three-year-old horse he showed me, called 
 Eufus. Most of my readers will remember what a 
 good steeplechaser this horse turned out to be, and 
 that his popular ovv^ner was called ' Eufus ' Mont- 
 gomery till the day of his death. Amongst others 
 who formed our party were Viscount Massareene and 
 his brother, the two Chaines, two Alexanders, &c. 
 How little did we think whilst enjoying the races 
 that on this very course in less than two years our 
 dear friend and host was to meet with his death ! 
 He was riding a hot-tempered chestnut in a steeple- 
 chase, and just opposite the Stand he lost all control 
 over the brute, who made straight for the rails 
 of the enclosure ; he just managed to keep the 
 creature straight, and, wonderful to relate, the horse 
 cleared them. Well would it have been if he had 
 got off then ; but instead of doing so, furious at the 
 mishap, he turned the horse round, rammed his spurs 
 in and put him at the rails again ; but this time the 
 horse caught the top and turned a complete somersault, 
 throwing his rider on his head and falling on him. 
 He was removed to the Ulster Club, Belfast, about 
 
16 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 nine miles off. There lie lingered for two or three 
 weeks, and at one time great hopes were entertained 
 of his recovery, but it was not to be, and he suc- 
 cumbed to his injuries. 
 
 A story was told me the other day, which I do 
 not vouch for, about a gentleman rider at these races 
 being annoyed at the short price he heard his mount 
 was at in the betting. He was seen to put his knife 
 in his pocket before mounting. Curiously enough 
 the horse did not get a better favourite. Behind the 
 clump of trees on the far side of the Maze racecourse 
 the spectators lose sight of the runners. After hold- 
 ing a good position before disappearing from view, 
 the backers of the favourite looked in vain for him as 
 the horses came into sight. Some minutes after the 
 gallant amateur trotted into the paddock openly 
 displaying a broken stirrup leather, but as he dis- 
 mounted he quietly remarked to his groom, 'Tim, 
 you'll find my knife at the back of the ditch, behind 
 the hill over there.' 
 
 The course was kept by a body of men dressed 
 like the pictures of Napoleon's Old Guard ; they came 
 from Hillsborough Castle, the property of my uncle, 
 which is close at hand. The racing calls for no 
 comment, and when I and my friend said good-bye 
 to our host, we started off to pay a visit to Lord 
 Massareene. On arriving at Antrim Castle after 
 rather a wet drive on an Irish car, I was much 
 struck by the beauty of the place, the Castle being 
 beautifully situated within half a mile of a magnifi- 
 cent lake. It contains, too, a wonderfully handsome 
 room of carved oak, which was used as a council 
 chamber many years ago. 
 
EIFLE PRACTICE 17 
 
 The morning after my arrival, whilst dressing, I 
 heard a shot outside my window, my room being on 
 the ground floor just over the moat. On opening the 
 window and putting my head out, ' ping ! ' went a 
 bullet close to my ear, which caused me to retire 
 with the utmost celerity, and afterwards I found 
 out it was my host practising with a revolver at 
 the tame ducks swimming in the moat. They 
 were not very careful with firearms at Antrim Castle ; 
 at any hour of the day pea-rifles w^ere taken out and 
 fired at anything that afforded a good mark. A 
 legend went that once Lord Massareene was aimlessly 
 firino^ a shot with a new rifle in the direction of the 
 lake, when he killed an old woman who was pickings 
 u|) sticks near the water's edge, but he gave her such 
 a magnificent ' wake ' as to excite the envy of all the 
 other old women in the village. 
 
18 IIACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 1870 
 
 In the days of wliicli I am writing racing began 
 witli tlie new year. A Club meeting was held on 
 January 1 at Croydon. Lincoln Spring races took 
 place on February 18, but two-year-olds were not 
 allowed to run then, and the racing was poor, only 
 ten horses competing for the Lincoln Handicap, won 
 very easily by Lord Eendlesham's Eoyal Eake. 
 Nottingham came before Liverpool then, and my 
 first racehorse, Ben-an, was beaten a neck for the 
 Spring Handicap. 
 
 The Colonel won the Liverpool Steeplechase for 
 the second time, beating twenty-two other horses. 
 The three-year-old gelding Sabinus, about whom I 
 shall have more to say in the never-to-be-forgotten 
 Cambridgeshire of the following year, beat twenty- 
 seven horses easily for the City and Suburban at 
 Epsom, carrying 5 st. 9 lb., and the next day, with a 
 stone extra, won the Great Metropolitan in a canter, 
 Eosicrucian the same day winning the Prince of 
 Wales's Stakes with 9 st. on his back, which in those 
 days was considered a great performance, though far 
 eclipsed since by Thunder, Isonomy, Carlton, and 
 many others, with whose achievements I shall deal 
 in due course. Curiously enough the race 
 before that which fell to Sabinus was won by 
 
MACGREGOR 19 
 
 Allbrook, the curiosity consisting in tlie circumstance 
 that Allbrook was favourite for the Cambridgeshire 
 in the next year, which by dint of superb skill and 
 judgment on the part of Fordham, Sabinus won by a 
 short head. 
 
 Durino' all this time I was racino^ under the 
 assumed name of ' Mr. Mortimer,' a convenient 
 pseudonym, as I was not yet of age, and to this name 
 was credited the Anglesey Plate at Lichfield, which 
 I won with Eoyal Lad ; but in two other races that 
 I expected to win, my horse could get no nearer than 
 second. 
 
 At the following Craven meeting, Alexander and 
 the Champion ran a dead-heat for the Biennial, so 
 famous for its surprises, but neither was destined to 
 shine on the turf. After the race both would have 
 fetched a good price, for it would have seemed quite 
 reasonable to entertain hopes of their future careers 
 after this public trial ; and the fact of their having 
 subsequently failed so completely is worth mention 
 as one of the innumerable instances that constantly 
 arise of the disappointment of what seem thoroughly 
 well-founded hopes with regard to certain animals. 
 
 Passing over the few plating meetings that took 
 place in the interval, we come to the Two Thousand, 
 won in a canter by that fast but unsound horse 
 Macgregor, wdio appeared here for the first time in 
 public, and defeated Normanby by ^ve lengths, 
 Normanby in turn being three-quarters of a length 
 in front of Kingcraft, whose running here did not 
 foreshadow the fact that he was to w^in Lord Falmouth 
 his first blue riband within the month. A few years 
 later the same might of course have been said of 
 
20 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 St. Blaise. The Two Thousand performance of this 
 well-named son of Hermit and Fusee never for a 
 moment suggested his triumph at Epsom ; but of such 
 occurrences the Eacing Calendar is made up, and, 
 paradoxical as it will sound, it may be said that there is 
 nothing so deceptive as form. Silvio and Sefton, it 
 is perhaps worth while to add, ran third in the Two 
 Thousand before winning the Derby. 
 
 The One Thousand showed the superiority of 
 Hester over Frivolity, Malwina, and others (all 
 moderate mares, in my opinion, except Agility, in- 
 cluding the winner), and the last day's racing was 
 only noticeable for the splendid race Fordham rode 
 on Nobleman in the Xewmarket Stakes, beating 
 Cannon on the outsider DemidofF a short head. 
 How many times and with what enthusiasm have I 
 watched the marvellous riding of these two famous 
 horsemen in a close finish, both perfect exponents of 
 the art of race riding, ' and yet perfectly different in 
 style ! Fordham, with his little short legs looking 
 almost pinned at the knee to the saddle, on which he 
 appeared propped up rather than sitting down, his 
 left arm rather high in the air, flourishing his whip, 
 and riding more with his body and shoulders than 
 his legs, yet getting every ounce out of his horse to 
 the very last stride on the post ; Cannon looking part 
 and parcel of his mount, sitting perfectly straight 
 yet right down in the saddle, with the reins in his 
 left hand, driving his horse as it were before him, 
 and raising his whip in his right hand as he goes with 
 the animal in his stride, but rarely actually hitting 
 him, unless as a punishment for some trick or exhi- 
 bition of vice — never except in the last two strides 
 
LOXG-DISTAXCE IIACES 21 
 
 and then oiever in the middle of the stride, the expres- 
 sion on his face meantime convincing the observer 
 that his whole soul was bent on reaching the post 
 first. I feel the inadequacy of this description of 
 both horsemen, whose fame will be kept alive in the 
 annals of the Turf as that of Chifney and Eobinson 
 has been ; but my words may recall memories to 
 those who have seen them ride. 
 
 Lord Hartington, then racing under the name of 
 ' Mr. J. C. Stuart,' won a selling race with the disap- 
 pointing Cocoanut, and the meeting finished with Mr. 
 Payne's rare stayer Musket winning a two-mile handi- 
 cap in a canter.^ I wonder how many entries and 
 runners there would be now for a 200/. handicap last 
 two miles of the Cesarewitch Course in the month of 
 May ? 
 
 This is a subject to which it behoves breeders 
 and the rulers of the Turf to devote their best con- 
 sideration, for unless something is done to revive 
 long races we shall soon be without long-distance 
 runners at all. At the time of writimr one can count 
 the number of genuine stayers on one's fingers. It has 
 been the fashion to regard with something approaching 
 to contempt the Turf policy and proceedings of our 
 French neighbours, but I have no hesitation in saying 
 that we should do wisely to take a leaf out of their book, 
 and frame a few weigh t-for-age races after their model. 
 
 ^ Musket was not at the time regarded as anything approaching to 
 a wonder; but besides siring a Two Thousand Guineas winner in 
 Petronel, the horse was exported to the Colonies and there originated a 
 long line of famous stayers, whose performances have made the name 
 of Musket memorable. He has, indeed, founded a race of borough- 
 breds that have done and will do immeasurable benefit to the horses 
 of New Zealand. 
 
22 EACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 The next meeting of racing-men that occurs to 
 my mind was at Chester, and here Our Mary Ann, a 
 five-year-old carrying 6 stone, won the Cup by six 
 lengths from Formosa and Sabinus who started 
 favourite, and landed a large stake for Mr. William 
 Day and the supporters of his stable. In the previous 
 year she had not won a race, neither did she win 
 again this year, but at Chester no mistake was made, 
 and she did what was very confidently expected of 
 her. At Bath the much-talked-of Macs^reo'or srave 
 US another taste of his quality by winning the Biennial 
 by fourteen lengths, beating pointless Gamos ridden 
 by Fordham, a mare that afterwards won the Oaks,^ 
 but was nevertheless a bad animal ; and we now come 
 to Epsom, when I saw my first Derby. 
 
 In the history of the great race there never had 
 been so hot a favourite as Macgregor, and as it ap- 
 peared with excellent reason. Odds of 9 to 4 were 
 freely laid on him, and it seemed certain that at last 
 Fordham would ride the winner of the race in which he 
 had always been so curiously unfortunate. It was not 
 to be, however, but it would be difiicult to describe to 
 those who do not remember, how impossible it seemed 
 that Macgregor could be beaten, and the consterna- 
 tion which overwhelmed the plungers when, half the 
 journey having been completed, it was seen not only that 
 the colt was in the rear, but that Fordham was hard at 
 work on him, Fordham who never began to ride till 
 it was absolutely necessary. ISTo one was a greater 
 master of the art of ' kidding ' and for a moment layers 
 of odds may have tried to comfort themselves with 
 
 ^ In 1890 the old mare was sold for 10?. 
 
KINGCRAFT'S DERBY 2o 
 
 the belief that he was not really beaten ; but any such 
 hopes must have been short-lived — the favourite had 
 not a thousand to one chance. Kingcraft took up 
 the running a quarter of a mile from home, and 
 Tom French had an easy task in landing him a 
 winner by four lengths. Although the horse started 
 at 20 to 1 and few profited by his victory, it was 
 most popular, and Lord Falmouth was warmly con- 
 gratulated on all sides, as was French, then nearly as 
 great a favourite with his master as Archer became 
 subsequently, and for good reasons too, as he was a 
 most unassuming, well-mannered fellow, and a fine 
 horseman, his style reminding one at times of 
 T. Cannon, though French may never have possessed 
 the ' head ' which serves the living jockey so admir- 
 ably at critical moments. 
 
 There is little to be said about the victory of 
 Gamos over Sunshine in the Oaks. Sunshine, who 
 has since distinguished herself at the stud, was amiss, 
 but the surprise of the race was the wretched figure 
 cut by Hester who finished last but one, and ugly 
 rumours were rife as to poison, &c. That she did 
 not run within pounds of her form is certain, but the 
 reason never came to light. 
 
 At Ascot on the first day, that good but unlucky 
 horse Perth won the Two-Year-Old Biennial, Siderolite 
 beat Formosa for the Gold Vase, King o' Scots defeated 
 a large field for the Prince of Wales's Stakes, and Judge, 
 a four-year-old with 6 st. 6 lb. on, landed another well- 
 planned coup for Sir Frederick Johnstone, Lord 
 Alington, and William Day, beating 26 other horses. 
 King of the Forest, after having succumbed to Bicycle 
 at Epsom the first time out, won the Triennial, the 
 
24 EACIXG EEMINISCENCES 
 
 first of eight victories during the year, and Sabinusbeat 
 Trocadero by four lengths for the Gold Cup, the latter 
 winning the Alexandra Plate the next day from 
 Siderolite with odds of two to one betted on the 
 latter. At Stockbridge Bicycle beat Digby Grand a 
 head for the Hurstbourne, Cannon and Fordham again 
 riding a wonderfully fine finish, and that good horse 
 over all distances Mortimer won the Stockbridge Cup 
 for Count Lagrange. Nothing calls specially for atten- 
 tion till the July week, when Baron Eothschild took the 
 July and Chesterfield Stakes with those two beautiful 
 fillies Hannah and Corisande, both destined to distin- 
 guish themselves in such a high degree during that and 
 the following year. Goodwood opened with Eosicru- 
 cian cleverly beating Vespasian, the latter not being 
 in such form as in the previous year when he so 
 gallantly and triumphantly carried his welter weight 
 of 10 St. 4 lb. to the front in the Chesterfield Cup and 
 won easily by three lengths, to the intense delight of 
 his owner, who threw his hat high into the air as the 
 horse passed the post first. Nothing approaching to 
 that welter weight had ever been carried in such a 
 race as the Chesterfield, or indeed in any handicap, 
 but his owner felt confident that the good horse 
 would eclipse all previous records, and backed him 
 to win nearly 10,000/. This performance of Vespasian 
 will compare favourably with that of other horses in 
 -any year. 
 
 The next race, a selling plate, was won by Pandore, 
 who was promptly claimed by Sir Joseph Hawley, in 
 spite of the entreaties of Mr. Chaplin to let him have 
 her back, he having only leased her for her racing 
 career from Mr. I' Anson ; but Sir Joseph was inflexible, 
 
I learn that Mr. Sinitli denies the accuraey of this 
 anecdote. If it he true that I have done Mr. Smitlt any 
 sort of injustice, I hope I need not say that I regret it, 
 hut it is right to state that Fordhani himself told me the 
 
 story as printed. 
 
 G. C. 
 
A DEVICE OF FORDIIAM'S 25 
 
 and doubtless it cost Mr. Cliaplin a good sum to 
 make up to the breeder for the loss of his mare. Old 
 Typhoeus won the Stewards' Cup for Prince Batthyany 
 (Count he was then), and Lord Hartington was unfor- 
 tunate enough to run second with Tabernacle for 
 that race and for the Chesterfield Cup, besides seeing 
 Cocoanut beaten a head by Tibthorpe, another an- 
 cient warrior with a heavy weight on his back, in the 
 Chichester Stakes. Anton showed great speed in the 
 Bognor Stakes, and Fordham steered Paganini home 
 to victory in the Goodwood Stakes, cleverly beating 
 Indian Ocean, who afterwards on many occasions be- 
 trayed his stout qualities of endurance. Mr. Smith, 
 the owner of Paganini, and generally called ' Paganini 
 Smith,' was supposed to have only given Fordham 
 five pounds for his winning mount, and here I must 
 relate an amusing story of the way Fordham is said 
 to have avenged himself. 
 
 In the following year Fordham had the mount on 
 Idus in the Xewmarket HandicajD, Snowden riding 
 Paganini. A short distance from home, Fordham 
 saw that it would be a desperately near thing 
 between them, and indeed could not disguise from 
 himself that, if anything, Snowden's mount was 
 actually going the better of the two ; so, without look- 
 ing at Snowden, he said, ' Jem, I'll save five pounds 
 with you ? ' Snowden, desiring to see how the 
 chances stood, looked to ascertain how Idus was going, 
 as Fordham had thought he would, for that was his 
 artful plan to distract his dangerous rival's atten- 
 tion for a moment. Seizing the second, Fordham 
 got first run, and won a short neck. Elding back into 
 the saddling enclosure at the top of the town, the 
 
26 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 victorious jockey saw Mr. Smitli looking anything 
 but pleased, and maliciously determined to vex liim 
 still more, so, leaning down to tlie boy wlio was lead- 
 ing Paganini in, lie said in a whisper, loud enough 
 for Smith to hear, ' Look sharp ; I think I am a bit 
 short of weight ! ' The bait took. Mr. Smith — hopes 
 of winning yet by the disqualification of Idus flash- 
 ing through his mind — rushed frantically into the 
 weighing-room to watch with keen and eager eyes 
 the process of weighing in. There he saw Fordham 
 passed all right at the scale, as of course he knew he 
 would be, and as he got out of the chair and passed 
 Mr. Smith, he said with a smile on his face, 
 ' Quits 1 ' 
 
 Harking back to 1870, Brighton as usual fol- 
 lowed on Goodwood, and there old Eeindeer showed 
 his liking for the course by winning the Marine 
 Plate. Custance got Border Knight home in the 
 Brighton Stakes and Cup, both close finishes. At 
 Lewes Perfume showed her fine speed in the County 
 Cup, beating the unlucky Tabernacle and a two-year- 
 old of mine, purchased from Captain Machell, which 
 won the Nursery at Windsor the week after, and 
 there Perfume beat Tibthorpe in the Berkshire Cup, 
 after kicking Jewitt and breaking his leg. Jewitt, I 
 may add, was then a light-weight jockey; he did 
 good service for Blanton's stable, and after growing 
 heavier and winning a number of cross-country events, 
 became trainer to Captain Machell. 
 
 I should remark that I was now of age and my 
 horses ran in my own name. At York Paganini showed 
 what a good horse he was by just getting home in 
 the Great Ebor Handicap (two miles was the distance 
 then), carrying 9 st. 4 lb. ; and the charming Gertrude 
 
WARWICK 27 
 
 won tlie Great Yorkshire Stakes for Lord Falmoutli. 
 Botliwell, tlie future winner of tlie Two Thousand, beat 
 Whaddon a head for the Gimcrack Stakes, a moderate 
 performance which by no means foreshadowed success 
 in a chissic race ; and then Piatt won the York Cup by a 
 head on Agihty from Eosicrucian and Sabinus, but 
 was disquahfied for a jostle, Eosicrucian getting the 
 race. At Warwick that good horse and rare stayer 
 Dutch Skater made his first appearance on an English 
 racecourse on which so many of his children have 
 distinguished themselves, winning Her Majesty's 
 Plate by 100 lengths, and thus heralding the ap- 
 proach of many victories for hnnself and the other 
 Prench animals whose owners were all flocking to 
 England with their horses, owing, as already observed, 
 to the Prench and German war. 
 
 So fast do times change, and we with them, that 
 it is difiicult to realise how popular amongst leading 
 racing men were the Warwick meetings, even up to 
 a comparatively recent date. The railway accommo- 
 dation was much the same thirty years ago that it is 
 now, so there must be some reason, other than in- 
 creased facilities for travelling, which has caused 
 such a marked change in the character, and above 
 all in the method of attendance. J^o thing could be 
 pleasanter than were those parties at the Eegent 
 at Leamington, for whose use a large coffee-room was 
 exclusively reserved, and to which men used to look 
 forward as a combination of fun and business rarely 
 to be experienced during the racing 3^ear. Mr. 
 George Payne and Captain Little were, so to speak, 
 the president and vice-president of these festivities, 
 and wherever they were, the tambourine was pretty 
 sure to be ' kept a rowlin'.' 
 
28 llACIXG EEMINISCENCES 
 
 It was, I believe, at one of the Eegent reunions, 
 that the well-known Colonel Ouseley Higgins made 
 his debut on English turf, and though not so poorly 
 provided with this world's goods as he was described 
 to be by the late Mr. George Vaughan, who hated 
 him (' Ouseley arrived at Leamington with nothing 
 but a carpet-bag and six couple of snipes,' the 
 Welshman used to say in the most vicious manner), 
 there yet can be no question that the Colonel never 
 had cause to regret his self-imposed exile from Ire- 
 land. Many were the laughable incidents which 
 took place during those Regency visits ; for, as I have 
 said, everything that George Payne touched tended to 
 mirth. It was before my time, of course, but I have 
 heard Lord Suffolk tell how at the meeting in Sep- 
 tember 1860 he was surprised one morning at break- 
 fast in the long coffee-room by the waiter coming 
 in and announcing in an undertone that 3Ir. Brown 
 was waiting outside and anxious to speak for a few 
 moments with him. Lord Suffolk, not having at the 
 moment a racing friend of the name of Brown, began 
 to make inquiries as to the appearance, business, &c., 
 of the unexpected visitor, but failing to obtain any in- 
 formation from the waiter, who only became more and 
 more mysterious, at last followed him out into the 
 passage. Still more perplexed was his lordship when 
 the lavatory was pointed out as the place where Mr. 
 Brown awaited the interview, but wonder gave way 
 to laughter when, on opening the door, George Payne 
 stood revealed in a white heat of half-real, half- 
 assumed impatience. ' Why the devil have you kept 
 me waiting here all this time, why the devil couldn't 
 you come at once?' 'My dear G. P., how the 
 
"MR. BROWN " 29 
 
 deuce was I to know you were Mr. Brown ? ' ' Mi^^lit 
 have guessed it — d — d stupid of you — don't want all 
 those fellows to know I had business with you. Look 
 here, we want you to back St. Albans for us for the 
 
 Leger,not that he's much chance, by ,but we think 
 
 he may have come back to his form. So we'll just have 
 a few hundreds on at 100 to 6, not a point less, by 
 
 ' and so, with detail, instructions as to the first 
 
 commission to back the no doubt highly re-tried St. 
 Albans were given, and Lord Suffolk, having escaped 
 the observation of his immediate associates, was, I 
 believe, enabled to get on some at least of the money 
 at the required price. At any rate the party were 
 always credited with having won a good stake over 
 the race. 
 
 It was at Warwick, too, that the big Cesare witch 
 commissions usually made their first appearance in 
 the market, but after all it was the jollity of the 
 party, more than the p. p. betting, though that was 
 attractive enough, which bought the jeunesse and 
 moyen age, gilded or otherwise, of the Turf down to 
 Leamington. 
 
 Coming to Doncaster, France was still in the ascen- 
 dant. That sweetly pretty chestnut filly Sornette, the 
 property of M. Lafitte, whose racing name was Major 
 Fridolin, won the Fitzwilliam Stakes, then an ordinary 
 weight-for-age race, not a selling race as it is now, and 
 Border Knight beat some good horses in the Great 
 Yorkshire Handicap. King of the Forest had a head 
 the best of the uncertain Eipponden after a tremendous 
 finish between Snowden and Maidment in the Cham- 
 pagne Stakes, and the outsider Hawthornden, trained 
 by Joseph Dawson, beat the Derby winner half a length 
 
o 
 
 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 for the St. Leger, Lord Falmoutli running second and 
 third with Kingcraft and Wheatear. Don Carlos, 
 another French horse, won the Queen's Plate, show- 
 ing that they could breed good stayers across the 
 Channel, and the speedy Oxonian took the Portland 
 Plate, the Leger winner starting favourite with 7 st. 
 10 lb. on his back, but failing to run into a place. 
 They were a bad lot of horses that year. Sornette 
 added to her laurels by winning the Doncaster Cup 
 from Gertrude and Border Knight, thus proving no 
 course came amiss to her, and Kingcraft again sus- 
 tained defeat and lowered his prestige as a Derby 
 winner in the Doncaster Stakes which resulted in a dead 
 heat between the outsider Enterprise and Agility. 
 
 At the first October meeting, that rattling good 
 horse and now successful sire. Sterling, won the 
 Hopeful Stakes from a horse of mine called Herod, 
 nicknamed in fun by a sporting writer of the day, 
 ' the Terror of the Two-year-olds.' Lord Zetland's 
 Fragrance gave backers a nasty rap in defeating King- 
 craft (three to one on the latter) at weight for sex 
 for the 22nd Triennial A.F.^ And the German horse 
 Flibustier, whom the ring called Flybuster, made his 
 first appearance in England in winning colours in a 
 handicap. 
 
 On Friday Ethus, marvellously patched up by the 
 greatest trainer in the world, Matthew Dawson, won 
 the Newmarket October Handicap, starting a hot 
 favourite ; indeed the rumour went round in the 
 morning that he could not be beaten. Before the 
 
 * For the benefit of the uninitiated it may be observed that A.F. 
 signifies Across the Flat, a course at Newmarket of 1 mile, 2 furlongs, 
 and 73 yards. 
 
CARDINAL YOEK 31 
 
 race lie was sold by Mr. Padwick for 3,000Z. to a 
 young gentleman who raced under the name of Mr. 
 C. Eupert, who, however, did not stay with us long. 
 At the next ISTewmarket meeting Cardinal York 
 won the Cesarewitch by six lengths, an exceptional 
 occurrence being that Lord Falmouth, who so seldom 
 ran horses in handicaps, owned the favourite in 
 Wheatear, w^ho, however, ran very badly. The French 
 horses Gantelet and Somno were in winning form, and 
 a curious circumstance happened when Steppe ran a 
 good race home with Albert Victor for the Middle 
 Park Plate, and actually beat Hannah, although not 
 an hour before Steppe had run a severe race with Belle 
 of Holywell for the Windsor Stakes in which she was 
 beaten by a length. There was terrific howling from 
 the Eing when for a few strides it almost appeared 
 as if Cannon, who was riding the mare which started 
 at odds of a thousand to five offered, was going to win. 
 The Eing must, however, have won by the winner, 
 as his starting price was 20 to 1. The same day the 
 German horse Adonis showed people what a good chance 
 he had for the Cambridgeshire, by winning the Oat- 
 lands Plate over the Cambridgeshire course, and I well 
 remember Admiral Eous's lamentation that he had let 
 him far too lightly into the big handicap, owing to 
 the fact of his having confounded him with a bad 
 English three-year-old of the same name. I profited 
 by the French incursion, for at this meeting I claimed 
 rather a smart horse, Gourbi,by West Australian, from 
 M. Lafitte, and he won me several races. An exciting 
 event of the meeting was the desperate finish which 
 took place for the Prendergast Stakes between Digby 
 Grand and Hannah, and I recall that the betting of 
 
32 TtACING EEMINISCEXCES 
 
 even money practically foresliadowed tlie result, for 
 it was very nearly a dead heat, the judge's verdict 
 however being that Fordham on Digby Grand beat 
 Wells on Hannah a short head. The first day of the 
 Houghton meeting saw Blue Gown, purchased by 
 Prince Pless for 5,000 guineas from Sir J. Hawley, 
 win a handicap plate for his new owner in a canter 
 with the top weight on, and starting at a remarkable 
 price too. 
 
 General, bought from Count Lagrange by the 
 Duke of Hamilton for over three thousand, won the 
 Criterion by a neck from the dead-heaters, Bothwell 
 and Noblesse. Mr. Gerard Sturt, now Lord Alington, 
 beat my mare Lizzie Cowl in a canter with Allbrook, 
 but I never rested till I made another match with 
 him, run on the Derby day of the following year, 
 with the same mare against another horse of his, 
 Michael de Basco, who had previously run second to 
 the symmetrical Cymbal in the Spencer Plate ; and 
 this time I turned the tables on him. 
 
 Adonis justified Admiral Eons' suspicion that he 
 had made a mistake by letting the German horse in 
 too lightly, by winning the Cambridgeshire from 
 Syrian and Bonny Swell, and he started favourite, 
 though some days beforehand he was roughly treated 
 in the market, and sinister rumours were current 
 about him. Some people went so far as to say that 
 Mr. Saxon's death was the cause of his recover- 
 ing his position and again becoming a prominent 
 favourite, but of this I know nothing beyond the idle 
 talk at the time. Mr. T. Valentine, the assumed 
 name of Mr. G. E. Clayton, owned a favourite in 
 Podesta, and it was but natural that that versatile, 
 
ADONIS THROWN IX 33 
 
 witty, and popular all-round bookmaker, Mr. 
 Charles Head, should make his book for a horse who 
 carried the colours in which Lozenge had come to 
 the front in the same race a year or two before. On 
 that occasion — the Cambridgeshire of 1867 — Head 
 wore a lozenge in his hat prior to the race, he having 
 executed the stable commission and standing to win 
 a good stake himself, the landing of which brought 
 him into prominent notice as a bookmaker. The 
 Wednesday after the Cambridgeshire retains ahold on 
 my memory from the fact that Captain Machell believed 
 that our stable would win six races that day, the 
 only ones in which any of our horses were engaged. 
 Five of them we did win off the reel. Lord Calthorpe 
 and Mr. T. E. Walker taking? one each, and three fallinof 
 to me consecutively by the aid of Curieuse, Herod, 
 and Echo, and we were much disappointed when 
 Gourbi, the horse I had claimed from M. Lafitte in 
 the second October meeting, succumbed by three- 
 quarters of a length to the favourite Prince Henry in 
 a plate Across the Flat. Yerdure, a beautiful mare, 
 sold afterwards to Mr. Lefevre for a large sum, and 
 then the property of Mr. H. Delamarre, one of the 
 best judges of racing I ever met in England or in 
 France, won the Eowley Mile Nursery with 8 st. 2 lb. 
 on her back, beating a good field of horses. 
 
 At Liverpool I won a handicap plate with the 
 two-year-old Herod, actually giving 4 lb. to the six- 
 year-old horse Satyr, who had won the Hunt Cup 
 two years before, and repeated the victory on 
 Friday with a welter weight on in the Free Xursery. 
 Countryman, whom I had just bought for a thousand 
 pounds, was second to Knutsford, who received 
 
 D 
 
34 KACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 1 St. 12 lb. from him, but I got back my losses with a 
 good balance to spare in the following week at Shrews- 
 bury, where he won a three-furlong handicap and 
 easily defeated Tullibardine, a very fast two-year-old of 
 Mr. Matthew Dawson's. In spite of his only running 
 at 7 lb. with my horse, this accomplished trainer and 
 admirable judge believed that day that defeat was 
 impossible. A step in the right direction was 
 certainly made when such absurdities as races, and 
 perhaps especially handicaps, over such a distance as 
 three furlongs were abolished. The race could test 
 practically nothing except the combination of skill 
 and luck in a jockey which enabled him to get well 
 away, for if a horse secured a start, it is unnecessary 
 to say that he could not be caught. Musket won 
 the Queen's Plate anyhow from Dutch Skater and 
 Sonnette, and the remembrance causes one to ask 
 mournfully where two such stayers would now be 
 found, and running moreover for 100 guineas ! 
 
35 
 
 iSyi 
 
 It used to be tlie custom to distinguisli the year 
 by the name of the Derby winner, and 1871, 
 Favonius' year, opened as regards its im^Dortant 
 business with the Lincolnshire Handicap, whicli 
 resulted in a dead heat between the aged Vulcan and 
 the three-year-old Yeranda. Lucky it was for Mr. 
 Delamarre — who told me at Long's Hotel the day 
 before that his mare had a good chance — that the 
 stakes were divided, as assuredly the old horse would 
 have won the run off, and I pay tribute to the sagacity 
 of Mr. Thomas Jennings, sen., in buying the veteran 
 for the owner, a gentleman who was just beginning- 
 to race under the assumed name of ' Mr. Lombard,' 
 and was destined to play a conspicuous part on the 
 Turf for many years to come ; for ' Mr. Lombard ' 
 was soon afterwards known to the whole racino- 
 world as M. Lefevre, the many victories of whose 
 popular tricolor, generally worn by Fordham, en- 
 deared him in the hearts of all backers of favourites, 
 and indeed of all who took pleasure in seeing a man 
 run his horses so straightforwardly. 
 
 My first appearance at a flat race this year was 
 the day of the Liverpool Steeplechases, but I had 
 been previously to Croydon Steeplechases, when Lord 
 Poulett took me aside and told me I must back The 
 Lamb. He was too good a judge of the sport for 
 
 D 2 
 
36 RACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 liis advice to be disregarded, and I proceeded to take 
 800 to 100 and 8 fifties. I watched the race from 
 a box with other friends, amongst them a gallant 
 colonel, himself no mean performer across comitry, 
 and I well remember his asking for my glasses as The 
 Lamb came by in his preliminary canter, his coat 
 shining in a marvellous way for an iron-grey horse, 
 with Mr. Thomas Pickernell quiet and confident in 
 the saddle. ' The Lamb's fat as a bull. If he 
 wins the Liverpool Steeplechase I'll eat him ! ' was 
 the colonel's exclamation as he handed me back the 
 glasses. Enouo^h to relate that The Lamb held a 
 good place all the way, and took up the running 
 before jumping the last hurdle but one ; at the last 
 obstacle he was challenged by Hall Court, ridden 
 by Captain Tempest, but Mr. Pickernell just showed 
 his horse the whip as he cleared the jump, and going 
 on they won by three-quarters of a length. The 
 colonel did not eat him. 
 
 At Nottingham Yulcan got back a portion of his 
 purchase-money by winning the Spring Handicap 
 for his new owner the first time his colours appeared 
 on a racecourse, a noteworthy and very encouraging 
 piece of luck ; but the racing at NorthamjDton calls 
 for no remark except that my Countryman won the 
 first of a series of seven ofi" the reel, proving what a 
 horse may do if he is in the first instance at his best, 
 and in the second well placed. Cymbal showed 
 amazing speed in the Spencer Plate, winning with the 
 top weight. He was ridden by Wyatt, whose death 
 is announced as I am writing these pages. On the 
 reasons which led to that jockey's disappearance from 
 the pursuit of his profession I will not dwell. He 
 
CUSTAXCE'S ^VIT 37 
 
 had not sufficient mental stamina to resist temptation, 
 and incurred tlie displeasure of the Stewards of the 
 Jockey Club. Perhaps others were as much to blame 
 as he was, but the offence was too glaring to be 
 overlooked. 
 
 Preferring to go to the home meeting at Lich- 
 field, where I won four races with Countryman and 
 Curieuse, I missed seeing the grand finish for the 
 Biennial between Albert Victor and Favonius, an 
 historical event in which Custance's great strength 
 stood him in good stead, as he dropped his whip at 
 the critical moment and only just managed to land 
 Albert Victor by a head from Baron Eothschild's 
 colt, who carried silk for the first time, and whose 
 subsequent Derby and other victories stamped him 
 as the better horse. On the Wednesday Vulcan, with 
 Fordham up, won two more races, and then came 
 the finish between Idus and Paganini that I have 
 before referred to. Custance no doubt was a very 
 good jockey. People were inclined to think that at 
 times he was too determined at a finish on two-year- 
 olds — ' squeezed ' them too hard — but this is a matter 
 of opinion. He was, and is now, one of the finest 
 riders to hounds a man could wish to see, and 
 popular with all from his respectful unassuming 
 manner, though happily gifted with a quaint humour, 
 as the following story will demonstrate. \Miile 
 standing talking to some gentlemen on a racecourse 
 one day, one of them, an owner of horses whose 
 name need not be mentioned, was trying somewhat 
 vaguely to explain the precise nature of a mishap that 
 had befallen one of his animals, a prominent favourite 
 for a handicap. The injury necessitated the scratch- 
 
8 EACIXG REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 ing of tlie horse. ' Sucli a trifling matter, too,' the 
 owner said, ' I can hardly describe it to you, it was 
 so insignificant. Just a sort of ' 
 
 ' Was it anything Hke this ? ' asked Custance with 
 sly humour, producing a bit of pencil from his 
 pocket. The question evoked roars of laughter from 
 the discomfited owner's companions. I do not know 
 if I need explain to the reader who does not ' go 
 racing' the significance of the observation, which 
 implied that the owner had not been able to use his 
 pencil to his satisfaction in making entries in his 
 betting book. 
 
 M. Lefevre had added considerably to his stud 
 since his purchase of Yule an, having bought Dutch 
 Skater, a rare stayer (who was considerably improved 
 by his new trainer afterwards), for about 2,000 
 guineas. Eole II., the model of a 14 st. hunter, 
 he also obtained for 1,000 sovs., besides Cherubin, 
 Prince Henry, and others. He was bidding to be- 
 come what he very soon did, one of the staunchest 
 supporters of racing on the English Turf, particularly 
 at Newmarket, which sadly wanted recruits at that 
 time, or rather entries and subscriptions to its 
 races. 
 
 Yulcan opened the ball at the First Spring 
 meeting by winning the Eowley Mile Plate, beating 
 Idus a neck, in another pretty finish between Ford- 
 ham and Cannon, on the same day that Bothwell 
 won the Two Thousand Guineas for ]\Ir. J. Johnstone 
 by a length, beating Sterling and King of the Forest, 
 both of whom would always have beaten him 
 afterwards ; but such inexplicable occurrences are 
 common in racing. On the Wednesday, Mortemer, 
 
CPvEMORNE'S FIRST APPEAEANCE 39 
 
 purchased by M. Lefevre from Count Lagrange, beat 
 two fast horses in Normanby and Typhoeus on the 
 T.Y.C., and exactly a week after ran second for 
 the Chester Cup, carrying 9 st. 31b., and giving 
 3 St. 1 lb. in heavy ground to the four-year-old 
 Glenlivat, thus demonstrating himself capable of 
 doing well at all distances, the best criterion of a 
 good racehorse. Hannah won the One Thousand 
 Guineas in a canter from a moderate lot, and 
 Countryman continued to win small races for me. 
 At the second spring meeting that rattling good 
 horse Cremorne carried colours for the first time in 
 the Two-Year-Old Plate with twenty runners, and 
 won it in a canter from a mare of mine, Mochi, to 
 whom he could have given three stone instead of 
 merely sex allowance ; and the Eous Stakes produced 
 an exciting race between six very fast horses, Vulcan, 
 Cymbal, Countryman, Chopette, Tibthorpe, and Nor- 
 manby, all finishing in the order written. It was a 
 splendid performance of old Vulcan's, to be eclipsed, 
 however, later on in the year at Brighton. On 
 Thursday I had a match, Gourbi against St. Pancras, 
 Across the Flat. It ended in a dead heat, which may 
 perhaps be accepted as a proof that the match was 
 well made. 
 
 Large fields faced the starter at the Epsom 
 summer meeting, when Cremorne beat Mr. 'Burton's' 
 (Mr. Padwick's assumed name) Landmark easily for 
 the Woodcote ; and then Pavonius won the Derby in 
 good style, turning the tables on his Biennial con- 
 queror Albert Victor, who could only manage to run 
 a dead heat with King of the Forest for second place. 
 Fordham on Digby Grand, who liked the course, as 
 
40 RACING IIEMIXISCENCES 
 
 he sliowed in ilie following spring when he won the 
 City and Suburban, was only beaten a head from the 
 dead-heaters. I ran my match this day with Lord 
 Alington, and was somewhat annoyed when Steel 
 sent to me to say he had laid Lord Dudley 2,500Z. to 
 2,000/. on my mare, and politely inquired ' Whether 
 I should like any of it ? ' I expected that the other 
 would have been favourite, and was disappointed 
 accordingly ; however, I had the consolation of 
 winning. 
 
 Hannah followed up her One Thousand victory 
 with an easy three lengths' win in the Oaks, the Baron 
 as in the previous race declaring to win with her in 
 preference to Corisande, who was, however, to do 
 excellent service later on by winning some good 
 stakes for him, notably the Cesare witch. At Ascot 
 the three-year-old Christoj^her Sly won a good race 
 from Sonnette, ridden by W. Gray, who had a very 
 different ride from his next one when starting a good 
 favourite for the Northumberland Plate ; the horse 
 fell at the turn and severely injured his jockey and 
 himself too ; at least this seems to have been the case 
 with the horse, as he was never able to win another 
 race, though at Ascot Sonnette, Gertrude, Idus, 
 Captivator, Dutch Skater, and other useful animals 
 were behind him. Cremorne easily accounted for the 
 Biennial Stakes, King of the Forest carried home 
 his penalty gallantly in the Prince of Wales' Stakes, 
 and Eosicrucian won the Ascot Stakes in a canter 
 with 9 St. on his back. The two-year-old Chopette 
 made mincemeat of her opponents in the Queen's 
 Stand Plate, showing how she had come on by de- 
 feating Yulcan, Cymbal, and Countryman, who had 
 
ASCOT 41 
 
 all finished before lier in tlie spring, and to the sur- 
 prise of everyone Normanby beat Kingcraft at even 
 weights for the four-year-old Triennial Stakes, while 
 Sterling easily polished off King of the Forest in the 
 Biennial, run over the old mile. The six-year-old 
 horse Valuer again proved the astuteness of William 
 Day and his patrons, and their partiality for the race 
 in question, by winning the Hunt Cup with the 
 identical weight 6 st. 6 lb. that Judge in the same 
 confederacy carried to victory the year before, good 
 stakes being landed by the stable on each occasion, 
 though the Admiral did not relish the fact that he 
 had let off both horses with too light a weight ; and 
 here the City and Suburban winner. Jack Spigot, 
 showed to advantage, as he was giving the winner 
 three years and two stone all but a pound, and only 
 succumbed by a length and a quarter. 
 
 Corisande easily accounted for the rich Coronation 
 Stakes, the unlucky Steppe finishing second ; and old 
 Mortemer showed us what a good horse he was by 
 winning the Gold Cup in a canter for M. Lefevre, 
 whose delight at his victory in an historical English 
 race will be still remembered by some of his friends. 
 Helmet, a Trumpeter horse, came out with a great 
 reputation for the New Stakes, and a wonderful future 
 was predicted for him, but this he very signally 
 failed in securing; and Eosicrucian showed what 
 I consider was his best performance by winning the 
 Alexandra Plate, giving 7 lb. to that fine stayer 
 Musket, to the chagrin of poor Mr. Payne, who, for a 
 wonder, was very sweet on his horse's chance. As 
 a rule, when discussing the merits of his or his friend 
 Mr. Crawfurd's horses (they trained together in Alec 
 
42 EACIXG REMIXISCENCES 
 
 Taylor's stable on the beautiful downs at Manton), 
 it was ' beaten a hundred yards in his trial,' and his 
 familiar expletive followed. This was so much the 
 case that many of us were hoping for the appearance 
 of the marvellous trial animal on a racecourse to 
 recoup ourselves for the money lost on other horses 
 when these outsiders were victorious, and much 
 amusing and good-natured chaff arose on the subject 
 of that mythical trial horse. It is a pleasure to look 
 back on those days and to remember the fun and 
 jokes, almost all originating with Mr. Payne. No 
 man knew better how to tell a story, and, if there 
 was not much substance in the anecdote, he always 
 contrived to make us laugh, the expression of his 
 face and his comical manner giving point to the 
 narrative. I associate his name with that of Mr. 
 Henry Savile (one of the kindest-hearted and truest 
 gentlemen that ever lived), for we used to be often 
 together. Mr. Savile occupied a prominent position 
 on the Turf in his day, but, besides some good horses, 
 he owned many bad ones, though nearly all were 
 stayers. Many of them, however, were very slow, 
 and it became notorious that he used to give his 
 jockey orders to come through from start to finish. 
 When the flag dropped it was his almost invariable 
 habit to say, as through his glasses he caught sight 
 of the runners, 'Here they come — my devil's leading!' 
 Mr. Payne and I would go up to him on these 
 occasions if we happened to be near him, and with a 
 wink at me Mr. Payne would say, ' Henry, what's in 
 front ? ' The anticipated reply almost invariably 
 came. 
 
 Passing over Windsor, where I won a couple of 
 
STOCKBRIDGE 43 
 
 races, one with Eoyal Lad, trained by my groom at 
 Grendon, whicli pleased me much, we come to Stock- 
 bridge, where Mr. Payne won the Andover Stakes 
 with Departure, ridden by Mr. WiUiam Bevill, one of 
 the best gentlemen riders of his day, who I fancy 
 now devotes his time to the superintending and 
 training of his friends' horses, and acts as surveyor of 
 steeplechase courses, to see that the National Hunt 
 Rules are properly carried out. Cremorne won the 
 Hurstbourne, but only by a head from Nuneham, 
 who was a better horse than most people imagined. 
 Mr. ' Gillman ' won two matches he made with Sir 
 F. Johnstone, always a strong supporter of the 
 Stockbridge meetings, and what delightful meetings 
 they were, taking place at the end of June, the 
 downs covered with a carpet of old turf intermingled 
 with moss and wild flowers, with John Day receiving 
 all the owners of horses almost as if they were his 
 guests, and holding a kind of levee during the races 
 in the little enclosure which contained the number 
 board ! He was half-blind when I first had the 
 pleasure of knowing him, but always recognised men 
 at once by their voices, and was still an excellent 
 judge of racing. Mr. Crawshaw, also one of our best 
 amateur jockeys, who was good enough often to 
 steer my horses to victory, won the first of the two 
 matches by a neck on St. Pancras, the horse I had 
 run a dead heat with in the spring, beating Colonel 
 Knox on Comet. Lord Anglesey had a well-deserved 
 turn of luck, winning three races consecutively with 
 Sir Amyas, a smart Trumpeter two-year-old (that, 
 however, failed to stand training, and it is an extra- 
 ordinary fact that so often the stock of Trumpeter 
 
44 RACING EEMINISCEXCES 
 
 would not stand), Gopsall, and Merry Agnes, a 
 Thormanby mare I bought from him afterwards. 
 
 At the July meeting M. Lefevre won his first 
 match against Lord Falmouth's Wheatear, and here 
 I may as well state that with one or two exceptions 
 the leading owners were about this time all intro- 
 duced to M. Lefevre, and made fast friends with 
 him. Gentlemen had held aloof from him on his 
 first appearance at Newmarket, because several French 
 visitors circulated rumours prejudicial to him ; but 
 no one could ascertain anything for certain about 
 these stories, and at last ]\ir. Payne took the bull by 
 the horns, went straight to Count Lagrange and 
 others, and simply said, ' What is it you have against 
 M. Lefevre? Tell me, otherwise I shall certainly 
 be introduced to a man who runs his horses so 
 straightforwardly, enters them in every available race, 
 and whose friends say he is in all respects a worthy 
 associate for gentlemen.' He could ascertain nothing 
 definite, and accordingly was introduced to him, as 
 were many prominent members of the Jockey Club, 
 and we all constantly dined with him. The detri- 
 mental rumours were supposed to be about his Stock 
 Exchange transactions, but I only desire to speak of 
 him as a notable figure in the Turf world of his day ; 
 I found him a straightforward gentleman, always 
 good-tempered and pleasant, in spite of being a martyr 
 to gout, which I believe is saying a good deal. I 
 wish he were racing with us now. 
 
 Sir Amyas won the July Stakes, and Cremorne 
 the Chesterfield, in a canter, with five to two on him, 
 and then I won a race with a little Maccaroni mare, 
 Nudel. In those days there were no selling races 
 
SELLING PvACES 45 
 
 where the winner was to be sold by auction ; indeed, 
 it was with great difficulty in after years we could 
 get Admiral Eous, Mr. Alexander, and other of the 
 older members of the Jockey Club to try the system of 
 selling by auction at Newmarket, a practice which 
 has added so largely to the funds of the Club since it 
 has been adopted ; and therefore Nudel could have 
 been claimed for 300 sovs. by Baron Meyer 
 Eothschild, who insisted on my giving him 50Z. not 
 to claim her, when Captain Machell asked him on 
 my behalf not to assert his rights. I got back that 
 fifty before the numbers went up for the Brighton 
 Cup, as will presently be related. 
 
 Sterling won the Summer Handicap on the last 
 six furlongs of the Bunbury Mile in a canter, giving 
 heaps of weight to everything in the race ; and, after 
 a bad week, my stable confederates and I had a dash 
 on Countryman in a handicap the last day ; but he 
 caught a tartar in Faith, a sweet mare of Mr. 
 Lethbridge's, who, with his wife, never missed a 
 Newmarket meeting. Poor Captain Beecher, who 
 also had a bad week, and went to o-et home on 
 Countryman, was flabbergasted when he heard he 
 was beaten, as he had not left the ring, whose dead 
 silence, as he thought, proclaimed the victory of the 
 favourite. 
 
 At Goodwood the Stewards' Cup was won by the 
 speedy Anton, and by fifteen lengths. He belonged 
 to a charming fellow. Tommy Case, who afterwards 
 went blind, but continued racing as long as he lived 
 in spite of his infirmity, and remained a good judge. 
 
 The result of the Halnaker Stakes was a disap- 
 pointment for me and Captain Machell, from whom I 
 
46 RACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 had purchased half of Yanderdecken, who he be- 
 Heved would turn out a smart colt, for he was beaten 
 a head by Prince SoltykofF's Peak — one of Fordham's 
 heads, of course, that generally counted against the 
 owner he did not ride for. However, Yanderdecken 
 made up for this race by securing two others at the 
 meeting, one of them more than double the value of 
 that in which my horse was defeated. Fordham 
 found old Taraban in the humour to go when the flag 
 fell for the Goodwood Stakes, and he cleverly disposed 
 of William Day's Cedric the Saxon, a three-year-old 
 that, judging of the way he was backed for races — 
 including the Cesarewitch of this year, when he all 
 but started favourite and was nowhere — must have 
 been a better horse in home trials than in a race. 
 
 My experience has always gone to show that 
 public form is infinitely more trustworthy than private 
 trials. I have learnt that lesson by experience, 
 and religiously accept it, for I have trial-books 
 containing scores of trials, I was going to say even 
 hundreds of them, in which, beside stable lads who 
 could ride well, the very best jockeys of the day have 
 ridden ; and I do not hesitate to say, looking back 
 at the performances of many animals, that seventy 
 per cent, of these trials were delusive. Some horses 
 try at home, and will not do their best in public ; 
 others decline to gallop at home, and want the shout- 
 ing and excitement of the crowded course to induce 
 them to exert themselves to do their best, and these 
 are the ones for my money, as if you do not win 
 enough, at any rate you ought not to lose by them, 
 and there is the pleasant surprise of their running . 
 better than you anticipated. There are some horses. 
 
LORD GLASGOW 47 
 
 again, that will not struggle either at home or out, 
 and the sooner an owner gets rid of them by selling 
 them for what they fetch (or shooting them, the 
 favourite method of the late Lord Glasgow) the better 
 it will be for responsible pockets. 
 
 The eccentric nobleman just mentioned was noto- 
 rious for never naming his animals, and the number 
 of horses he ran by Brother to Eapid Ehone, or some 
 other of his stallions, dam by something else out of 
 sister to something else, must have caused great con- 
 fusion both to the man who entered his horses for 
 him, his trainer, and the publisher of the ' Stud Book.' 
 Mr. Payne used to relate that when he went down to 
 pay the last tribute of respect to his old friend — the 
 two famous owners trained in the same stable — when 
 the funeral was over, they all went into the drawing- 
 room to hear the will read. Not unnaturally he 
 expected his name would be mentioned as one to 
 whom a legacy had been left, and this suspicion was 
 raised to conviction by the way in which the family 
 lawyer handed him a chair in a prominent position 
 in the group already collected. He was not dis- 
 appointed, as besides a sum of money, the whole of 
 Lord Glasgow's stud was left to him and General 
 Peel, who both sold the produce for many years 
 afterwards as yearlings at Doncaster, the stud farm 
 being at Enfield. Lord Glasgow's language was 
 often strong, but perhaps its strength was justified 
 on one particular occasion. His lordship was taking 
 his ticket for some town where a race meeting was 
 about to be held, and tendered a five-pound note. 
 The booking-clerk asked him to write his name on 
 the note, which Lord Glasgow did. After scrutinising 
 
48 rtACIXG EEMINISCEXXES 
 
 the signature, tlie clerk rudely handed the note back 
 to him, and said, ' It's your name I want ; I don't 
 want to know where you come from ! ' 
 
 Turning back to Goodwood, backers received a 
 severe blow when Helmet went down in the Findon 
 Stakes with odds of five to two on him, and the con- 
 sternation was great when Fordham, who had been 
 hard at work with his hands on the favourite for 
 some distance, took his whip up and waved it as a 
 signal to Page to come on with the second string, 
 Germania, who was just able to get up and defeat 
 Mr. Padwick's Liverpool in the last stride by a head. 
 The winner was moderate, being well beaten by 
 Vanderdecken the next day, and failing to finish in 
 the first three the only other time she ran that year. 
 King of the Forest won the Bentinck Memorial in a 
 canter from his solitary opponent Cincinnatus, and I 
 cannot help thinking he had ' a leg ' at the time, and 
 that it was a case of his makino- hav while the sun 
 shines. Onslow, a very fast but unsound Cambuscan 
 horse, beat Bethnal Green for a valuable two-year- 
 old sweepstakes, and was the only two-year-old 
 capable of lowering the colours of Cremorne all the 
 year till the latter succumbed in the Criterion to 
 the great Prince Charlie. Gourbi won the Visitors' 
 Plate for me by four lengths, carrying the top weight, 
 and proved a remunerative claim ; and then came 
 the surprise of the meeting, or rather of the year, 
 when the three-year-old Shannon, starting at 50 to 1, 
 and making all the running, won the Goodwood Cup 
 from the two cracks, Favonius and Mortemer, beat- 
 ting the Derby winner by half a length, whilst he in 
 turn was only a neck in front of Mortemer, who was 
 
AX ACCIDENT TvO FORDIIAM 49 
 
 giving liim 21 lb., an extraordinary performance for 
 a six-year-old horse. I can only repeat that much 
 which happens in racing is quite inexplicable. 
 Botheration won the Chesterfield Cup with the 7 lb. 
 penalty, Mornington finishing second, and Sterhng, 
 with the great weight of 9 st. 6 lb., third — beaten a 
 length. When the jockeys returned to scale, Chaloner 
 objected to the first on the ground of a cross, and 
 rightly too ; but, unfortunately for him, it was the 
 second who caused the interference, and, although he 
 was promptly disqualified. Sterling had to occupy the 
 barren honour of second place ; but it was a most 
 meritorious and noteworthy performance. 
 
 On Friday Fordham came out of the paddock on 
 the filly by Thunderbolt out of Francesca, who had 
 previously won the Bognor Stakes, and was a good 
 favourite for this race. Suddenly she tried to bolt, 
 threw Fordham clean up in the air in front of the 
 stand, then galloped off up the hill and away to her 
 stables at Sino^leton, and of course was not caugrht for 
 some time. Fordham was greatly mortified at the 
 mishap, which gave rise to much mirth when every- 
 one saw that he w^as not hurt by his tumble. 
 
 In brilliant weather, the first day at Brighton 
 began, and Gourbi could only get third for the 
 Bristol Plate. He was entered for the Brighton Cup, 
 for which, of course, he had not a thousand to one 
 chance, knowing, as I did, that Favonius and 
 Manille were going to run, hence my astonishment 
 when Baron Meyer came to me and said, ' Of course 
 you are going to run Gourbi in the Cup to-morrow P ' 
 And on my replying, ' Oh, no ; he couldn't have any 
 chance,' the Baron hastily said, ' But you won't 
 
 E 
 
50 EACIXG EEMINISCENCES 
 
 scratch him ? ' This set me wondering, and on my 
 teUing Captain Machell, whom I always consuUed, he 
 laughed and said the conditions of the Cup were that 
 five horses, the property of different owners, should 
 start, or the Cup would not be given. We then 
 determined to get back the 50/. we had to pay the 
 Baron for the claim of Nudel, and eventually he had 
 to give it us, and I started Gourbi in the Cup to 
 complete the necessary number of runners. 
 
 I must now clironicle the most extraordinary race 
 I ever saw, considering the weights, the age, and the 
 respective merits of the performers. Two numbers 
 went up for the Champagne Stakes of one mile, 
 Vulcan and Sterling, ridden by Fordham and Chaloner, 
 the old horse having to concede the young one 18 lb. 
 All good judges of racing deemed it an impossibility. 
 Eleven to four were the odds laid on Sterling, and I 
 remember contenting myself with a fiver on Vulcan, 
 simply because I liked the gallant old horse. I am 
 certain Fordliam thought he had no chance unless he 
 stole a march on the enemy ; but this he was always 
 on the alert to do, with results which were often 
 simply marvellous. Knowing what beautiful shoulders 
 Vulcan had, when they reached the top of the hill 
 Fordham dashed him down it at an alarming pace, 
 getting many lengths away from his opponent, and, 
 sending him along to the bitter end, he just reached 
 the winning post a neck in front of Sterling, who 
 naturally had made up an immense quantity of 
 ground, but too late. How the ring cheered ! Of 
 course they would as they won a lot of money ; but 
 losers and winners ahke must have been impressed 
 with this magnificent piece of horsemanship, the 
 
SEX ALLOWANCE 51 
 
 result of careful forethought, thorough knowledge of 
 the animal and the course, and ability to carry out 
 the scheme so cleverly devised. Favonius won 
 the Brighton Cup in a canter, the Baron starting 
 Corisande to make up the necessary runners, and the 
 Committee gave the Cup — they ought to have done 
 so for two runners of that class. Old Vulcan, none 
 the worse for his Tuesday's effort, beat Chopette in 
 the Sussex Cup on the T.Y.C., Fordham again pursu- 
 ing the same cuttins^-down tactics. 
 
 After this I went abroad till Doncaster, where 
 the speedy two-year-old Chopette led old Vulcan a 
 merry dance, and beat him by two lengths in the 
 Fitzwilliam Stakes. Cremorne won the Champagne 
 Stakes cleverly, not easily, from Bethnal Green, and 
 this race ought to have prevented us from laying 
 odds the following day on the rheumatic Onslow, 
 when Bethnal Green turned the tables on his Good- 
 wood conqueror by a head at 3 lb. difference of weight 
 in his favour. Sometimes 1 lb. will alter a race, 
 and at others when, on all previous public running a 
 horse has 10 lb. in hand, he will fail to run up 
 to that form, and help to swell the field of glorious 
 uncertainties in the annals of racing. Hannah won 
 the Leger easily from Albert Victor, both of them 
 much the superior of the rest of the field, which 
 included the moderate Two Thousand winner. Both- 
 well. I never could understand why colts were 
 called on to give fillies 5 lb. for sex in what is 
 always termed ' the mares' month,' September ; but 
 the common sense of modern days has altered this, 
 reducing the allowance to 3 lb., and it may be 
 noted as an instance of the effect of weight that 
 
 E 2 
 
52 KACIXG PtEMINISCEXCES 
 
 in the days of tlie 5 lb. allowance mares won 
 an exceptional proportion of St. Legers. Chopette 
 scored in the same colours in the Bradgate Park 
 Stakes, but the three-year-old Amor, a Stockwell 
 horse, took the bottom out of our winnings by beat- 
 im? Dutch Skater sinoie-handed in the Queen's Plate, 
 the last race of the day, with 5 to 1 on the loser. 
 The odds showed what, in the judgment of the vast 
 majority of experts, ought to have taken place ; but 
 how often experts err ! 
 
 Mr. Bowes's popular black cap and jacket were to 
 the fore in the Doncaster Stakes ; and the mention of 
 his name puts me in mind of Fordham going to see a 
 girl tried for poisoning people — I think it was called 
 the Brighton poisoning case. Describing his experi- 
 ence afterwards to a friend, he said : ' Poor thing ! I 
 could see it was all up with her when the judge put 
 Mr. Bowes's colours on.' 
 
 It was about the year 1871 that Mr. Bowes paid 
 a visit to Newmarket. I am almost certain it was the 
 first October meeting, when Fordham had showed his 
 marvellous knowledge of the winning post by land- 
 ing Nobleman a short head in front of King Cole, 
 over the severe Ditch In Course, in the Triennial 
 Produce Stakes. Mr. Bowes, the owner of Nobleman, 
 that day for the first time made the acquaintance ot 
 Fordham, though the latter had ridden his horses for 
 years. I believe neither knew the other by sight, 
 and it was pleasant that Mr. Bowes should have such 
 a specimen of his jockey's marvellous skill the first 
 day he saw him ride. He expressed himself much 
 gratified. But I must hark back to the First October 
 meeting, where on the Tuesday Queen's Messenger 
 
AliCIlER'S EAlfLY SL'CCESS 53 
 
 sported colours for the first time, and won the 
 Buckenham Stakes for Lord Falmouth, who always 
 seemed to win this race ! Queen's Messenger was 
 by Trumpeter out of the famous Queen Bertha, and 
 was one of the gamest horses that ever looked 
 through a bridle, which was astonishing, as he was a 
 * stargazer,' with a trick of always finishing with his 
 head up in the air. Poor Tom French, whose lungs 
 were in a delicate state, was Lord Falmouth's jockey 
 at the time, and by his pufiing and blowing after the 
 race showed how much riding this honest horse 
 took. He was not a success as a sire ; but some 
 years afterwards, Lord Falmouth took me over his 
 paddocks and showed me the horse, then furnished 
 and let down as a stallion, and I remember beino- 
 particularly struck with the beauty of his small 
 Arab-like head and tiny ears. 
 
 The Great Eastern Eailway Handicap turned out 
 an exciting race. Sterling, carrying the prohibitory 
 weight for a three-year-old of 9 st. 6 lb., was nowhere, 
 and an equally poor show was made by Allbrook, 
 the sensational horse of this year's Cambridgeshire — 
 of which more anon — who started first favourite ; 
 but this event was remarkable for the fact that it 
 first brought Archer into notice, though not into a 
 prominence that was at all agreeable to him. He 
 was riding Lord Falmouth's Ortolan, 5 st. 10 lb., and 
 w^as reported by the starter for misconduct at the 
 post, no doubt trying to show that abihty to jump 
 ofi* for which he was afterwards so famous, the result 
 being, however, that he was suspended from riding 
 for a fortnight. Corisande gave us the Cesare witch 
 tip (which I for one did not avail myself of) by 
 
54 RACING EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 winninpf the Grand Duke Michael Stakes across the 
 flat — always an mteresting race. 
 
 The next day's racmg is only marked in my 
 memory by one small event, a selling race on the 
 Eous Course. Two runners only went to the post, 
 Badsworth, Fordham up, and Meleurge, ridden by 
 Hunt. After the Cambridgeshire of this year, this 
 was the most marvellous race I ever saw Fordham 
 ride. The betting was even. Badsworth was a 
 curious tempered horse, and Fordham jumping 
 off with him never ceased to ride with whip and 
 spur from start to finish. The old horse tried to 
 swerve from left to right, and from right to left, 
 but Fordham never gave him a moment's rest, 
 changing his whip from one hand into the other 
 twice during the race, and finally landed him the 
 winner by a short head, to the ecstasy of his backers 
 and all admirers. For Fordham to ride thus severely 
 was the rarest of occurrences, as need hardly be said; 
 but he knew the horse he was on, and the only way 
 to deal with him. The next day there was a dead 
 heat for the Triennial Produce Stakes between Madge 
 Wildfire and Khedive, the latter of whom was sold 
 two years after to ^ir. Chaplin, at the sale of Lord 
 Zetland's racehorses after his death, for 1,500 guineas. 
 ^ii\ Chaplin would have bought King Lud, sold at 
 the same time to Lord Lonsdale, the present peer's 
 father, but ]\Ir. Williamson (' Billy Williamson ' as he 
 was always known to his old friends in the north) a 
 judge to whom everyone listened with respect, per- 
 suaded Mr. Chaplin to buy Khedive, as he believed 
 at the time that he was the better horse of the two. 
 This was hard lines on Mr. Chaplin, as whereas 
 
PRINCE CHARLIE DO 
 
 Khedive hardly won a race, if, indeed, he ever did so, 
 King Lud tnrned out an extraordinarily good horse, 
 and lowered the colours of the great Boiard in the 
 Alexandra Plate, besides winning the Cesarewitch 
 and other important races. Admiral Eous won a 
 match this day, and I made a foolish one with 
 Countryman against Tibthorpe and lost it, and paid 
 forfeit in another during the meeting. I was buying 
 my experience in those days. 
 
 The Wednesday of the Second October was in- 
 teresting from the fact that we w^ere introduced to 
 the winner of tlie Middle Park Plate in the shape of 
 Prince Charlie, a magnificent horse, who must have 
 won a great name among the great had he not turned 
 roarer. His magnificent shape and carriage in the 
 Birdcage, where he was walking round for some 
 time prior to the hoisting of the numbers, were the 
 objects of general and cordial admiration, but very 
 few people backed him. Sent to the United States, 
 I may remark here that he has become the sire of 
 many famous horses, notably of Salvator, declared 
 by many to be the best animal ever produced in the 
 States. Salvator in September 1890 galloped a mile 
 (with a flying start, however) in 1 min. 35-| sees., 
 the best time ever made. To return to Newmarket, 
 however, Prince Charlie won an exciting race by 
 a head from Laburnum, that gay deceiver Helmet 
 starting a hot favourite ; but even , Fordham could 
 make nothing of him, and the inference is that no- 
 thing could have been made. At the Jockey Club 
 meeting on the same day I had the honour of being- 
 elected a member of the Club. Looking back now 
 at the list of the seventy-eight (not including honorary 
 
56 rtACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 members) who then composed the Club, it is sad to 
 find that exactly half of them have joined the 
 majority, among them many valued friends of mine. 
 I was the youngest member of the Club at that date. 
 Backers made Cremorne a warm favourite for the 
 Criterion, in the belief that Prince Charlie, who even 
 thus early in his career was supposed to make a 
 noise, would not stay the course ; but the latter 
 romped home, Nuneham dividing the pair. On the 
 morrow was decided that memorable Cambridgeshire 
 when Fordham on Sabinus snatched the race in the 
 last stride. The night before the race he and some 
 convivial companions were assembled together not 
 far from the White Hart Hotel, and he took a bet of 
 a thousand to thirty about his mount ; but he retained 
 no clear recollection next morning of what had 
 happened the night before, and could not remember 
 the name of the bookmaker who had laid him the 
 waofer. He was made a member of Tattersall's ex- 
 pressly in order that he might recover it, and I think 
 he did so from Mr. Charles Head. A remarkably 
 good field contested the race, Favonius the Derby 
 winner, and the French horse Henry, who had won 
 all his races this year, being favourites, though 
 •curiously enough neither showed prominently at the 
 finish. AUbrook, who was greatly fancied by his 
 friends, served by his light weight, made the running 
 to such good purpose that he was leading a good 
 four lengths at the red post, when it appeared impos- 
 sible for Sterling, who was lying second, to catch 
 him, and out of the question for Sabinus, who was at 
 the head of the remainder on the sheep-track near 
 the rails, with Fordham sitting crouched like a 
 
FORDIIAM ON SABINUS - bi 
 
 monkey on the liorse's neck. ' My liorse wins ! 
 AUbrook wins ! ' excitedly screamed out Lord Aling- 
 ton, galloping madly along the rails by the side of 
 the leader, his covert coat open and flying in the air. 
 ^ AUbrook wins ! ' he shouted. ' I stand to win 
 twenty thousand pounds on that horse, and I wouldn't 
 take nineteen thousand, nine hundred and ninety-nine 
 pounds for it ! ' 
 
 Alas ! hope told a flattering tale 1 Another few 
 strides and the extreme pressure his jockey had put 
 on him from the start began to tell; AUbrook 
 rapidly compounded, and fell back to Sterling, on 
 whom Chaloner was hard at work, but who was run- 
 ning gamely on. Hardly were the words ' Sterling 
 wins ! ' out of the mouths of his backers, when a 
 perfect yell went up from the Eing as Fordham, who 
 had scarcely been noticed, so close on the rails was 
 he, riding with desperate determination, his whip in 
 his left hand, got up to the other two, who were 
 locked together, and, after as exciting a struggle as 
 ever was seen, won a short head on the post, Sterling 
 and AUbrook finishino: a dead heat. Poor little 
 Jarvis (he is a big fellow now) was much blamed for 
 riding AUbrook down, and no doubt was thoroughly 
 disgusted himself, as after the race he said to a friend, 
 ^ No more of this infernal Newmarket for me ; I'm off 
 to Bromley and the postesses.' (He had had a nasty 
 fall at Bromley, and been thrown against a post some 
 few weeks before ; but he preferred that to the censure 
 he received at head-quarters.) 
 
 I forgot to say that before the race I was on my 
 hack at the Birdcage, and rode with Fordham part 
 of the way to the starting-post, and he then told me 
 
58 KACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 that the old gelding was so well lie thought he should 
 just win. I galloped back to the Eing and took a 
 thousand to thirty four times about the horse, after 
 which, meeting a lady in the stand who had backed 
 about twenty horses in the race, Sabinus not being 
 one of them, I persuaded her to stand five hundred to 
 fifteen with me, which just saved her on the race. I 
 also parted with the same bet to a gentleman who was 
 well on Allbrook. Thus ends an inadequate descrip- 
 tion of a race I have many a time seen in my mind's 
 eye since. 
 
 Queen's Messenger had to put his best foot first 
 to get rid of the attentions of Eole II. and Eordham 
 in the All Aged Stakes. Sterling got back some of 
 the Cambridgeshire losses by winning the Free Handi- 
 cap in a canter from Shannon. (I wish we had a 
 few such certainties at the present time with only 
 6 to 4 on instead of 3 to 1 on, as it would be now.) 
 Modena won the first of the four Nurseries she was 
 destined to take, and this was a well-planned coup of 
 Wadlow's stable. She could have won the race with 
 2 St. more on her back. On Friday we were treated 
 to the unusual sight of two horses running a dead 
 heat twice over ; this occurred between Joseph 
 Dawson's Marquis of Lome and Captain Machell's 
 Curtius, ridden respectively by Tom French and E. 
 Martin. Joe Dawson was much disinclined to run 
 off a third time, but Captain Machell wished it, and 
 although it was nearly dark we all went down to 
 the T.Y.C. post to see the third and final struggle, 
 which was won by French by a neck. I remember 
 it was very difficult to distinguish the horses, as both 
 were brown and both jackets white, one cap being 
 
PALMEn THE POISONER 59 
 
 red and the otlier blue. Tliese severe finishes did 
 both horses harm : with the exception of a Maiden 
 Plate at Warwick, which Curtius won, neither took 
 another race. Horses, especially two-year-olds, will 
 not stand tliese terribly severe tests. 
 
 This was the first time of the Great Shropshire 
 Handicap, which developed into a good betting race, 
 and was a great success in this and after years. It was 
 won by Cleveland, who beat Gertrude a head. Mr. 
 John Frail was much elated by the success of the 
 race, and I remember his satisfaction at the circum- 
 stance that two such sportsmen as General Peel and 
 Lord Pahnouth should run first and second. Mr. 
 Frail was a very agreeable entertaining companion, 
 and full of anecdotes. He told me that once he 
 went down to Liverpool with three thousand pounds 
 in notes for electioneering purposes (what sort of 
 purposes we had better not inquire), and that he 
 occupied a double-bedded room in the hotel with 
 Palmer, the notorious poisoner, then a friend of his. 
 When he woke in the morning, he found that Palmer, 
 always an early riser, was already dressed and had 
 gone out. 
 
 As he was finishing his own toilet Palmer came 
 into the room, just as Mr. Frail was putting his hand 
 under his pillow to take out the waistcoat that con- 
 tained the money. ' Wliat have you got there, John?' 
 Palmer asked. 
 
 ' I hope to find three thousand pounds in notes,' 
 was Mr. Frail's reply in his peculiar measured tones. 
 ' Good Heavens ! ' said Palmer, ' why didn't you tell 
 me so last night ? ' The remark came back to Mr. 
 Frail's mind, with unpleasant significance, when he 
 
60 IIACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 afterwards found that his friend was a wholesale 
 murderer. Mr. George Payne, too, told me that he 
 saw Cook the morning after he had won the Shrews- 
 bury Cup, and, knowing him, congratulated him on 
 his victory. Cook replied, ' Oh, Mr. Payne, don't 
 wish me joy, I am so ill and have had such a fearful 
 night ; I am going away now with Palmer ; there he 
 stands,' and on looking round Mr. Payne says he saw 
 Palmer ' standing with his hands behind him intently 
 regarding them.' It was proved afterwards at the 
 trial that the night before this conversation took 
 place, the landlady of the Eaven Hotel saw Palmer 
 holding a tumbler under the gaslight in the passage 
 and stirring something up in it with a spoon. This 
 was supposed to be the first dose of antimony he 
 gave Cook. ' Wliat are you mixing, Mr. Palmer ? ' 
 the landlady asked. ' What am I mixing ? ' he replied 
 (he had extraordinary command over his looks, as 
 Cook's uncle testified when travelling with him from 
 Eugby to Eugeley to ascertain if Cook had met with 
 his death by foul play), ' why, some whisky and water 
 and sugar.' What a scene for a drama, these three 
 men standing on the Shrewsbury racecourse. Cook 
 the intended victim, the poisoner who meant to finish 
 him off that night (Palmer administered strychnine 
 pills to Cook that evening at Eugeley, and then sat 
 up in his own house opposite the inn to await the 
 result, and when he was summoned, made the foolish 
 remark that told so against him at the trial, 'I never 
 dressed so quickly in all my life ' ; for he could not 
 possibly have got half his clothes on in the time), and 
 Mr. Payne, little knowing what a fearful tragedy was 
 being secretly devised. In racing circles it was firmly 
 
AN UNEXPECTED COMAIISSION 61 
 
 believed that Mr. Padwick would have been Palmer's 
 next victim. William Saunders, of Hednesford, who 
 was my trainer in 1872, told me he knew Pahner 
 well — in fact his horse, the Chicken, was trained at 
 Hednesford — and that he believes one day Palmer 
 put something in the tea as a test ; at any rate he 
 and one or two friends were very ill after drink- 
 ing it. 
 
 But to return to the racing at Shrewsbury. 
 On the last day Mr. Sydney Jacobs was badly 
 treated by his jockey. He ran two horses, Blue- 
 beard and Queen of the Chase, in the Wrekin 
 Nursery, and declared to win with Bluebeard, who 
 started second favourite to Niochi. In spite of 
 the declaration, and the fact that Bluebeard had 
 taken the measure of Niochi and was winning 
 easily, Loates on Queen of the Chase challenged 
 Bluebeard and beat him a neck. The case was 
 reported to the Stewards of the Jockey Club, who 
 ought to have dealt more severely with Loates than 
 they did. Eather an amusing incident occurred 
 during this year at Newmarket. Mr. H. V. Wilkin- 
 son, familiarly known in his day as ' Peter,' en- 
 trusted Mr. Charles Hambro with three commissions, 
 viz. twenty-live pounds on a horse in the first race, 
 if he won the winnings on another in the next race, 
 and if that won, so much on a certain animal in a 
 third. ' Peter ' was of course riding a hack, as 
 everyone did in those days, and saw with delight 
 the three animals he had backed win their races — I 
 think two of them carried the popular tricolor of 
 M. Lefevre. He then thought it time to find his 
 commissioner, whom he had not seen during the 
 
62 RACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 afternoon. As he made his way towards the Bird- 
 cage he heard someone had been kicked in the 
 stomach by Typhoeus, Prince Batthyany's old horse, 
 when walking round the enclosure. Going into 
 the weighing-room, to his horror he saw Mr. C. 
 Hambro bent double, holding his stomach with both 
 hands and groaning. Eushing up to him, ' Peter ' 
 anxiously asked without thinking of the sufferings 
 he must be enduring 'Was it before so and so's 
 race?' naming the first of the three winners he so 
 fondly thought he had backed, and on poor Mr. 
 Hambro groaning out ' Yes,' Peter's language was 
 wonderful to listen to ! 
 
 After the finish of this season I thought I should like 
 to train at Hednesford, which was within easy reach 
 of my home. Another reason I had for wishing to 
 do this was that I felt if I continued to train in the 
 stable presided over by Captain Machell, although I 
 should always have the benefit of his advice and 
 management, I could never be my own master with- 
 out interfering with him if we did not agree ; accord- 
 ingly all my horses left Bedford House for Saunders's 
 stables, except Vanderdecken, for my half of whom 
 Captain Machell gave me 1,250/., and Chandos, a 
 yearling I had bought at Doncaster for 600 guineas, 
 whom I sold to the Captain for 800. I shall always 
 feel that Captain Machell did his best for me, enter- 
 ing my horses and advising me as if they were his 
 own, and I am quite sure no one on the Turf has 
 ever run his horses in a more straightforward man- 
 ner than Captain Machell always has done ; indeed, it 
 would be impossible to follow a more honourable 
 policy. 
 
1872 
 
 The year 1872, therefore, saw me the sole manager of 
 my horses, and it began well, as the first ammal I ran, 
 Knutsford, whom I had bought for 160 guineas at 
 Shrewsbury the year before, won a little handicap in 
 a canter at Liverpool Spring, this being, I think, 
 the first time that superb horseman, T. Cannon, ever 
 rode for me ; but with the same horse we had to j)lay 
 second fiddle the next day to Disturbance, sold after 
 the race to Captain Machell by Mr. Barber with the 
 emphatic remark, 'He'll win the National for you 
 some day. Captain ! ' Many of my readers will recall 
 to mind Mr. James Barber's black swallow-tail coat, 
 open waistcoat, and brown travelling rug, with a hole 
 cut in the middle of it for his head to go through, 
 worn, in fact, as a cape. For many years he was 
 partner with Mr. Saxon, ' who knew how many beans 
 make ^yq,' as the saying goes, and never got the 
 worst of any transactions with his friend. One of 
 the latter's favourite sayings was : ' If a man does 
 James Barber the first time, I says Shame on that 
 man ; but if a man does James Barber the second time, 
 I says Shame on James Barber.' This reminds me of 
 a story of the late Mr. Fred Swindell, when a friend 
 came to him for advice and asked him what he ought 
 to do, as a man had paid him twice over 100/. for 
 some bet. ' Do, lad ? ' replied the ' Napoleon of the 
 
64 RACING r.EMIXISCEXCES 
 
 turf,' 'Look hard at liim next time tliee meets liim, 
 and perhaps he'll pay thee a third time.' This is 
 quite on a par with his ideas of what people ought to 
 be in sharpness of intellect, as when he heard that 
 some man who could ill afiord it had been robbed of 
 his watch he said, with a contemptuous shrug of his 
 shoulders, 'I 'ates people as loses their watches. 
 Give me the man as can pinch one when times is bad.' 
 
 Talking of Mr. Fred Swindell, one day he was 
 very ill, and Mr. George Payne met a great friend of 
 his, ^Ir. Armstrong, in London, stopped him and 
 asked after the sufferer. ' He's very queer, Mr. 
 Payne, very queer,' was the grave reply. ' You don't 
 mean to say he thinks he is going to die, do you ? ' 
 asked Mr. Payne. ' Well, Mi\ Payne, it isn't quite 
 that ; what he is afraid of is that if he does, he might 
 not he ashed up into the drawing-room' 
 
 At Northampton that charmingly compact French 
 horse, Hamlet, won the Spencer Plate for 'Mr. 
 Dudley,' the assumed name of Colonel Carleton, now 
 Lord Dorchester. This was, I believe, the first time his 
 colours, blue and white stripes, were carried to 
 victory, but Jock of Oran, also a three-year-old, was 
 giving him 19 lb. 
 
 At Lichfield Spring I rode one of my own horses 
 and finished second, and afterwards won a match ; 
 but it was more for the fun of the thing than with 
 any idea of riding races, as I could only do 11 st. 1 lb. 
 in a three-pound saddle, and very uncomfortable I 
 found both rides. In the Craven week Eole H., a 
 great favourite of mine, beat Albert Victor very 
 easily for the Claret Stake, run over the severe 
 Ditch In Course, and on the last day of the meeting 
 
DIGBY GRAND'S PORT 65 
 
 we had great cliafF with the Admiral because he had 
 by mistake handicapped the French horse Scylla a 
 stone too Hghtly in a small handicap. With odds of 
 5 to 4 on him he beat ten runners by five lengths. 
 By the way, this race and the Queen's Plate in those 
 days were run on the July Course, and a regular 
 stampede of horses and carriages used to take place 
 (jn the Friday of the Craven week to see these two 
 events contested on the other side of the Ditch. 
 
 At Epsom Spring, Digby Grand won the City and 
 Suburban, ridden by F. Webb, a very fine horseman, 
 but whose increasing weight the last few years has 
 prevented him riding as much as one would wish to 
 see. I was fortunate enouo-h to back the winner, and 
 the next day with the extra weight Fordham rode 
 him in the Prince of Wales' Stakes, ^ow Digby 
 Grand was a horse of very uncertain temper, and his 
 owner believed that stimulant before a race was good 
 for him. Fordham was adjusting his saddle pre- 
 paratory to mounting, when he observed Henry 
 Woolcott, his trainer, with a black bottle in his 
 hand. ' What's that, Harry ? ' he asked. ' A bottle 
 of old port Mr. Graham has sent to give Digby,' 
 Woolcott replied. ' Let's have a look at it,' said 
 Fordham, and holding out his hand for the bottle 
 he meditatively took a long pull at its contents. 
 Silently he handed the bottle to Woolcott, who 
 followed his example, and then Fordham regained 
 possession of it, observing, ' I don't believe it would 
 do him any good! ' saying which he raised it again 
 to his lips and tilted it considerably before he put it 
 down. ' I believe it's generally bad for them ! ' 
 rejoined Woolcott, who very nearly emptied it, and 
 
66 RACING EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 Fordham, looking to see if any was left, found that 
 there was a little and quietly finished that. Bigby 
 Grand looked on, and it is impossible to guess what he 
 would have said if he could have spoken. However, 
 the horse won his race, Fordham lying off on him 
 and bringing him up at the Bell. Except one handi- 
 cap, also at Epsom, this was the last race he won 
 during the year, though he ran ten times more, and 
 the fact is a striking instance of the partiality which 
 some horses display for certain courses. 
 
 At the first Spring Meeting I beat Admiral Eous 
 in a match, the betting being 6 to 4 on the loser, 
 which was of course a very pleasing occurrence 
 for me. The next day Prince Charlie, starting at 
 2 to 1 for the Two Thousand, beat Cremorne a 
 neck, Queen's Messenger being a bad third. It must 
 have been a relief to Joseph Dawson when this race 
 was over, as at times — notably at Northampton — ^the 
 horse had gone very badly in the betting. It was by 
 the advice of Mr. Whittaker, who had done the stable 
 commission, that J. Osborne was engaged to ride. 
 There was one man who looked on at that race who 
 knew that Prince Charlie would have been disquali- 
 fied if he had chosen to open his mouth to say what 
 he knew, and that man was Tom Jennings, senior. 
 Eastern Princess, Prince Charlie's dam, had been sent 
 abroad on a visit to Monarque ; whilst in France 
 Prince Charlie was born, and his certificate had never 
 been lodged as the Eules of Pacing demanded that it 
 should be. It was not till the Houghton Meeting 
 that Jennings sent to Joe Dawson to say he should 
 object to Prince Charlie's running in the All Aged 
 Stakes on the following day, and when, to Dawson's 
 
CAXTINIERE 67 
 
 great astonishment, lie explained wliy, there was 
 obviously no more to be said. Of course poor Mr. 
 Savile was rather annoyed that he had not been told 
 to object after the Two Thousand, as Cremorne must 
 have got the race ; but probably Jennings thought it 
 was no business of his to interfere — there was no 
 fraud, and he did not want to make enemies. I 
 myself could have disqualified two horses last year — 
 1889 — but thought it was unnecessary to do so. One 
 of them was the property of a lady to whom I have 
 not spoken for several years. 
 
 On Friday I won another match with Faliero, a 
 French-bred horse, a brother to Fantassin, who was 
 successful in the match against the Admiral. This 
 time I beat Colonel Mountjoy Martyn's colt l^y 
 Glenmasson out of Bellona. Five to two was laid on 
 the latter, and I owed my victory in a great measure 
 to Tom French's splendid riding. Eeine, the subse- 
 quent winner of the Oaks, started at an outside price 
 and won the One Thousand, and M. Lefevre named 
 his infant daughter after her. 
 
 At Epsom we were introduced to the flying 
 Cantiniere, who won the Woodcote in a canter for the 
 popular Lord Ailesbury, and was never beaten during 
 the year, though she ' let you know when she was 
 coming ' — a slang expression amongst racing men to 
 explain that an animal is a roarer. Lord Falmouth 
 bought her for a large sum at Lord Ailesbury's death, 
 to the astonishment of supposed good judges of 
 breeding, whose primary belief was, that of all 
 possible mistakes a man could commit the worst 
 was to breed from an animal that ' made a noise.' 
 Cantiniere was, however, the dam of Forager, and of 
 
 F 2 
 
68 EACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 Bal Gal, wlio was a smart mare and fetclied a larije 
 sum at Lord I'almoutli's sale, tliougii slie has been of 
 little use at the stud. 
 
 On the night before the Derby Lord Wilton 
 entertained many of us members of the Jockey Club 
 at dinner at his house in Grosvenor Square, and, 
 as usual at this sort of gatherings after dinner, 
 there were attempts at matchmaking. One of 
 particular interest and importance was arranged. 
 Colonel Forrester, on Lord Wilton's behalf, matching 
 Wenlock, who had been well backed for the Derby, 
 to be decided on the morrow, against Baron Eoths- 
 child's Favonius, to run over the last mile and a half 
 of the Beacon Course in the Houghton week for 
 300 so vs., half forfeit — Favonius to carry 8 st. 10 lb. 
 and Wenlock 7 st. 2 lb. Unfortunately Wenlock went 
 amiss after winning the Leger, and had to pay forfeit. 
 He ran badly in the Derby. 
 
 Cremorne avenged the Two Thousand defeat, 
 wanning, however, only by a head from the well- 
 backed outsider. Pell Mell. I saw the race from 
 Lord Anglesey's stand, and though Maidment did not 
 appear hard at work on Cremorne, I was not quite 
 certain wdiich had won. Meeting Mr. Savile, and 
 warmly congratulating him just after the excitement 
 was over, he told me he had won scarcely anything on 
 the race ; and on my remarking what a near thing it 
 was, he said, ' Oh no, Maidment says he won in a can- 
 ter,' which proved to me he could never have seen Pell 
 Mell till on the post, as they were on opposite sides of 
 the course, Cremorne being farthest away from the 
 judge, whilst Pell Mell was right under his box. The 
 Stanley Stakes was the next race, and Mr. Merry 
 
ASCOT 6 'J 
 
 asked me to put him a lot of money on Marie Stuart 
 — ^her first appearance in public. I was enabled to 
 get on at a good price, but she was beaten a neck by 
 Acropolis, who gave her 5 lb. — form that was main- 
 tained in the Acorn Stakes the last day — so she 
 could not have been at her best this week. Eeine 
 beat a wretched lot in the Oaks, Eoedeer and Bal- 
 quiddar brought off two plunges in the same interest 
 in the principal selling races, and T. Cannon nursed 
 Acropolis' speed sufficiently to make a dead heat of 
 it with Blue Light in the Acorn Stakes, winning the 
 decider by a neck. 
 
 The first day at Ascot was very wet, and Ford- 
 ham on Digby Grand nearly did Jewitt on Bertram 
 in the Queen's Stand Plate, as he got on the path 
 made by people walking up the course on the Stand 
 side, which was of course firmer going. Fordham 
 was always on the look-out for this apparently 
 trifling advantage, the value of which, however, he 
 well understood. 
 
 Hannah only managed to beat Eipponden by a 
 head, in receipt of 5 lb., too, for the Triennial, and 
 Baron Eothschild, carefully observing the race, and 
 knowing how good his mare was, showed sound 
 judgment in at once backing Mr. Savile's horse 
 (Eipponden) for the Hunt Cup, which he won on the 
 following day, the favourite for the race, Theodoros,. 
 again hailing from William Day's stable. He was 
 ' thrown in ' by the Admiral, because he himself had 
 made a present of the horse to Mr. Sturt, as the latter 
 had given him one to make matches with the year 
 before, and said it was impossible so bad an animal 
 could win. The horse was nowhere. 
 
70 EACIXG EEMINISCEXCES 
 
 It is a curious fact that though Pell Mell was 
 only beaten a head by Cremorne in the Derby, the 
 former was destined never to win a race, and had to 
 knock under to Khedive in spite of receiving seven 
 pounds, and the explanation must have been that 
 there was now a ' screw loose ' with him, as he had 
 beaten Queen's Messenger several lengths in the 
 Derby, and the latter was seven pounds better than 
 Khedive on the Tuesday here. At Stockbridge I 
 stayed with my brother-in-law. Lord Anglesey, at two 
 charming little fishing cottages he had, called Kim- 
 bridge and Aubridge, and a delightful party we had 
 divided between the two houses. In the morning 
 you could see the trout in the river from your bed- 
 room window, and hard by in the mill hole under the 
 arch lay a mighty big one, that came from his lair 
 with a swirl of his tail if you threw a piece of bread 
 near him. It was lovely weather, and a drive of 
 some ten miles in the most comfortable break with a 
 high-padded back used to bring us to Danebury an 
 hour or two before the first race, to be welcomed by 
 John Day, who always pressed his hospitality on 
 every one. At this meeting, on the last day, Lord 
 Anglesey sold his horses, and Sir F. Johnstone bought 
 Somerset, to win the July Stakes with him a week 
 after. I bought a pretty little mare. Merry Agnes, 
 and for 800 guineas the two-year-old. Coronet, that 
 won the Troy Stakes, with Fordham up, that very day. 
 After Somerset had won the July, Sir Frederick sold 
 him to Lord Lonsdale at a profit, and a good get-out 
 for him it was, as the horse was infirm afterwards, and 
 only won one other race. 
 
 Baron Eothschild was much annoyed at Mr. T. E. 
 
THE PERRAM DONATIOX 71 
 
 Walker claiming liis two-year-old, Faraday, in tlie 
 July week after lie had beaten Jock of Oran, and 
 insisted on being paid on the spot. This unusual 
 demand was promptly complied with by Mr. Walker, 
 who procured a bank note for 1,000Z. from Steel, the 
 bookmaker, and the horse had his name changed to 
 Bank Xote by his new owner ; but the Baron had the 
 best of the deal, as Bank Note turned out very badly 
 afterwards, and was a rogue into the bargain. 
 
 On the same day a curious fact occurred in con- 
 nection with the Town Plate, walked over for by Mr. 
 Padwick's Liverpool, as the Perram donation, value 
 10/. 155. 2d., had not been claimed this year as a 
 marriage portion, so it was paid to the winner of this 
 plate, a very rare occurrence. The great Thunder, 
 then little thought of, was beaten a head for a Maiden 
 Plate at this meeting, starting priceless, too, in the 
 betting. At Liverpool, Indian Ocean beat Albert 
 Victor by half a length ; but the latter was giving 
 20 lb., and struggled gallantly from the distance, 
 where I thought he was well beaten, and said so to 
 Mr. Cartwright, standing near me in the box, to which 
 he replied, ' Thank you. Sir George, I can see for 
 myself Albert wins in a canter,' to our great amuse- 
 ment. The last race of the meeting was won by Mr. 
 ^ Peter ' Wilkinson, on old Surgeon. He had put all 
 the ready money he could muster on his mount, 
 displayed a laudable anxiety to get well off at the 
 start, which he did, and made the best of his way 
 home, grinning and laughing, with the old horse's tail 
 going like a windmill. The next week, at Sutton 
 Park, Wilkinson rode a really fine race on Chartreuse, 
 having to do all he knew to win a short head, to the 
 
72 RACING EEMIXISCENCES 
 
 delight of Captain Towneley, who had backed the 
 mare for as much as he could afford. 
 
 At Goodwood Oxonian won the Stewards' Cup by 
 five lengths, almost unbacked by his stable, and to 
 the chagrin of Mr. Gerard Sturt, to whom the 
 Admiral had shown the weights before they w^ere 
 published, and who had induced the famous handi- 
 capper to take 2 lb. off the horse, as he originally 
 had 9 St. on him. 
 
 King of the Forest was patched up to win the 
 Bentinck Memorial Stakes three years in succession, 
 thus becoming entitled to the ten per cent, deduc- 
 tions, amounting to over seven hundred pounds ; and 
 although he easily beat his solitary opponent, the 
 French mare La Tourques, he pulled up very groggy 
 after completing the long course, and this was his 
 last appearance on a racecourse. Favonius proved 
 at his best when he gave 7 lb. and a ten lengths' 
 beating to Albert Victor, his old Biennial opponent, 
 in the Goodwood Cup ; but Prince Charlie could 
 only get third in the Chesterfield Cup ; and Winslow, 
 a beautiful Lord Clifden horse, won the Corinthian 
 Plate by a head, Fordham having more up his sleeve 
 than he cared to show us, so that a spectator who 
 calculated public form on published results would 
 have been far astray in his careful attempts to esti- 
 mate the value of this race. ' The Book,' by which 
 familiar title racing men know the Calendar, may 
 prove either a perfect guide or an equally perfect 
 will-o'-the-wisp. 
 
 The Eccentric Handicap at Lewes first revealed to 
 Mr. Savile what a stayer he possessed in Lilian, who 
 won anyhow, poor little Knutsford trying to concede 
 
THE ECCEXTRIC HANDICAP 73 
 
 lier 20 lb., wlien slie could have beaten liim at even 
 weights. This was an interesting experiment, the 
 idea of the promoter, well carried out by the condi- 
 tions of the race, being to find stayers amongst 
 horses that were reported to be sprinters only, and 
 the result was to bring Lilian's capacity to light. 
 She won many races, but had been rather a disap- 
 pointment so far at the stud. Her best son, Savile, 
 by Hampton, flattered to deceive on more than one 
 occasion in England, and was then exported to the 
 Cape, where he has failed to do anything note- 
 worthy. 
 
 At Doncaster, Wenlock at length showed there 
 was good reason for backing him for the Derby, as 
 he won the Leger in a canter by five lengths. Prince 
 Charlie, though it was out of his course, defeating the 
 improving Vanderdecken by a length and half for 
 second place. But for the Prince's infirmity of wind 
 there is every reason to suppose that he must have won. 
 At the first October meeting Gang Forward, beaten 
 a head at Doncaster by Pontarabian, just squeaked 
 home in the Triennial Produce Stakes — a race I 
 have everv reason to remember, as whilst standing 
 with a crowd admiringf the winner outside the weisfh- 
 ing-room after the race, he lashed out and actually 
 touched me. A bare inch nearer and my leg must 
 have been broken. I have been pretty careful since 
 under the same circumstances. Andred, a charming 
 dark chestnut horse by Blair Atliol, that ought to 
 have been a better animal than he was, won another 
 Buckenham Stakes for Lord Palmouth ; and then 
 Flageolet, one of the best horses M. Lefevre ever 
 owned, made his first appearance in public in the 
 
74 RACIXG REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 Hopeful Stakes, run on the last half of the Abmgdon 
 Mile, a bad course for such a big striding horse, and 
 Fordham had to do all he knew to get up and win a 
 short head from the German mare Amalie von 
 Edelreich, who fairly bustled the favourite from start 
 to finish, being better served by the easy course. 
 
 The Cesarewitch was notable for the fact that 
 Archer, on Salvanos, won his first great handica^^ — 
 the first of who can say how many ? The owner 
 w^as Mr. Eadcliffe, a pleasant, cheery, easy-going 
 man, whose fallen fortunes were for a time retrieved 
 by this race, for he had gambled freely and lost 
 heavily ; but the result made him only more reck- 
 less. The career of this good fellow would be an 
 instructive warning to the young men of speculative 
 tendencies. Once carelessly losing hundreds or 
 thousands by the short head defeat of a favourite who, 
 perhaps, did not quite get off or changed his leg in 
 the last few strides, Mr. Eadclifie finally worked 
 desperately hard to earn an occasional guinea by 
 his pen, for though he had not much aptitude for 
 writing, he knew his subjects, and a few editors who 
 were acquainted with his story did their best for 
 him. 
 
 The Middle Park Plate was noticeable for the 
 first defeat sustained by the flying Cantiniere, who 
 started favourite, that honest little horse Kaiser 
 running a dead heat with Surinam ; Montargis, who 
 afterwards took so much money out of England to 
 Prance when he won the Cambridgeshire, starting 
 the outsider of the lot, and being beaten only half a 
 length. Lilian, now running long distances, won the 
 Newmarket Oaks by ten lengths from the favourite, 
 
AX IGNORANT CRITIC 75 
 
 Louise Victoria, and (another example of tlie de- 
 ceptive nature of public form) the Middle Park 
 Plate running was sadly upset by Flageolet beating 
 Surinam three lengths in the Prendergast Stakes at 
 only 4 lb. difference in his favour, though he himself 
 was beaten a head in a desperate race by Andred. 
 This was a superb finish between Tom French and 
 Fordham ; and here again it w411 be seen how public 
 form may apparently be proved incorrect even when 
 jockeys are riding who may be trusted to do justice 
 to their horses. 
 
 I have already related why Prince Charlie did 
 not run for the All Aged Stakes at this meeting, 
 won by old Yulcan — his last appearance on a race- 
 course. Coronet, my Stockbridge purchase, ran in- 
 famously, to my great surprise — ^but probabilities, 
 as well as certainties, are constantly being upset — 
 in the Troy Stakes, which was won by Tintern, 
 owned by a man generally known as ' the Lurcher.' 
 Being superlatively ignorant of racing and horses, 
 he d.id not remain long on the Turf, and his 
 estimate of his capacity having been ludicrously 
 disproportionate to his capital, he hastily retired, 
 owing many of us money. The amusing part of 
 the story is that this eccentric personage, having 
 failed on the Turf in a most abject manner, is 
 believed to have obtained the position of sporting 
 critic to a well-known weekly paper, in the columns 
 of which he freely launches at men who hold their 
 own year after year the most opprobrious terms in 
 his singularly limited vocabulary ; and so week after 
 week those of whose proceedings he disapproves are 
 stigmatised as ' muddy-minded,' ' anserous,' or ' mem- 
 
76 IIACIXG IJEMIXISCEX'CES 
 
 bers of the gullish herd.' If he be the writer, people 
 who have seen his sporting prophecies will readily 
 understand that he was not likely to last long as 
 a backer of horses. 
 
 Bertram, a good fair horse, though not of the 
 stamp of Eobert the Devil, his son, won the Free 
 Handicap, in which the Cambridgeshire winner bolted 
 to our disgust — another way in which the backer 
 may unexpectedly be brought to grief. A horse, we 
 hear, ' cannot be beaten ' if he only gets off and runs 
 straight ; but then he does neither ! 
 
 It was at this meeting, I believe, that the whole 
 of the horses in training, the property of Sir Frederick 
 Johnstone and Mr. Gerard Sturt (now Lord Alington), 
 were sold by auction, a rupture having taken place 
 between them and their trainer, William Day, which 
 report says had something to do with Nonius, an 
 animal they had bought for 1,500/. from Mr. T. Parr. 
 He was made favourite for the Cesarewitch and 
 backed by them, till one day they discovered he 
 was either lame or worthless. Mr. Sturt is credited 
 with having had the double-event bet of 10,000/. to 
 10/. about Nonius for the long race and his other 
 animal Kimbridge, who started third favourite for the 
 Cambridgeshire, and was afterwards purchased at 
 their sale by Mr. Henry Chaplin, whose colours he 
 carried in the Liverpool Autumn Cup, in which race 
 he fell and broke his back. 
 
 At Shrewsbury I remember Lady Atholstone 
 winning a couple of handicaps in good style, which 
 caused me to buy her early in the spring of the 
 following year; and old Countryman, ably steered 
 by Mr. ' Peter ' Crawshaw, won the Wynnstay 
 
RACING IX EYGn 77 
 
 Welter, after which it occurred to me to tr}^ a little 
 racing abroad, and I sent him and Faliero out to 
 Egypt under the charge of Mr. H. Manser, poor 
 Tom French, whose lungs were affected and who 
 was ordered abroad, agreeing to go with them and 
 ride the two horses in their races at Cairo. They 
 were both entered for the Khedive's Grand Prize, but 
 unfortunately Countryman went amiss before the 
 races. Some people say he was poisoned. Manser 
 denied this to me afterwards, and said he was nearly 
 choked from balling the litter in his box (the horse 
 was a weaver) and swallowing it ; anyhow, he was 
 too unwell to run, so French rode Faliero. The 
 horse ran very well in the big race, and an hour 
 afterwards came out and won the hurdle race from 
 sixteen opponents by four lengths, this being the 
 only hurdle race French ever rode in, and very 
 amusing his description of it was. The hurdles, he 
 said, were made of cane, very high, not bound at 
 the top, and they stung him up all round as Faliero 
 swished through them — he was an extraordinary 
 quick jumper. Both horses got home safely, but I 
 regretted having sent them, though the trip did not 
 cost me more than 300/., the race Faliero won being 
 worth 200/. 
 
 Eeverting back to Shrewsbury, some very smart 
 horses competed for the Shobdon Cup, which was 
 won by the two-year-old. Thorn, beating Hamlet a 
 head; Jeffery, who rode the latter, objected to the 
 winner on the ground of a cannon, and T. Cannon 
 objected to both the first two on the ground of a 
 cross. Colonel Carleton had to go to London before 
 the objection was gone into, and deputed me to act 
 
78 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 for him and state liis case ; the result of the investi- 
 gation being that the Stewards gave Hamlet the race. 
 I fear Mr. Batt, the owner of Thorn, regarded me 
 with no very friendly eye for some time, but I was 
 bound to act as I did in the interest of Hamlet's 
 owner. 
 
79 
 
 1 873 
 
 Ix 1873 we were a large party assembled at Blank- 
 ney ; Mr. Chaplin as usual entertaining us for tlie 
 Lincoln Spring. The sport was of less interest there 
 than it is now, as two-year-old racing was not allowed 
 so early. After the first day's sport we all went to 
 inspect Eyshworth, whom Mr. Chaplin had purchased 
 from Mr. Savile, and put to jumping, and had backed 
 him to win a good stake for the Grand National that 
 very week (Peech returning him 19,800/. to 1,000/., 
 the result of his commission). He was home-trained, 
 and Boxall, senior, the stud groom in whose care he 
 was, appeared very proud of him. 
 
 Very pleasant were these race parties at Blankney, 
 as an onlooker would have thought if he had seen us 
 all assembled at dinner in the great banqueting hall 
 (where up above in a gallery is hung the life-sized 
 portrait of Hermit, painted by Nightingale, who was 
 one of the very few good painters of a horse I ever 
 saw. He would have earned a great name if he had 
 shown more application in his work. I have a very 
 interesting picture of Countryman done by him, with 
 a view of the old stand at Newmarket and the race- 
 course as it was then), and seen the way the rare old 
 Cabinet Steinberg was passed round and drunk by all 
 of us, including the old Admiral, who after a glass or 
 
80 EACIXG EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 two one evening broke out into melody and sang 
 ' The Ehine, tlie Eliine, the jovial Ehine,' to our 
 great amusement. After the races were over, special 
 trains used to take us on to Liverpool, where for 
 some years I stayed at the Adelphi Hotel with nearl}^ 
 always the same party, the Earl of Westmorland, 
 Colonel Knox, Captain B. Coventry, Mr. Eeginald 
 Herbert, H. Crawshaw, Sir W. Miiner, Lord Dupplin, 
 Lord Maidstone, and Lord Anglesey. 
 
 It is curious to note how gentlemen of the greatest 
 experience and knowledge of turf affairs are often 
 ready to listen to the rubbish talked by needy touts, 
 who have not a shilling to bless themselves with, but 
 profess a knowledge which gentlemen must know 
 they cannot have. Mr. Eayne was on this occasion 
 vastly impressed by the communication of a tout who 
 approached him directly he arrived on the course 
 from Croxteth, where Lord Sefton always enter- 
 tained a party twice a year, his string of carriages, 
 with their well-matched stepping horses, being, as 
 indeed they still are, the admiration of all Liverpool 
 race-goers. This tout implored Mr. Eayne to back 
 Eyshworth, saying with great solemnity, ' Mr. Eayne, 
 I came along of Boxall in the train this morning, and 
 he vows by his Maker he can't be beat.' Mr. Eayne, 
 who would listen to every tout he met, rushed off to 
 back him, and the tip proved better than most — 
 but not good enough. Eyshworth ran remarkably 
 well, but being ridden by young Boxall — who, al- 
 though an admirable horseman, wanted practice, and 
 did not know the course thoroughly — he went much 
 further than any animal in the race (Tom Eickernell, 
 otherwise Mr. Thomas, said a mile further at least), 
 
DISTURBANCE 81 
 
 and could only get second to Disturbance, on whom 
 Mr. Eicliardson rode a very fine race, winning his 
 first Liverpool. The fact was that Eyshworth was a 
 coward, and Mr. Eicliardson, knowing this, got along- 
 side of him in the run home and frightened him out 
 of the race. 
 
 At Northampton, just before the Spencer Plate, I 
 gave Henry Woolcott 1 ,000Z. for Lady Atholstone, but 
 at first she was a very unlucky buy for me and I lost 
 a lot of money on her. The race was won by Colonel 
 Carleton with The Colonel, thus repeating the victory 
 of Hamlet in the same owmership the year before, 
 and, oddly enough, he ran a dead heat w^ith Eever- 
 beration in 1874, but, being beaten in the runofi*, just 
 missed carrying ofi" the race three years in succession. 
 Luck does cling to owmers on the same courses in a 
 remarkable way. For instance, in 1880 and 1881 at 
 Northampton, the very place I am writing about, I 
 won the Althorp Park Stakes two years in succession, 
 and in 1881 and 1882 I won the Spencer Plate with 
 (Enone and Althotas. 
 
 At the Craven week again did the Biennial furnish 
 a surprise in Negro beating Andred two lengths, as a 
 fortnight afterwards, over the same distance, ridden 
 by the same jockeys, carrying the same weights, 
 Andred beat Pontarabian two lengths, Negro finish- 
 ing a bad third — the varying nature of public form 
 being thus again illustrated. I remember there was 
 no excuse for either horse, and it was simply a slap 
 in the face for those who kept handicap books and 
 religiously believed in them. By the wa}', many race- 
 goers of the present time swear by all that is past and 
 deride the present. On the Priday of this meeting, 
 
 G 
 
82 PtACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 however, there were just four races. M. Lefevre won 
 a handicap, and walked over for three other races. 
 Lihan won the Queen's Plate ; Lord Falmouth's 
 Cecilia walked over for a small sweepstakes ; and 
 Mr. George Kruckenberg won two selling races with 
 Mannington and Vesuvius, ridden respectively by 
 Archer and Fordham. He had owned and run horses 
 for many years before this, and had won the Queen's 
 Vase, so that there was no great point or knowledge 
 of racing in the question put to him by a learned 
 counsel in a recent trial at law : ' When, may I ask, 
 did you blossom out into an owner of racehorses ? ' 
 At Epsom most people thought Cremorne was un- 
 lucky in being beaten three-quarters of a length by 
 Mornington, but here once again — and readers have 
 doubtless already jDerceived how often the lesson is 
 taught — the uncertainty of the turf is demonstrated; 
 for if Maidment on Cremorne had let him stride alono', 
 the chances are that the Derby winner would have 
 won. Nevertheless, Mornington was a better horse 
 than was generall}^ supposed, and the following day 
 beat Dutch Skater in a canter for the Great Metro- 
 politan Stakes. Tom Cannon rode the winner, and 
 on returning to weigh in was informed by telegram of 
 the birth of a son, whom he afterwards had christened 
 Mornington, and who is now doing excellent service 
 in his father's profession. 
 
 For the second year in succession Mr. Savile had 
 to put up with second place in the Two Thousand, 
 when Gang Forward beat Kaiser a short head; but 
 three better horses finished behind them, Boiard, 
 Doncaster, and Flageolet, and why Doncaster started 
 at 50 to 1 for the Derby I have never been able to 
 
 I 
 
AN OBJECTION 83 
 
 understand, as he was backward when he ran for this 
 race, and I well remember hearing Tom Cannon at 
 the door of the old weighing-room telling Mr. Merry 
 that the horse ran very well with him. On Thursday 
 Knutsford beat Houghton a head in a Plate, winner 
 to be sold for 3,000^., which shows how easy it was in 
 those days to win races with very moderate horses. 
 The One Thousand was won by Lord Falmouth with 
 a rank outsider, Cecilia, the favourite ; Marie Stuart, 
 ridden by Tom Cannon, only managing to get fourth 
 — no doubt she was dead amiss that day, but the fact 
 was not made evident till she had shown her incapa- 
 city to gallop. 
 
 At Chester there occurred an incident which gave 
 rise to much argument and some ill-feeling. After 
 Niochi had won the Marquis of Westminster's Plate, 
 beating a hot favourite in Fisherman, Mr. Johnstone, 
 his part-owner, objected to the winner on the grounds 
 of her being entered in the wrong age. The objec- 
 tion was well founded ; but on Messrs. Topham ex- 
 plaining to Mr. Johnstone that the fault lay entirely 
 with them, as they took upon themselves to fill up 
 my nomination, and entered the mare incorrectly, he 
 had the generosity to withdraw the objection, which 
 would certainly have been fatal. Not many owners 
 would have done the same thing, and his behaviour 
 was most sportsmanlike, but backers of the second 
 may perhaps be excused for having argued that rules 
 were rules, and that according to the letter of the 
 law they had won. To show how horses sometimes 
 improve with time, on the Tuesday of the second 
 Spring meeting, the great Thunder only contrived to 
 get home a head from the speedy Tangible, and with 
 
 G 2 
 
84 RACING r.EMIXISCEXCES 
 
 the bottom weigiit on too, receiving a stone from 
 the second. A nice chance the rest of the field had 
 with these flyers ! though it is fair on the Admiral to 
 say that Thunder's only appearance that year as yet 
 had been in a ' selling race, winner to be sold for 
 500 sovs.,' his solitary ojDponent, Contraband, who 
 was set to give him two stone, breaking down in the 
 race, whilst Tangible had run three times without 
 winning. 
 
 At Epsom the heavy topped Marsworth won the 
 Woodcote for Baron Eothschild by a head from 
 Kidbrooke, a great loosely-made young Melbourne 
 horse, trained in H. Woolcott's stable, and afterwards 
 my property. Neither horse was suited to the 
 course, and the winner's next and last appearance in 
 public here was when he ran a dead heat with 
 Couronne de Fer in the Middle Park Plate. He was 
 afterwards sold to go to Germany. F. Webb won 
 the Derby for Mr. Merry on Doncaster, by a length 
 and a half from those marvellously consistent run- 
 ners and often opponents, Gang Forward and Kaiser, 
 and as they passed under my brother-in-law's stand, 
 from which I saw the race, I recollected too late the 
 words of Cannon to the owner after the Guineas 
 were run. In this race Montargis, a future Cam- 
 bridgeshire winner, was ridden by Carratt, described 
 by some as the 'Fordham of France,' but here termed 
 ' the vegetable jockey.' 
 
 Dutch Skater won his last race when he defeated 
 Lilian by a neck, after a good fight for the Queen's 
 Plate ; and Marie Stuart wiped out her One Thousand 
 defeat by winning the Oaks easily, in the hands of 
 Tom Cannon, this day being very noteworthy or 
 
DEAD HEATS 85 
 
 another brace of dead lieats in a selling race, between 
 Arcesilaus, a huge three-year-old chestnut horse by 
 Lacydes, and Cranbourne, a compactly made bay. 
 They were ridden respectively by Goater and French, 
 and it will be remembered by many readers that the 
 latter was on the back of the double dead-heater, 
 Marquis of Lome ; but whereas the Marquis was 
 favourite in both his heats, here the betting changed 
 round from being odds on the young one to odds on 
 Cranbourne in the final heat. He was easily beaten 
 by two lengths, and it is remarkable how often in 
 the run off of a dead heat the loser is favourite, not- 
 withstanding the generally accepted idea that the 
 animal which gets up and makes the dead heat is 
 likely to win the decider. At Ascot, the great 
 Lowlander ran third in the Trial Stakes, receiving a 
 lot of weio'ht from the first and second, and could 
 have been claimed for 200 so vs. and the stake ! If 
 his capacity had been faintly appreciated, there 
 would have been a rush to get hold of him. He, 
 like Thunder, furnished an instance of a horse that 
 improved stones from three to four years old, the 
 third instance I particularly remember being that of 
 my own horse Fuller ton. After this race no one 
 could have guessed that the following year, after 
 being sold for over 3,000/., Lowlander would sweep 
 the board of the big handicaps at Ascot. The result 
 of the Prince of Wales' Stakes was interesting, as it 
 afforded a striking proof of the way in which horses 
 sometimes run consistently up to their form. Thrice 
 Gang Forward and Kaiser had met, and thrice they 
 finished within a few inches of each other ; but this 
 time the sturdy little son of Skirmisher avenged his 
 
86 EACIXG EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 Two Thousand defeat by beating Gang Forward a 
 head, after a punishing race, though neither was the 
 worse for it, and each won a couple more races 
 before the meeting concluded. Their Derby con- 
 queror did not put in an appearance, having been 
 beaten by Boiard in the Grand Prix, the Sunday 
 before, when Flageolet finished in front of him also. 
 
 On the morning of the Grand Prix, some gentle- 
 men were drivino' to the racecourse and talking^ 
 about the horses they had backed. 'How do you 
 stand ? ' asked a well-known nobleman of Lord H. 
 ' Oh, with me it is simply a case of " Switzerland or 
 Victory," ' was the reply, and I regret to say the result 
 was a journey to the land of Tell. Some years before 
 I went racing, Lord H. was one of the 'Eomeo 
 Lords,' so called because they possessed a horse 
 called Eomeo. They never had cause to exclaim, 
 ' Oh Eomeo, Eomeo, wherefore art thou Eomeo ? ' 
 Their Eomeo was born with a distinct mission to 
 act as a ' retriever ' for them. When things had 
 been bad throug^hout a meetinof, the horse was 
 brought out and put in a handicap, and sent to get 
 back their losses of the week. JSTobly, too, I am told, 
 he was accustomed to fulfil his appointed task. 
 
 The Sixteenth Biennial introduced us to a beauti- 
 ful Thunderbolt horse, Lemnos, whose dam afterwards 
 became so famous by producing Petrarch. Lemnos 
 was a bright chestnut, symmetrically, yet powerfully^ 
 built, and, although the outsider of the party, he won 
 this race easily. Cremorne ran away from Flageolet, 
 Corisande, Hannah, and the Gold Vase winner. Thorn, 
 in the Gold Cup, and then the white-legged Blair 
 Athol horse, Ecossais, coming out with a great 
 
COUNTRYMAN 87 
 
 repatation, started a red-hot favourite for the New 
 Stakes, made all the ranning, and won in a canter. 
 He started in three races as a two-year-old, and was 
 never headed in any of them, and I have always 
 believed that Tom Jennings feared one of his leofs 
 might give way, as he always told Fordham to let 
 him come through and not pull him about. Stock- 
 bridge racing was only noticeable for the success of 
 Couronne de Eer in the Hurstbourne Stakes and 
 Stockbridge Cup ; and passing over the twelve 
 lengths' victory of the flying Ecossais in the July 
 Stakes, I come to a memorable finish between Tom 
 French and Fordham for the Cheveley Stakes, when 
 the former just got the mighty chestnut home a short 
 head from Blenheim, to whom he was conceding a 
 stone. His sides after the race effectively prevented 
 any one from talking of a ' bloodless victory.' 
 
 The Perram Donation was again not claimed this 
 year as a marriage portion, and was therefore paid to- 
 Trombone, winner of the Town Plate. At Goodwood 
 I committed the folly of backing Countryman for 
 the Stewards' Cup, for I was persuaded by the result 
 of a rough gallop that he had quite come back to 
 his form, but the race furnished me with a very 
 expensive proof that the gallop was all wrong. He 
 was never in the race, nor did he ever win another, 
 although he got second several times. I sold him 
 for a thousand to a Mr. Blackler, a gentleman who 
 owned an estate in Australia enclosed in a rino- fence 
 sixteen miles round ; there he reared thoroughbred 
 stock, and if not a great success at the stud, at any 
 rate Countryman sired a winner of the Melbourne 
 Cup. This reminds me of a story of a gentleman 
 
88 RACIXG RE3IIXISCEXCES 
 
 writing to the breeder of a horse he had bought 
 from him for his pedigree. The horse had lost the 
 breeder money, and in a somewhat laconic epistle, 
 he wrote back, ' Dear Sir, your horse was sired by 
 young Hercules and " damned " by his late owner, 
 yours truly ' 
 
 The three starters for the Goodwood Cup included 
 two Derby winners in Favonius and Cremorne, but 
 Flageolet beat them by thirty lengths. 
 
 Passing on to Doncaster, the Leger produced a 
 most sporting race, for Mr. Merry had in it his 
 Derby winner, Doncaster, and his Oaks winner, 
 Marie Stuart, and he determined to let colt and filly 
 run absolutely on their merits and fight out the 
 question which was the best of the year. It was a 
 grand race, the result being that the mare just beat 
 her stable companion a head. Kaiser finished twice 
 •as far behind Doncaster as he did in the Derby, but 
 his old opponent Gang Forward could not renew 
 antagonism, as he met with an accident on the way 
 to Doncaster, and was struck out of the race. 
 
 After Winslow had just beaten Shannon for the 
 Ciueen's Plate, an incident of a sort rare amongst our 
 best jockeys occurred. Custance lodged a complaint 
 against Chaloner for foul riding, and of course the 
 charge acquired added strength because he had 
 won the race. The Stewards ruled that he was 
 perfectly justified in complaining, and whilst acquit- 
 ting Chaloner of evil intention, they strongly advised 
 him to be more careful in future. A parallel case 
 happened years afterwards, also at Doncaster, when 
 Cannon won the Cup on Isonomy by a short head 
 from Jeannette, and objected to Archer, the rider of 
 
SIE JOSEPH'S LAST BET 89 
 
 tlie mare, after tlie race for similar behaviour ; but I 
 shall refer to this later on. 
 
 Doncaster went sadly off after his race for the 
 Leger, as he could make no sort of fight of it with 
 either Flageolet or Andred when carrying 7 lb. 
 extra for the Grand Duke Michael Stakes, and his 
 last appearance was at the next Newmarket meeting, 
 when he was hopelessly beaten by Kaiser at even 
 weights in the Newmarket Derby. Nevertheless 
 he did mighty service at the stud and has made 
 himself an imperishable name. 
 
 The second October meeting was memorable for 
 the circumstance that Sir Joseph Hawley, who had 
 played so very conspicuous a part in the racing- 
 world, made his last appearance on a racecourse. I 
 well remember meeting him in the little room under 
 the Eowley Mile Stand, and his asking me to put 
 him three hundred pounds on his mare Polyhymnia 
 for the sweepstakes of three hundred sovs. each. 
 I did so, but La Coureuse, her only opponent, beat 
 her a neck. Probably this was his last bet, for 
 although Polyhymnia did win a Maiden Plate at 
 the Houghton meeting, long odds were laid on her. 
 King Lud, who had only run once before in the 
 Great Ebor Handicap this year, when not fancied by 
 the stable, won the Cesarewitch easily from another 
 outsider. Prince George, and this was the first race he 
 won for his new owner, Lord Lonsdale, better known 
 as Colonel Lowther, as he had only lately succeeded 
 to the title. The good-looking Newry won the 
 Middle Park Plate by a length from Spectator, and, 
 as a matter of course, much was expected of him, 
 as twenty starters went to the post, and though this 
 
90 EACING EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 was only tlie eighth time the race was run, it was 
 seen that it attracted the pick of the two-year-olds ; 
 but he turned out very moderate indeed, and this 
 was the only race he ever won. The next race was 
 a little handicap which was won by the favourite. 
 Walnut, the property of Mr. John Foy, who was 
 commissioner to the Marquis of Hastings and the 
 Earl of Stamford, and who executed the famous 
 Lecturer commission. Xo doubt at the time, so 
 little can a man often perceive what is to his real 
 advantage, the owner was very pleased to win this 
 little race ; but Walnut incurred a 3 lb. penalty for 
 the Cambridgeshire, and there can be no doubt that 
 this just cost him the latter important event which 
 would have won his owner a fortune, as he was 
 beaten only a head by the French horse Montargis, 
 a three-year-old, who carried the respectable weight 
 of 7 St. 13 lb. 
 
 On Friday Kaiser gave 7 lb. to Boiard, the Grand 
 Prix winner and conqueror of Doncaster, and beat 
 him four lengths in the Newmarket Derby, a very 
 smart performance, considering this game little horse 
 had been in training the whole year, and that this 
 was his tenth race ; but Mr. Savile, though the 
 kindest-hearted and most gentle of men, had a great 
 idea of what his horses ought to do for him, and 
 very little hesitation in asking them to do it, so that 
 he actually pulled out Kaiser for a paltry hundred 
 pounds handicap in the Houghton week, to give 
 weight and two years to Hannah, and to run Drum- 
 mond, a good four-year-old, at 5 lb., and naturally 
 he failed to beat either, Hannah winning easily. 
 That horses can be asked to do too much is a fact of 
 
BLENHEIM AXD PRINCE CHARLIE 91 
 
 wliicli every season farnislies jDioof. The rule with 
 regard to clamiing is frequently the origin of much 
 soreness, and I recollect that ill-feeling, which was 
 not healed up for a considerable time, was caused 
 after Thunder had won the Trial Stakes by three 
 lengths from Laburnum, for Baron Eothschild claimed 
 Thunder (as he was of course perfectly entitled to 
 do) for a thousand for the Duke of St. Albans, then 
 racing under the assumed name of ' Mr. Hedington.' 
 
 As for the Cambridgeshire, as just remarked, it 
 was won by the shortest of heads on the post by 
 Montarois, the French horse, ridden bv Carratt. 
 The animal started at fifty to one, and, as will be 
 supposed, was not really fancied. He had only been 
 beaten a neck by Sister Helen at Doncaster, and had 
 won twice in Paris between that time and this race. 
 Newhouse, a jockey who quickly made his way to 
 a good position and lost it with still greater rapidity, 
 had wasted hard to ride the second, who carried 
 6 St. 7 lb. No doubt he was a little weak, but, with 
 the three pounds penalty off, the horse must have won. 
 Sterling again ran a great horse in this race, carrying 
 9 St. 7 lb., but the Cesarewitch winner, King Lud, with 
 only 7 St. 9 lb., could get no nearer than a bad fourth, 
 not having speed enough to begin with. The old op- 
 ponents, Blenheim and Prince Charlie, met in the AU- 
 aojed Stakes at even weiofhts. T. Cannon rode the bio; 
 horse for the first time, and possibly he won easier than 
 he looked to, or else his jockey did not understand him ; 
 this time the former managed to get to the big chest- 
 nut's neck. Friday's racing furnished an example of 
 how horses that are little esteemed often ' come on.' 
 Pageant, who afterwards developed into a grand 
 
92 TtACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 stayer, and was wortli a large sum of money, was at 
 this time running in selling races, and won one on 
 this day, winner to be sold for 400/., nobody claiming 
 him. Where were our eyes then? This horse's 
 career was very similar to that of Hampton, the 
 latter's being the more extraordinary of the two, for 
 at one time he was regarded as merely a plater, yet 
 he not only won good races, but became the sire of 
 famous horses, Ayrshire, Merry Hampton, Eeve d'Or, 
 who gained ' classic ' fame, and many others, includ- 
 ing Sheen. Comment has just been made on the 
 mischief of overworking horses, but different animals 
 stand different quantities of work, and Prince Charlie 
 had wound up a busy year by winning his tenth 
 race off the reel. It was asking a great deal to 
 set him to give a stone to Oxonian single-handed, 
 and the ring fielded strongly ; but in the hands of 
 Tom Cannon he cleverly disposed of his opponent by a 
 length. It was a treat to see this fine horseman 
 sittinof as firm as a rock and exhibitinf? the horse's 
 magnificent stride to the greatest advantage. 
 
 The year had still to furnish proof of what a 
 great horse could do in the matter of carrying weight 
 — I refer to Sterling, who was set to carry 9 st. 4 lb. 
 in the Liverpool Autumn Cup. Just before the race 
 a very well-known man in his day met Mr. Chris. 
 Fenning, and asked him what he had backed. ' I've 
 got 1,000 to 80 about Sterling,' he said; 'but no 
 one wants to stand with me. They are frightened of 
 the weight, and the ring lay 20 to 1.' I happened 
 to be near him in one of the boxes, while the race 
 was being run, and still hear his voice ringing in my 
 ears as I recall the scene, for he brandished his 
 
STERLING 93 
 
 umbrella, and lustily yelled, ' Sterling wins ! Sterling 
 wins ! you devils ! ' and win he did a magnificent rac^ 
 by a sliort head from Louise Victoria, who was only 
 a head in front of King Lud. This was one of the 
 best races I ever saw Custance ride. Neither he nor 
 his horse would take any denial. Both the winner 
 and Kino' Lud ran exactlv to their Cambridgeshire 
 form, as the latter received 6 lb. for the beating he 
 got in the former race. Why Sterling went so badly 
 in the betting I don't know. It may have been that 
 Dawson feared the weight in the heavy ground, or 
 that the horse was not quite up to the mark, or 
 would not quite stay home. I thought the latter 
 myself and backed King Lud. 
 
 Towards the end of the year my colours were, 
 I remember, worn successfully by Archer, who in 
 those days was more notorious for getting good 
 starts and keeping them, than for the superb riding 
 which afterwards gave him so great a name on the 
 Turf. 
 
94 RACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 1874 
 
 At the end of 1873, about tlie first week of December, 
 I paid my first visit to Beckliampton witli Sir William 
 Milner, wlio owned some horses with me. The house 
 is a comfortable old-fashioned farmhouse, with a 
 long low-ceiling dining-room, at the corner of three 
 cross-roads leading to Swindon, Marlborough, and 
 Calne. The downs are half a mile from the house, 
 and as the horses walk up to exercise they pass close 
 to Beckliampton Gorse, a pretty sure find for the 
 Duke of Beaufort's hounds, with the certainty of a 
 merry gallop over the beautiful downs, as there is 
 not a cover within two miles. It is charming to be 
 out on these downs on a spring morning, where you 
 see the plovers run off xheir nests just in front of your 
 horse's feet. At the edge of the gallops they have 
 innumerable nests, generally built on the little mole 
 hillocks. On this occasion we were well pleased 
 with our visit, for we tried a yearling which we 
 thought was certain to develop into a flyer. Cat's Eye, 
 who, however, showed himself the possessor of a 
 temper of his own, that was fatal to his winning 
 prospects as a two-year-old. Chypre and the Grey 
 Palmer (who stood 15 hands 3 ins. as yearlings), 
 were very promising, as was Eoyal, and I increased 
 my stud during the year by buying most of Mr. F. 
 
SPORT AT STUDLEY CASTLE 95 
 
 Fislier's horses in training there, these inckiding 
 Kidbrooke, Berryfield, Harpenden, Sugarcane, &c. 
 
 From Beckhampton Sir WiUiam and I went to 
 Studley Castle, the seat of Mr. T. E. Walker, where a 
 party of racing friends was assembled to meet us, 
 including the Earl of Winchilsea. The castle, a 
 picturesque Gothic building, had been purchased by 
 Mr. Walker's father from Sir Harry Goodricke, 
 brother-in-law of Mr. Payne. The owner told me 
 the morning he came of age his father presented him 
 with a sapphire and diamond ring. His face must 
 have betrayed a certain amount of disappointment, 
 for no doubt he expected something more than a 
 jewel. His father, however, said encouragingly 
 ' Look inside ! ' He did so and found ' Studley 
 Castle ' engraved on the ring — a magnificent present, 
 for the castle included the adjoining lands. 
 
 The next morning we shot the covers, and coming 
 to one close at home supposed to contain a good 
 many pheasants, we were all stationed on the far 
 side of the wood, a long narrow one, whilst our host 
 only took Lord Winchilsea with him on the other 
 side. The wind was in our direction, every pheasant 
 came over our heads, and we had fine fun. When it 
 was over, judge of our amusement when we heard 
 Mr. Walker say to Lord W., ' What an extraordinary 
 thing ! It is the first time I ever saw them fly that 
 way ! They generally come straight over where we 
 were standing.' Of course he had forgotten the wind, 
 and was unmercifully chaffed the rest of the day by 
 all of us ; even Lord Winchilsea was highly amused 
 at his giving himself away so readily. 
 
 When March 24 came I went to stay at Blankney, 
 
96 EACIXG EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 in the full belief tliat my liorse Cat's Eye had a good 
 chance for the Brocklesby. I had, of course, what 
 appeared to be good reason for my faith, but another 
 exam|)le was supplied of the way in which the best- 
 founded hopes are very frequently disappointed. 
 Cat's Eye could, I believe, have won if he chose, that is 
 to say would have won if the field had jumped off at 
 once and all had gone well ; but he showed a lot of 
 temper at the post, delaying the start half an hour, 
 got into a ditch by the old course with Jeffery, 
 his jockey, and finally made a moderate show in the 
 race. Tomahawk, trained by Mat Dawson, won the 
 Lincoln Handicap, and still remains one of the few 
 three-year-olds that has done so, the capacity of 
 three-year-olds in the spring being a question which 
 is creatine^ much discussion at the time of writiuQ-. 
 
 Early in the year two Hungarian gentlemen, 
 Messrs. Alexander and Hector Baltazzi, were begin- 
 ning to form a stud of racehorses in England. It 
 may be remarked here as an instance of the un- 
 certainty of racing and the satisfaction or disappoint- 
 ment of hopes with regard to horses, Mr. Alexander 
 Baltazzi promptly succeeded in winning the Derby 
 with Kisber, success in the great Epsom race being 
 an event for which many distinguished owners have 
 vainly striven year after year to the end of their lives. 
 Mr. H. Baltazzi, who raced under the name of Mr. 
 ' H. Bruce,' was a gentleman rider of some repute. At 
 Windsor Spring the onlookers were treated to the 
 spectacle of a desperate race between Prince Charlie 
 and my horse Tangible for the Stand Cup, the former 
 giving the latter sixteen pounds and beating him a 
 short head. The jockeys, Parry and Webb, appeared 
 
THE NEWMARKET T.Y.C. 97 
 
 level on the post, but Prince Charlie was a much 
 longer horse than mine, and to this he owed his 
 victory. He had been severely spurred, but it was 
 a fine performance, his best, indeed, throughout the 
 year, in which he won every race but one. I had 
 a bad meeting here. Some idiot, who of course 
 thought that he possessed exclusive sources of infor- 
 mation, actually backed my moderately useful but in 
 no sort of way remarkable colt, Kidbrooke, for the 
 Derby ; but he failed to win the Spring Handicap 
 here, as did Lady Atholstone and Berryfield, all of 
 whom had been tried good enough to win their races. 
 
 A notable feature of the Craven week was the 
 extraordinarily fine race on the T.Y.C. between 
 Eoquefort and Oxonian, Fordham and Cannon, the 
 former just outstaying the other by a neck, and I 
 well recollect Fordham telling me before the race 
 that he thought he should just win, ' because the 
 T.Y.C. took such a great deal of running' This will 
 be a surprise to some people, but let them remember 
 how many two-year-olds, non-stayers, have failed to 
 get home in the last hundred yards on this very 
 course, and they will understand what I have never 
 forgotten. Gang Forward, apparently quite re- 
 covered from his accident, was brought out for the 
 Claret Stakes over the severe Ditch In and beaten a 
 head by Flageolet. Fordham was always pleased to 
 beat Chaloner a head. It is a curious fact with 
 regard to Fordham that, although he never wasted 
 and took little exercise, he never seemed to blow, 
 even after such a finish as this in such a long race. 
 
 Coming to Epsom, the City and Suburban, won by 
 Aldrich, will be chiefly remembered because of Lord 
 
 II 
 
98 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 Vivian's dream. He dreamt that a horse called ' The 
 Teacher' won the race. On looking at the entries 
 he could find no such name, till someone informed 
 him that Aldrich's original name was ' The Teacher.' 
 The owner of the horse could give no one any 
 encouragement to back him. Had not Lowlander 
 (borrowed from Lord Huntly, who had just purchased 
 him from Captain Gilbert Sterling for over three 
 thousand after winning the hurdle races at Liverpool 
 and the great Warwickshire Handicap) given Aldrich 
 seven pounds and a ten lengths' beating ? Of course 
 Lord Eosebery was ' entertaining an angel unawares,' 
 as no one then knew how good Lowlander was. Still 
 Lord Vivian stuck to his dream and took a thousand 
 to thirty about the horse ; and to his delight saw him 
 win a neck. After the race the owner of the winner 
 wished to buy Lowlander from Lord Huntly, who 
 wisely refused to sell. In the Hyde Park Plate that 
 good mare Cachmere actually gave seven pounds to 
 Galopin, his first appearance, and after a bustling 
 finish beat him a head. She was objected to and dis- 
 qualified — ^hard lines for her owner and breeder, 
 Mr. Julius Alington, as I think it was partly the 
 fault of Morris, who ought to have won on Galopin. 
 
 Mr. Alexander had an opportunity of claiming 
 back Thunder after the decision of the Guineas Trial 
 Plate at I^ewmarket, but he did not avail himself of 
 it, and on this day for the first time was inaugurated 
 the system of selling horses by auction publicly after 
 the race instead of claiming them for the price they 
 were entered to be sold for. Admiral Eous, Mr. 
 Alexander, and several other older members of the 
 Jockey Club were very adverse to the idea, but our 
 
SELLING RACES 99 
 
 funds being then at sucli a low ebb, they at last gave 
 way on the understanding that it was to be only a 
 trial. From that day it was naturally a pronounced 
 success, putting nearly 10,000Z. a year into the 
 pockets of the Club, and, of course, the idea of 
 going back to the old claiming system never arose, 
 although the latter races were far more favourable 
 to owners of horses that ran at Newmarket, and the 
 enormously increased income of the Club has been 
 derived from dipping into people's pockets. 
 
 On the Two Thousand day Prince Charlie had a 
 narrow squeak of being beaten by Blenheim, the 
 pair running for a sweepstakes over the T.Y.C. and 
 the big horse only getting home a head. The result 
 of the next race was a tribute to the Admiral's 
 handicapping, the top weight. Tangible, running a 
 dead heat with Tintern, whilst Luisette and the 
 Cura9oa filly, beaten a head from them, also ran a 
 dead heat for third place. Then came the Two 
 Thousand, for which Ecossais started a hot favourite, 
 but probably Tom Jennings, his trainer, was never 
 very sweet about his chance. Perhaps he had a 
 suspicion of what afterwards proved a certainty — 
 that the horse could not stay the course. He finished 
 a bad third to Atlantic and Eeverberation, the former, 
 ridden by Archer, winning by a neck. This was a 
 great triumph for so light a jockey. He had ridden 
 6 St. 1 lb. in the race before, so had to carry much 
 dead weight, but he justified Lord Falmouth's con- 
 fidence in him by riding a patient race — a far better 
 one than he rode in the same event ten years after- 
 wards on Paradox when at the height of his reputa- 
 tion. I remember his finishing close under the rails, 
 
 h2 
 
100 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 furthest from the judge's box, a great advantage in 
 the opinion of many jockeys, which, however, was 
 never shared in by Fordham, who constantly snatched 
 races out of the fire by short heads under the box, 
 notably in Sabinus's Cambridgeshire and Petronel's 
 Two Thousand. On Friday that good mare Apology 
 won the One Thousand, beating La Coureuse who 
 was backed by all the Newmarket people. This was 
 the second year only of this race being run over the 
 Eowley Mile instead of over the Ditch Mile — an 
 excellent change, there being no course in the world 
 to compare with the ' E. M.' as it is tersely termed, 
 and few more beautiful sights to a lover of the Turf 
 than a field of horses streaming over it. 
 
 The Chester Cup again this year showed how 
 indispensable it is to choose suitable courses for 
 different horses, for it is constantly seen that horses 
 have the strongest preferences, or rather, perhaps, 
 that something in the make and shape of certain 
 animals enables them to distinguish themselves on 
 certain ground. Leolinus, a horse of good class and 
 abihty, receiving 12 lb. from Organist, an animal of 
 the same age, was beaten two lengths ; yet Leolinus 
 won the Prince of Wales' Stakes at Ascot and ran 
 second for the Lester. Of course he could not act on 
 the Chester course, and required a stronger jockey to 
 get him out. At this meeting the Stewards dis- 
 qualified the winner of the Sixth Beaufort Biennial, 
 but afterwards allowed the case to be referred to the 
 Jockey Club Stewards, who reversed the decision — 
 not an uncommon occurrence. After Eegal had won 
 a selling race at the second Spring meeting. Captain 
 Machell bought him for 360 guineas, and subse- 
 
GLADIATEUE'S FAILURE AT THE STUD 101 
 
 quently won the Liverpool Steeplechase with him. 
 If that class of horse were put up to auction now, he 
 would be quite certain to fetch from 800 to 1,000 
 guineas. I fear we did not half profit in those days 
 by the chances afforded us, at least I know I did not. 
 Hero, a great, fine, brown colt by Gladiateur, whom 
 Tom Jennings had tried a clinker, beat Lady Love in 
 a canter in the only race for which he ever started, 
 or he might have done something to redeem the 
 name of Gladiateur as a sire, for, mighty horse as 
 the great Frenchman was on the Turf, at the stud 
 he was a complete failure. Prince Charlie and 
 Blenheim, old opponents, were to meet again here, 
 and again the Prince won, beating Blenheim three 
 lengths, thus altering the form of their last race ; 
 but Blenheim, honest, good horse as he was, was 
 80on to have his revenge. About this time Lord 
 Eosebery was very eager to win the great races and 
 anxious to get hold of horses likely to enable him to 
 accomplish his desire. When Mr. Padwick put up 
 Couronne de Per for sale at one of the spring meet- 
 ings. Lord Eosebery gave over 3,000/. for him, and 
 not unnaturally formed high hopes concerning the 
 colt. A report got wind at the time that the horse 
 ^ made a noise,' and, unfortunately, this turned out to 
 be correct, but, nevertheless, he ran second to George 
 Frederick for the Derby, finishing in front of the 
 Guineas winner, Atlantic. George Frederick was a 
 very powerful chestnut horse, rather wide in the 
 chest, and giving one the idea rather of a T.Y.C. 
 horse than a Derby winner, but it is true that ' they 
 run in all shapes.' 
 
 The most remarkable coincidence about this 
 
102 EACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 Derby was that it should have been won by George 
 Frederick on the actual birthday of the Prince after 
 whom the horse was named. That the Derby Day 
 and the Prince's birthday should coincide in date, and 
 that there should be a three-year-old named after 
 him entered for that Derby, and good enough to win 
 it, was certainly extraordinary. If it had been a 
 story described in a novel people would have derided 
 the idea as too improbable. Miss To to started a 
 warm favourite for the Oaks, but was easily beaten 
 by the One Thousand winner, and taking the line 
 through the Biennial, when Eeverberation ran a 
 dead heat with Miss Toto, the Derby winner finishing 
 two lengths behind them, this performance makes 
 Apology the best three-year-old of the year. Why 
 Thunder should have started the worst favourite of 
 the eleven runners for the Epsom Cup, with Archer 
 on his back, too, who was just beginning to be con- 
 sidered a lucky jockey, is incomprehensible, as he 
 won it very easily from Chingachgook, a most sym- 
 metrical little chestnut horse, the beau-ideal of a park 
 hack (which he afterwards became), but a most un- 
 lucky horse, running second half-a-dozen times for 
 valuable stakes, quite a second 'Yellow Jack,' an 
 animal supposed to have distinguished himself in 
 this particularly unfortunate line more than any 
 other racehorse. At Winchester, Kidbrooke won 
 another Queen's Plate, beating a wretched lot ; but 
 he was beginning to get me back some of the fifteen 
 hundred pounds I had given for him. 
 
 A well-known figure on the Turf about this time 
 was Mr. Fothergill Eowlands, who presided over an 
 establishment at Epsom that contained horses owned 
 
FOTHERGILL ROWLANDS 103 
 
 by Lord Marcus Beresford and some otliers, and later 
 on by Captain Arthur Paget. Mr. Eowlands was a 
 most genial companion, and full of racing stories. 
 He was very fond of relating incidents that happened 
 when tlie King of Holland sent for bim to superintend 
 the races got up at the Hoo. One day, on the eve of 
 one of the meetings held there, he had the honour of 
 dining at a banquet given by the King. He sat next 
 a great fat Baron of uncertain nationality, who main- 
 tained a dignified silence till a glass of wine or two 
 had loosened his tongue, when he turned to Mr. 
 Eowlands and said pompously, 'I tink, sar, your 
 name is Eowlands ? ' The latter signified assent. 
 ' Pray, sar,' the Baron continued, ' any relation to de 
 great MuckasaliV (Eowland's Macassar Oil.) The 
 Baron pronounced the name as if it was some 
 important title. 
 
 Mr. Eowlands was a gentleman rider in those 
 days, and perhaps he was a little inclined to draw 
 the long bow about his riding exploits in Holland, 
 judging from the following story : — One day, accord- 
 ing to his own story, he went to the King and said, 
 'Your Majesty, I regret to tell you that it is a poor 
 day's sport to-morrow, only three races. Fortunately 
 I am going to ride in the last race, so I will make a 
 dead heat of it, and your Majesty will then be able 
 to see another race,' and he used to go on to relate 
 that he really achieved this feat ! 
 
 At Ascot, Leolinus, with the allowances, beat 
 Atlantic very cleverly in the Prince of Wales' Stakes ; 
 and Blenheim, in receipt of 7 lb., was rewarded for 
 his many unsuccessful attempts by beating Prince 
 Charlie two lengths in the Queen's Stand Plate. It 
 
104 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 was a muggy day, not at all a good one for a roarer, 
 and Fordham, jumping off old Blenheim at score, 
 came through as hard as he could with him, and was 
 never headed ; not improbably the weather had 
 something to do with the result. Camballo carried 
 silk for the first time when he won the seventeenth 
 Ascot Biennial for his exceedingly popular owner, 
 Mr. Clare Vyner ; and Lowlander, starting equal 
 favourite with Mr. Sturt's Mr. Fox, positively romped 
 in for the Eoyal Hunt Cup, running as the property 
 of Mr. ' H. Bird,' but really belonging to the Marquis 
 of Huntly, who also won two more handicaps at this 
 meeting. The French horse, Boiard, won the Gold 
 Cup by three quarters of a length from the dead- 
 heaters Flageolet and Doncaster. Marie Stuart ran 
 in this race, but was not quite herself, yet when 
 Lord Dudley offered to take ten thousand to two 
 thousand about her. Steel, who generally laid those 
 big bets, declined to gamble. 
 
 At Stockbridge Mr. Chaplin and I made a match 
 with two bad two-year-olds, which resulted in a dead 
 heat. Prince Charhe and Blenheim met once more, 
 and this time the Prince gave his Ascot conqueror a 
 good beating in the Cup, but they now met at even 
 weights ; and Camballo followed up his Ascot victory 
 by winning the Hurstbourne from Claremont ; it was 
 the latter's first appearance, and much was expected 
 from him, as will be understood when it is said that 
 Captain Machell gave two thousand guineas for him 
 at the Cobham sale of yearlings, a large price in those 
 days. If he had been an easier horse to train he 
 would have taken high honours, and I for one shall 
 not forget the fright he gave the backers of Camballo 
 
KIDBROOKE'S TEMPER 105 
 
 in the Two Thousand of the following year. At 
 Huntingdon, with ten to one laid on him, Tangible 
 had to knock under to the two-year-old Fairy King, 
 to whom he was giving 3 st., but he would have done 
 what he was asked if he had not reared up at the post 
 and struck his knee heavily against his jaw, which 
 upset him — and his backers. 
 
 My horse Kidbrooke would have done me excel- 
 lent service about this time but that he was -rapidly 
 developing a very uncertain temper, and at Good- 
 wood in the Visitors' Plate he refused to gallop at 
 first when the flag dropped, and was quite twenty 
 lengths behind ; yet he managed to catch Caro on the 
 post in time to make a dead heat of it. Curiously 
 enough in the following year, in the very same race, 
 he was quite 100 yards behind, and the ring 
 offered 100 to 1 against him, but suddenly he took 
 it into his head to try, caught his opponents, and won 
 the race. The Brighton Cup was one of the most 
 farcical of races. I ran Kidbrooke, who had not a 
 ghost of a chance, and Mr. Savile started Lilian and 
 Kaiser, declaring to win with the former. I remem- 
 ber hearing Colonel Forrester say 'Kaiser is very 
 angry ! ' when the colt was pulled up to let the mare 
 win. 
 
 At the conclusion of the Sussex fortnight M. 
 Lefevre, Mr. E. Towneley, and I started for London, 
 and, after a hasty dinner at the club, left Victoria for 
 Paris and Deauville. Arriving early next morning 
 in Paris, we drove across the city to the other station, 
 where a special train, ordered by M. Lefevre, 
 awaited us, and, after a hasty breakfast, off we started 
 for Deauville, accompanied by Mr. Henry Morris, the 
 
106 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 well-known commissioner and bookmaker, to whom 
 our host had offered a seat in his compartment. I 
 never shall forget the fearful pace that special went. 
 However, we arrived safely at Deauville, and in 
 plenty of time to wash and dress and have luncheon 
 before starting for the races. The racecourse is 
 situated on a flat sandy j)lain, and reminded me 
 rather of Chantilly. Of course, all the heau monde 
 of Paris was there, to say nothing of the others, and 
 I was much amused at watching all the gay and 
 startling toilettes. Macaron, a good-looking horse, 
 took the first big two-year-old race of the season, and 
 Peut-etre, who won the Cambridgeshire this year, 
 was beaten a length from Marmotte in a little mile 
 and a half wei2fht-for-ag;e race. The winner, how- 
 
 Co ' 
 
 ever, won thirteen races during the year. In the 
 evening, after dining with my host and hostess, 
 Mons. and Madame Lefevre, we drove into Trouville 
 to hear Judic ; and, as it was the first time I ever saw 
 her, I was much impressed with her exceptional bright- 
 ness and ability. The evening dwells in my memory 
 for another reason. After going with some friends 
 to the club and playing at ecarte, I started to walk 
 home. Anyone who has been to Deauville will know 
 there are several villas situated in their own grounds 
 all along the sea-shore, and very much alike, all 
 resembling Swiss chalets. I came to what I thought 
 was ours, and tried to open the large pine-wood 
 entrance-gate, which was very much carved at the 
 top. The gate was locked, and though it was quite 
 dark, I proceeded to climb over it ; but when on the 
 top I caught my foot in the carving, which must have 
 been rotten, as it gave way with a crash, and head 
 
DEAUVILLE 107 
 
 over heels I went into the Httle garden, which, to my 
 horror, I found, on rising to my feet, was not ours. 
 Suddenly I saw a light and heard voices in the house, 
 so I thought the best plan would be to make a bolt 
 of it the way I had come in — now made easier 
 because the gate was despoiled of its ornamentation. 
 I went over that gate pretty quickly, and our villa 
 being the next one beyond, I was soon at home. 
 
 The shooting for the Grand Prix International de 
 Deauville followed next day, and Sir William Call 
 good-naturedly offered to lend me his gun. The 
 Tir aux Pigeons was situated about a mile from our 
 villa, and to the right of the racecourse as you 
 approach it from the sea. The ' boundary ' consisted 
 of the usual sticks the French use to make a fence, 
 sharpened and stuck in the ground with a wire 
 fastened round each of them about four inches from 
 the top. They always remind me of the sticks 
 gardeners place to train up flowers, and are used all 
 over France with equal impartiality, whether to pro- 
 tect a few fowls in a small garden or keep cattle out 
 of a railway ; it seems a matter of indifference, and 
 rightly so, because they keep out nothing that wants 
 to force its way in. A wonderful assemblage of all 
 nations was there to shoot, so ' International ' was a 
 most appropriate term. I was much struck by the 
 queer weapons used. Some of them had the stocks 
 elaborately carved ; many of them had a sort of 
 green cotton strap fastened to two rings — one under 
 the barrels, a few inches from the muzzle, and the 
 other under the stock of the gun. The demi-monde 
 were here in fuU force, and you would think with 
 their gaiety and laughter that they would distract 
 
108 EACIXG KEMINISCEXCES 
 
 the shooters; but nothing of the sort. Well but 
 plainly dressed, they all sat together, the queen of 
 them apparently being Mademoiselle Laura Hayman, 
 a young lady of the Creole type, not beautiful, but 
 with wonderful brown eyes and an arch expression. 
 They occupied themselves the whole day with 
 knitting, or rather crocheting, silk sachets to fill 
 with lavender, appeared to take a great interest in 
 the shooting, and were full of sympathy for those 
 who missed (their name was legion) and admiration 
 for those who killed. The ring was well represented, 
 and that eccentric character, old Thorpe — ' I'ancien ' 
 he was called afterwards — had come from Paris to 
 preside over the American bar, which was well 
 patronised. I was glad to renew my acquaintance 
 with him, not having met him since I was in Paris in 
 1871, when he was full of stories of the siege of Paris 
 and the horrors of the Commune, and when half 
 the shop windows on the boulevards were still 
 broken and all the statues in the Champs Elysees 
 bore the marks of bullets. To make a long story 
 short, only Mr. Arundell Yeo and I killed all our 
 birds, and we agreed to divide the money, which 
 amounted to a good sum, and to shoot off for the 
 ' Objet d'Art.' This consisted of a silver bird, a 
 cock who had got his legs entangled in the cord that 
 a child was drawing a little cart with, and, judging 
 from the child's face of anguish, he was the sufferer. 
 I coveted the prize, but alas, it was not to be mine. 
 My opponent was favoured with an ' owl,' that he 
 could not have missed, whilst my bird, struck hard 
 with both barrels, had just strength enough to rise 
 to the top of those infernal little sticks that formed 
 
A TKOUBLESOME VEGETABLE 109 
 
 the boundary, actually hit them, and fell dead on the 
 wrong side. However, I had backed myself for 
 several shots, and won a fair stake. The winner 
 proved to be a good shot, as the next year he won 
 the Grand Prize at Monte Carlo. I don't think I 
 have ever shot pigeons in a public sweepstakes since. 
 I remained for one day's more racing, and then, 
 taking leave of my kind host and hostess, set off by 
 the midnight mail for Paris. The next evening, 
 before starting for England, I dined at the Cafe 
 Anglais in the public room. Seeing artichokes on 
 the menu I ordered one, and when it made its 
 appearance was fairly astounded at its size. After 
 contemplating it for a few seconds, as did everyone 
 else in the room, I nervously began to pull a 
 few leaves out of it and eat them, or rather the 
 bottom part. As I went on, there was naturally a 
 huge pile of them on my plate ; still the artichoke 
 appeared enormous, and I suddenly became aware 
 that all the people opposite and close to me were 
 watching my efforts to demolish the vegetable. 
 Was it amusement or pity I saw in their faces ? I 
 know not, except that I was seized with a fit of shy- 
 ness, and the one idea in my mind was to get rid of 
 the dish as quickly as I could. I seized the arti- 
 choke, tore off all the leaves on it, piled them up on 
 the huge quantity already on my plate, and implored 
 the waiter to take them away, which he did with a 
 smile. I then tried to devour the ' fond,' but only 
 ate one mouthful and pushed it away from me, so 
 annoyed was I at those people staring. Why didn't 
 they have something to eat that I might retaliate on 
 them ? However, when I lit a cigar all interest in 
 
110 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 me ceased, and I was allowed to enjoy my coffee at 
 my ease. 
 
 After my return to England, I went to York, and 
 saw Cannon ride a wonderful race in the Great York- 
 shire Stakes on little Trent, beating Apology by a 
 head, which rather upset the Leger betting. The 
 result was all wrong according to previous and 
 subsequent running, but thus it happened there. 
 Passing over Warwick, where I won four races, 
 though one of them was only due to the fine riding 
 of Webb on Berryfield, as on form he ought not to 
 have given weight to Pageant and beaten him, we 
 come to Doncaster, where I just heard of the scratch- 
 ing of the Derby winner George Frederick, and 
 rumours of Apology's lameness made me very un- 
 comfortable, as at Goodwood I had laid three thou- 
 sand five hundred to twelve hundred on ^ve horses, 
 and had only Apology, Trent, and Glenalmond to 
 run for me. Later on there was a report that she 
 was scratched, and this gained such general credence 
 that a prominent bookmaker offered a thousand to 
 ten against her ' all in,' which means scratched or 
 not. However, the rumour proved to be untrue ; 
 she actually started favourite and, lame or not, she 
 won by a length and a half from Leolinus, who beat 
 Trent five lengths, proving what a fluke the Great 
 Yorkshire Stakes must have been. The victory was 
 very well received, the colours of Mr. Launde (the 
 assumed name of the Eev. W. King, a Lincolnshire 
 clergyman) being most popular. 
 
 In the summer of this year I should mention that 
 I went to Paris for Auteuil races, and a very good 
 time we had there, my companions on the journey 
 
CHANTILLY 111 
 
 being Captain ' Slippers ' Wingfield, and Captain B. 
 Coventry, both of whom I regret to say have joined 
 the majority. On Sunday we all went to Chantilly, 
 my first visit there, and we walked through the forest 
 to the racecourse, the former containing the exercise 
 gallops, on which the horses are trained. I was not 
 much impressed with the racing, probably because I 
 lost my money ; of the jockeys, most of whom 
 rode infamously, I preferred the riding of Carver and 
 Hunter. I recognised many English faces, Messrs. 
 W. Wright, Gideon, S. Haughton, J. B. Morris, 
 Saffray, &c., all of whom were pleased to see us, and 
 who then and at all other times on foreign racecourses 
 showed me the greatest civility and attention. Talk- 
 ing of bookmakers, Mr. E. Collins, well known in 
 Tattersall's Eing, was some years ago invited by a 
 friend to come over and see the Grand Prix run for. 
 On his return to England, I asked him how he had 
 enjoyed himself. ' Very much indeed,' was his reply. 
 ' It is the first time I have ever been on the Continent.' 
 ' How did you like the French cooking,' I asked ? 
 ' Ah, that was the best of it. Sir George. When we 
 came home from the races, I dined with my friend, 
 and to my surprise and delight, he put ' (pronounced 
 to rhyme with ' but ') ' the most beautiful English 
 dinner on the table I ever set eyes on.' 
 
 In the evenings, after the theatres, we used to 
 visit the American Bar in the Eue Scribe, formerly 
 kept by Thorpe, very popular with all comers, but 
 who had to give up the place after the war. At this 
 time it was kept by J. Coney, driven from England 
 in consequence of the closing of all the late houses in 
 Panton Street and round the Haymarket. Some of 
 
112 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 my readers will recollect a well-known counsel at 
 the time, referring to ' the disfranchisement of 
 Coney's burrow ' in some case, which elicited roars 
 of laughter in court. Here backers and layers used 
 to assemble the night before races, and make bets. 
 I myself took four thousand to one thousand from 
 two bookmakers at this very place, about Mr. Bal- 
 tazzi's Jackal, for the big hurdle race at Auteuil on 
 the following day. The bet was between myself and 
 the owner, and the horse, starting at a much shorter 
 price, beat a small field very easily. The racecourse 
 at Auteuil is charming. The stands are roomy and 
 well built, the success and great popularity of the 
 meetings there being entirely due to the increasing 
 care and attention bestowed on the place by the Prince 
 de Sagan, one of the most perfect of gentlemen, and 
 highly popular with everyone in Paris. Auteuil is his 
 hobby. He takes as much care of it as a collector 
 does of his pictures and ohjets dai% and he never 
 misses a meeting there if he can help it. 
 
 The first race on the card for the Tuesday of the 
 first October meeting was the Grand Duke Michael 
 Stakes, which resulted in a match between Novateur, 
 a French horse of M. Lefevre's, and Leolinus, the 
 second in the Leger. It looked good for the latter 
 on public form, but if any advantage is to be derived 
 from these reminiscences it is to show that very often 
 pubHc form is exceedingly deceptive, and the wrong 
 horse is just as likely to win when a man has a 
 plunge as at any other time, particularly if you know 
 nothing of how he is, as in this instance. Luckily for 
 me on this occasion I came across Tom Jennings, who 
 told me his horse was so well and had such good 
 
NOVATEUR AXD LEOLINUS 113 
 
 speed that lie thought he had a great chance in spite 
 of the reputation of a Leger second. About this time 
 some bookmakers did not care to be boxed up in 
 Tattersall's Eing all day so far off the Stand and Bird 
 Cage, and preferred taking up their position in a fly- 
 under the Eowley Mile Stand. As I emerged from 
 the Bird Cage E. Howett, who had only quite lately 
 come to the front amongst the bookmakers, was in 
 his fly, and asked me if I would have a bet. To my 
 reply, ' Yes, how much Novateur ? ' he said, ' Doesn't 
 win for a monkey ; ' and after saying ' Done,' I had 
 the pleasure of seeing Fordham ride what I call one 
 of his ' stealing ' races, and win a head in the last 
 stride, Leolinus having made all the running and 
 finishing with great determination with T. Osborne 
 on his back, but not having quite speed enough to 
 shake off the other. After this race Novateur became 
 a prominent favourite for the Cambridgeshire, but 
 something happened to him, and although he ran, he 
 figured in the rear all the way. Balfe, a sturdy little 
 horse, went too fast for Camballo in the Hopeful 
 Stakes run over that hateful course, the last half of 
 the Abingdon Mile, and the Great Eastern Eailway 
 Handicap, then rather an important betting race, 
 was won by a charming little French mare, Aurore, 
 one of the tiniest racehorses I have ever seen, and 
 the joint property of Marquis Coumont de la Force 
 and Harry Jennings — 'Old Hat,' as he is nick- 
 named." 
 
 Mr. Crawford's Craig Millar deprived Lord Fal- 
 mouth of his ' annual benefit,' as it was called then, the 
 rich Buckenham Stakes, and on Wednesday Fordham 
 rode another wonderful race on La Sauteuse, her 
 
 I 
 
114 EACING RE^kllXISCEXCES 
 
 first appearance in public, over the Criterion Course, 
 beating Jewitt on Balfe a neck. I think Jewitt was 
 a bit flurried and would have won if he had not been 
 in quite such a hurry. 
 
 The Cesarewitch was an exciting race between 
 Aventuriere and the Truth gelding, the former win- 
 ning by a head. The second was a four-year-old 
 gelding, trained by Matthew Dawson, and ridden by 
 Archer, who had wasted hard to get down to the 
 weight, 5 St. 12 lb., but did actually carry three 
 pounds overweight. The Admiral must have had 
 some suspicion that in this horse Mr. Fred Swindell 
 had a rod in pickle for him, as before the weights 
 came out at Warwick races the great handicapper 
 sent a message to Swindell to say he really did not 
 know what weight to put on his horse, and told the 
 messenger to see if he could find out anything about 
 the animal's merit. 
 
 ' Tell the Admiral,' was the clever or cunning 
 reply of ]\lr. Swindell, ' that if he puts over six stone 
 on his back, he may just put the pen through his 
 name himself.' The result of this was that the horse 
 had 5 St. 12 lb. on him, and narrowly missed winning 
 his owner a rattling stake. Poor Mr. George Hodg- 
 man was foolish enough some time before the race 
 to ask the owner if it was worth his while to back 
 the Truth gelding for a little. ' Back him, lad,' was 
 the reply, ' no ! get a hit ! ' The advice was taken, 
 Mr. Hodgman laid twenty fifties, and had the morti- 
 fication of seeing the animal creep up each day in 
 the betting, as the commission was cautiously and 
 deftly put on. He had something to say about it, 
 too, before the race, and I believe stood the bet out 
 
AX EXCITING MIDDLE P.^K 115 
 
 through sheer obstinacy, refusing the tardy offer of 
 eight fifties from the owner, to whom he had spoken 
 a bit of his mind. 
 
 The Middle Park Plate resulted in an extra- 
 ordinary race between Plebeian, Per Se, and Galopin, 
 who finished in the order named, a head only sepa- 
 rating one from the other. An objection on the 
 ground of a cannon at once followed, and so long 
 were the Stewards deciding it that it was thought 
 probable that the second, admirably ridden by 
 Cannon, would be awarded the race, and thus land 
 her supporters the large stake for which she had 
 been backed ; for Mundy, the bookmaker, had started 
 a ten thousand pounds book on the race, and it 
 turned out a great success. The Stewards, however, 
 overruled the objection, though to this day Cannon 
 strenuously affirms that their ruling was unjust. 
 The winner, trained by Tom Brown, a wonderful 
 judge of a yearling — he had picked this one up for 
 ' a song ' — was the property of Mr. E. Christopher, 
 the Secretary at Tattersall's. Anyone who saw this 
 race must have thought that with a little patience 
 Morris would have won on Galopin, but Mordan for 
 once rode a fine race. Plebeian never ran before or 
 after, having succumbed to one of the many ailments 
 which figure under the head of ' the exigencies of 
 traininof.' He was rather a vulcrar-lookinor horse, 
 the sort one would select to breed hunters from. 
 
 On Thursday, Peut-etre prepared us for his 
 Cambridgeshire victory by easily beating Lily Agnes 
 in Her Majesty's Plate, now amounting to three hun- 
 dred guineas, owing to the fact that three were amal- 
 gamated into one ; and he quickly followed wp this 
 
 I 2 
 
116 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 by winning the Newmarket Derby the following day, 
 beating Lacy, Spectator, Leolinus, and Trent. On 
 this day I had rather a good thing for a Free Handi- 
 cap in Touche-a-Tout, own sister to Tangible, whom 
 I had purchased, with Yengeresse, Highlander, and 
 Stroller, for 3,500^. (too much money) from Mr. W. 
 Blenkiron. I had hoped to get a good price, but 
 when I asked what was favourite, the ring made the 
 unwelcome reply, ' Yours is. Sir George. Mr. Mitchell 
 Innes has taken a large bet about her.' Although 
 he spoilt my market, I did not grudge it him. Lord 
 Hartington won his first important two-year-old race 
 when Chaplet got home in the Prendergast Stakes 
 this day. His horses were then, and for many years 
 afterwards, trained by George Bloss, one of the most 
 honest men that ever breathed, a good trainer and 
 stableman, and the horses were under the able 
 management of Lord Westmorland, one of the best 
 judges of handicap form alive, who spared no pains 
 in trying and placing the horses (unfortunately 
 for the most part moderate animals) over whose 
 destinies he presided. 
 
 Lord Falmouth ran first and second, with Garterly 
 Bell and Lady Love, a sweetly pretty chestnut mare, 
 in the Criterion, both of them easily beating the 
 favourite, Balfe. This was one of the few occasions 
 that Archer rode the wrong one of his employer's 
 horses, but perhaps he had not the choice as in after 
 years. 
 
 Forty-two horses started for the Cambridgeshire, 
 the favourite being supplied by Mr. Chaplin in 
 Khedive, but the difficulty of picking one out of two 
 score and two was obviously extreme. As a matter 
 
PEUT-ETRE'S CAMBRIDGESHIRE 117 
 
 of fact, Khedive ran wretchedly, and turned out a 
 very bad bargain, considering that his owner bought 
 him at Lord Zetland's sale at Tattersall's, on the 
 strength of the information that he was better than 
 King Lud. Peut-etre always held a good place, and 
 won very easily from an outsider in Chieftain. The 
 winner was an example of the 'latest best public 
 form,' and consequently the victory was popular. It 
 will strike many as a notable circumstance, that at 
 this meeting Sir Frederick Johnstone landed a ' pot ' 
 with Duke of Parma, who however only just got 
 home a head, through Cannon's desperate riding, from 
 Nasturtium and Little Boy Blue, who ran a dead heat 
 for second place, and no one who saw the winner 
 knocked down to Blanton at auction for 220 guineas, 
 on behalf of Prince Soltykoff, ever dreamed that he 
 was looking at the winner of next year's Cesarewitch. 
 I have described the race as notable, because, at the 
 time of writing, the horse on which Cannon then 
 wore silk has come into the possession of that famous 
 trainer-jockey, and now carries him or his friends 
 about the Downs at Danebury to see the horses at 
 work, or does excellent service after such few straight- 
 necked foxes as the Tedworth now find. 
 
 A feature of this meeting was the last appearance 
 of Prince Charlie, who won the All Aged Stakes in 
 a canter, and triumphantly wound up the meeting 
 and his career as a race-horse by giving Peut-etre 
 twelve pounds in their match, which is still discussed 
 by racing men, for a ' monkey ' over the Eowley Mile ; 
 beating him easily amidst great cheering from all 
 the Newmarket folk. So delighted was his breeder, 
 Mr. Jones, an eccentric old gentleman, that, carrying 
 
118 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 a huge bouquet in his hand, he insisted on getting on 
 the old horse's back, and riding him to Bedford 
 Lodge, where he was trained. Joseph Dawson, how- 
 ever, prevailed on him to get off again, fearing the 
 enthusiast might meet with an accident, and so 
 Mr. Jones forewent his triumph. At Brighton 
 Autumn meeting it is worthy of record that the great 
 Hampton ran for a two-year-old selling race, to be 
 sold for 50Z., won it by a neck only, and was bought 
 in for 150 guineas ; the following race, the Brighton 
 Autumn Handicap, was won by Pageant, carry- 
 ing a good class horse's weight, he also having been 
 running in selling races as a two-year-old. What a 
 fortune there was in these two horses if any one had 
 known it ! On this day, too, ran Herald (second in 
 the Nursery), who perhaps was run oftener than any 
 other racehorse of the century. Although I am 
 writing of fifteen years ago, it seems only the other 
 day — and was in fact last year or the year before — 
 that I saw him running, his legs as clean as when 
 he was two years old. A truly wonderful veteran ! 
 
 I have forgotten to mention a disgraceful riot 
 that took place at the Shrewsbury Autumn meeting 
 this year. It began with a welshing case in the 
 cheap stand, a free fight ensued, in which the 
 Birmingham roughs, headed by an ex-convict, took 
 part. They got a quantity of bricks and stormed 
 the stand, the people in the latter hiding as best they 
 could, and seizing the bricks that came flying into the 
 stand, returning them in right earnest. Meanwhile 
 free fights took place in the cheap ring, and I saw a 
 big man take a door or shutter, lift it above his head, 
 and bring it straight down on the top of a wretched 
 
A PvACECOUESE RIOT 119 
 
 man's skull, felling liim to the ground insensible. 
 Thoroughly excited now, and eager for plunder, a 
 gang of roughs, having for their ringleader the afore- 
 said convict, who went by the nickname of ' Hoppy,' 
 made for Tattersall's enclosure and our stand, the 
 leader brandishing the stick of a carriage umbrella 
 with a spike at the end of it. A man rushed to our 
 stand exclaiming ' Ladies, save yourselves,' and in a 
 moment all was confusion, the members of Tattersall's, 
 who doubtless had large sums in their pockets, pro- 
 ceeding to climb over the railings into the stewards' 
 balcony. Meanwhile the police had confronted the 
 gang and managed to secure one or two of the ring- 
 leaders after a desperate resistance, so the threatened 
 invasion was speedily checked. The prisoners were 
 tried, and ' Hoppy ' sentenced to eighteen months, 
 three others getting from six to three months apiece, 
 and for fear of a repetition of the scene, which 
 occurred just before the last race, Mr. Frail tele- 
 graphed to Birmingham for a strong force of police 
 to be on the course on the morrow. Xothingr further 
 happened, however, and order was maintained. 
 
120 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 1875 
 
 In 1875 Bella, a strong, thick-set daughter of 
 Breadalbane, and very quick out of the slips, opened 
 the ball at Lincoln Spring by winning the Tathwell 
 Stakes in a canter, and she won eight more races 
 during the season. Her performances may be con- 
 sidered worthy of note, as she is the dam of Heaume. 
 Coronella, a wiry, but light sort of mare, secured the 
 Brocklesby from a moderate field, and won exactly 
 the same number of races during the year as Bella. 
 Thuringian Prince, ridden by C. Wood, started a red- 
 hot favourite for the Lincoln Handicap, Joe Dawson 
 reckoning defeat impossible, but before the horse had 
 got half-way he was hopelessly in trouble, though, for 
 that matter, even on his after form, he could never 
 have given the Gunner 15 lb., and this colt won by 
 three lengths from Kaiser, who carried 8 st. 12 lb., a 
 good performance on the part of the latter. 
 
 Owners of apparently moderate horses may 
 always comfort themselves with the idea that animals 
 often turn out far better than at one time there 
 seemed any reason to hope or expect. Thus a three- 
 year-old that runs at Croydon may well be set down 
 as far below the rank of what used to be known as 
 Cup horses, and not at all likely to take leading 
 honours at the stud. We find, however, Hampton 
 
CANNON LOSING AND WINNING 121 
 
 running for the Great Welcomes Handicap and just 
 beating a hurdle jumper. Industrious, who was giving 
 him no less than 17 lb. The performance looks very 
 moderate, but later Hampton wins the Goodwood 
 Stakes with a good weight on his back, the Good- 
 wood Cup next year, and other important races, 
 while, as already stated, at the stud he has greatly 
 distinguished himself. Of course, when he won 
 his handicap at Croydon no one dreamed how 
 good he would eventually turn out. Kidbrooke 
 finished third in this race, but got the money back in 
 the Welter Cup the next day. At this meeting I 
 won a selling race with a smart mare, Lizzie Distin, 
 who, owing to her ragged appearance, did not com- 
 mand a bid over the entered selling price of 200Z., 
 but she was better than she looked. 
 
 No one has ever doubted Tom Cannon's absolute 
 integrity, but I can instance a proof of it. At 
 Windsor Spring I ran Lady Atholstone, but did not 
 fancy her, as she had been eased in her work for 
 some trifling mishap, and I only ' threw away '30/. 
 on her. She was fitter than we thought, or her 
 opponents were worse, for she won in a canter. The 
 next day, carrying 10 st. 6 lb., Cannon rode her, and 
 after a desperate race just got up and won in the 
 last stride by a head from Chester, to whom she was 
 giving 3 St. all but 3 lb. 1 afterwards heard that 
 Cannon, who imagined his mount could have no 
 possible chance, had 20/. on Chester, who was 
 favourite. No one supposes that such a thing would 
 have prevented him from riding his very best (and 
 he had to do all he knew in order to lose his 
 money), but the occurrence is worth mention. 
 
122 KACING EEmNISCENCES 
 
 Dead heats of three are iirLUSual, but we were 
 treated to one at the Craven Meeting in the Bushes 
 Handicap, last six furlongs of D.M., as Trombone, 
 Hermitage, and Cat's Eye, the former giving lumps 
 away to the other two, could not be separated. In 
 the deciding heat Archer was substituted for Major 
 on Cat's Eye, but the horse ran worse with him, and 
 was last of the three. I went down the course about 
 200 yards from the winning post, and as Eordham 
 passed me he was sitting like a monkey on Trom- 
 bone's neck, I conclude to ease the horse's back for 
 a moment from the weight, and I could see his little 
 hands and fingers gripping the single rein in a vice 
 of iron as the old horse struggled for his head. 
 ' i!^ot yet, old man ! not yet ! ' you could almost 
 swear Fordham was saying encouragingly to his 
 mount till within ten strides of the post, when he let 
 him have his head inch by inch, and won all out, 
 three-quarters of a length from Hermitage, who beat 
 Cat's Eye a neck. It was a real treat to see Ford- 
 ham ride this race, and it has remained in my memory 
 exactly as I now relate it. 
 
 The famous Biennial was won by Earl of Dartrey, 
 a light, peacocky horse, who was, perhaps, better than 
 he looked. Here he won by four lengths from the 
 Eepentance colt, and it was the first winning mount 
 Piatt had for his new master, Mr. Savile. Whether 
 the jockey lost his head or was unaccustomed to 
 the broad course of Newmarket, which, no doubt, 
 has a great tendency to confuse riders who are not 
 acquainted with it, I know not, but he certainly rode 
 his horse out needlessly to win by four lengths, and 
 Mr. Savile took exception to it, and did not continue 
 
A WONDERFUL CURE 123 
 
 to employ liim, though he rides well enough. Basnas, 
 a good-lookmg horse, bred in Denmark, by Lord 
 Clifden out of the famous Stockings, gave backers an 
 ugly knock when, in receipt of 7 lb., he easily beat 
 Cornelion across the flat ; ' the talent ' did not seem 
 to believe in the capacity of the Dane to beat the 
 English bred, and then followed one of those races in 
 which the hoisting of the winner's number is a source 
 of consternation and surprise to on-lookers, for every- 
 one at the post was convinced that Archer, on 
 Peeping Tom, had beaten St. Leger, but the judge 
 informed us that it was not so. The owner of 
 Peeping Tom, so convinced was he, supported, no 
 doubt, by the opinion of friends who had backed his 
 horse, at once lodged an objection against the judge's 
 decision, which, however, the Stewards rightly re- 
 fused to entertain, and he was compensated later on 
 in the week by winning the International Handicap 
 the first year of its inauguration. There was a 
 curious circumstance in connection with a horse 
 called Picnic, who beat Coomassie over the Eowley 
 Mile. The horse had broken his leg the year before. 
 Tom Jennings, knowing what a good animal he was, 
 wished to try and save him ; he was put into slings 
 in a loose box, and remained in them for about six 
 weeks. He could not bear anyone to go near him 
 to groom him, though he permitted his attendant to 
 give him his food, and the consequence was the dust 
 and dirt were an inch thick on his back. The treat- 
 ment was effectual. It was a wonderful cure to get 
 him back to anything like his old private form, and 
 he actually ran second for the Guineas ; but his leg 
 
124 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 could not have been quite perfect, as he rapidly 
 degenerated into a plater. 
 
 A deplorable accident happened at Epsom this 
 spring. A lad in Mr. Mannington's stable was riding 
 his master's horse Dudaim, and came round the bend 
 hugging the rails. Jeffery, who was riding Athlete, 
 was next him on his right hand, and was either 
 pushed on to Dudaim by the other horses swinging 
 round on them as they turn for the straight run in, 
 or else Athlete hung of his own accord on to the 
 other. In any case, Dudaim was knocked against 
 the rails ; horse and rider were thrown heavily, and 
 the lad was killed on the spot. A hurdle was 
 fetched from a neighbouring field, and on this the 
 body was conveyed down the course to the weighing- 
 room. I shall never forget the sight of that poor 
 white dead face, which was quite visible two or three 
 hundred yards away through one's race-glasses, as 
 four or five men bore their sad burden along on their 
 shoulders. A gloom was cast over the meeting, but 
 the races proceeded. Hampton, carrying 6 st. 3 lb., 
 won the Metropolitan a head from Temple Bar, who 
 never won a race in his life, though he only just 
 missed the Goodwood Cup in the following year with 
 the maiden allowance. 
 
 On Thursday the whole racing world flocked to 
 the opening day of Sandown. Personally, when I 
 got there I was not much impressed with the place. 
 The stands looked large and comfortless, and it was 
 a cloudy day. To make things more gloomy for me 
 Grey Palmer, for whom I had given a thousand 
 guineas as a yearling at Mr. Cookson's Doncaster 
 sale, ran a dead heat with Munden, a cast-ofi* from 
 
OPENING OF SANDOWN 125 
 
 our own stable, in the Esher Stakes, and though I 
 should have been glad to divide, Howett, the owner 
 of the other horse, was not present, and in the 
 decider my grey was easily beaten. A fair field 
 turned out for the Sandown Park Stakes, Kaleidoscope 
 just beating Eed Cross Knight. Altogether the 
 meeting was pronounced a success, though no one 
 dreamed it would ever attain the height of popularity 
 it has since reached. The truth of the matter is Mr. 
 Hwfa Williams has made Sandown popular ; he has 
 invented leviathan stakes, has looked after the com- 
 forts of the race-goers in every department, has 
 always been liberal in the matter of walks over, and 
 wherever the interests of owners are concerned. The 
 new straight course has improved the place, though 
 there is not enough room to permit the starter to 
 order the horses back to form quietly in line and 
 walk up to the starting-point, and he has constantly 
 to avail himself of the first chance he gets to despatch 
 the field for what is not absolutely a bad start, rather 
 than risk a long delay at the post, so prejudicial to 
 the chances of two-year-olds. Sandown has the 
 reputation of not being a good place for favourites ; 
 still, on a fine day it is most enjoyable, particularly 
 in summer, when the trees are out in all their beauty, 
 and the eye can wander far away over a pleasant 
 landscape. 
 
 On the strength of Mat Dawson's belief that 
 Camballo was much fitter and ' straighter ' than at 
 Northampton, he started a good favourite for the 
 Two Thousand. I stood with the owner and others 
 on the roof of the old stand, and we had it pretty 
 well to ourselves, as it was condemned as unsafe ; but 
 
126 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 it was a bad place to see the race from, as we actually 
 thought that Claremont (ridden by Maidment on the 
 far side of the course) was troubling Camballo, and 
 that, it would be a near thing between them. At the 
 finish, though we saw Camballo had won easily, we 
 still thought Claremont was second, but he was not 
 in the first three, Picnic beating Breechloader a neck 
 for third place. The victory was a most popular 
 one, Mr. Clare Yyner being beloved by all who knew 
 him. Charon beat Bella for the first spring Two- 
 Year-Old Stakes, and he ought to have won races, for 
 he had been sold by Mr. Chaplin to Lord Wilton for 
 two thousand guineas ; and Duke of Parma (who, at 
 the time of writing, is still doing duty as hack-hunter 
 at Danebury) won the Stand Handicap for Prince 
 Soltykoff* by six lengths, thus getting back the 
 purchase money at the second time of asking, though 
 he was destined to do a good deal more than that 
 later on. 
 
 At the Newmarket Second Spring meeting the 
 Stewards of the Jockey Club had a rather nice point 
 to decide, and established a precedent. Delay won 
 the Free Handicap for Prince Batthyany by a short 
 head, but was afterwards objected to by Prince 
 Soltykoff, who ran second with Balfe, on the ground 
 that the winner was described as of the wrong age. 
 So he was ; but the Stewards here went by the spirit 
 and not the letter of the law, and decided, and 
 rightly too in my opinion, that Delay having been 
 handicapped in this race on his running in two races 
 during the Craven week, and not with reference to 
 his age, and his owner having also violated no rule of 
 racing, he was entitled to the stakes. It was at this 
 
GALOPIN V. STRAY SHOT 127 
 
 meeting that the famous match for 500 so vs. was 
 run between Galopin and Stray Shot, the latter 
 receiving 10 lb. Galopin won in a canter by eight 
 lengths, and as Mr. Chaplin knew that his mare, 
 Stray Shot, was a good one, the performance greatly 
 impressed him, the consequence being that he had a 
 good race over Galopin when he won the Derby. 
 Stray Shot indirectly won Derby honours by means 
 of her daughter, Shotover, who had the luck to meet 
 a very moderate field and a very ill-ridden first 
 favourite (Bruce) in 1882. 
 
 For the Manchester Cup, Marie Stuart, though 
 carrying top weight, started a good favourite, and it 
 was hard lines on her to just fail in giving 3 st. 5 lb. 
 to the Irish horse, Innishowen, who, in spite of his 
 having just run second for the Baldoyle Derby, was 
 here the outsider of the lot, his starting-price being 
 ' fifty to one offered.' Galopin won the Derby very 
 easily, Claremont improved on his previous form by 
 finishing second, Camballo nowhere, and then Lord 
 Ealmouth ran first and second for the Oaks with 
 Spinaway and Ladylove, the second named being 
 almost as good a favourite as the winner, owing to 
 her owner refusing to make a declaration to win with 
 either. On the following Tuesday I went down to 
 Winchester to see the Grey Palmer run for the 
 Biennial, and we were treated to the unusual sioiit 
 of two grey horses running a match, his sohtary 
 opponent being the grey Strathavon. To my disgust, 
 too, the latter beat mine, who had nothing to make 
 running for him. The defeat, however, did not pre- 
 vent my enjoyment of a most charming drive that 
 summer evening of about ten miles to stay with Lord 
 
128 RACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 Anglesey at one of his fishing-cottages on the Test 
 which I have abeady mentioned. Before dinner I 
 watched Lord Suffolk, an expert fisherman, trying to 
 make the trout rise, no easy matter with Test trout, 
 for they are considered very shy, probably owing to 
 the extraordinary clearness of that beautiful river ; 
 but although he had two rises, he could not contrive 
 to hook a fish, and we soon came in to change our 
 clothes and sit down to a delightful dinner, washed 
 down with copious draughts of such champagne 
 as it would be hard to buy now. 
 
 Ascot of this year dwells in my memory, amongst 
 other reasons, for an extraordinary piece of riding on 
 the part of George Fordham in the Ascot Derby. 
 Knowing that his mount, Gilbert, wanted a pace, he 
 made the whole of the running till he rounded the 
 turn, and then eased his horse with a cunning that 
 was not perceptible to lookers on. Archer took up 
 the running on the favourite, SjDinaway, closely fol- 
 lowed by Earl of Dartrey. Every one thought the 
 race was confined to these two, when to the general 
 astonishment, in which no doubt Archer joined, 
 Eordham, who had apparently dropped back beaten, 
 came with a rush on the inside and won by three- 
 quarters of a length. It was one of the most remark- 
 able of his many stolen races. Galopin easily dis- 
 posed of the Spring two-year-old runners, Bella and 
 Coronella, in the Fern Hill Stakes, and then Balfe 
 earned a meritorious victory over Camballo in the 
 17th Biennial. A ' mot ' of Prince Soltykoff"s comes 
 to my memory in writing about this horse. A friend 
 one day said to him, ' Prince, you will have to join 
 your countrymen in the war against Turkey ? ' ' If I 
 
DOXC ASTER'S LAST RACE 129 
 
 do,' gravely replied His Serene Higlmess, ' I shall 
 have New Holland to take me into battle, but Balfe 
 to bring me out ! ' New Holland was a notoriously 
 slow horse, whilst Balfe had a great turn of speed ! 
 
 Doncaster wound up his turf career in glorious 
 fashion by winning the Gold Cup and Alexandra 
 Plate in a canter, though it is worthy of note that, 
 with the exception of Montargis, none of the horses 
 that had opposed him in the big three-year-old con- 
 tests started against him in either race. Afterwards 
 he was sold for a large sum to Eobert Peck, who in 
 turn disposed of him at a profit for 14,000/. to the 
 Duke of Westminster ; but, large as the sum appears, 
 Doncaster must be regarded as having proved a very 
 cheap horse to His Grace, as being the sire of 
 Bend Or (amongst other good horses), who was in turn 
 sire of the undefeated Ormonde, who is looked on 
 by many as the best horse that ever ran, though my 
 own experience is that there never was a better than, 
 if one so good as, the Derby winner of 1876 — Kisber. 
 
 At Stockbridge I won the Bibury Stakes and 
 Andover Stakes with the uncertain Kidbrooke, who 
 was on each occasion the mount of that skilful 
 gentleman-rider Mr. Crawshaw, but he would not 
 stand being pulled out again for a third win on 
 Friday, and after being got with difficulty to the 
 post, whipped round when the flag fell, and remained 
 stationary. Why I was foolish enough to let Tangible 
 compete in the Stockbridge Cup against Lowlander I 
 am at a loss now to imagine, as he had no chance on 
 the Ascot running, and here his conqueror beat him 
 even more easily than at the Eoyal meeting. On 
 Friday much fun arose from a race made up for 
 
130 EACING llEMINISCENCES 
 
 gentlemen-riders, to be run over the T.Y.C., the 
 old horses to carry 14 st. and three-year-olds 13 st. 
 Lord Aylesford rode his own horse, Chandos, I rode 
 Lady Atholstone, Count Jaraczewski (in trousers) rode 
 Sir Frederick Johnstone's Knightley, and Mr. Herbert 
 his own horse, Aide de Camp, while we reluctantly 
 permitted Lord Melgund ('Mr. EoUy'), whom we 
 considered almost a professional, to ride Sir John 
 Astley's Lady of the Lake. Much chaff and amuse- 
 ment was caused by the mounting and the preliminary 
 canter, but we all got fairly in line at the post, and, 
 as anticipated, when the flag dropped Lord Melgund 
 got off with a six-length lead, I being just in front of 
 the rest, but not knowing the course and believing 
 it to be perfectly straight instead of turning to the 
 right after going 200 yards, I made rather a wide 
 sweep. This made no difference to the result of the 
 race, as Lady Atholstone, standing about 15 hands 2, 
 and a light mare, tired to nothing towards the finish, 
 as the great weight-carrying Chandos came pounding 
 along up to me, caught Lady of the Lake a few strides 
 from the winning post, and beat her by a length 
 amidst much cheering and laughter, with my mare a 
 bad third, and the other two beaten off. 
 
 The second meeting at Sandown took place the 
 first week in July, and on the Saturday three horses, 
 Thuringian Prince, Tangible, and a two-year-old, Sea 
 Lawyer, faced the starter for the Gold Cup. Though 
 six furlongs was rather too far for Tangible, and he 
 was giving Thuringian Prince eleven pounds, I was 
 foolish enough to back my horse for a good deal of 
 money, the prices being 11 to 8 on Thuringian Prince, 
 and 6 to 4 against mine. The favourite jumped off 
 
FIRST APPEARANCE OF KISBER 131 
 
 and made the running, followed by Tangible, but on 
 rounding the turn the two-year-old came up on the 
 outside and cannoned Tangible on to the rails, actually 
 splintering a post, one of the splinters, about six inches 
 long, scoring his side very severely. This of course 
 lost the horse a lot of ground, which Webb tried to 
 make up in vain, the result being that to people who 
 had not seen the accident, it looked as if the jockey 
 had come too late, and quite a scene ensued, some 
 wretches who had lost their money hissing Webb 
 loudly. Some of the ringleaders had to appear before 
 the Stewards of the Jockey Club, and eat humble pie 
 for creating the disturbance. Of course it was a great 
 annoyance to me, besides the accident that had pre- 
 vented any chance of my winning my money, though 
 I doubt whether if Tangible had had a clear course 
 he ever could have given the weight away, especially 
 on such a tiring finish. 
 
 At the Newmarket July meeting, Skylark, a mag- 
 nificent dark brown King Tom horse, who as he 
 thickened with age was the heau-ideal of a horse for 
 getting hunters, won the first of the four races he 
 successfully contested during the year, and Lord 
 Eosebery showed good judgment in putting up 
 Fordham on the timorous Levant in the July Stakes, 
 as he just squeezed her home a head from the noisy 
 and gigantic Farnese, this race being noteworthy 
 for the appearance of the colt by Buccaneer out of 
 Mineral, afterwards known as the mighty Kisber, 
 bred in Hungary and the property of Mr. Alexander 
 Baltazzi. It was on the Thursday of this meeting 
 that Mr. E. Howett took advantage of the claiming 
 system, copied from the French, to secure Mr. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 EACING KEMINISCENCES 
 
 Carter's Chorister before the selling race he was to 
 run in, having to give twice the sum the horse was 
 entered to be sold for and the amount of the stakes. 
 This was not at all a popular innovation, and owners 
 of horses were glad when it was withdrawn. Skylark 
 carried off the Chesterfield Stakes, and Farnese won 
 the Stetchworth Stakes, the Mineral colt, still very 
 backward, again finishing behind him, and so far 
 giving no indication of his great powers. At Good- 
 wood, thinking a rest would have benefited Kid- 
 brooke's temper, I backed him in the Craven Stakes, 
 but I was out in my reckoning ; his vices were too 
 deeply ingrained, and he bolted and took no part in 
 the race. My partner. Sir William Milner, and I 
 backed Cat's Eye for a lot of money in the Stewards' 
 Cup, but he was never in the race, which was won 
 by Trappist, Coomassie being second. The following 
 week Cat's Eye met Trappist at the same weights in 
 the County Cup at Lewes, and beat him by ten 
 lengths, a result not encouraging for those who, like 
 myself, believe in public form. On Thursday I 
 determined to give Kidbrooke one more trial, and 
 started him for the Visitors' Plate, which he won by 
 a neck from his two opponents, having actually stood 
 still as the flag dropped and let them get nearly a 
 quarter of a mile before he condescended to start off 
 in pursuit. Cat's Eye on the same day won the 
 Chichester Stakes by eight lengths, but we dared 
 not support him for much money after his bad 
 running in the Stewards' Cup, and Aventuriere won 
 the Goodwood Cap, Apology, who started favourite, 
 running very badly. Kidbrooke was afforded yet 
 another chance of retrieving his reputation on the 
 
FOUR DISAPPOINTMENTS 133 
 
 Friday in the Queen's Plate, but lie was on his worst 
 behaviour and bolted, allowing Lilian to finish alone ; 
 and Coomassie won the Chesterfield Cup, a smart 
 performance, to the delight of Mr. Leopold de Eoths- 
 child, who was managing his uncle's horses. 
 
 At Brighton, Marie Stuart, purchased for three 
 thousand five hundred pounds by Mr. Crawfurd, 
 secured the Brighton Cup for her new owner, but it 
 was the last race she ever won, and, beautifully bred 
 mare as she is, she has been a great disappointment 
 at the stud. At Lewes, Lady Mostyn scored a 
 popular home victory for Mrs. Drewitt in the Astley 
 Stakes, as she was the wife of the trainer, who for 
 many years trained for Sir J. Astley, and under 
 whose care I believe Fordham first began life in a 
 racing stable. At York, Lily Agnes, ever famous as 
 the dam of Ormonde, won the Ebor Handicap on the 
 same day that the great Springfield romped in for the 
 Prince of Wales' Stakes, Mr. Houldsworth being con- 
 gratulated on all sides on the possession of so beauti- 
 ful a horse. The Warwick meeting of this year is 
 impressed on my memory by the fact that I thought 
 I was literally certain to win four consecutive races, 
 but the result was the same in each race. I ran up 
 against something just a little better than I had ex- 
 pected to meet, and the four anticipated firsts were 
 four expensive and disappointing seconds. The next 
 day I did win three races, but each time my horses 
 started with odds on them. Doncaster, too, I well 
 recollect, for I had made a match for 1,000/. with 
 Lizzie Distin against my friend Mr. Hector Baltazzi's 
 John Day, the latter in receipt of five pounds. Un- 
 fortunately my trainer, Henry Woolcott, said to Webb, 
 
134 RACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 as he was getting up, ' This mare is so well you can 
 take a liberty with her,' instead of telling him to 
 wait till the last stride, as he ought to have done, she 
 having very fine speed. The result was that they 
 came away together in a good-run race, which 
 suited the horse, and Webb was only just able 
 to hold his own, enough to make a dead heat of 
 it. Perhaps it was as well as it was, amongst 
 friends. I then tried to buy John Day, but with- 
 out success. Craigmillar scored a j)opular victory 
 for Mr. Crawfurd in the Leger, beating Balfe three 
 lengths ; and it is worthy of remark that, although 
 not a first-class horse, the winner was one of the 
 few horses by Blair Athol that could stay well. 
 He was on the small side. Friiulein furnished a sur- 
 prise by easily beating Marie Stuart in the Cup 
 (starting at a hundred to eight offered), but the latter 
 could not have been quite herself, as she could only 
 make a dead heat with Louise Victoria, whom on the 
 Brighton running she ought to have beaten easily — 
 another of the many reversals of public form I have 
 to chronicle. A good deal of betting took place this 
 week at the rooms, Eobert Lee having a ten thousand 
 pounds book on the Cesarewitch and Cambridge- 
 shire. Indeed, he laid me that sum against The Grey 
 Palmer, who was third for the Cambridgeshire. 
 When the day of the Cesarewitch arrived, Duke of 
 Parma, in spite of having started unbefriended, and 
 running badly at the First October meeting in the 
 Great Eastern Eailway Handicap, which, however, was 
 much too short a course for so slow a horse, became 
 a hot favourite for the race. He had been gradually 
 creeping up in the betting, and when Mr. Charles 
 
GALOPIN V. LOWLANDER 135 
 
 Brewer, the stable commissioner, took ten tliousand 
 to one in a bet about him the week before, others 
 hastened to get on. No mistake was made about 
 him, and he won three lengths from the second 
 favourite. Pageant. It was not a great performance, 
 seeing that the second was giving him two stone all 
 but three pounds that he carried overweight ; never- 
 theless, unkind things were said at the time about his 
 defeat in the previous week, and his journey to 
 Yarmouth in August, when Admiral Eous accom- 
 panied his owner down to the seaside meeting to see 
 the horse well beaten with odds on him, both of the 
 above-mentioned gentlemen losing their money. I 
 myself heard some of these remarks made in the card 
 room at the Jockey Club Eooms, but I consider they 
 were most uncalled for, as, in the first place, running 
 six furlongs is a very different thing from the Cesare- 
 witcli course, particularly if the horse is doing long- 
 work at exercise, which would have the effect of 
 lessening any speed he might have, and secondly be- 
 cause early in the year he had won a little handicap 
 by six lengths. 
 
 On Wednesday came the famous match between 
 Galopin and Lowlander for a thousand pounds, run 
 over the Eowley Mile, the old horse carrying 9 st., and 
 the younger one 8 st. 2 lb. When the owners were 
 making the match the Prince held out for Galopin to 
 carry that weight, every one supposing it was to 
 enable him to secure the services of Fordham, and 
 much amusement was caused when Prince Batthyany 
 confided to a friend that he had stipulated on the 
 weight, as it w^as the lowest his jockey, Morris, could 
 ride. Pordham was secured for Lowlander, but 
 
136 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 though his prestige in riding matches may have 
 caused the Eing to hold out for as httle as 6 to 4 
 "when the numbers went up, all good judges believed 
 the old horse would be unequal to the task. Galopin, 
 on whom Morris had orders to make the running, 
 came through at a terrific pace, and either Fordham 
 could not hold Lowlander, or he dared not let the 
 Derby winner get too far ahead, for he was within 
 about a length of him all the way, and in the 
 Abingdon Mile bottom both horses rolled slightly 
 from the high pressure they had kept up so far. 
 They were unable to sustain the effort any longer, 
 and slowly as Galopin finished up the hill it was very 
 evident that Lowlander was even more tired. Ford- 
 ham was now seen to take up his whip in his left 
 hand, and a lusty shout went up for the Derby 
 winner, who passed the post a length in front of his 
 opponent, with very little to spare. 
 
 Lord Falmouth refused to declare to win with 
 Spinaway in the Xewmarket Oaks, in which he also 
 ran Lady Love, and the consequence was that we 
 were treated to an unnecessary though exciting 
 finish between the stable companions. Lady Love 
 appeared to have the best of the race fifty yards 
 from home, but the Oaks winner got up just in time 
 to win by a head. Archer rode her, and though, of 
 course, he was not then the Archer of a decade later, 
 spectators might have supposed that he would have 
 chosen the right one. The finish gave the backers 
 of Spinaway a severe fright, and I must say I do not 
 see the use of an owner needlessly distressing his two 
 animals when one is good enough to win the race. 
 The result is not unlikely to take away their form for 
 
PETRAPtCII'S MIDDLE PARK PLATE 137 
 
 the year, especially when, as in this case, the oppo- 
 nents are mares. Just before this race Lord Falmouth 
 told me he and Mat Dawson disagreed about the 
 merits of the two animals ; hence his letting each take 
 her chance. Probably he intended in any case to 
 take both of them out of training at the end of the 
 season ; but be that as it may, neither ran again to 
 her form after this very severe struggle. 
 
 The Middle Park Plate was won in a canter by 
 the beautiful Petrarch, who was little fancied by his 
 connections, owing to the impression that he was not 
 quite fit. There was a good deal of betting on this 
 race. Mr. Baltazzi having tried the Mineral colt 
 very satisfactorily with Coeruleus, backed him for a 
 very large stake indeed, and was continuing to do so 
 in the betting-rooms the night before the race, when 
 Steel warned him he had quite enough on. It proved 
 too much, indeed, as things turned out, for the horse, 
 ridden by Parry, never really showed in the race ; and 
 yet within a fortnight he beat the great Springfield in 
 a canter by three lengths, Madeira (dam of Alicante), 
 who was second in the Middle Park Plate, finishing 
 nowhere. No excuse was offered for his bad running, 
 and to this day the contradictory form remains a 
 mystery, the only possible solution of it being that 
 he had suffered on one or two occasions from rheu- 
 matism, and may have had a sudden attack of it 
 unknown to his trainer, Hayhoe, senior. 
 
 At the end of this day's racing Lord Dupplin, 
 who had had a bad week, sent to the stables for 
 Admiral Byng, whom he had purchased from Prince 
 Batthyany, to run for the selling Nursery Handicap, 
 in spite of his trainer's remonstrances, as the horse 
 
138 EACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 had been done up. This did not prevent his owner 
 betting on him ' till the cows came home,' to quote a 
 favourite expression of Mr. Dudley Milner's to denote 
 a plunge, and the good thing came off, but only by 
 a neck, after a scrambling finish. The day finished 
 up with my winning the Windsor Stakes with Cream 
 Cheese, and the next day I let her go after winning a 
 selling race. She was the dam of that good steeple- 
 chase horse Eoquefort, winner of the Grand National. 
 Kaleidoscope just squeaked home from the French 
 mare, Enguerrande, in the Prendergast Stakes, the 
 Gong filly beaten a neck from her ; and here I must 
 tell of an extraordinary trial that took place the fol- 
 lowing week with this mare, as ]\Ir. Baltazzi, not 
 satisfied with the Mineral colt's running, obtained 
 permission to try him with the Gong filly, to whom 
 he gave two stone and a good beating. 
 
 At the Houghton meeting on Monday onlookers 
 thought T. Osborne made too much use of Springfield 
 in the Criterion, which was won by Johnny Osborne 
 on Clanronald by a head — an undoubted fluke. 
 Sutton, a four-year-old gelding, landed a clever coup 
 in the Cambridgeshire, but the Admiral certainly 
 made a mistake in putting him in so lightly as 
 5 St. 13 lb. ; indeed, this was one of the occasions on 
 which he was fairly caught. No doubt the horse 
 had 'had a leg,' and given that clever veterinary 
 surgeon, Mr. Mannington, some trouble. Mr. Bevill, 
 senior, whom the Admiral often consulted about the 
 merits of horses of whose form he was ignorant, had 
 seen the animal in the stables at Brighton, where, no 
 doubt, they made the worst of his case, and told the 
 famous handicapper that he had not a hundred to 
 
THE FIRST DET\TIURST PLATE 139 
 
 one chance of winning such a race ; hence his being 
 let off. 
 
 On Thursday came the first year of that now 
 important event the Dewhurst Plate, a race founded 
 by Mr. Gee, the owner of the Dewhurst stud, he 
 giving a piece of plate value three hundred sovereigns. 
 This year it was a hideous candelabra. I fully made 
 up my mind to have a dash on Springfield, when my 
 friend, Mr. Baltazzi, told me of his horse's wonderful 
 trial. This fairly amazed me, and after ascertaining 
 that no excuse was offered for the Middle Park Plate 
 defeat I began to think the Gong filly could not have 
 galloped in a trial which, if correct, showed the 
 Mineral colt to be the best horse I had ever heard of ! 
 However, I determined at any rate not to back 
 Springfield, and to stand ten pounds with my friend, 
 more for luck than anything else. The betting was 
 even on Springfield, and 10 to 1 against the Mineral 
 colt, who, in the hands of Maidment, won in a canter 
 by three lengths, and thus verified the result of his 
 private spin. His owner got back his previous losses 
 with a good balance, and, believing he possessed the 
 winner of next year's Derby, we were a merry party 
 that night at dinner at Eutland Cottage, the property 
 of Mr. Hector Baltazzi, who had purchased it two 
 years before from Mr. ' Nugget ' Smith. 
 
 On Friday we were treated to a new race, run 
 over a fantastic course, which I am glad to say has 
 not been galloped over since. The beautiful Cesare- 
 witch course is surely good enough for anything, but 
 for some mysterious reason the Circular Handicap, as 
 it was called, was set for decision over two miles, the 
 
140 EACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 direction of which I find it difficult to describe. The 
 course, which was marked out with flags, was a large 
 sort of circus between the last half of the Eowley 
 Mile and the private trial ground, joining into the 
 racecourse somewhere near the bushes. The race was 
 very easily won by Stray Shot, dam of Shotover. 
 
141 
 
 1876 
 
 LoED EosEBERY and Mr. Hector Baltazzi, promi- 
 nent figures in the turf world in 1876, began well at 
 Lincoln, for the latter took the Brocklesby with that 
 charming little horse Midlothian, and Controversy, a 
 magnificent specimen of the weight-carrying race- 
 horse, won the Lincolnshire Handicap for the owner 
 of the rose and primrose hoops, who won a nice stake 
 on him, the price being a good one. The reason 
 why Controversy was not more fancied may most 
 likely be set down to the fact that he was a better 
 horse out than at home. Give me that class of 
 horse, say I ! If he does not win you much money, 
 at any rate he does not lose you much, and is a very 
 different piece of goods from the animal that comfort- 
 ably disposes of all his opponents in a home gallop, 
 and then, when backed for pounds, shillings, and pence 
 for a race that would be completely at his mercy if 
 he tried, almost faints at the crack of the whip, and 
 is helpless when called on for an extra effort. Often 
 and often have jockeys, when they are finishing 
 against some faint-hearted brute who is beating them, 
 availed themselves of the knowledge that the speedy 
 rival will shut up like a knife when he hears the 
 smack of their whip against their boot, though I fear 
 sometimes they have gone further than that and 
 
142 RACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 flourished their whip in close proximity to the 
 coward's ears, if, indeed, without actually touching 
 him. An objection follows and hard swearing ensues, 
 which makes it difficult to arrive at the truth unless 
 competent and unbiassed bystanders volunteer evi- 
 dence ; but how many of these do you meet on a 
 racecourse ? Very few ! 
 
 Thunder, purchased cheaply for, I think, 2,000/., 
 ran for the first time in this race, carrying the mauve 
 and cerise colours of Mr. Yyner, which were destined 
 to show far more prominently in important races 
 this year than tkey had ever done before. The old 
 horse ran well, but had no chance to give the winner 
 1 St. 11 lb. At Liverpool, Advance, who was a 
 good, useful horse, and afterwards within an ace of 
 defeating a Derby winner in the City and Suburban, 
 giving a lot of weight to him, won the Union Jack 
 Stakes in a canter ; and Eegal, admirably ridden by 
 his trainer, Joseph Cannon, won Captain Machell his 
 third Liverpool in four years, but he was less fancied 
 than the favourite, Chandos, in the same interest, 
 who had been so well tried that defeat was deemed 
 impossible ; Jewitt rode him, and fell. At Northamp- 
 ton, Eosinante, a roaring son of Eosicrucian, but 
 very speedy, won the Spencer Plate for Mr. Baltazzi, 
 two former winners of the same race, Quantock and 
 the Gunner, finishing second and third, again showing 
 the partiality of animals for certain courses. 
 
 Before the Craven week I went down to Beck- 
 hampton to try The Grey Palmer and Little Harry 
 for the City and Suburban. There had been a 
 heavy fall of snow ; nevertheless, we tried the horses 
 in it, but not on our ordinary ground. There were 
 
A DISAPPOINTING HORSE 143 
 
 otlier liorses in the trial, but Little Harry won it, and 
 I bought him for 1,200/. from Henry Woolcott, 
 believing he would win the City and Suburban, my 
 opinion being strengthened by The Grey Palmer 
 winning easily the International Free Handicap on 
 the Friday of the Craven w^eek. We were, however, 
 doomed to disappointment, as Little Harry, although 
 trained to the hour and leading at the Bell, could do 
 nothing with Thunder when Archer brought the 
 latter up to him ; the young horse was easily beaten 
 by three lengths, and, what is more, he went from 
 bad to worse, never winning a race, till at length, the 
 following year, at Brighton, sick to death of a horse 
 that had cost me so much money, and refusing 
 several offers to buy him to make a hurdle racer, I 
 ordered Woolcott to shoot him that very night. 
 
 On this day Atlantic Cable won the Westminster 
 Stakes. He was by Maccaroni out of Celerrima, and 
 was purchased by Tom Brown at the Cobham sale of 
 yearlings the year before, together with the Eover, 
 by Blair Athol out of Crinon, for Mr. A. B. Stock- 
 well, an American gentleman, who had lately come 
 to Emxland and who raced in the assumed name of 
 ' Mr. Alden.' He was supposed to be wealthy, but a 
 great speculator in the City. Whatever he came 
 with he certainly left in a year or two with very little, 
 leaving nothing but debts behind him, amongst others 
 I beino' a sufferer to the tune of 1,500/. which I had 
 to pay for him. Most of us thought he was a good- 
 natured fellow and his vulgarity rather amused us, 
 but Mr. Payne never could bear the sight of him. 
 Once he related a story about himself. When first 
 he w^as known in New York, after making money, he 
 
144 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 was talked of with becoming respect as ' Mr. A. B. 
 Stockwell,' it being considered a kind of dignity in 
 tliat supposed democratic country to have two 
 Christian names, and to be mentioned by them. The 
 time came, however, when he lost all his money in 
 speculation, and he became known then as ' that 
 little red-headed cuss from Kentucky.' When he 
 made his pile again he was once more restored to his 
 original ' title,' neither his hair nor his State being 
 named ; but I suppose when he returned ' broke ' he 
 became a ' red-headed cuss ' once more. Neither of 
 his animals turned out well, as, owing to some stupid 
 trial, he was not allowed to back Atlantic Cable, who 
 never won again, and the Eover, who finished fourth 
 in the Middle Park Plate, never again ran to that 
 form. Eover had a club foot, or, at any rate, a 
 contracted one ; still, he has made a name at the 
 stud as the probable sire of that good horse St. 
 Gatien. 
 
 At the end of the 23revious year Lord Dupplin, in 
 conjunction, I believe, with Colonel OlijDhant and 
 Colonel Farquharson, purchased Petrarch for a large 
 sum — 12,000 guineas, it was said. Lord Dupplin 
 beheved he could win the Two Thousand with 
 Kaleidoscope, as in a trial, some ten days before, 
 Petrarch had failed to answer the question, and 
 appeared not fit. It is astonishing that it was not 
 recollected how the same excuse was made for him 
 before he won the Middle Park Plate. He had done 
 good work between his trial and the day of the race, 
 and old John Day had expressed an opinion that such 
 a light-fleshed horse did not want to do more ; how- 
 ever, he was allowed to start friendless, Kaleidoscope 
 
KISBER'S DERBY 145 
 
 being favourite, but Petrarch sailed home an easy 
 winner by three lengths, Julius Caesar, bought at the 
 back end sale of Lord Aylesford's horses at 'New- 
 market for 3,500 guineas, beating the favourite a 
 length and a half. Chagrined as the connections of 
 the winner were with the result, they made certain 
 that they could not lose the Derby ; but the work 
 Petrarch was given in the interval must have done 
 him harm, as he ought, at any rate, to have finished 
 in front of Julius Csesar, though he had no chance,, 
 on paper, with Kisber on the latter's famous trial 
 with the Gong filly. Mr. Peck was rather confident 
 that Forerunner would win, as he had beaten Julius 
 C^sar easily in a trial, and not much mistake was 
 made by this good judge, but he caught a tartar in 
 the winner, who had not been regularly tried, but 
 had given lumps of weight in a rough gallop to 
 Cceruleus and the colt by Scottish Chief out of 
 Artemis, and in the hands of Maidment he took up 
 the running at the top of the hill, was never after- 
 wards headed, and won, running away, by five 
 lengths, Maidment having great difficulty in pulling 
 him up in the middle of the saddling paddock. 
 Kisber was an infirm horse and suffered from rheu- 
 matism, but fit and well on his day I am quite 
 certain he is the best horse I have ever seen, and, as 
 already remarked, that he would have beaten Or- 
 monde if the latter had been of the same year. It 
 was a good field of horses from which he won this 
 Derby, and he could have won any distance ; through 
 his trials and on his best form I made him out at 
 least a stone better than Petrarch on the latter's 
 Two Thousand running. Both the Baltazzis won 
 
 L 
 
146 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 good stakes, and there was great excitement and 
 delight in Vienna and Hungary when the news of the 
 victory was received. 
 
 This was the first year that Mr. H. Sanford, an 
 American gentleman, ran horses in England, and his 
 aged horse, Mate, ran third to Dalham and Wisdom 
 for the Epsom Cup. He had a particularly agreeable 
 and gentlemanly manner, and was much liked by all 
 of us. 
 
 Dining at the Prince of Wales' Derby dinner I sat 
 next Sir Eichard Wallace, and on telling him that 
 Kisber was going to Paris he most good-naturedly 
 offered to let the horse go to his beautiful place 
 Bagatelle, situated about a mile from the racecourse. 
 I at once accepted for Mr. Baltazzi ; the horse was 
 duly sent there, and when we went to Paris after the 
 races were over, on the day before the Grand Prix, 
 we paid a visit to this historical residence that once 
 belonged to Napoleon I. There, in the cool of the 
 evening, we saw Kisber walking round a large bed of 
 corn-flowers in the garden, and were shown over the 
 place by an old retainer, who pointed out to us many 
 objects of interest. In the race Kisber nearly over- 
 powered Maidment at the Windmill Turn, but once 
 round it the jockey let his horse stride away, and it 
 was soon palpable that it was only a question of how 
 far he would win. He passed the post five lengths in 
 front of the Oaks dead-heater, Enguerrande. The 
 victory was not a very popular one, owing to an 
 erroneous idea amongst the French that the horse 
 belonged to a German. 
 
 At Ascot Petrarch showed his Derby running was 
 too bad to be true, by giving Julius Caesar five pounds 
 
*MR. ACTON' 147 
 
 and a beating in the Prince of Wales' Stakes, a 
 gigantic horse of Lord Fahnouth's, Great Tom, spht- 
 ting the pair. At this meeting Eob Eoy, a white-legged 
 chestnut son of Blair Athol, carried the tartan colours 
 of Mr. Mackenzie to the fore in the Nineteenth Bien- 
 nial and the New Stakes, and proved himself a smart 
 horse, though his owner did not gain much in bets, 
 owing to the old story ' the horse was beaten in his 
 trial at home.' At Stockbridge Mr. Gerard won the 
 Hurstbourne Stakes with Palm Flower, who just beat 
 the favourite, Chevron, by a neck. I mention this 
 event because it is generally supposed that Mr. John 
 Hammond, then in the employment of Captain Machell, 
 won a thousand pounds on the race, which was the 
 foundation of the fortune he has amassed on the turf. 
 I must not omit to mention that this was the first 
 year of the registration of the assumed name of ' Mr. 
 Acton,' in which Mr. Leopold Eothschild ran the 
 horses after the lamented death of Sir Anthony de 
 Eothschild, it being generally understood that he 
 was acting as his father's manasfer. 
 
 I had tried Dee so well for the Chesterfield Stakes 
 that I thought she could not be beaten, and had a 
 thousand on her ; and in the hands of Tom Cannon 
 she won cleverly, but not easily, by three-quarters of 
 a length. I purchased her at the Cobham yearling 
 sale for about 500 guineas, and let Mr. Marshall have 
 her. She is one of the few animals amongst thorough- 
 breds that I ever saw with a sort of feathering of the 
 hair on her quarters, which gave it the appearance of 
 being curled. At Goodwood I won a couple of races 
 with Dovedale (a mare by Beadsman out of Columbia, 
 that had American blood in her) and Bonbon ; indeed, 
 
 L 2 
 
148 EACING REMINISC:^NCES 
 
 at this time I was in a vein of good luck, for though 
 my horses were moderate, by entering them carefully 
 I found that up to the end of the Sussex fortnight I 
 had cleared 10,000/. on the year. 
 
 We had taken a vicarage two miles from the 
 course, and every evening at dinner-time our ears 
 were delighted with the strains of the Hungarian 
 band that Mr. Baltazzi had hired for the week ; they 
 played in the garden, and it was wonderful what an 
 effect a few bottles of champagne had on their bows, 
 making their wild gipsy airs sound more spirited and 
 vigorous than ever. 
 
 In September of this year I went to the first flat 
 race meeting held on the new course at Bristol. In 
 the spring a grand steeplechase meeting had inaugu- 
 rated the new venture. Lord Fitzhardinge entertained 
 the Prince of Wales and many friends at Berkeley 
 Castle, coming over each day to the races. The 
 Corporation had prepared a grand luncheon for the 
 Eoyal Party, when turtle in every conceivable form 
 was on the table, and the ' Bristol milk ' (fine old 
 brown sherry) was much appreciated. The in- 
 habitants of the town, however, never seemed to 
 take kindly to the racing ; the new venture only 
 lasted a few years and was then abandoned. 
 
 Of course all this time Kisber was a very warm 
 favourite for the Leger, and remained so till within 
 about a week of the race, when all of a sudden oppo- 
 sition broke out against him. It came from an unex- 
 pected quarter, too, a bookmaker named Eeid being 
 his principal antagonist, and the Derby winner went 
 from bad to worse in the market. What Eeid knew, 
 or thought he knew, was a question, but his know- 
 
PETRAKCH'S LEGER 149 
 
 ledge seemed to some extent justified wlien it was 
 wired up from Newmarket one day that the colt had 
 done no work. He partly recovered his position, 
 however, by cantering every day till he was sent to 
 Doncaster. On the Tuesday morning I went out on 
 the racecourse with his owner to see him at exercise, 
 and he went the best gallop he had had since the 
 mishap to one of his forelegs — that had been the 
 secret trouble — and pulled up quite sound. Hayhoe, 
 his trainer, still believed he was well enough to win 
 the Leger, and at the start two to one was laid on 
 him. I fancy he must have got the best of his 
 jockey, Osborne, as after they had gone half a mile he 
 took up the running and maintained the lead to 
 within a quarter of a mile of home ; but there he was 
 hopelessly beaten, and Petrarch got home, though 
 only just, from Wild Tommy, the outsider of the lot, 
 who was only a neck behind him. No doubt Kisber 
 had not done sufficient work, and was a gross horse 
 into the bargain. The following week, however, by his 
 trainer's advice, Mr. Baltazzi gave a commission to 
 back him for a large sum for the Cesarewitch. The 
 business was entrusted to Mr. William Peech, and I 
 well remember ]\ir. Charles Brewer telling me that 
 he and Mr. Peech were out shooting, when the latter 
 said, ' Charlie, I have a big job to do to-day, I have 
 to back Kisber for a lot of money for the Cesarewitch ; ' 
 and Brewer's remark, ' He never would have told me 
 if he hadn't got me in a big field of turnips, miles 
 from a telegraph office.' 
 
 It was well for Brewer that his friend spoke when 
 and where he did, for hardly had the commission 
 been executed, when the news came that Kisber had 
 
150 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 failed in liis preparation, and that we were never 
 to see liim on a racecourse again. Bearing in mind 
 what a wonderful horse he was, as proved by his 
 extraordinary trial as a two-year-old, his easy defeat 
 of Springfield, and his runaway victory in the Derby, 
 it is astonishing that he has never got a better horse 
 than Kinsky, though mated to some of Mr. Leopold 
 de Eothschild's best mares. 
 
 After Doncaster, Admiral Eons paid us a visit in 
 the country, and, with Lords Dupplin and Winchilsea 
 and others, drove to Lichfield, where there was mode- 
 rate sport. It was very amusing to see the Admiral 
 and Mr. Payne play at billiards, and to hear the chaff 
 that used to go on during the game. The Admiral 
 was fond of potting his adversary's ball and giving a 
 miss in baulk, and at Mr. Payne's look of disgust, partly 
 assumed, would say, ' Safety and succour, you know ! ' 
 If the balls looked pretty safe, Mr. Payne would 
 remark with a wink to the lookers on, ' I think 
 there's a cannon there,' meeting with response in the 
 Admiral's gruff voice, ' Always a cannon to a good 
 player ! ' though at the same time he would play for 
 safety himself. When he left the balls safe for his 
 adversary he was prodigal in his offers of ' a gold 
 snuff-box if you score ! ' The Admiral always took 
 his waistcoat off, besides his coat, and then if he 
 had the worst of the game, his braces would follow, 
 which led Mr. Payne to remark that some day 
 in the heat of the moment the Admiral would be 
 found trying to make the last few points without 
 any trousers on. Whereas the Admiral constantly 
 wore a pot hat at Newmarket, Mr. Payne always 
 wore a tall hat everywhere, and I was much surprised 
 
MR. GEORGE PAYNE AND THE BIRD 151 
 
 the first, and only time, I saw him in anything else. 
 This was when we were staying together at Eiddles- 
 worth for shooting with Mr. Crawfurd, and one par- 
 ticular incident of the visit much amused us. We 
 were standing at the end of a low cover, which was 
 being beaten towards us, Mr. Payne being on my 
 right, when a moor-hen was disturbed by the beaters 
 and flew into a tree opposite my neighbour. I saw 
 that some conversation going on between him and 
 his loader was suddenly interrupted by a covey of 
 partridges which came over us, and Mr. Payne 
 brought down a rocketer, to his very great gratifica- 
 tion. Meanwhile, the moor-hen flew ofi" the tree into 
 a ditch, but to my surprise I saw the old loader 
 point to the tree, say something, and Mr. Payne^ 
 following the direction of the old fellow's hand, took 
 most deliberate aim and fired. Nothing particular 
 happened, except, of course, that the loader was 
 addressed without any compliment to his powers of 
 observation or sagacity. Mr. Payne afterwards in- 
 formed us that the old man had told him he had 
 seen a curious bird settle in the tree, and he kept on 
 saying, ' Lord, Muster Payne, how still she do sit 1 ' 
 till he was asked to point out the precise spot. The 
 ' bird ' was really an excrescence growing on the 
 tree, though neither knew that, and it was at this he 
 fired. 
 
 There are many races every year of which, if a 
 full account could be written, a most interesting and 
 exciting story might be made, and such a one was 
 the Cesarewitch of 1876. Mr. F. Swindell, one of 
 the cleverest of Turf tacticians, thought that he was 
 sure to win with Woodlands, and a coup had also 
 
152 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 been planned by the friends of Eosebery. Other 
 horses were fancied for more or less inadequate 
 reasons ; but Eosebery won anyhow (as well he 
 might do, seeing that he was afterwards proved to be 
 one of the best four-year-olds in England), Mr. 
 Swindell being second with Woodlands, as he had 
 been two years before with the Truth gelding. At 
 least 100,000^. was taken out of the pockets of the 
 ring and backers, so ably was the commission 
 executed by ' the leviathan,' Steel, who threw in for 
 a good stake, and neither he nor Peech forgot to 
 shout when they saw the horse winning in a canter. 
 I stood near them, and can testify to the strength of 
 their lungs. 
 
 At Doncaster, when the weights came out for 
 the Cambridgeshire, Prince Bat thy any owned the 
 favourite in Lord Lincoln. From information I 
 received (to quote the policeman), I thought he was 
 a good horse, and bought him from the Prince, 
 who was always ready to sell handicap horses, for 
 2,000^. I also had in the race Cat's Eye, who would 
 have been a good horse but for ' a leg ; ' and indeed 
 so shaky was he that it was only by my trainer's wish 
 that I kept him in the race. When I went to Beck- 
 hampton to try the horses, to my astonishment Cat's 
 Eye beat the other easily, and I had to back him, 
 though without much confidence, as I believed firmly 
 that Eosebery would win, and indeed had acted on 
 my faith. Nevertheless, Cat's Eye and Eosebery 
 started equal favourites, owing, I believe, to some 
 bookmakers having laid long prices against my horse 
 and having to take the money back. J^either he nor 
 Lord Lincoln was ever in the race, which was won 
 
ROSEBERY 153 
 
 by Eosebery by a neck from the game little Hop- 
 bloom. On Saturday, however, Cat's Eye won the 
 Houghton Handicap in a canter by three lengths, 
 proving that he ought at least to have shown in some 
 part of the big race with 10 lb. less on his back. Of 
 course I could not back him for much, and only took 
 a thousand to a hundred between Sir William Milner 
 and myself. 
 
154 EACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 1877 
 
 The early part of tliis year's racing calls for no com- 
 ment, though I may mention the defeat of the future 
 Derby winner, Silvio, in the Biennial at the Craven 
 week, owing j)robably to a blinding storm right in 
 the face of the horses. The winner was Grey Friar, 
 who was only a moderate horse. Considerable 
 excitement was caused just before the City and 
 Suburban by a forged telegram being sent, purport- 
 ing to be an order to scratch Julius Caesar, who was 
 in consequence driven to a long price till the nature 
 of the message was discovered. He won the race by 
 six lengths, ridden by Archer. Mr. Peck carried off 
 the Westminster Stakes with a beautiful Scottish 
 Chief mare called Grace, who afterwards became my 
 property, and was invaluable for trying horses, par- 
 ticularly two-year-olds, besides being a charming 
 hack. She was perhaps the only racehorse in 
 training that was ridden as hack on the Heath 
 by a lady one day, and won a race the next. La 
 Merveille — presented, I believe, by Mr. Coombe to 
 Mr. Peck after his plucky purchase of Maximihan for 
 4,100 guineas at Mr. Coombe's sale of yearlings at the 
 Cobham stud — also won for him the Hyde Park Plate 
 this same week. 
 
 The Two Thousand was easily won by Chamant, 
 a magnificent bay son of Mortemer and Araucania. 
 
ROB ROY AS A CHARGER 155 
 
 He shared favouritism with Morier, who ran very 
 badly, the American horse, Brown Prince, finishing 
 second — three quarters of a length in front of Silvio. 
 At the second Spring meeting the very easy victory 
 of Altyre, a charming little Blair Athol horse, 
 brought him into prominent notice for the Derby, in 
 which, however, he cut a poor figure, Silvio winning 
 cleverly from the outsider, Glen Arthur, who in turn 
 beat the favourite, Eob Eoy, by three-quarters of a 
 length. Soon after running third for the Derby of 
 1877 Eob Eoy had to be turned out of training, 
 and as he proved no use for stud purposes Mr. 
 Mackenzie (afterwards Sir James) gave him to 
 General Sir Arthur Hardinge, who rode him for seven 
 years as a charger, in India chiefly, and a magnificent 
 one he made. He was of a darker colour than most 
 of the Blair Athols, though he had the conspicuous 
 white markings of his sire, and was up to 16 st. with 
 hounds, but free from all lumber, and with a beauti- 
 ful head. The natives of India used to rush to see 
 him, and christened him ' the Father of all the Arabs.' 
 Placida just got home in the Oaks, the winner of the 
 One Thousand, Belphoebe, who did not come down 
 the hill quite as well as the winner, never being able 
 to get on terms with her. Skylark showed good form 
 at Ascot by easily beating Eosebery, though perhaps 
 the latter was not quite in such trim as when he 
 shone so in the two big back-end handicaps of the 
 year before : and Ch373re, a great powerful son of 
 Blinkhoolie, won the Ascot Stakes for me, this being 
 the first time C. Wood ever rode one of my horses. 
 Petrarch, purchased for a large sum by Lord Lons- 
 dale, followed up an Epsom Handicap victory by 
 
156 EACIXCI REMINISCENCES 
 
 winning tlie Gold Cup from Skylark, the beautiful 
 Coomassie being third, and Trappist, with a winning 
 race just before in him, had to strike his flag to 
 Ecossais in the All Aged Stakes, though at only 1 lb. 
 difference he had his revenge in the Stockbridge Cup, 
 Lollypop spUtting the pair. These three horses must 
 have cost backers a lot of money. Eedwing, a 
 moderate Blair Athol mare, won the Hurstbourne 
 Stakes, the Derby winner of the following year, Sefton 
 (then unnamed), finishing second. At this meeting- 
 two very high-priced mares, called Industry and 
 Thoughtless, both by Hermit, and the property of 
 Mr. Padwick, made their debut, the former winning 
 the Troy Stakes, and the latter, though starting 
 favourite, being nowhere in the Hurstbourne. Both 
 turned out most disappointingly, and were valuable 
 only for the stud. In the Liverpool Cup Snail scored 
 a popular victory for Lord Eosebery, but it was very 
 hard for the backers of the favourite, Petrarch, that 
 he should only have failed by a head to give the 
 19 lb. away. 
 
 On the Tuesday morning of Goodwood races I 
 was staying at Singleton, about two miles from the 
 course, and rose early to ride up and see the horses 
 do their work at exercise. It was a singularly 
 beautiful morning, but I was depressed, as I knew 
 that within an hour a lad only twenty years old 
 was going to be hung. I was High Sheriff for 
 Warwickshire, and had seen him tried at the July 
 Assizes and condemned to death for stabbing a police- 
 man in the neck with a clasp knife in a street row in 
 Birmingham, after some days the poor man having 
 died from internal bleeding. The prisoner's father 
 
A LAMENTABLE CASE 157 
 
 had come all the way from America to be present at 
 the trial, and all day long I saw him up in the gallery 
 immediately above the dock, straining over to see his 
 son below him in such an awful position. The culprit 
 looked quite a boy, and I don't believe he meant to kill 
 the policeman at the moment, but the law was clear. 
 The Court sat very late to finish the case, and as the 
 declining rays of the setting sun lit up the interior of 
 the building the jury returned to deliver their verdict 
 of guilty. When asked if he had anything to say 
 the wretched culprit turned to the jury, and in a 
 quiet but trembling voice told them they had found 
 him guilty of a crime he had never intended to 
 commit. Then that awful sentence was passed, and 
 we all mournfully left the court, but I shall never 
 forget the look of the prisoner's father when he 
 heard the verdict. Afterwards a man wrote to me 
 from Birmingham, and having stated that the crime 
 had created a great sensation there, wished to try his 
 powers as an amateur hangman, and offered to 
 ' hang the man for nothing ! ' I directed the Under- 
 Sheriff to answer him with a stern refusal. 
 
 Well, on the way to the course I met Archer, and 
 rode up with him. He was scarcely less depressed 
 than I was, though from a very different cause. He 
 had wasted hard to ride Mousquetaire in the 
 Stewards' Cup, had taken little or nothing to eat for 
 two days, and the report got about that, owing to 
 forestalling, the horse would not run ; and he asked 
 me in piteous tones if I thought they could be so 
 cruel to him. 
 
 At Goodwood, Athol Lad, brother to Prince 
 Charlie, and as big, but not nearly so good-looking or 
 
158 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 SO good, only just won tlie Ham Stakes, and it was 
 fortunate for the backers of Herald that Mousquetaire 
 did not compete for the Stewards' Cup, his joint 
 owners, Lord Lascelles and Mr. W. B. Beaumont, 
 preferring to run him for the Chichester Stakes and 
 Chesterfield Cup, both of which races he won anyhow. 
 The charming Jannette won the Eichmond Stakes in 
 a canter, and remained undefeated during the year. 
 The Goodwood Stakes, a favourite race of the 
 Manton stable, was carried off by Prince George ; 
 Chypre, when going very well. Constable told me, 
 having the misfortune to put his foot in a hole 
 scratched out by a rabbit and breaking down, yet 
 one more instance of the way in which so-called 
 certainties may be upset, for this, of course, might 
 equally have happened to an animal that had 4 st. in 
 hand. Hampton showed that he was as good a horse 
 as Petrarch, by giving weight and a beating to 
 Skylark in the Cup ; and in a grand race for the 
 Bentinck Memorial the good-looking but unfortunate 
 Spark beat the gigantic Athol Lad by a head, Cannon 
 riding the winner. 
 
 Passing on to Doncaster, Silvio, starting a hot 
 favourite, won the St. Leger in a canter from his 
 stable companion, Lady Golightly, who was now 
 running in her best form. Behind them, however, 
 were a very moderate lot of horses. 
 
 At the First October meeting Hilarious, who had 
 been backed for a ton of money for the Cesarewitch, 
 was pulled out to oppose Thunderstone in the Grand 
 Duke Michael Stakes, and although he had the best 
 of the weights, he succumbed by half a length, bilt 
 was not disgraced. On the morning of this day Mr. 
 
A LUCKY PURCHASE 159 
 
 Gerard, now Lord Gerard, disposed of his horses in 
 training, unluckily for him, as amongst them was 
 Pilgrimage, the winner of the Two Thousand and One 
 Thousand of 1878, Captain Machell asking me to 
 purchase her and Telegram (that secured the first 
 Nursery a few hours later) for Lord Lonsdale, which 
 I did at a price that would be considered moderate 
 for a good j)later nowadays. 
 
 On the Thursday, Hilarious proved himself the 
 same animal as Lady Golightly in the St. Leger over 
 the severe Ditch In, and in consequence became a 
 warm favourite for the big handicap of the following 
 week, which he won in a canter by four lengths, 
 Macaroon, backed for an enormous stake at fifty to 
 one by Captain Machell's stable, finishing second a 
 neck in front of Belphoebe, whose performance was 
 far the best of all the three-year-olds. After the 
 decision of the Oatlands Plate, a high-class selling 
 race, won by Colonel Forester's Paramatta, it may be 
 noted that Captain Sterling claimed Jester for the 
 large sum of two thousand pounds and the stake of 
 270/. I fancy the claim was for Mr. Faylor. Beau- 
 clerc was a good horse the day he won the Middle 
 Park Plate, in which the four-thousand-guinea Maxi- 
 milian made his first appearance on a racecourse, 
 and, though fancied, ran nowhere. 
 
 The Champion Stakes was looked on as a good 
 thing for Springfield, as he had only to give 12 lb. to 
 Silvio, and directly the numbers went up odds were 
 freely laid on him, four to one being offered against 
 the Derby winner ; but shortly a reaction took place, 
 the fielding became very pronounced, not to say 
 ominous, 'even money the favourite' was shrieked 
 
160 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 all over the ring, layers tumbled over each other to 
 bet against Springfield, and backers struggled to get 
 on Silvio, seeing the turn things had taken, till at 
 length both horses started equal favourites, and in 
 the hands of Tom Cannon, happily for all those con- 
 cerned in the horse, Springfield won gallantly from 
 Silvio. Many of us must remember the gloomy looks 
 of the Eing after the race, especially Steel's and Peech's, 
 who had lost a lot, knowing nothing, but through 
 simply following the lead of a man who thought he 
 had found out something. What it was will never be 
 known, but many stories were afloat at the time. 
 
 Jongleur, who had proved himself smart in the 
 Cesarewitch week by giving 31b. and a beating to 
 the Oaks winner, Placida, with Verneuil and Thun- 
 derstone behind them, in the Select Stakes, and 
 running third to Lady Golightly, giving her 11 lb. in 
 the Newmarket Derby, the last race of the meeting, 
 won the Cambridgeshire by two lengths with 8 st. 4 lb. 
 on his back, the unlucky Belphoebe being second 
 with 7 St. 10 lb., so it was a very good performance 
 of the winner, and it is surprising he was allowed to 
 start at 33 to 1, considering his two good shows in 
 the previous week. Pubhc form was here again 
 triumphant, except that Hilarious ran badly in this 
 race, the course, however, being too short for him. 
 
 At Liverpool, Arbitrator, then three years old, 
 showed very good form by winning the Cup with 
 8 St. on his back, and he followed this victory up by 
 successfully carrying the 12 lb. penalty home in the 
 Great Lancashire Handicap on the Friday. He is 
 now the sire of some useful racehorses. 
 
 At the first meeting of the Jockey Club this year 
 
'THE ADMIRAL' 161 
 
 Mr. Alexander brought forward a motion to alter the 
 lowest weight of 5 st. 7 lb. in handicaps to 4 st. 7 lb. 
 At a small meeting this was carried hj two, but at 
 the Second Spring meeting the old rule was restored 
 and this one negatived by a majority of ten. How 
 little did poor Admiral Eons think when he proudly 
 resumed his office as Steward at the Craven week 
 that at the meeting of the Jockey Club in the Second 
 Spring meeting we should all be lamenting his sudden 
 death and considering what steps should be taken to 
 erect a memorial to him ! At the Craven week he 
 appeared in his usual health, and he went down to 
 Epsom Spring the first day. Here he was seized 
 with a kind of fit, had to be taken back to London, 
 and put to bed. He gradually sank, and died in a 
 few days, to the extreme grief of his friends and 
 of the whole racing world. Xc one did more for 
 the Turf, and Newmarket particularly, than he. 
 Although some of his decisions may be questioned, 
 his honest intentions never were, and he had the 
 welfare of the sj)ort at heart. He spent an immense 
 quantity of time over his handicaps, which with him 
 were a labour of love. He always kept one or two 
 bad horses in training to make matches with, and 
 was very difficult to beat, one cause of his success, 
 in addition to his judgment in estimating what his 
 own and other horses could do, being that he almost 
 invariably secured the services of Fordham to ride 
 for him. 
 
 The Admiral was courteous and obliging to 
 people in every class of life. He was a good judge 
 of character, and though always rather deaf, he 
 became extra so when people reproached him rather 
 
162 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 unnecessarily about the weights he had put on their 
 horses. Within two years the Jockey Club lost him 
 and his great friend Mr. George Payne, and to me, 
 and I am sure to many others, the Newmarket 
 meetings have never quite seemed the same since. 
 
ig; 
 
 1878 
 
 On February the 4th, a special meeting of the 
 Jockey Club was held at Messrs. Weatherby's office 
 in London, and after the club had confirmed some 
 alterations of rules passed at the Houghton meetinof, 
 General Pearson moved the following resolution : — 
 
 ' That the Stewards of the Jockey Club be 
 empowered to oppose in Parliament Mr. Anderson's 
 Bill for the Licensing of Eacecourses,' a motion 
 which, of course, was carried unanimously. 
 
 At the Lincoln Spring meeting Kaleidoscope, 
 purchased by Mr. E. Peck from Lord Dupplin for 
 700 guineas, won the Lincolnshire Handicap for his 
 new owner, and a number of curious stories were set 
 afloat as to the system on which it was supposed that 
 the horse had been trained, the most eccentric legend 
 being that he had been fed entirely on water cresses. 
 It is wonderful what ignorant tales ' racing men ' can 
 be induced to believe about horses. One hears of 
 trials of horses so amazing, that before the animals 
 appear in public it seems absolutely impossible that 
 they can be beaten ; but, nevertheless, they generally 
 are. Horses can do everything but talk, it is said, 
 and as embryo conversationalists they may shine, for 
 all the observer knows ; but when it comes to winning 
 the races that have booked ' real e^ood things ' for 
 them, deficiencies become painfully apparent. So, 
 
 M 2 
 
164 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 too, we hear of jockeys whose marvellous ability 
 enables them to win or lose races on the post by 
 a short head, with their whip out, their spurs 
 rammed home, and their teeth clenched ! The real 
 fact was that Kaleidoscope ' made a noise,' and in 
 the case of thick-winded horses, it is believed that a 
 handful of watercresses now and then clears their 
 pipes, a piece of knowledge, or at an}^ rate a suppo- 
 sition, of which Mr. Peck availed himself. 
 
 Common sense and practical knowledge have 
 much to do with the training of horses. For in- 
 stance, in 1870 and 1871 I had a mare called Lizzie 
 Cowl in training at Bloss's, an establishment which 
 Captain Machell was managing. She was a bad 
 feeder, and at last he hit on the expedient of trying 
 her with Thorley's food for cattle, the result being 
 that the mare ate it greedily and soon put on flesh, 
 without which it is impossible to train a horse, for 
 you must have something to train on — some flesh to 
 reduce into hard muscle. I do not think trainers use 
 half the simple foods they might do to tempt delicate 
 horses to eat, such as bran, green meat, &c. At New- 
 market trainers are very fond of putting a few steel 
 drops in the water, and this is believed by many 
 judges to be a very good plan with shy feeders, 
 especially with selling platers if they are going to 
 run immediately. It, so to speak, braces the horse 
 up for the time, but it has to be continued, and I 
 have known platers degenerate when they have left 
 stables where they have been accustomed to this 
 tonic, and gone where they have not had the medi- 
 cine. I was once rather impressed by a man writing 
 to me and suggesting that I should give my horses 
 
A IIECIPE FOn SHY FEEDEIiS 1G5 
 
 tincture of coca, a plant mucli used by tlie Indians 
 and Mexicans when going long distances on foot with 
 the prospect of being kept very short of food on the 
 journey. They chew the leaves into a sort of ball 
 and keep it in their mouths like a quid of tobacco. 
 I procured a bottle of tincture of coca accordingly, 
 took it down to Beckhampton, and gave a horse 
 possessed of a very uncertain temper a dose of it, two 
 teaspoonfuls in a wine-glass of water, before he took 
 part in a trial I had arranged. At the same time my 
 brother and I each took a dose of it before we set 
 out on our walk up to the downs. It certainly pro- 
 duced an exhilarating effect on us, and the horse ran 
 as straight as a die. He won the trial, and at the 
 time I thought I would try it with uncertain horses 
 in public, but I never did so, though I am confident 
 it would have a better effect than the whiskey which 
 is so often oriven to roi^ues before starting for a race. 
 At Liverpool, Eoyal, a Kingcraft horse for which I 
 had given 600 guineas as a yearling, w^on the Moly- 
 neux Stakes by a short head from Leghorn, the 
 riding of Webb, who was on mine, and Tom Cannon on 
 the other, being simply superb. The winner was a 
 wiry little bay horse ticked with white hairs, but he 
 was only a plater, and did not win another race this 
 year. Leghorn, however, took the Althorp Park 
 Stakes the following week, beating Devotee who was 
 second in the Brocklesby. Prince George won the 
 Northamptonshire Stakes, to the disgust of the patrons 
 of Alec Taylor's stable, as he was ' beaten a hundred 
 measured yards in his trial,' exclaimed Mr. Payne 
 after the race. We were all anxious to know the 
 winner of that trial, and know it very soon we did to 
 
166 RACING REmNISCENCES 
 
 our cost, as on tlie first day of the Craven week ]\ir. 
 Payne came and asked me to put him 300^. on his 
 horse Cartridge for the Bushes Handicap. This should 
 have been one of the commonly-talked-of good things, 
 but to our amazement the horse was beaten before 
 the field had gone half way, the race being won by 
 Advance. Fordham, who finished second on Pardon, 
 here made his first appearance on a course after a 
 year's absence, owing to illness and nervousness, 
 caused by a failing against which he now manfully 
 strove. I did my best to encourage him to return, 
 and have the satisfaction of knowing that he was most 
 grateful to me and to Henry Woolcott ; he went 
 down to stay with the latter, rising early and riding 
 our two-year-olds at exercise and gradually getting 
 his nerve back ; and he rode many races for me in 
 the early part of this year. Later on this very day 
 he won the Bretby Plate on Pardon, whom he had 
 eased in the first race on seeing pursuit of the winner 
 was hopeless, and I never shall forget the cheer that 
 went up when he passed the post, or when he won 
 on a little mare of mine, Calabria, at Epsom Spring, 
 his second winning mount. Those of his many ad- 
 mirers who had not been present at Newmarket felt 
 bound to express their pleasure at seeing this most 
 able and honest horseman once more in the saddle, 
 which no jockey has ever more adorned — judging, 
 that is to say, by results and not by appearance, for 
 though unsurpassed as a horseman not his greatest 
 friend could say that his style was graceful or ele- 
 gant. 
 
 That charming httle horse Thurio, who is now 
 doing service at the stud, won the Newmarket 
 
THE DAM OF DONOVAN 167 
 
 Handicap in a canter, but few people who saw him 
 secure the Craven Stakes next day could dream that 
 he had given five pounds and a clever beating to 
 Sefton, the winner of the Derby ! Neither could they 
 have been much impressed by Sefton's victory in the 
 City and Suburban, as he only squeaked home a head 
 from Advance who was actually giving him two stone 
 six pounds. Of course allowance must be made for a 
 little boy riding him, but even then the form did not 
 appear to be within a stone of average Derby form, 
 though in the Two Thousand, where he finished third 
 to Pilgrimage and Insulaire, Osborne said he was 
 running on. Pilgrimage was a great fine chestnut 
 mare, with white markings, and a really good one, 
 but she had a suspicious leg, and Captain Machell 
 was a little anxious about her before the One Thou- 
 sand, which, however, she won cleverly enough from 
 Lord Falmouth's charming mare Jannette. Insulaire 
 was a little black horse, by Dutch Skater, one of the 
 first of that sire's produce out of the famous Green 
 Sleeves, contemporary of Eosicrucian and Blue Gown, 
 and was a good, honest little fellow. His admirable 
 training got him where he was in the Two Thousand, 
 as subsequent running proved he was only a very 
 moderate horse, but if he had not always had to run 
 in good company he might have won a big handicap. 
 At the Second Spring meeting Mowerina appeared, 
 a mare that has since become famous as the dam 
 of the mighty Donovan. She came out with a great 
 reputation for a small sweepstakes, and with long 
 odds on her won in a canter. She was the property 
 of Mr. Otto Scavenius, a Swedish gentleman, who 
 owns a few racehorses, and comes nearly every year 
 
168 PtACIXG EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 to England, where he is always most popular. This 
 year will be remembered as the one in which Lolly- 
 pop and Ecossais fought so many battles together, 
 occasionally joined by Trappist, who took his own 
 part, and backers were usually bewildered in the 
 extreme to know w^hich of this remarkable trio had 
 the best chance. So much was this the case that, 
 after each of the three had beaten the others, when 
 Trappist and Ecossais met in the County Cup at 
 Lewes, both started equal favourites at evens. 
 Students of public form would do well to study the 
 races run by these three horses during this year, so 
 bewildering were their performances, though all 
 three were almost invariably much fancied, well 
 backed, well ridden, and well trained. The students 
 aforesaid, with all the running before them, will even 
 now find it difficult to make a fair handicap of the 
 three horses. My own impression is that Trappist 
 was the best, and that Lollypop could give Ecossais 
 seven pounds ; but I am well aware that on certain 
 form this conclusion could be upset. No doubt the 
 inconsistency of their running is attributable to one 
 or other of them, as the case might be, getting on 
 his legs the quickest, chopping the other two at the 
 start, and bustling them; because there is hardly time 
 to take a pull at a horse when an equally speedy one 
 is leading you a couple of lengths in a five furlong 
 race. These possibilities and risks are always in the 
 backer's path, and yet we bet ! 
 
 The day Fordham was winning the SaUsbury Cup 
 for me on Little Harry, the most irritating and dis- 
 appointing horse I ever possessed, I was figuring as 
 defendant in the Westminster Law Courts before 
 
AN ACTION FOR DAMAGES 169 
 
 Baron Huddleston. At Brighton, the year before, 
 when Lord Lincohi boUed down the course on the 
 way to the post {after the course had been cleared 
 however), he knocked down a tout and broke his leg. 
 Though I had heard that someone was knocked 
 down, I did not know at the time that he had been 
 hurt, but in the following November a letter came 
 from the injured man stating what had happened, 
 that he had had to go to the hospital, &c., and 
 demanding a large sum from me. As the man was 
 to blame for being on the course, I replied that, 
 while sincerely regretting the accident, it was 
 entirely his own fault, but that still I should be 
 glad to send him a present of 25Z. This was 
 refused, and an action was started against me, the 
 plaintiff claiming heavy damages. The case only 
 lasted a few hours, but some amusement was 
 caused by the man's evidence, to the effect that 
 he was a horse watcher. Of course, the case 
 ended in a verdict for me with costs, but I had 
 to pay my own and the plaintiff's as well. 
 
 At Epsom a very pretty bay horse, on a 
 small scale, called Cadogan, was made a hot 
 favourite for the Woodcote, and won it by four 
 lengths. At the end of his two-year-old career 
 he was sold by Mr. Fred Swindell for a large 
 sum to Lord Huntly, who in turn sold him to 
 his brother. Lord Douglas Gordon, whose late 
 lamented death caused such grief to his many 
 friends. This was the only race the horse ever 
 won, though he ran second for the Two Thousand 
 Guineas in the colours of his new owner. I mention 
 the event that came next on the card in the day's 
 
170 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 sport, a selling race, because Violet Mekose, the dam 
 of Melton, finished second in it, her entered selling 
 price being 1001. ; and oddly enough, on the same 
 day, Casuistry, the dam of Paradox, who ran such a 
 desperate race with Melton in the Derby (after so 
 nearly being upset in the Two Thousand, with 3 to 1 
 on him, and Archer in the saddle, by reason of one 
 of Cannon's marvellously well-judged races), won a 
 Maiden Plate in the popular colours of Lord Eosebery. 
 She was a sister to Controversy, and, perhaps, if her 
 owner had not parted with her, she would have bred 
 him a good horse which would possibly have induced 
 him to continue racino^ on a larore scale : on such 
 trifles do important events depend. For this very 
 Derby he had purchased Bonnie Scotland a few days 
 before the race from Mr. Peck, in the belief that the 
 horse had a great chance from the good trial he had 
 won; but he ran very disappointingly, and, to Mr. 
 Crawfurd's intense delight, Sefton won him the 
 race in which all his lifetime it had been his 
 special ambition to be victorious. Appropriately 
 enough he gave the Derby dinner that night to 
 the Jockey Club, when his health was drunk with 
 enthusiasm. In spite of Pilgrimage not being quite 
 at her best, she started favourite at evens for the 
 Oaks, but came down the hill badly, and could never 
 catch Jannette, whom Archer pushed along from 
 the turn, and the favourite broke down, though 
 she made a gallant fight of it under the circum- 
 stances. That good little horse Hampton won the 
 Gold Cup very easily from Verneuil, and beat 
 him again in exactly the same way for the Queen's 
 Plate afterwards in the Second October meeting ; 
 
THE OPEXIXG OF KEMPTOX 171 
 
 yet at Ascot Verneuil, at 10 lb. difference in tlie 
 weights, beat Hampton, Silvio, and St. Cliristoplier in 
 a canter by six lengths, and followed it up by 
 winning the Alexandra Plate as well, making the 
 whole of his own running in each instance. The July 
 Stakes at Newmarket was won by Euperra, a big 
 dark chestnut horse, who was followed home by 
 two others similar in colour and height. Gunners- 
 bury and Eayon d'Or. The latter turned out far 
 and away the best racehorse of the three, and in 
 due time won the Leger. James Goater, who rode 
 him, believes that the colt would have won the 
 Derby also had he not been tied down by orders 
 how to ride. At this meeting Massena won a 
 small race for Mr. Dudley Milner, brother of 
 my friend and ally, Sir William Milner. He was a 
 great student of public form, and when first he 
 came to the races at Newmarket from Cambridge, 
 where he was reading hard for an examination, he 
 used to watch the horses through a telescope. 
 Whenever he saw what he thought a certainty on 
 paper, he used to make use of the very forcible 
 expression, that it was good enough to bet ' till the 
 cows came home ; ' indeed, I think he was the 
 originator of the saying, which is still very popular. 
 On July the 18th, the first day's racing at the 
 now popular Kempt on Park took place, and J. Porter 
 and Fordham each received a silver cup as the trainer 
 and rider respectively of the first winner, Dunkenny. 
 Mr. Seymour Portman-Dalton was, and happily still 
 is, the Secretary of the Club. It would be well 
 if he also had a little more to do with the actual 
 racing, as several times the management have been 
 
172 PtACIXG EEMIXISCENCES 
 
 rather niggardly about giving the added money 
 when fewer horses than the number specified have 
 started for a race, and they might well take a leaf 
 out of the book of the Sandown executive, who are 
 liberality itself. Kempton has a better racecourse 
 than Sandown, but there is a nasty turn so close 
 home that often horses that are shut in have not 
 time to challenge the leader. Both Fordham and 
 Archer, and I think Cannon, have told me they never 
 know what to do in riding on this course. If they 
 make running round the turn the horses appear to 
 tire, and something that has got round catches them 
 and beats them, making it appear as if they had 
 ridden down their horses when leading ; and if they 
 do the opposite, and wait, they stand the risk of 
 being shut in and unable to get an opening till 
 too late, not to mention the chance of horses that 
 are being punished swerving in front of them. The 
 turn has, however, been made much better in the 
 last few years. The straight five-furlong course is a 
 very tiring one,^ and it has the disadvantage of being 
 at such a curious angle from the stands that it is 
 very difiicult to tell what has won in a close finish. 
 But Kempton is a very pleasant place, and an enjoy- 
 able outing on a fine day, especially since its train 
 service has been improved. Altogether the opening 
 meeting was a success. Lord Hartington won the 
 big handicap with a great fine raking mare called 
 Eylstone, ridden by Fordham. Although by Hermit, 
 she looked more like a young Melbourne mare. 
 
 Just before Goodwood I went down to Manton 
 
 ^ Archer used quaintly to describe it as like a sirloin of beef cut 
 the wrong way. 
 
TWO FAMOUS MARES 17 o 
 
 witli Mr. Crawfurd, and there we tried Cagliostro, a 
 Eosicrucian horse I had given a very large sum for 
 as a yearhng at the Middle Park sale. In the trial 
 he beat Avontes at even weights, and we thought 
 he would win the Stewards' Cup, backing him, of 
 course, accordingly. In the race he was nowhere ; 
 the trial was 2 st. wrong, and he turned out a very 
 moderate animal. The Duke of Hamilton ran first 
 and second for the race, an unprecedented occur- 
 rence. Midlothian, bought out of a selling race at 
 Newmarket the year before, won, and LoUypop, who 
 started nearly favourite on public form, finished 
 second, to the chagrin of those who had backed him 
 only, though the owner declared to win with Mid- 
 lothian. The other trial we had was of much 
 greater service, as Norwich, the winner of it, won 
 the Goodwood Stakes, Fordham having been engaged 
 by me to ride him. He only got home cleverly from 
 Hampton, who was giving him 1 st. 11 lb. Two 
 rattling good two-year-olds. Wheel of Fortune (an 
 Adventurer mare, and probably the best horse Lord 
 Falmouth ever owned) and Peter, made their first 
 appearances in the Eichmond Stakes, and finished 
 first and second, but the mare won very easily ; and 
 another notable animal that scored at this meeting 
 was the Hungarian bred Kincsem, who had never 
 been beaten, and who won the Goodwood Cup very 
 easily from Pageant, in spite of the eccentricities of 
 her jockey. Madden, whose peculiar style of riding- 
 contrasted very unfavourably with that of Cannon's 
 on the second. Trappist scored a stolen victory in 
 the Singleton Stakes of a mile, neither Dalham nor 
 Lollypop being able to get near him, owing to Captain 
 
174 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 Machell giving Archer instructions to jump off at the 
 start and come right through, which he did, to the 
 amazement of the other jockeys, who did not reahse 
 what had occurred till too late ; and thus the race 
 became a mere procession. 
 
 I have now the melancholy task of describing the 
 closing scenes of the life of my great friend, the 
 well-known Mr. George Payne. The week before 
 Goodwood he had a very slight stroke of paralysis, 
 which caused much anxiety to all his friends, and 
 although it quickly passed off, his doctor would not 
 hear of his going to the famous meeting. He was to 
 have accompanied Mr. Crawfurd and me down to 
 Manton, but, of course, that was out of the question, 
 so he had to content himself with hearing the result 
 of the trials on our return, and, of course, he 
 profited by the victory of Norwich. I was with him 
 on the Monday before starting for Goodwood, and I 
 never shall forget his last words to me that day, as I 
 was leaving the room. ' I have given up going to 
 Goodwood by my doctor's orders, but whatever 
 happens I mean to go to Brighton and Lewes ;' and 
 sure enough he appeared at Brighton races the first 
 day, looking as well as possible. In the opening race 
 of that meeting Little Harry ran so ungenerously 
 that I was thoroughly disgusted with him, and, 
 refusing an offer from Charles Archer of 200/. for 
 him, I ordered my trainer to shoot him that evening. 
 
 The first day of Lewes races was the hottest day 
 we had that summer. In vain did we implore Mr. 
 Payne to carry an umbrella, and let one of us do his 
 commissions for him instead of going to the ring 
 to bet in the full heat of the day. He turned a deaf 
 
MR. GEORGE PAYNE 175 
 
 ear to our entreaties. That niglit after dinner, as 
 I was standing out on the balcony, he passed under 
 our windows at King's, as he was walking back 
 to the Bedford Hotel with Mr. Savile. I remarked 
 to someone with me that he dragged one of his legs 
 as he walked, but none of us were prepared to hear 
 the sad news next morning that he had had a severe 
 stroke that night. We afterwards learnt that in the 
 early morning he felt great numbness in one of his 
 legs, and on getting out of bed to reach a brush 
 to rub it he was seized with a stroke, and had to wait 
 patiently in a chair till his servant came to call him. 
 He was removed that day to his house in Queen 
 Street, Mayfair, where a bed was placed in the back 
 drawing-room. All the lower part of his body was 
 paralysed, but he retained his senses, and his brain 
 was as clear and his keenness to hear the racing news 
 as great as ever. Indeed, the morning of his attack 
 at Brighton he left a commission to back Eylstone, 
 the winner of the Lewes Handicap that day. I saw 
 him constantly during the next week or two, and once 
 he bared his muscular arm to the shoulder and said 
 to me, ' Look at that ! ' then, pointing to his waist, he 
 exclaimed, ' yet I am dead from there to my feet.' 
 Of course his recovery was hopeless, and it was only 
 a question how long his great strength and iron 
 constitution would last. Lady Goodricke, his sister, 
 Sir Harry Goodricke, his nephew, and Mr. Charles 
 Paris, his friend and executor, were unremitting in 
 their attentions to him, and the whole of society, 
 besides the racing world, were eager for tidings of 
 his health. One evening when I was there the 
 Prince of Wales called, and although at first Mr. 
 Payne was loth to be seen in such a sad plight, he 
 
176 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 was afterwards much pleased at His Eoyal Higli- 
 ness's visit and the kind words he spoke to him. 
 He hngered on to the first week in September, when 
 he breathed his last, regretted by all who knew him, 
 and mourned by many sincere friends. He was a 
 great gambler, but the very soul of honour, and was 
 always consulted in disputes and quarrels of men he 
 knew, who, old and young, always abided by his 
 decision. He was a great friend to me, and many 
 delightful hours I have passed in his society. As 
 a member of the Jockey Club he only occasionally 
 took part in their discussions, but what he said was 
 always to the point, and I am quite certain if he had 
 been alive he never would have allowed things in 
 the racing world to take the course they have in the 
 last few years, but would have insisted on the Club 
 entertaining any charges made against one of their 
 members by another, instead of allowing the accuser 
 to shelter himself behind the twistings and turnings 
 of a law court. 
 
 Many were the stories he told of his early life, of 
 his hunting, of the enormous sum he lost on the 
 Leger before he came of age, of his never seeing 
 daylight for a whole week in one winter, owing to 
 being challenged by a friend to play at ecarte a 
 certain number of games, which resulted in their 
 playing every night for six days till seven o'clock 
 in the morning. Of course it was dark then, at that 
 season, and he used not to get up till 3.30 to 4 
 o'clock. He was fond of describing Crockford's 
 when the conversation turned on hazard or cards, 
 and used to speak of the lavish way in which the 
 old fishmonger supplied his guests (or victims ) with 
 
CPtOCKFORD'S 177 
 
 the finest hothouse peaches, grapes, and every con- 
 ceivable dehcacy that could be obtained for money, 
 and all this gratis. A number of men who did not 
 care to play at hazard used purposely to lose a 
 hundred or two a year at the tables, to have the 
 pleasure of dining and supping with their friends, 
 who all flocked to the magnificent rooms, which 
 at night presented the appearance of a luxurious 
 club. Mr. Payne used to narrate that after dinner 
 he would sometimes stroll round there early, and 
 finding hardly anyone there except Crockford at his 
 desk, used to sit down and play a game of back- 
 gammon with him, both being fine players. Though 
 an enormous quantity of horses must have belonged 
 to him during a career of fifty years on the turf, 
 undoubtedly the best horse Mr. Payne ever owned 
 was Musket, and from all accounts of this stout 
 horse's progeny in Xew Zealand and Australia, it is 
 a thousand pities he was ever allowed to leave the 
 country. Lord Glasgow left Mr. Payne a share in 
 the Enfield stud with General Peel, and Musket was 
 bred there. 
 
 The last seven or eight years of his life he went 
 regularly every winter to Nice, and at the Cercle de 
 Mediterranee had his afternoon rubber every day 
 with old Count Crassousky. Now and then Mr. 
 Payne visited Monte Carlo, where he generally lost, 
 because he never would leave his winnings on. As 
 he himself told me, ' I can't resist taking money off 
 every time, unless I make a solemn vow to myself 
 that I will leave it on three times, and even then it 
 is as much as I can do to keep it ! ' 
 
 He was a good whist player, though the last year 
 
 N 
 
178 K AGING REMINISCEXCES 
 
 or two of his life his memory failed him at times. 
 Many who have played with him will remember his' 
 favourite expression when putting up a king second 
 hand to save the game, ' Salvator Eosa was a good 
 old painter.' 
 
 Once he told me the whole story of the famous 
 trial in which he was a witness for an evening paper 
 in an action for libel brought by a peer who had 
 been accused of cheating at cards. The plaintiff had 
 been one of Mr. Payne's great friends, and it pained 
 him extremely to have to give evidence against him. 
 When the counsel for the noble lord addressed the 
 jury, he said, ' Gentlemen, how can the evidence of a 
 man like Mr. Payne, notoriously a gambler who has 
 squandered half his patrimony racing, be trust- 
 worthy ? ' In this strain he continued, till Mr. Payne 
 grew so incensed that he waited outside the court with 
 the intention of giving the counsel a sound thrashing, 
 but, fortunately, a friend found him pacing the 
 corridor in a state of excitement, and on learning 
 what he was there for, represented to him that he 
 would probably be imprisoned for such an act, and 
 induced him to forego his purpose and leave the 
 courts. 
 
 Considering the ups and downs of his life, his 
 good spirits were remarkable. Once after a very 
 bad July week, when everything had gone wrong for 
 backers, he returned to town after the races on 
 Friday and dined with Mr. Paris, and was heard 
 to keep up an animated conversation about his drill, 
 in which he appeared much interested, with a young- 
 man who had just entered the army. He used 
 to write a very good letter, and I am fortunate in 
 
JANNETTE'S LEGER 179 
 
 having several in my possession. He was conscious 
 to the last moment of his life, and gave instructions 
 that his funeral should be a very quiet one, and that 
 very few should be asked to follow him to the grave. 
 On the 6th of September, 1878, I found myself in 
 a mourning coach with Lord Alexander Lennox, 
 starting from Queen Street to Kensal Green. Lord 
 Alexander, who was a personal friend and great 
 admirer of Mr. Payne, told me much about his early 
 days. On that sad journey I learned for the first 
 time that if he could have married a charming and 
 accomplished girl at the outset of his career, his life 
 would have been a very different one. On our 
 arrival at the chapel we found it crowded with 
 sympathising friends. The ceremony was performed 
 by an old friend of Mr. Payne's, whose voice shook 
 with emotion as the coffin was lowered to its last 
 resting place. 
 
 At Doncaster, to resume the subject of racing, 
 Charibert cleverly beat Eayon d'Or for the Champagne 
 Stakes, but on the Thursday, in a sweepstakes nearly 
 a quarter of a mile further, the big horse reversed 
 the decision ; and here backers might well complain 
 of public form justifying them in laying 5 to 2 on 
 Charibert, and then throwing them over decisively. 
 The charming Jannette won the St. Leger in a canter 
 from Lord Falmouth's second string, Childeric, a 
 second-class horse, but the third, Master Kildare, 
 scored some memorable handicap victories after- 
 wards, and has distinguished himself at the stud as 
 the sire of Melton, the Derby winner. 
 
 At Newmarket during the First and Second October 
 meetings, Peter proved himself a great horse by win- 
 
 n2 
 
180 EACIXG REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 ning tlie Hopeful Stakes, Eous Memorial, and Middle 
 Park Plate ; that good Hermit mare. Out of Bounds, 
 won the Ditch Mile and Eowley Mile Nursery by a 
 head in the former race, beating Sir Bevys, the winner 
 of next year's Derby, the latter race having been 
 noticeable for Fordham's consummate skill in the art 
 of race riding, as he won a short head, sitting quite 
 still, the onlookers believing he had won in a canter, 
 but he assured Mr. Crawfurd he could not have won 
 an inch farther. 
 
 Isonomy showed us that he was a good horse 
 by winning the Cambridgeshire two lengths from 
 Touchet and La Merveille, both under the charge of 
 Mr. E. Peck, yet Porter never could have known that 
 the winner was the great horse he demonstrated him- 
 self to be afterwards, or he never would have started 
 at 40 to 1. I recollect there being a tedious delay at 
 the post for this race, and I and others, including Count 
 Lagrange, beguiled our time away at the top of the 
 stand by watching the Duke of Eutland and party 
 shooting pheasants in the cover a mile off. At the 
 beginning of this year I had the honour to be elected 
 a steward of the Jockey Club, being named by Sir 
 John Astley, who retired by rotation. At the Second 
 Spring meeting two new rules were carried, one of 
 them, making the clear value of every plate or sweep- 
 stakes of 1001. to the winner, provoking a memorial 
 from many clerks of the courses against the proposed 
 alterations. Time has proved that the Jockey Club 
 did well in not allowing protests to influence them. 
 The rule has proved a great boon to owners of 
 moderate racehorses. 
 
 'i. 
 
 I 
 
 A 
 
181 
 
 1 879 
 
 Ix tlie first week of the raciiif? season Toucliet 
 scored a popular victory in the Lincohishire Handi- 
 cap for Lord Eosebery, to the profit of those who 
 remembered his running so well at the Liverpool 
 Autumn meeting the year before ; but he only got 
 home a short head from the aged Mars, who started 
 at a hundred to one, and whose success would have 
 been one of the most amazing incidents ever heard of 
 in connection with the race. Parole, a six-vear-old 
 gelding, bred in America, beat the great Isonomy in 
 the Newmarket Handicap at only eight pounds, and 
 followed up this meritorious victory by winning the 
 City and Suburban and Great Metropolitan, only one 
 horse, Castlereagh, having the temerity to oppose 
 him in the latter race — an unprecedentedly small 
 field for so important a handicap. 
 
 Charibert, a beautiful Thormanby horse, who had 
 been unaccountably beaten by Eeconciliation in the 
 Column Stakes at the Craven meeting, started at 25 
 to 1 for the Two Thousand — a notable price for one 
 of Lord Falmouth's horses, ridden by Archer — and 
 won easily from the little Cadogan, who was dwarfed 
 by the gigantic Eayon d'Or, whom, nevertheless, he 
 beat by four lengths for second place. The winner 
 was supposed to make a slight noise, and that together 
 with his Craven week defeat kept backers aloof, 
 
182 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 but they would not be stalled off Wheel of Fortune 
 for the One Thousand, and she won in a canter from 
 a bad lot of mares, though she would have beaten with 
 almost equal ease a lot that were above the average, 
 for she was a great horse and doubtless the best 
 animal Lord Falmouth ever owned. 
 
 At the meeting of the Jockey Club, during the 
 second Spring meeting, I brought forward a motion 
 to restrain two-year-olds from running more than six 
 furlongs before the first of July, and less than five 
 furlongs on or after that date. This I intended for 
 the thin edge of the wedge, to do away with half- 
 mile races, and I feared many members of the Club 
 would oppose it, but was agreeably surprised when 
 Mr. (now Lord) Gerard proposed as an amendment 
 that they should not run less than five furlongs ' at 
 any time.' This was exactly what I wanted, and 
 finding many members would support the amendment, 
 I suggested it should be put first. It was carried by 
 twenty-one to six against it. Many owners of horses 
 objected to it. I ask them, now that over ten years 
 have elapsed, whether it has not succeeded admir- 
 ably. Are not the two-year-olds less knocked about 
 at the start than they were in those half-mile scram- 
 bles, where every jockey thought the start won the 
 race? Do not the jockeys appear less in a hurry to 
 get home, less inclined to ride their horses' heads off, 
 than in the days of those sprint races ? I hope the 
 time will come when we shall have half the five- 
 furlong races we have now, fewer two-year-old 
 races of importance, more good races of a mile for 
 three-year-olds and upwards. I am sure it is in this 
 
FORDHAJM'S ONLY DERBY 183 
 
 direction that useful legislation should tend, but it 
 must be done gradually. 
 
 On the Tuesday of the Second Spring meeting we 
 were introduced to the flying Oceanic. She was a 
 light-necked, mean mare to look at, but a wonderful 
 goer, and she won the Newmarket Plate in a canter 
 from Sabella, who afterwards beat Prestonpans and 
 others in the Woodcote. And now we come to 
 Pordham's first and only Derby, which he had been 
 so anxious to win all his life, and it is gratifying to 
 me to know that it was through my persuasion — for 
 he had not ridden as yet at all this year — he was 
 induced to ride Sir Bevys, on whom he won the 
 great race in a sea of mud from two rank outsiders 
 in Palmbearer and Yisconti. That he was greeted 
 with the heartiest cheers of everyone on the course 
 as he returned to scale need scarcely be said, for Ford- 
 ham's probity and honour were universally recog- 
 nised and made him everywhere popular. The 
 winner was the property of Baron Lionel de Eoths- 
 child, who raced in the assumed name of ' Mr. 
 Acton,' but Mr. Leopold, his son, managed the stud. 
 Captain Batchelor had his 10,000Z. yearling book for 
 this year, and although he laid a good portion of it 
 against the winner, he won several thousands on the 
 race, always having been a staunch supporter of the 
 Eothschild colours. The best that could be urged in 
 favour of Sir Bevys was that the year before he had 
 shown himself the same animal as that good mare. Out 
 of Bounds, and was sure to stay the course. Wlieel of 
 Fortune made hacks of her opponents in the Oaks, as 
 she did later on at Ascot in the Prince of Wales' 
 Stakes, her stable companion, Silvio, having failed (it 
 
184 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 does not seem wonderful now) to give 7 lb. away to 
 Isonomy in the Gold Vase, tliougli he ran a gallant 
 race. Isonomy followed this up by winning the Gold 
 Cup in a canter, and Oceanic showed her marvellous 
 speed by leaving her opponents as if they were 
 standing still in the Xew Stakes. Again did Silvio 
 run a desperate race in the Hardwicke Stakes, and 
 he only failed by a short head to give 1 st. 4 lb. to 
 Chippendale, who was a good horse. I think a great 
 deal of these two performances of Lord Falmouth's 
 representative. At the July meeting Phoenix showed 
 he possessed the speed of his sire, Cymbal, by winning 
 the July Cup from Out of Bounds, and the Bunbury 
 Stakes from Silvio. In the latter race the two horses 
 ran locked together for the last hundred yards and 
 the winner's head was only in front on the post. 
 Bend Or made his first appearance at this meeting 
 with a great reputation, and in the hands of Wood 
 won the Chesterfield Stakes in a canter ; and the same 
 jockey steered the high-priced Maximilian to victory 
 in the Liverpool Cup, this being the only important 
 race this expensive animal — he cost 4,100 guineas as 
 a yearling — ever won. At Goodwood, Peter won the 
 Stewards' Cup with 8 st. on his back, but LoUypop's 
 performance in finishing third with 10 st. to carry 
 was the feature of the race ; and Isonomy added to 
 his Ascot laurels by winning the Cup in a canter, The 
 Bear, a hunter of the Duke of Hamilton's, with all 
 the allowances, finishing second, in front of old Parole. 
 Bend Or and Eobert the Devil won the Eichmond 
 Stakes and Eous Memorial, the latter greatly pleasing 
 the critics on his first appearance. 
 
 In the August of this year, directly after the 
 
A SCENE AT FIIAXKEORT 185 
 
 Sussex fortnight, I went to pass a few weeks at 
 Homburg with some friends. Lawn tennis was then 
 just attaining the height of its popularity, and we 
 played all day, and, after those delightfully fragrant 
 pine baths, used to dine at the English Club, which 
 Sir William Call had started in Blanc's house. 
 Thence we went to Frankfort races — Lord Aylesford 
 driving us on his coach — the party including Lord 
 Dupplin, Sir William Call, Mr. Christopher Sykes, 
 Mr. John Hargreaves, and others. The first night I 
 dined at the hotel at Frankfort with Prince Hadzfelt, 
 who entertained a large party at dinner, amongst 
 others present being the Baltazzis, Prince Esterhazy, 
 &c. In the middle of dinner a stranger suddenly 
 entered the room and stared at us. Our host got up 
 and politely informed him that it was a private room, 
 upon which the stranger replied that it was nothing 
 of the sort, that the room was used by the Union 
 Club, of which he was a member, and that he had a 
 right to be there. Some w^ords passed, and on his 
 giving his card in a menacing way to Prince Hadzfelt, 
 the latter tore it in two, and called on us all to join 
 him. We hastily rose from our seats and pursued 
 the stranger, who had turned to fly out of the room 
 into the street, which he crossed, with us in hot pur- 
 suit. All of a sudden, on reaching a gas lamp, he 
 stopped short and turned on us, with his right hand 
 searching in his inside breast pocket. ' Look out, he 
 is going to shoot ! ' one of our party cried, pulling me 
 by the coat tail, but almost before we could stop he 
 withdrew his hand empty, and disappeared into the 
 darkness. On our return we learnt that he was an 
 ofiicer of the German army, and still later, after we 
 
186 RACING EEMINISCEXCES 
 
 had gone to some entertainment, on coming in to go 
 to bed the waiter told ns the eccentric stranger also 
 had returned, and questioned him as to who we all 
 were and what were the numbers of our rooms. The 
 next morning the waiter came into my room and 
 told me the gentleman who had disturbed us last 
 night had locked himself into his bed-room, un- 
 dressed, and, after writing two letters — one to his 
 mother and one to his brother officers — got into bed 
 and shot himself through the mouth. Of course 
 this sad deed caused great commotion in the hotel, 
 and I for one was heartily sorry at such a dreadful 
 ending to such a trifling affair, more especially as we 
 learnt that in his letter to the regiment he explained 
 he had been guilty of such ungentlemanly conduct 
 that he was not fit to live. Poor fellow ! Of course he 
 was wrong in his head ; but, while feeling profound 
 sorrow for his tragic end, we could not help congratu- 
 lating ourselves that the evening before he had left his 
 revolver at home, instead of placing it in the pocket, 
 where he apparently searched for it. At the races that 
 day we were not looked on with friendly eyes by the 
 many officers walking about ; indeed, only last Septem- 
 ber I met Prince Hadzfelt in Paris, and he told me he 
 had got into all sorts of bothers about it for a year 
 or two afterwards. 
 
 The Frankfort Steeplechase was won by a little 
 bay mare called Victoria, ridden by Mr. Hector 
 Baltazzi. Although she was a fine jumper, she 
 always required to be whipped at the water jump. 
 Thence we went on to Baden, where the races were 
 to take place that week. What with dining at the 
 little French restaurant, and the Club — which is an 
 
COUNT JARACZEWSKI 187 
 
 admirable one — and strolling about the Kursaal 
 listening to tlie band, we had a delightful time of it. 
 Here I met my friend Count Jaraczewski, who was 
 very nearly embroiled in a duel. It turned out that 
 after he had finished playing at baccarat the first night 
 we were there Prince Hannow remarked, 'what a 
 wonderful thing it was to see Jaraczewski playing in 
 large sums, when a few years ago he hadn't a shilling.' 
 This was repeated to him by some good-natured 
 people who hated Prince Hannow, and hoped there 
 would be a row. Jaraczewski came to me and told 
 me what had been said, and that he should have to 
 call Hannow out for it, adding, ' The worst of it is, 
 what he said is true.' I suggested that he had not 
 said it ill-naturedly, and that my friend should go up 
 to him that evening in the Kursaal and ask him 
 politely if he had meant anything offensive. Prince 
 Hannow said certainly not, that he had not made the 
 remark with the slightest shadow of ill-feeling, and 
 had meant no reflection on the Count. Matters thus 
 ended smoothly. 
 
 We had some capital pigeon shooting on the race- 
 course, and on the first day of the races I was driven 
 to the course by Count Tasselo Pestetics in a phaeton 
 with an extraordinary fast pair of horses. He pur- 
 posely waited till ours was nearly the last carriage to 
 start, and then one by one passed them all. The un- 
 beaten Kincsem won the Baden Grand Prize, and 
 Victoria, again steered by Mr. Baltazzi, took the big 
 steeplechase. I was much struck by the course. 
 The horses have to jump into a field of maize or 
 Indian corn, and are almost hidden from sight. There 
 is a bank, too, that they have to crawl down, and 
 
188 KACIXG REMIXISCENCES 
 
 several formidable fences. The flat racecourse is an 
 excellent one, oval in shape, and the stands are well 
 built, with pleasant lawns to walk about ; but I can 
 understand a trainer's objection to sending horses all 
 the way from England to run there. They almost 
 invariably go amiss, even if their own corn is taken 
 for them. It is the change of climate and water 
 that does it. I foolishly, by the advice of Mr. C. Phipps, 
 sent a smart selling plater, Pampas Grass, to run at 
 Baden, and she came home with a great lump in her 
 throat, and was fit for nothing till the following year. 
 Of course, Baden is not what it was before the 
 gambling tables were done away with ; and the final 
 blow was administered to its popularity during the 
 race week by the outbreak of the French and German 
 war ; but I enjoyed myself very much there, and liked 
 it far better than Homburg. The Grand Duchess of 
 Baden is treated like a queen, and her son, the Duke 
 of Hamilton, who is very popular, runs horses almost 
 every year. 
 
 In the St. Leger, Sir Bevys, the Derby hero, having 
 developed into a whistler, made no show, and 
 Eayon d'Or won by five lengths, after making all the 
 riinning, from Euperra, another racehorse of the 
 colossal sort. On the Thursday, in the Wharncliffe 
 Stakes, fearing that Kaleidoscope might beat Sutler, 
 but supposing that the issue lay between the pair, I 
 had one thousand pounds on the two coupled. My 
 calculations were out, however ; neither won the 
 race ; but the writer who for some years past has 
 blundered about with such violence and ferocity 
 in Truth thought proper to comment so effusively 
 on the running of Sutler that, urged by the gentleman 
 
A CLOSE TIJIXG 189 
 
 who owned a share of the horse, I thought it desirable 
 to call on Mr. Labouchere for an apology, and this he 
 readily gave when he heard our account of what had 
 taken place. 
 
 Chippendale won the Cesarewitch with 7 st. 5 lb., 
 but the feature of the race was Isonomy's wonderful 
 running, carrying the Welterweight of 9 st. 10 lb., and 
 finishing close up with the placed horses. On Friday, 
 Eayon d'Or, who had previously won the Select an 
 Champion Stakes, showed what a fast horse he was 
 by beating Lollypop, proving that, although more like 
 a giraffe than a racehorse, he had inherited the two 
 rare qualities of his grandsire, Mortemer — speed and 
 stamina. 
 
 La Merveille's success in the Cambridcreshire, 
 which she won by a head from the extreme outsider 
 Caxtonian, was a very lucky event, as Fordham, 
 rarely as he made mistakes, came rather late on Out 
 of Bounds, only to be beaten by a head from the 
 second ; and it was poor consolation for Mr. Crawfurd 
 when, later in the week, the mare won the Free Handi- 
 cap across the flat, Eayon d'Or, who was giving her 
 16 lb., having at last to strike his colours. It is also 
 worthy of mention that on the Friday Charibert, the 
 hero of the Two Thousand, who had so far degenerated 
 that Lord Falmouth sold him for a small sum to Mr. 
 Clare Yyner, only got home a head in a selling race, 
 winner to be sold for 500Z., and was retained at fifty 
 guineas over the entered selling price. 
 
 Archer rode an extraordinary race on Master 
 Kildare in the Liverpool Cup. He had been easily 
 beaten in the great Tom Stakes at Lincoln the week 
 before, and therefore started comparatively friendless. 
 
190 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 The horse was in action as the flag fell, and Archer, 
 seizing on his advantage, must have been ten lengths 
 in front for the first half mile, which obliged all the 
 other jockeys to ride in order to catch him. He 
 judiciously eased his horse after this, and coming 
 again at the distance, won cleverly by half a length 
 from Lord Hartington's strapping mare, Eylstone. 
 This race was won entirely by Archer's cleverness in 
 profiting by the start he was fortunate and keen 
 enough to obtain, and by his tact in making such 
 skilful use of the advantao-e. 
 
191 
 
 i88o 
 
 At Lincoln this year Mr. Chaplin won the Brocklesby 
 Stakes with Wandering Xun, beating by a head my 
 horse Althotas, whom I had purchased from him the 
 year before privately for 600/., the colt not having 
 fetched his reserve at the sale. As a yearling he 
 was exercising with the other young ones round 
 Mr. Joseph Dawson's paddocks, I having gone to 
 train at Bedford Lodo-e in 1879, and whilst canterino- 
 with the others he killed a hare lying in her form, 
 which we thought a good omen for his future career. 
 He recompensed me for the Lincoln defeat by 
 winning the Althorp Park Stakes at l^orthampton. 
 
 In the Craven week the Biennial kept up its 
 character for surprises, as Apollo, a pretty little 
 chestnut horse by Kingcraft, beat Eobert the Devil by 
 a head, owing to the latter not being wound up. 
 We had three days' racing at Epsom Spring this 
 year, and Archer rode a superb race on Master 
 Kildare, getting up in the last stride and defeating 
 Leoville, who was receiving 2 st., by a head. 
 
 Fordham won the Two Thousand Guineas on 
 Petronel for the Duke of Beaufort, who had placed 
 his horses under the able management of Captain 
 Machell, and a finer race was never witnessed on the 
 Eowley Mile, Webb just failing to win on the dark 
 Muncaster, who was probably rather a handful 
 
192 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 owing to its being liis first appearance on a race- 
 course. As an instance of the difficulty of judging 
 what has won on the wide Newmarket courses, it is 
 noteworthy that so shrewd and careful an observer 
 as the Duke of Beaufort was deceived as to the 
 result of this race. Carefully watching the finish, he 
 thought that Muncaster had been victorious, and 
 when the horses had passed the post turned away, 
 remarking — for he had seen how strong Petronel was 
 going at the finish — ' Two strides further, and I 
 should have won ! ' His surprise and satisfaction 
 at finding that he had won were equally great. The 
 beautiful but moderate Elizabeth secured the One 
 Thousand Guineas for the stable in which 1 trained, 
 easily beating the favourite Yersigny and the uncer- 
 tain Evasion. Tristan, who did not give the promise 
 of being the great horse he was, turned the tables on 
 his Epsom conqueror, Angelina, in the Breeders' 
 Plate at the Second Spring meeting, and in the first 
 year of the now popular Payne Stakes, Mask was 
 returned the winner after a splendid race with the 
 Abbot, who was third in the Two Thousand. 
 
 In the Derby Mr. Brewer's Piobert the Devil held 
 such a commanding lead at the Bell, that it looked 
 long odds on liim, but Archer was creeping up on 
 Bend Or, and an exciting struggle took place. Inch 
 by inch he caught the leader, Eossiter appeared 
 powerless on his horse, two strides from the post they 
 were level, and the Duke of Westminster's colt 
 running unflinchingly on won by a head on the post, 
 the greatest credit being due to Archer's vigorous 
 riding, considering that only a short time before the 
 race he had been savaged and bitten in the arm by 
 
THE OBJECTION TO BEND OB. 103 
 
 Muley Edris, and could only ride with one hand. I 
 was up in the gallery of our stand, and underneath, 
 sitting on the rails, I saw Charles Brewer confidently 
 pointing to his horse, which he thought was winning 
 easily, and being congratulated by his friends. Even 
 after the pair had passed the post he fancied that his 
 horse, being on the far side, had won ; but he took 
 his disappointment very well, and got some of his 
 losses back when Eobert the Devil won the Grand 
 Prix in a canter. Sir Eichard Wallace, as in Kisber's 
 year, again offering the use of his stables at the 
 charming Bagatelle, situated close to Eongchamps. 
 
 Isonomy wound up a glorious career by winning 
 the Gold Cup from Chippendale and Zut, and then 
 took leave of the turf. Sir Charles, a Eero Gomez 
 two-year-old, looked like the best of the year when he 
 defeated Angelina in the Biennial and Tristan in the 
 N'ew Stakes, but proved to be a moderate horse at 
 three years old. 
 
 Just before the July week Mr. Charles Brewer 
 asked to see me on urgent business in my then 
 capacity of senior Steward of the Jockey Club, and he 
 informed me that he was going to object to Bend Or, 
 the winner of the Derby, believing him to be Tad- 
 caster, his conviction being that the two colts had 
 been mistaken when they were sent as yearlings 
 to the training stable. He told me he had received 
 a communication to that effect from the Duke of 
 Westminster's stud groom, had gone to Chester and 
 met the man there, the result of the interview having 
 persuaded him that there could be little doubt about 
 the correctness of his suspicions. I blamed him for 
 not having gone to the Duke first, and he rather 
 
 o 
 
194 RACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 amused me by saying with an astonished air, ' Me 
 go up to the Duke of Westminster's front door, ring 
 the bell and ask to see him ! ' I told him the proper 
 thing now was to lodge a formal objection, and this 
 he did at Xewmarket July meeting ; the Stewards 
 at once went into the evidence and adjourned to meet 
 in London afterwards, when, however, at my request, 
 Lord Calthorpe consented to act for me, I having 
 only just remembered I had backed Bend Or for a 
 place in the Derby, and therefore was interested. 
 On July 24th the following decision was given : — 
 
 ' We, as Stewards of Epsom, unanimously decide 
 that the chestnut colt Bend Or, which came in first 
 for the Derby of 1880, is by Doncaster out of Eouge 
 Eose, and therefore the objection lodged by Messrs 
 Brewer and Blanton is overruled. 
 (Signed) W. G. Ckavex, 
 James Lowthee, 
 Calthoepe (for Sir G. Chetwynd).' 
 
 I do not see how it is possible that these gentle- 
 men could have arrived at a different decision, looking 
 at the fact that the whole of the evidence given to 
 prove that Bend Or was Tadcaster, was supplied by 
 a stud groom under notice to quit, and by people 
 connected with him ; still that man died a few years 
 afterwards, and on his death-bed solemnly averred that 
 he had spoken the truth. Furthermore, many good 
 judges to-day will say that from the appearance of the 
 subsequent progeny of Eouge Eose and of Clemence, 
 combined with the remembrance of the looks of the 
 two horses, Bend Or and Tadcaster, they firmly 
 believe the colts were changed — accidentally of 
 
BEND OR OR TADC ASTER ? 195 
 
 course, as it need scarcely be added. After all, it 
 would not be very wonderful if this had been the 
 case, considering that only last year (1889) there 
 was a similar occurrence in Captain Machell's stable, 
 and here it was proved that a horse called Mortaigne 
 was D'Orsay, and vice versa ! 
 
 Eouge Eose, the supposed dam of Bend Or, has 
 foaled since : in 1880, Eose of York, by Speculum, 
 a little scratchy bay mare that became my property 
 and won me three selling races ; in 1881, Garb Or, 
 a horrid-looking brute called ' brother to Bend Or ; ' 
 and in 1882 a worthless sister to him, called Martlet. 
 
 Clemence, the reputed dam of Tadcaster (a great, 
 leggy, ungainly-looking horse), foaled in 1881 a chest- 
 nut filly, Sandiway, by Doncaster, rather on the small 
 scale, but very shapely, and, like Bend Or, with pecu- 
 liar dark marks on her ; in 1883 her progeny was 
 Lenity, 'by Bend Or,' which might he in breeding 
 with a vengeance, and she was worthless ; in 1885, 
 a chestnut filly, Mara, by Doncaster, no use for 
 racing, but, according to many, own sister to the 
 Derby winner ; and in 1886, a chestnut fiUy, Mercy, 
 by Barcaldine, that has won races. Both brood 
 mares are now dead. 
 
 . Lord Falmouth's Bal Gal first carried colours in 
 the July Stakes, and won by a head, from the Ameri- 
 can horse Iroquois. The winner was by Adventurer, 
 out of the speedy but roaring Cantiniere, purchased 
 at the sale of Lord Ailesbury's horses after his death 
 for a large sum by Lord Falmouth. Bal Gal only 
 suffered defeat once this year in the nine races in 
 which she took part. Charibert, who had now be- 
 come the champion sprinter, won the July Cup from 
 
 o 2 
 
196 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 Phoenix, giving the latter 6 lb., and Iroquois proved 
 the July Stakes form good by winning the Chester- 
 field Stakes in a canter. Only two runners contested 
 the Goodwood Cup, and though three to one was laid 
 on Chippendale, he had to succumb to Dresden China. 
 An extraordinary finish was witnessed in the Astley 
 Stakes at Lewes — Scobell, Wandering Xun, and 
 Mazurka running a dead heat, whilst, beaten only 
 by a head, Cumberland and Thora ran a dead heat 
 for second place. So far as I know such a finish is 
 unprecedented — luckily for the nerves of judges ! 
 
 Eobert the Devil won the St. Leger in a canter 
 from Lord Eosebery's Cipollata and the Abbot, 
 Bend Or, on whom the odds were laid, finishing no- 
 where ; but even this victory prepared very few for 
 the winner's grand performance in the Cesarewitch, 
 where, carrying 8 st. 6 lb., with Cannon for his pilot, 
 he won in a canter by four lengths, Cipollata, receiving 
 7 lb. more, again finishing second to him. St. Louis, 
 who had been tried the equal of a three-year-old mare 
 belom^incf to me called Grace, won the Middle Park 
 Plate by three lengths, beating a large field, but, owing 
 to unsoundness developing in one of his legs, never 
 ran successfully again ; and Eobert the Devil beat his 
 Epsom conqueror ten lengths in the Champion Stakes. 
 Lucetta won the Cambridgeshire by half a length from 
 Fernandez, the favourite, who was ridden by Ford- 
 ham, and he afterwards objected to the winner on 
 the grounds of a cross, an objection which had great 
 weio^ht, for Fordham was the last man to make frivo- 
 lous comj)laints. The matter was gone into by the 
 Stewards of the Jockey Club, Lord Falmouth acting 
 for Mr. Craven, and after a prolonged inquiry we 
 
A DOUBLE EVENT BET 197 
 
 decided to give it to the winner. Altliougli slie liad 
 undoubtedly crossed Fernandez, it was a long way 
 from home, and we thous^ht Fordham had rather 
 anticipated the swerving across him, and checked his 
 horse so soon that there was plenty of time for him 
 to have won his race afterwards if the horse had 
 been good enough. Here let me take the opportunity 
 of denying what was stated in the Wood v. Cox trial, 
 that the Stewards of the Jockey Club never take 
 down evidence, as during tliis inquiry I took down in 
 ■v^Titing the evidence of all the people examined, and 
 have it in my possession now; indeed, I invariably 
 made it a rule to take notes during the hearing of im- 
 portant cases. Much betting took place before the 
 decision was known, and Count Jaraczewski, who 
 had the double-event bet of 10,000 to 100 about 
 Eobert the Devil and Lucetta, and stood it out be- 
 fore the race, hedged a portion of his money while 
 we Avere considering the case. This is the only 
 double-event bet of magnitude that I can remember 
 being won. In St. Gatien's year I had two thousand 
 to ten about him for the long race and Sandiway for 
 the Cambridgeshire, and when Mr. E. Grosvenor 
 asked me to engage Wood to ride the mare, I stood 
 the bet out, promising to give three hundred towards 
 the five hundred Mr. Grosvenor said he would give 
 Wood if he won, the Duke not being a betting owner. 
 Yet this is the mare it was hinted at that Wood 
 pulled, when the story was afloat that the owner of 
 the winner had given Wood a present after the race. 
 He indignantly denied it to me, and the result was 
 my letter in The Sportsman which was read during 
 my cross-examination in the Arbitration Case. 
 
198 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 1881 
 
 At Lincoln I won tlie Brocklesby with. Belle Lurette, 
 a mare I had bred at home, rather on the small scale, 
 but very speedy. In spite of her winning her trial 
 by four lengths from old Sutler, Wood preferred to 
 ride Corky, trained in the same stable. Archer was 
 on my filly, and won in a canter ; Corky a very 
 moderate third. The value of a jockey's tips may 
 here be estimated. Ko doubt if Wood gave any of 
 his friends the benefit of his opinion he told them, con- 
 scientiously believing it, that he expected to win, and 
 was at any rate certain to beat Belle Lurette. My 
 luck held good at Northampton, where I won the 
 Althorp Stakes with Comely, and the Spencer Plate 
 with Althotas. At the Craven meeting I retired from 
 office as Steward, and named Lord Cadogan as my 
 successor. 
 
 Bend Or proved how partial he was to the Epsom 
 course by carrying his 9 st. to victory in the City and 
 Suburban, giving Foxhall, who afterwards showed 
 himself to be a first-class horse, no less than 2 st. 6 lb. 
 Peregrine scored a popular victory for Mr. Grosvenor 
 in the Two Thousand, compensating Webb, his rider, 
 for his second on Muncaster ; the American horses, 
 Iroquois and Don Pulano, finished second and third. 
 The public would not yet believe in American horses, 
 and Iroquois started at 50 to 1, while 100 to 1 was laid 
 
THE EPSOM GOLD CUP RACE 199 
 
 against Don Fulano, a good liorse on his clay, but un- 
 sound. Had lie gone on well lie would liave dis- 
 tinguished himself. The beautiful Thebais won the 
 One Thousand easily in the hands of Fordham, Thora 
 and Bal Gal being her nearest attendants. A horse 
 of great reputation at this time was Peter, and the 
 moment Sir John Astley had won the Chester Cup 
 with Windsor he telegraphed to Joseph Dawson to 
 buy Peter with his winnings. Five or six thousand 
 was the price, and, plucky as was the outlay, it was 
 a cheap purchase. In the Second Spring meeting a 
 curious instance was furnished of how lucky some 
 horses can be in handicaps. Joe Dawson told me 
 that Sutler had met with a slight accident, and it 
 would be best not to run him in an eno'ao'ement on 
 the last day. I, however, had had a bad week, so had 
 my partner, and when we saw the weights and found 
 Valour was asked to give our horse 21 lb., we deter- 
 mined to run, and sent up to Dawson to say so. Sutler 
 only got home cleverly three quarters of a length 
 from Valour, and was consequently handicapped 
 below his real form, he being now at his best, as the 
 year before he had a weak hock. He won every 
 other race he started for during the year, earning 
 eight consecutive brackets. On this particular race 
 his owners got home after a bad week. 
 
 In an uninteresting Derby, Iroquois turned the 
 tables on his Two Thousand conqueror, and Thebais 
 won the Oaks in a canter ; but the chief interest on the 
 Friday was the match between Bend Or and Eobert the 
 Devil in the Epsom Gold Cup, which resulted in the 
 victory of the Derby winner by a neck. But though 
 I have called this ' an interesting event ' it was 
 
200 RACING EEMIXISCEXCES 
 
 scarcely so to tliose beliind the scenes, for Bend Or 
 was not fit, and Eobert the Devil ' had a leg,' the 
 consequence being that the race was no real test of 
 merit. At Ascot, in the Gold Yase, Peter stopped at 
 the turn by the stables, and refused to go on ; but in 
 spite of this performance he started first favourite 
 for the Hunt Cup, when, however, he again stopped 
 in the middle of the race. His rider, Archer, patted 
 him soothingly, the horse took it into his head to go 
 on, and such was his amazing speed when he con- 
 sented to gallop that he won an extraordinary race by 
 three quarters of a length, having lost nearly 100 
 yards. Eobert the Devil secured the Gold Cup, his 
 most dangerous opponent, Foxhall, who had won the 
 Grand Prix on Sunday, not showing any form at all, 
 as is often the case with horses that have crossed the 
 water. At Goodwood, the flying Kermesse had to 
 succumb to Dutch Oven in the Eichmond Stakes, 
 thouo'h the former had beaten the latter in a canter 
 in the July Stakes ; and a popular victory was scored 
 when Mazurka won the Stewards' Cup for Lord 
 Cadogan, he having leased the mare, I believe, from 
 Mr. Savile. I never could make out why Lord 
 Cadogan and the Duke of Westminster always led 
 their winning animals in important races by a long 
 white leading-rein up to the weighing-room, but this 
 was and is their custom. 
 
 L'oquois, with his legs heavily bandaged, won 
 the Leger easily, and, considering the trouble his legs- 
 had given his trainer, the condition in which the colt 
 was brought to the post reflected the greatest credit 
 on those who had the care of him. This was the year 
 for America, as Foxhall, who had left Bedford Lodge, 
 
FOXIIALL 201 
 
 and was now trained by William Day, won the 
 Cesarewitcli in a canter by twelve lengths, and then 
 eclipsed all handicaj^ performances by his victory in 
 the Cambridgeshire with 9 st. on his back. He won 
 by a head, admirably ridden by Watts, Lncy Glitters 
 being second, a neck in front of Tristan, who was 
 Fordham's mount, and who I shall always beheve 
 ouofht to have won. ■ He rode two of his worst races 
 on this horse and Out of Bounds, both in the Cam- 
 bridgeshire. Still, a man cannot always ride up to 
 his best form. Foxhall was a magnificent horse, and 
 he had one of the best fields behind him that ever 
 went to the post for this important handicap. He 
 actually gave Tristan 1 st. 5 lb. ; Bend Or, who started 
 favourite, was only giving him 8 lb., and through 
 Lucy Glitters you could make him vastly superior to 
 his countryman Iroquois. At present, like Kisber, 
 another wonderful horse, he has been a failure at the 
 stud, but at the time of writing a couple of promising 
 two-year-olds from Kermese and Chopette look like 
 redeeming his character ; indeed, if Corstorphine, as 
 the latter is called, stands training, she should greatly 
 distino'uish herself, but doubts mav well be felt 
 as to whether she will keep sound. 
 
202 EACIXG REmXISCEXCES 
 
 1882 
 
 The Lincolnshire Handicap was won tliis year by 
 the French horse Poulet, after a fine race with 
 Master Waller, who was again unfortunate enough 
 to run second for another important Spring Handi- 
 cap — the City and Suburban — in which the American 
 horse Passaic, the property of Lord Eossmore, and 
 an outsider, beat him two lengths, receiving 15 lb. 
 
 At the first meeting of the Jockey Club Mr. 
 W. G. Craven, as senior Steward, retired, having 
 done good work for the club. During his year of 
 office several important rules were passed, notably 
 that of prohibiting jockeys from keeping racehorses 
 without the special sanction and licence of the Club. 
 
 A field of eighteen horses started for the Two 
 Thousand Guineas, which was easily won by Shot- 
 over, it being a rare occurrence for a mare to win 
 this race, the only exceptions in the last thirty years, 
 besides herself, having been Pilgrimage in 1878, and 
 Formosa, when she ran a dead heat with Moslem 
 ten years before that. But Shotover, who had not had 
 a difficult task on Wednesday, succumbed by a neck 
 on Friday in the One Thousand to the pretty but 
 uncertain St. Marguerite, probably because in a 
 smaU field she had to make her own running, and, as 
 4 to 1 was laid on her, backers in general experienced 
 a facer ! She made up, however, for this defeat with 
 
A CARELESS RING 203 
 
 a vengeance by winning the Derby very cleverly, 
 Quicklime, as in the Guineas, following her home, 
 whilst Bruce, who started favourite, could only get 
 fourth ; but he won the Grand Prix in Paris ten days 
 after, and Quicklime made some amends for his ill- 
 luck by winning the valuable Epsom Grand Prize. 
 Geheimniss beat St. Marguerite very easily in the 
 Oaks, and was probably the best miler of her day. 
 A singular thing happened in the SandoTSTi Derby, 
 which Marden, the favourite, won by three lengths 
 from the second favourite, Gerald, as the winner 
 carried 5 lb. more, and the second 5 lb. less, than 
 required by the conditions of the race ; but these 
 errors were not discovered till it was too late for 
 an objection to be made. What were the clever 
 members of the Eing doing not to find out the 
 mistake in time to get both disqualified ? Tristan, 
 who was in great form this year, having won two 
 Queen's Plates and the Epsom Gold Cup, easily 
 disposed of Chippendale in the Gold Yase at Ascot, 
 and Quicklime enhanced the Derby form by carrying 
 the top weight triumphantly home in the Prince of 
 Wales' Stakes, as did his Epsom conqueror Shotover 
 in the Ascot Derby ; but a fearful blow was adminis- 
 tered to backers when Geheimniss, with 8 to 1 laid 
 on her, went down before the two-year-old IN'arcissa 
 in the Pern Hill Stakes, as she could not go the pace 
 with the two-year-old such a short distance, and was 
 beaten a head. Poxhall had some trouble to beat 
 the three-year-old Faugh-a-Ballagh in the Gold Cup, 
 the Duke of Beaufort, owner of the latter, starting 
 Petronel as well, and the shouts of the Eino- will not 
 soon be forgotten when they saw Tom Cannon at 
 
204 IIACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 work on tlie favourite to catch, the outsider. This 
 race ought to have prepared backers for Foxhall's 
 defeat in the Alexandra Plate, which Piddler won by 
 six lengths from him. The meeting wound up with 
 the success of Tristan in the Hardwicke Stakes, the 
 winner of the Hunt Cup, Sweetbread, making but a 
 poor fight with this good little horse. 
 
 With odds laid on him the speedy Macheatli 
 beat another good horse, Fulmen, in the July Stakes 
 at I^ewmarket, having previously beaten a future 
 Derby winner, St. Blaise, in the Hurstbourne Stakes 
 at Stockbridge, and Galliard, a horse full of quality, 
 came out with a great reputation in the Chesterfield 
 Stakes, which he won in a canter. The same day 
 Hornpipe beat a field of seventeen by six lengths 
 in a Welter Handicap. I mention this race to show 
 how wonderfully horses come on. Only three weeks 
 before he was beaten in a Selling Eace at Windsor 
 by a neck, and being a good-looking horse and likely 
 to improve, I gave the owner, Mr. T. Brown, 200/. 
 for him after that race. His reason for parting with 
 him was that he had had some trouble with him, and 
 although five years old he had not won a race. 
 I tried him so well for the race at Xewmarket 
 that I told the gentleman who put my money on 
 he might bet for himself as long as he liked. He 
 did^ and so busy was he that he was even trying 
 to bet after the horses had passed the post, being 
 ignorant that the race was run on the new T.Y.C. 
 He was much astonished when, in reply to ' How 
 much on the field ? ' the layer answered, ' Xo, thank 
 you, the favourite has already won the race in a 
 canter.' At Goodwood this year Fordham rode some 
 
DUTCH OVEN 205 
 
 marvellous races. In tlie Goodwood Stakes he got 
 home Fortissimo by a head from Eeveller, winning 
 the next race, the Halnaker Stakes, a similar distance 
 on a filly, and on Wednesday he brought up the 
 outsider, Comte Alfred, almost in the last stride, and 
 beat Wood on Battlefield another head. Lowland 
 Chief, sold by Mr. F. Leleu to Eord EUesmere, dirt 
 cheap, for 1,200/., after he had won two handicaps 
 earlier in the year, took the Stewards' Cup for his 
 new owner ; and Friday, a maiden gelding of the 
 Duke of Hamilton, after makinix tremendous runnini? 
 in the Goodwood Cup, upset the odds laid on Tristan 
 by a neck, Fordham appearing to lay rather far 
 out of his ground with the latter horse. 
 
 At York, the Great Yorkshire Stakes was notice- 
 able for the easy defeat of Dutch Oven by both 
 Peppermint and Nellie, the excuse made for her 
 being that she could not move in the heavy ground ; 
 and all connected with her, including trainer and 
 jockey, were astounded when three weeks after she 
 sailed home the easy winner of the Leger, beating the 
 other two good mares, Geheimniss and Shotover, in 
 the order named. Frantic was the delight of the 
 backers of the winner, who could not get out of 
 their bets on her, owing to her York defeat, and 
 forty to one was freely offered against her at the 
 start. Eetreat caused a sensation, too, but a much 
 milder one, when he won the Doncaster Cup on 
 Friday, as he was hardly backed. He was a very 
 good-looking horse and very well named, by Hermit, 
 out of Quick March, and ought to be a success at 
 the stud. After Beau Brummel had beaten Mac- 
 heath by a fluke on that hateful course the last five 
 
206 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 furlongs of the Abingdon Mile, the latter easily- 
 turned the tables on him in the Eous Memorial on 
 Friday. Corrie Eoy, who wanted so little training 
 that she only did mile-and-half work, and had but 
 one good gallop before the race, won the Cesare- 
 witch very easily from Chippendale and thirteen 
 others, of whom the favourite, Shrewsbury, ought to 
 have done better, as he proved himself the equal of 
 Dutch Oven in the Xewmarket Derby later in the 
 week, and only carried 6 st. 12 lb. in the big handi- 
 cap. 
 
 Macheath and Highland Chief, starting equal 
 favourites, finished first and second in the Middle 
 Park Plate, the northern horse, Chiselhurst, only being 
 beaten three-quarters of a length for a second place. 
 A magnificent race for the Champion Stakes resulted 
 in a dead heat between Tristan and Thebais, ridden 
 respectively by Archer and Wood, with Fordham 
 close up with them on Dutch Oven. In the Houghton 
 week Macheath continued his victorious career by 
 winning the Criterion Stakes, and it would have been 
 a fitting conclusion to his two-year-old season if, 
 after his hard work, he had retired for the year in- 
 stead of being brought out again on Friday to run 
 in a Post Sweepstakes, in which he was beaten by 
 his solitary opponent Adriana, a fine Adventurer 
 mare. 
 
 The Tuesday of the Houghton meeting was perhaps 
 the worst day ever experienced at Kewmarket, the 
 storm being so violent that the last three races, in- 
 cluding the Cambridgeshire, had to be postponed. 
 Every moment Lord Westmorland and I, who were 
 seated together in a fly near the Cambridgeshire 
 
'A GREATER STORM' 207 
 
 Stand, expected the carriage to be blown over, and 
 one was, close to us. Everybody was glad to hurry 
 home, and of course the poor jockeys, who had gone 
 to the post for the big race, were drenched to the 
 skin. On the Wednesday the Cambridgeshire was 
 run for, and Hackness, well suited by her weight 
 (she was a four-year-old, carrying only 6 st. 4 lb.) and 
 the state of the ground, won with great ease, Shrews- 
 bury, who again started favourite, being second, but 
 he had no chance of giving the winner a year and 
 six pounds. A tremendous race took place between 
 Highland Chief and Fulmen, when we adjourned to 
 the Eowley Mile, Archer just managing to get the 
 Chief home a head. On Thursday the public were 
 so furious at the eleventh hour scratching of Thebais 
 that they loudly hissed Mr. Crawfurd's colours when 
 they appeared on the course on Martini, and a very 
 unpleasant scene took place in the Birdcage, after- 
 wards alluded to in The Sjyortsman of the following day 
 in an article w^hich was headed ' A Greater Storm.' 
 Although I do not defend the scratching of a public 
 animal like Thebais at the eleventh hour, there can 
 be no doubt that she had no earthty chance of giving 
 so much weight away to the winner, in the heavy 
 state of the ground ; and if her backers had reflected 
 a moment they would have known this, whether she 
 ran or not. A great deal of betting took place at 
 Newmarket on small races, as will be gathered 
 from the fact that a friend of mine showed me his 
 book at the end of this Thursday's racing, and his 
 losses on the day, though no important races were 
 decided, amounted to over twenty-three thousand 
 pounds ! 
 
208 rvACIXG IIEMIXISCE^TES 
 
 Neither Hackness nor Shrewsbury made any show 
 in the Manchester XovemlDer Handicap, which was 
 won in a canter by the fast improving Bos well, who 
 had been running in selling races on several occasions 
 this year. 
 
209 
 
 1 883 
 
 Just before tlie numbers went up for the Two 
 Thousand, a very sad incident occurred. Poor old 
 Prince Batthyany shpped down the steps in tlie 
 Grand Stand leading to the Jockey Club room and 
 died on the spot. This cast a gloom over the day's 
 proceedings, even the voice of the Eing l^eing hushed 
 and subdued when the news spread ; but on such 
 melancholy events I need not dwell. 
 
 A wonderful race took place for the Guineas, 
 Archer getting Galliard home a head from Goldfield, 
 who, magnificently ridden by Cannon, defeated The 
 Prince b}^ a neck (a colt for Avhich 10,000^. had 
 been paid). St. Blaise ran well, though few antici- 
 pated his Derby victory. The winner was a horse 
 of beautiful quality, his only fault being that he 
 was heavy in the shoulder. A rubbishing lot of 
 mares contested the One Thousand, won by Hauteur. 
 
 The Westminster Cup at Kempton furnished a 
 great surprise when Wood on Barcaldine beat 
 Tristan and Lucerne — the winner not having been 
 backed for a sixpence by his owner. That Sir 
 Frederick Johnstone and Lord Alington should have 
 owned the Derby winner of this year was entirely 
 due to the fearless way in which Wood sent St. 
 Blaise down the hill, hugging the rails and stealing 
 several lengths. At the Bell, Highland Chief and 
 
 r 
 
210 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 Galliard were in liot pursuit, but neither could 
 catcli him, the former suffering defeat by a neck, 
 with Galhard half a length from him. To this 
 day some who were very much less well placed 
 for seeing than Judge Clark assert that the second 
 won. Many people also thought that Archer rode a 
 bad race, but I had more money on Galliard than I 
 ever had on a horse in the Derby before, and I am 
 quite satisfied that, owing to his heavy shoulders, 
 Galliard would not act down hill, and lost too much 
 ground ever to make it up. The winner, a white- 
 legged chestnut son of Hermit, had, as is usual 
 with nearly all of that great horse's stock, faultless 
 shoulders. 
 
 Galliard made up for his Epsom defeat at Ascot 
 by winning the Prince of Wales' Stakes with the 
 extreme penalty, and two other races as well. 
 Elzevir, ridden by Wood, brought off a good coup 
 for Mr. Gerard and those connected with Captain 
 Machell, and Barcaldine won the Orange Cup pre- 
 sented by his Majesty the King of the Nether- 
 lands ; but he only beat Faugh-a-Ballagh, a slow 
 horse that stayed well, and the very moderate 
 Alizon. The cup, I believe, is now the property of 
 the Prince of Wales, who took a great fancy to it, 
 and asked Mr. Peck if he would sell it him. It was 
 unlucky for me that Despair was for once — a very 
 rare occurrence — in a good humour this Ascot, as 
 I ran second to him with Magician in the All Aged 
 Stakes, and also with Hornpipe in the Wokingham. 
 Tristan won the Gold Cup and Hardwicke stakes 
 in excellent style. At Newmarket the chestnut filly 
 by Hermit out of Adelaide — purchased for a large 
 
IIOEXPIPE 211 
 
 sum at Mr. Chaplin's yearling sale by Sir John 
 Willoughby — won the July Stakes, beautifully 
 handled by Cannon, as she ran a little green ; but 
 she could not hold a candle to Superba and Har- 
 vester in the Chesterfield Stakes, the former winning 
 half a length. 
 
 Mr. Crawfurd having died at Cannes in the 
 spring of this year and left all his racehorses to his 
 widow, she leased them to Sir Frederick John- 
 stone for the season, and one of his most impor- 
 tant victories was the Goodwood Stakes, won by 
 that good mare, Corrie Eoy, carrying 9 st. My 
 horse. Hornpipe, who had lately been running in 
 good form, won me the Stewards' Cup by a head, 
 but it would have been lengths if Wood had not been 
 shut in ; as it was, he made a desperate effort on 
 the rails with barely room to get through. Geheim- 
 niss, ridden by Archer, was leading to within a few 
 strides of the post, and bore towards him, but 
 finished second. The winner was in extraordinary 
 form at this time, and it would have been hard if 
 he had lost this race, hampered as he had been in 
 it. The next week at Brighton he gave a stone to 
 Exile, who had won two handicaps at Goodwood, 
 and ran away from him. He was a beautifully 
 shaped bright bay horse with black legs, and I 
 looked forward to keeping him as a stallion, but in 
 October he burst a small blood-vessel and died from 
 internal hsemorrhage, and in the post-mortem exami- 
 nation we discovered that both his heart and lungs 
 were seriously affected, which will account for his 
 showing indifferent form at times when apparently 
 quite fit and well — notably, at York August in 1882, 
 
 p2 
 
212 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 wlien Kniglit of Burgliley beat him many lengths, tlie 
 only occasion on wliicli I ever backed a liorse for any 
 money at starting price. Being away at the time, I 
 told my commissioner to pnt me on 400/., which he 
 did in this way. 
 
 That great horse, St. Simon, made his appearance 
 at this meeting, winning the Halnaker Stakes and 
 a Maiden Plate in a canter. Before the sale of 
 Prince Batthyany's horses in the Spring at Xew- 
 market, someone told me that St. Simon was a flyer, 
 that he had had his leg dressed to ' look like a blister,' 
 and that I must secure him. A friend of mine had 
 asked me to buy him a horse for about a thousand. 
 There was no time to communicate with this gentle- 
 man, but I went to a relative of his and we agreed to 
 go beyond that price, and were, I believe, the last 
 bidders against Mr. Mat Dawson, acting for the Duke 
 of Portland. It has since come to my ears that Mr. 
 Matthew Dawson, whilst looking over the horse, 
 noticed the dressing on his leg, stooped down and 
 licked it with his tongue to see what it was made of. 
 If this was so, all praise be given to him, and be it 
 understood that I accuse no one — Mr. John Dawson, 
 the trainer, least of all — of having been a party to 
 any deception about the horse. I give the story as 
 it reached my ears. 
 
 In spite of moderate opposition, Corrie Eoy won the 
 Great Ebor Handicap with 9 st. 12 lb. Grand mare 
 as she was, she required very little long work, and it 
 is a noteworthy fact that before winning the Cesare- 
 witch, she had never been the distance at home. 
 These are the animals that it is a pleasure to own or 
 train. Ossian outstayed Chislehurst and Highland 
 
A COUP 213 
 
 Chief in the Leger, and confirmed the Great York- 
 shire Stakes running with the former horse ; and he 
 beat Goldfield very easily in the Great Foal Stakes in 
 the First October Meeting. The latter I had purchased 
 with Mr. Peck from Lord Cadogan, and very un- 
 luckily it turned out, as he hit his leg soon after this 
 and never won another race. 
 
 Don Juan won the Cesarewitch very easily from 
 Hackness, last year's Cambridgeshire winner, who 
 started the better favourite of the pair. I shall 
 always admire the cleverness with which this coup 
 was planned, for so I feel certain it was, hut in the 
 fairest way possible. Mr. Lambert ran his horse 
 first in a five-furlong race at Epsom, and he was 
 ridden by Fordham. Probably he was not as for- 
 ward as he might have been, but a great horse on 
 that course, Eeputation, won the race. The next 
 time he ran him in a welter handicap at the July 
 Meeting, also fiYe furlongs, backed him for a moderate 
 amount, and he struggled home a winner, carrying 
 the bottom weight but one, from a moderate lot of 
 animals. If, therefore, the handicapper was to 
 handicap him in long races on this form, he was sure 
 to be in bottom weight or nearly so in the Cesarewitch. 
 So it was ; he had 5 st. 10 llj., and Fordham, who had 
 ridden him in his trial or exercise gallops, declared 
 before the race that he believed the horse could win 
 carrying him on his back, a weight that would be 
 about 7 St. 6 lb. Although Don Juan did not display 
 such form as this in the race, it showed what confi- 
 dence William Goater and all connected with him 
 must have had, and the good thing duly came off. 
 Bendigo, carrying 6 st. lb., ran well in this race, so 
 
214 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 well that I asked Lord Lurgan to inquire from Mr. 
 Barclay if lie would sell the horse, naming 1,500^. as 
 the price. But his owner did not wish to part with 
 him, and what made it annoying to me was that hear- 
 ing he had been coughing I neglected to back him 
 for the Cambridgeshire, which he won by a neck from 
 Tonans, starting at fifty to one, and ridden by Luke, 
 who appeared anxious to come over the rails into 
 Tattersall's Eing at the finish, so much did he bear 
 down to the left away from the second. Medicus, a 
 four-year-old selling plater, started the hottest 
 favourite ever known in this race, certainly in my 
 recollection, and finished a bad third. The Adelaide 
 filly, at a difference of 10 lb., won a fine race by a 
 neck in the Dewhurst Plate, beating Busybody, who 
 had finished three lengths in front of her when she 
 won the Middle Park Plate. I consider the form in 
 the two races pretty correct. A magnificent piece of 
 riding on Fordham's part landed Ladislas a winner 
 by a head in the last stride in the Jockey Club Cup, 
 from Corrie Eoy, ridden by Wood. Many blamed the 
 last-named jockey, but I am not amongst the number, 
 though I lost heavily on the race. The trainer was 
 most anxious for something to be started to make 
 running for the mare, and I feel sure she would have 
 won if his advice had been followed; as it was. 
 Wood had to make all his own running, and if he 
 did not make the pace strong enough over such a 
 long course, left out in the cold as he was by himself, 
 three or four lengths in front, with a wholesome 
 dread of Pordham waiting behind him, 1 do not 
 think he was much to be blamed for keeping something 
 to finish with, or even for being outridden by such a 
 master of his art as Pordham. 
 
115 
 
 1 884 
 
 At tlie meeting of tlie Jockey Club I brouglit for- 
 ward a motion to abolish selling handicaps, simply 
 because I think it ridiculous that one horse should 
 be called on to give another of the same age perhaps 
 2 St., when both are entered to be sold for the same 
 price ; and because it encourages people to keep 
 worthless animals in training, in hopes they may get 
 them through some wretched little selling handicap 
 with the best of the weights. The motion did not 
 meet with the favour I anticipated, several members 
 of the Jockey Club protesting that some little northern 
 meetings would cease to exist if selling handicaps 
 were abolished, and I agreed to postpone the subject 
 on the understanding that the Stewards would under- 
 take to deal with the matter at once ; which, by the 
 way, they never did. 
 
 In the Craven Stakes, Scot Free gave the hint of 
 what was to happen in the Two Thousand by win- 
 ning in a canter with the penalty from a very moderate 
 lot of horses, of which Hermitage, who finished no- 
 where, was decidedly the best. This was the first 
 meeting at which the Duchess of Montrose ran her 
 horses in the assumed name of ' Mr. Manton.' It 
 was about this time that I heard rumours of a 
 ' Jockey Eing,' that is to say, of a supposed arrange- 
 
216 RACING EEMINISCEXCES 
 
 ment amongst a certain lot of jockeys, of which. 
 Archer and Wood were supposed to be the head, 
 that races were to be won by horses selected by the 
 Eing. I went to both of these jockeys and told them 
 of the report, adding that, as I did not believe a word 
 of it, I intended bringing the subject before the 
 Jockey Club at the next meeting, that an inquiry 
 might be made. Both expressed their willingness to 
 be examined, and protested that there was not a 
 word of truth in the report, and I therefore published 
 the following notice, in the form of a question, in the 
 ' Sheet Calendar': — ' To ask the Stewards whether they 
 are aware that it is openly stated that a conspiracy 
 exists between certain jockeys and so-called " pro- 
 fessional backers " of horses to arrange the result of 
 races for their own benefit, and, if they have heard 
 of such statements, and believe it possible such a 
 plot exists, what steps they propose taking to deal 
 with the matter at once.' 
 
 Before the meeting several members informed me 
 that I had put the Stewards in a very difficult 
 position (I fail even now to see how), so I had to 
 express myself satisfied with the reply Lord March, 
 the senior Steward, gave me, that the Stewards had 
 heard of such rumours, admitted the possibility of 
 them, but that, as no formulated accusation had been 
 made^ they were of opinion that their existing powers 
 were sufficient to deal with such afiairs should direct 
 evidence be brought before them. I do not consider 
 that the Stewards acted with wisdom or courage in 
 their treatment of this matter. Who was likely to 
 bring evidence, supposing that such a Eing had 
 existed ? The jockeys were their servants, their 
 
A JOCKEY rtixci 217 
 
 names were freely discussed, and the Stewards could 
 have had them called up and made them produce 
 their betting and bankers' books to prove their 
 innocence. ' Personally, I do not believe such a 
 conspiracy was ever entered into. If horses were 
 pulled in races I expect it was done by jockeys of 
 their own accord, because they thought it safe to 
 back Wood or Archer at a time when both were 
 riding a number of winners. Where were the eyes 
 of racegoers not to see this great fraud, if it had an 
 existence ? A jockey might pull one or two horses 
 without its being seen, but this was talked of as 
 happening continually, as if four or five of them did 
 it in almost every race. Men would be idiots ever to 
 make a bet, or ever to believe in a trainer or jockey, 
 if one-tenth of the roguery went on that ill-natured 
 people — ignorant of horses' form and spiteful at 
 losino' their monev — assert to be of common occur- 
 
 rence. 
 
 Several overtures were made to Mr. John Foy a 
 few days before the Two Thousand for the purchase 
 of Scot Free, but the price he asked (I believe he 
 demanded lOfiOOL) was deemed excessive, and no 
 deal resulted. Scot Free, a well-named son of Mac- 
 gregor and CelilDacy, won in a canter by five lengths 
 from the little chestnut, St. Medard, whose extreme 
 fitness enabled him to beat by a head the backward 
 Harvester (purchased for a large sum — 8,600 guineas 
 — at Lord Falmouth's sale by Sir John Willoughby). 
 Mr, Abington was more successful with Busybody — 
 bought at the same sale for 8,800 guineas — as she 
 won the One Thousand cleverly from Queen Adelaide. 
 Harvester, however, managed to turn the tables on 
 
218 RACIXG REMINISCEXCES 
 
 Scot Free in the Payne Stakes at the Second Spring 
 Meeting, beating him cleverly ; but he was receiving 
 7 lb. A curious thing occurred in a little race at 
 the end of this day. Three two-year-olds were 
 running, and Wood, who was riding Eicochet, in the 
 middle of the race suddenly disappeared under 
 the mare and fell to the ground, fortunately unhurt, 
 notwithstanding the pace at which they were going. 
 The saddle had slipped round. 
 
 Queen Adelaide had started favourite for the 
 Derby, with St. Medard second, on the strength of 
 their seconds in the Two Thousand and One 
 Thousand. Both hailed from Captain Machell's 
 stable, but neither had anything to do with the 
 finish, which resulted in a dead heat between the 
 Captain's third string Harvester and St. Gatien ; and 
 I think it was fortunate for the owner of Harvester 
 that Mr. Hammond agreed to divide the stakes, as 
 the horse appeared none too sound, and only a fort- 
 night after, at Ascot, Tristan made a hack of him in 
 the Hardwicke Stakes, giving him eighteen pounds. 
 An objection to St. Gatien, on the ground of incorrect 
 entry, was very rightly withdrawn. Busybody won 
 the Oaks by half a length from Superba, Queen 
 Adelaide being in the same place as in the Derby, 
 and thus Lord Falmouth sold the winners of the 
 Derby and Oaks at his great Newmarket sale. 
 Florence, who had been beaten out of sight in the 
 City and Suburban when backed for pounds, shillings, 
 and pence, and with only 6 st. 12 lb. on her back, 
 won the Manchester Cup in a canter with 4 lb. more, 
 and she did great deeds afterwards during the year, 
 ending up by winning the Cambridgeshire, carrying 
 
ST. SIMON AND DUKE OF RICHMOND 219 
 
 9 St. 1 lb. — tlie highest iDurden ever borne to victory. 
 Her City and Suburban defeat remains for ever one 
 of those things that no one can explain. 
 
 On the Tuesday, at Ascot, backers had a very bad 
 time, for only one favourite won in seven races ; 
 three had odds laid on them, while all the rest started 
 at extraordinary short prices — 5 to 4 and 6 to 4 
 against. It was one of the worst days I have ever 
 seen for backers, though I myself was fortunate 
 enough to win through backing St. Gatien, who made 
 mincemeat of Corrie Eoy at 9 lb. in the Gold Vase ; 
 but it is only fair to say about this good mare that 
 she had been much shaken by her race for the Man- 
 chester Cup, when, carrying an almost impossible 
 weight, she finished third to Florence, Isonomy's 
 winning performance in the same race being the only 
 one that had eclipsed this. St. Simon won the Gold 
 Cup by twenty lengths from Tristan, whose subse- 
 quent victory in the Hardwicke Stakes proved that 
 the dead heaters in the Derby would have had to put 
 up with second place if St. Simon, disqualified by the 
 death of his nominator, Count Batthyany, could have 
 competed. Melton, to my mind the perfection of a 
 racehorse on a small scale, made his first appearance 
 in the New Stakes, and scored an easy victory, 
 though not much fancied by the stable ; and Duke 
 of Pdchmond, rapidly developing into a thief, had 
 to put up with second place in the Hunt Cup and 
 Wokingham, though carrying a respectable weight 
 for a three-year-old. He and St. Simon were rivals 
 in their young days ; there seemed to be only a few 
 pounds between them — Cannon, after the match, 
 thought not more than seven — and it was impossible 
 
220 EACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 to say which might turn out the more vakiable for 
 stud purposes ; but now St. Simon is the most sought- 
 after sire of the day, and Duke of Eichmond a very 
 moderately successful hurdle-jumper. 
 
 Few who saw Luminary apparently outstay 
 Melton in the July Stakes at Xewmarket would have 
 been prepared for the subsequent degeneration of the 
 winner into a common plater, or have predicted that 
 the second would be a Derby winner. Such, however, 
 is the lottery of racing. If horses were steam engines, 
 always capable of running to their best form, where 
 would the Eing be ? 
 
 An Arab race over two miles was one of the 
 features of this meeting, 200 so vs. being added by 
 the Jockey Club, and 100 sovs. by Mr. W. S. Blunt, 
 a great enthusiast about Arabs, and himself a breeder 
 of them. To my mind, however marvellous their 
 powers of endurance may be on their native soil, 
 they are as much out of place on an English race- 
 course as a tortoise, and the most moderate of our 
 thoroughbreds could give them several stone over 
 all distances, even though the English horses had not 
 been deemed — and, in fact, were not — stayers. Still, 
 it was an interesting event. The winner, Asil, to my 
 surprise, appeared to possess the best speed of the 
 lot : and, after all, what is racing really but a question 
 of speed ? Curious as it may sound, I believe some 
 of our racehorses — T am inclined to cite as a prominent 
 example, the French horse, Mortemer — stay because 
 they have speed and a long stride, with hocks rather 
 hio^h off the o-round. It is the crood-lookino' horses 
 which a hunting man would pick out as likely to carry 
 him to hounds, with good shoulders and bone below the 
 
CONFORMATION OF STAYERS 221 
 
 knee, tliat show little daylight when you are walking 
 behind them, with great development of thighs, and 
 hocks close to the ground — a point usually regarded 
 as specially desirable — that, as a rule, fail to stay. 
 LoUypop, Countryman, Tangible, Ecossais, Trombone, 
 were all of the sort I am describino\ 
 
 At Goodwood, Eosy Morn, one of the best-looking 
 yearlings I ever saw, and sold at Mr. Chaplin's 
 yearling sale in the July week for over 2,000 guineas, 
 easily beat Eo3^al Hampton, the conqueror of 
 Luminary, at Sandown the week before, in the 
 Eichmond Stakes ; but although he had previously 
 won the Woodcote at Epsom, and got back his pur- 
 chase money in these two races, he turned a roarer, 
 and quickly degenerated into a selling plater of 
 moderate calibre, sharing the fate of Luminary. 
 Harvester, one of the Derby dead heaters, won the 
 Gratwicke Stakes in a canter, Archer having orders 
 to come through with him and not pull him about ; 
 but his second heat the next day was too much for 
 him, probably owing to the unsound state of one of 
 his leo^s : and in a sinoie-handed contest with Cor- 
 nieille in the Drawiner Eoom Stakes he suffered defeat 
 by a neck. At Windsor August Meeting, Kingwood, 
 who had only finished third to Satchel and Lonely in 
 the Lavant Stakes at Goodwood — he having had a 
 dose of medicine the week before the race, which we 
 thought would bring him on, but seemed to have a 
 reverse effect — gave his opponent a taste of his quality 
 by winning two races ' anyhow ; ' and on that day, 
 and when shortly afterwards he won the Champion 
 Breeders' Foal Stakes at Derby, I should not have 
 feared to run him against any two-year-old in 
 England. 
 
222 EACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 The Leger was contested by a very moderate lot 
 of horses, neither of Sir John Willoughby's animals 
 being up to the mark, and there was some suspicion 
 about one of Superba's legs. She, however, ran well, 
 but The Lambkin won by a length from the pretty 
 Sandiway, Superba finishing at her quarters. • An 
 objection to the winner on the ground of incorrect 
 nomination, lodged by Captain Machell before the 
 race on behalf of Sir John Willoughby, was over- 
 ruled. 
 
 At the Newmarket Second October Meeting, St. 
 Gatien, ridden by Wood, and carrying 8 st. 10 lb., 
 beat the record by winning the Cesarewitcli in a 
 canter, and landing an enormous stake for Mr. John 
 Hammond, whilst his second string, Florence, might 
 have been nearer than fourth, and told him by her 
 running what a great chance she had for the Cam- 
 bridgeshire, in which race it was a magnificent per- 
 formance on her part to give thirteen pounds to the 
 great Bendigo, and beat him by a head. Webb, on 
 the winner, rode with extraordinary vigour and 
 judgment, and again did the owner throw in for a 
 moderate fortune. Melton carried off the Middle 
 Park Plate and Criterion, thus securely installing him- 
 self a winter favourite for the Derby. 
 
223 
 
 1 885 
 
 The Brocklesby of 1885 was remarkable for the 
 first appearance of that gallant little horse, The Bard, 
 a small but beautifully shaped son of Petrarch and 
 Magdalene, who raised the standard of Brocklesby 
 winners, and distinguished himself by the unpre- 
 cedented achievement of winning sixteen races as a 
 two-year-old, never knowing defeat. He was not 
 very much fancied by his part-owner, Mr. Peck, and 
 not improbably was a better animal in public than in 
 private. He did not look a very good horse, having 
 a great deal of white about his legs, and his chestnut 
 coat was so plentifully ticked with grey hairs, that he 
 was almost roan in appearance ; but he was a good 
 horse to follow (this is not meant for a joke ! ). 
 
 Another famous animal, Bendigo, won the Lincoln- 
 shire Handicap, giving a lot of weight to Bird of 
 Freedom, with McMahon third, and the two latter 
 fought out their battle again in the City and Subur- 
 ban, the young one, in receipt of 9 lb. less than at 
 Lincoln, getting home a head. 
 
 At the Craven Meeting, Lord Cadogan brought 
 forward a motion that horses entered in selling races 
 should be liable to be claimed for the value of the 
 stakes, and double the amount for which they were 
 entered to be sold, during the fifteen minutes preced- 
 ing the time fixed for weighing, &c. The motion was 
 
224 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 only lost by two votes, and well for the funds of the 
 Jockey Club was it that it was lost, as a glance at 
 the prices given for selling platers at auction at 
 Newmarket, for years past, will show how repeat- 
 edly they have fetched six or eight times more than 
 their entered selling price, and Lord Cadogan's 
 motion only allowed that half the amount for which 
 the horse was claimed should go to the race fund ; 
 that is, if lie was entered to be sold for 100 sovs. he 
 would be claimed for 200 sovs. and the value of the 
 race, and only half the former amount, viz. 100 sovs., 
 would enrich the Newmarket exchequer. Mr. Chaplin 
 and Mr. Craven argued that this mode of claiming 
 answered very well in France, and no doubt it does, 
 but that is no reason why it should answer well at 
 Newmarket, since it would l3e quite certain to dimi- 
 nish the receipts of the Jockey Club, who want all 
 they can get to march with the times, and to compete 
 with other race meetings, managers of which can 
 afford to give larger stakes. 
 
 Paradox for the Two Thousand only got home a 
 head from Crafton, who was marvellously ridden by 
 Cannon, whereas Archer, who had to make his own 
 runnino' on the favourite, o-ot a little bit flurried, and 
 did not ride as well as usual. Wood, who was on 
 the third, told me after the race, that although no 
 one ought to know better than himself what a 
 splendid jockey Archer was, and no one was more 
 ready to say so, still in this instance he rode a bad 
 race, and he expressed his belief that Paradox would 
 win the Derby. No doubt Cannon would have won 
 on Crafton, but that Paradox swerved and seriously 
 interfered with him in the last few strides. 
 
MELTOX AND PARADOX 225 
 
 At tlie Second Spring meeting, Melton was brought 
 out for tlie Payne Stakes, and won in a canter from 
 Kingwood, who was not fit, owing to his severe ill- 
 ness which he caught in the new stables, to which 
 Sherrard had removed his horses, although he 
 managed to beat Lonely and Present Times several 
 lengths. Melton did not become a much better 
 favourite for the Derby in consequence, as doubt 
 about his soundness still lingered, in spite of his 
 victory, and a few days before the race there were 
 all sorts of silly rumours afloat about him — that he 
 would be got at, and that an attempt would be made 
 to knock him over in the race. The sole orio-in of 
 these fairy tales was that Archer believed implicitly 
 that Crafton would beat him, and told all his friends 
 so, men who w^ere accustomed to go almost entirely 
 by his judgment. He even misled Mr. Peck, who, 
 as a rule, is entirely guided by his own opinion, and 
 a pretty good one too, when he is left to himself to 
 give it. I had a commission to lay against Melton, 
 only for the reason I have stated above, and I happen 
 to know that every shilling of the money was taken 
 back at a loss before the flag dropped, when a mag- 
 nificent race ensued, almost identical with the finish 
 between Bend Or and Eobert the Devil, Webb on 
 Paradox coming through on the inside exactly as 
 Eossiter did, only that he rode as fine a race as any 
 one could wish to see, and when Archer, who for some 
 inexplicable reason in this case (Bend Or having gone 
 rather stifily the first mile in his Derby), had laid 
 rather far out of his ground, got to his girths, the issue 
 was in doubt to within the last stride. Melton getting 
 up and winning by a head. To my mind Melton was 
 
 Q 
 
226 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 the heau ideal of a racehorse, a whole-coloured bay on 
 the small side with wonderful back and quarters and 
 perfect shoulders and action. Often have I remarked 
 to my trainer, ' I wish all my racehorses were shaped 
 like him ! ' ISTo lumber, no trouble to train, perfect 
 and symmetrical in all points. Whilst Lord Hastings 
 was being warmly congratulated, Mr. Brodrick-Cloete 
 took his defeat like a man. I overheard his conver- 
 sation with a friend in the grass plot in front of the 
 weighing-room just after the race. ' Only fancy 
 being beaten by a nose — that much — ' holding up his 
 hands about six inches apart — ' I don't suppose I shall 
 ever be so near to winning a Derby again ! ' and my 
 inward thought was ' Quite right, you won't ! ' It 
 takes a lifetime to understand and master racing, and 
 to very few men does there come an opportunity of 
 winning the Derby twice. The Dukes of Westmin- 
 ster and Portland, and Sir Joseph Hawley and 
 Lord Falmouth, if the latter two were alive, might 
 smile at these words, but their good fortune in win- 
 ning so often has not fallen to the lot of other good 
 men. 
 
 Lonely, a charming compact little Hermit mare, 
 scored a very popular victory in the Oaks, the first 
 big race that had fallen to Lord Cadogan, who keeps 
 a very small stud in training, and rarely gives high 
 prices for his animals. At Ascot St. Gatien gave his 
 moderate opponents no rest in the Gold Cup, and 
 won from the American bred Eole, who came from the 
 States with a tremendous reputation, was looked on 
 as invincible, but proved as slow as an old man and 
 a terrible savage to boot. St. Gatien won the 
 Alexandra Plate in the same easy fashion, Hermitage 
 
ST. GATIEN 227 
 
 this time separating him from Eole. To examine St. 
 Gatien, who is a great powerful hunter-looking horse, 
 a trifle vulgar for a thoroughbred, it is quite impos- 
 sible to believe that he is the son of the very 
 moderate Eover, who was a light-necked chestnut, son 
 of Blair Athol, and had a club foot which prevented 
 him running two days alike. Still, St. Gatien's dam, 
 St. Editha, was covered first by Eotherhill, a roarer, 
 and, secondly, by The Eover, and one is bound to 
 believe that he derived his paternity from the latter 
 horse, more especially as he appears to inherit the 
 white markings of his grandsire, Blair Athol ; and 
 for my part there is no horse at the stud, with the 
 exception of St. Simon, to which I would rather send 
 a mare of good quality who lacked bone and size, 
 always provided that the blood suited. 
 
 At Newmarket the July Stakes was won by a ewe- 
 necked, ugly, but game son of Bend Or, Kendal, who 
 just ran the good-looking Mephisto out of the race ; 
 and Modwena, after cleverly winning the Chesterfield 
 Stakes, had to succumb to Kendal in the Ham Stakes 
 at Goodwood, where we southerners were introduced 
 to Minting, the best big horse I ever saw after Prince 
 Charlie. He made hacks of his opponents in the 
 Prince of Wales' Stakes the same day that the tiny 
 little Althorp won the Goodwood Cup after a bit 
 of a finish with Metal, an evil-tempered animal soon 
 afterwards sent to India, where he did well. Melton, 
 with good odds laid on him, sailed home a very easy 
 winner in the St. Leger, Isobar finishing second, and 
 Lonely, who proved she could not stay, a bad third ; 
 and his only other race was the Great Foal Stakes at 
 the first October meeting, which he won in a canter 
 
 Q :3 
 
228 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 from liis stable companion, Pearl Diver, liis otlier 
 three opponents being worthless. 
 
 The Frenchmen took a ton of money across the 
 Channel when Plaisanterie won the Cesarewitch in 
 a canter, and with a stone extra she beat Bendigo 
 at 10 lb. in the Cambridgeshire, giving heaps of 
 weight to every horse in the race, considering her 
 age, three years old, except to three. The champion 
 racehorse (at least in most people's eyes), Ormonde, 
 came out in a Post Sweepstakes on the Wednesday of 
 the second October meeting, and beat little Modwena 
 cleverly by a length, she having already been pulled 
 out to w^in the opening race of the day. The great 
 horse followed this up by winning the Criterion and 
 Dewhurst Plate in a canter, in the latter race being 
 followed home by the nervous Whitefriar, and St. 
 Gatien won the Jockey Club Cup without being asked 
 to go. But for his defeat in the Cambridgeshire, 
 when he was not unnaturally outpaced, he would 
 have won all his races this year. 
 
229 
 
 1 886 
 
 Old Fulmen, wlio had been a disappointing horse 
 since Mr. Naylor gave 5,000 guineas for him, won the 
 Lincohi Handicap, giving 16 lb. and a clever beating 
 to Bread Knife, though it was a fair performance on 
 the part of the latter, a three-year-old — at which age 
 animals so seldom win this race — to carry his 6 st. 
 11 lb. into second place, and no doubt he was a good 
 handicap horse, but none too sound. Eoyal 
 Hampton, who looked patched up, won the City and 
 Suburban easily, being followed home by two 
 animals that had distinguished themselves on this 
 course, though in different years, viz. Highland Chief 
 and Lonely. 
 
 Again did the Biennial furnish us with a surprise, 
 for the Duke of Beaufort's Button Park, not backed 
 for a shilling, beat Grey Friars, the favourite ; and 
 Sir Kenneth, who started at a liberal jDrice, won the 
 Newmarket Handicap, Wood having to ride him hard 
 for the last half mile. All I^ewmarket swore by 
 Minting when the numbers went up for the Two 
 Thousand, but he could not live the last two furlono-s 
 with Ormonde, who won very easily. Minting running 
 in this race like a non-stayer. Perhaps Mat Dawson 
 found it difficult to give so gigantic an animal the 
 preparation he would have liked, though he was one 
 of the easiest movers for so big a horse I ever saw. 
 
230 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 Saraband ran disgracefully in this race, being beaten 
 at tlie T.Y.C. jDOst. For sucli a wonder as Ormonde 
 undoubtedly was, lie did not strike one as a particu- 
 larly well-made liorse ; but lie was a splendid goer 
 when extended. Grey Friars made amends for his 
 Biennial defeat by winning the Payne Stakes ; 
 Mephisto, who was third in the Guineas, proving 
 that the extra quarter of a mile was too far for him. 
 The Woodcote was never contested by worse 
 animals than in this year, a possible exception 
 to this general condemnation being The Baron, who, 
 however, only succeeded in cleverly beating Sir 
 Galahad, a plater, by a length. In spite of the confi- 
 dence that General Williams and all his friends ex- 
 pressed in The Bard, of which the General was part 
 owner (the one least full of confidence being Mr. 
 Peck), the public tumbled over each other to lay 
 odds on Ormonde, and the race for the last two 
 hundred yards was a treat to see. Wood on The 
 Bard, in the centre of the course, held a slight lead 
 of Ormonde, who was at his girths on the far 
 side. Seeing that the big horse was full of running. 
 Wood called on his mount, hoping to get the first 
 run, but, gallantly as the httle chestnut responded, 
 the efibrt was of no avail, as no sooner did Archer 
 give Ormonde his head and get level with the little 
 fellow, than he smothered him with his long stride 
 and won easily by a length and a half, St. Mirin being 
 a very bad third. Although this was not a desperate 
 finish, it was a beautiful race to see ; both jockeys 
 rode with equal coolness, knowing from the fall of 
 the flag it would be a match between them, and both 
 horses ran as straight as a die, the little Bard dis- 
 
THE PRIXCE OF WALES'S FIRST AMX 231 
 
 playing unflinching gameness when he had the worst 
 of the race ; but he could not stride with his bigger 
 opponent, who was undoubtedly the better horse of 
 the two. Porter, who trained Ormonde, also won the 
 Grand Prize on Thursday with Candlemas, but after 
 a very narrow squeak with Sir Hamo, who a few 
 strides from the chair looked like upsetting the good 
 thing. Miss Jummy, a charming mare by Petrarch, 
 after winning the One Thousand easily from Argo Navis, 
 finished again in front of her in the Oaks, and with 
 the exception of the second, who was too slow, all 
 her opponents were non-stayers. In the Epsom Cup 
 an awful blow was administered this day to backers 
 by Bird of Freedom. The horse looked as if he 
 could not stride over a straw, but nevertheless backers 
 laid eight to one on him, and had the mortification 
 of seeing him beaten in the most decisive way, six 
 lengths, by Eadius. Fortunately for some would be 
 plungers the Eing were chary about taking even those 
 long odds. A fortnight's rest, however, enabled the 
 favourite to recover himself, and he won the Gold 
 Vase at Ascot, just outstaying Middle thorpe, in the 
 last stride by a head. 
 
 A very pleasant and quiet meeting took place at 
 Sandown, on the Friday and Saturday, between 
 Epsom and Ascot, and the Friday will be remembered 
 by the owners of the Esher course for many a long 
 day, as on it the Prince of Wales scored his first 
 victory in flat racing. It was only a Maiden Plate, 
 and his Eoyal Highness's representative. Counterpane, 
 by Hermit, and own sister to my mare, Quilt, had 
 odds of 7 to 4 laid on her, the opposition being very 
 weak. When Archer was seen to be winning very 
 
232 r.ACIXG REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 easily in the royal colours, a miglity shout was raised 
 from stands and rings. Sycophants vied with 
 those who ivere genuinely pleased at the result of the 
 race, to howl their loudest. Perhaps the shouts that 
 had the truest ring about them (this is not meant for 
 a pun) came from the fielders who had all lost money 
 on the race. Xo doubt the Prince of Wales was 
 extremely pleased, and John Porter's honest face 
 beamed with benevolence. AVliy does not the latter 
 buy his Eoyal Highness some better brood mares ? 
 At present they appear a sorry lot and selected for 
 no ascertainable reason. 
 
 Old Despair, who was very leniently treated in 
 the Hunt Cup, having always shown a liking for the 
 course — though there were very few courses in 
 which he could be persuaded to gallop — just got 
 home from Le Caissier ; that very disappointing horse 
 in Sherrard's stable, Hambletonian, finishing nowhere, 
 though he started a good favourite. After Althorp 
 had beaten the Gold Vase winner in the Cup, we saw 
 St. Gatien win the Eous Memorial, with the top 
 weight on, in spite of the distance, one mile being 
 considered too short a journey for him ; and a very 
 fine horse of Mr. Douglas Baird's, Enterprise, won 
 the New Stakes easily, though apparently he was not 
 fancied much by his friends. How Mephisto ever 
 beat Gay Hermit eight lengths over the New Mile 
 Course will always be a mystery to me, but he did so 
 when he won the Triennial Stakes on Friday, and I 
 can only account for it by the suggestion that Wood 
 got right away, and gained an advantage by getting 
 on to the path made by people walking up the side 
 of the course, and furthermore, that Cannon, knowing 
 
KIXGWOOD 233 
 
 Mepliisto was a non-stayer, believed the Prince's colt 
 would have to come back to him. 
 
 The two Derby winners met in the Hardwicke 
 Stakes, Melton having to give Ormonde 16 lb., and of 
 course he was beaten in a canter. Little Althorp, 
 not over fresh after his Cup victory on the hard 
 ground, was raced to a stand-still by Blue Grass, an 
 American horse that looked like a hunter, in the 
 Alexandra Plate, and beaten a hundred yards. 
 After this disaster another one awaited backers, as 
 Wliitefriar, on whom they laid 2 to 1, showed great 
 nervousness and fractiousness at the post, and re- 
 fused to struggle in his race, which was won by 
 Financier, purchased out of a selling race by Wood 
 for General Owen Williams. Kingwood, who had 
 lost all his form last year, owing to his illness, and 
 then to Sherrard's persuading me to allow him to 
 train the colt for the Derby, for which he had no 
 earthly chance, proved to me in a trial that he had 
 recovered his form somewhat (though he never 
 showed his best form at home and was constantly 
 beaten), won the Kempton Park Wliitsuntide Cup in 
 a canter, from a wretched lot of horses ; and after 
 going the next two days to " 'Appy 'Ampton," now alas 
 a thing of the past, where I had a bad time, I went to 
 Manchester on the Thursday, and saw Wood ride the 
 best race, in my opinion, he ever rode in his life. He 
 had persuaded Lord Lurgan to buy Monarch of the 
 Glen, and advised him to bet freely in a selling race. 
 The horse ran a dead heat with Mignon, ridden by 
 Archer. The heat was run off, and in a ding-dong- 
 tussle from the distance, both jockeys riding their 
 best, Wood managed to win a head on the post. Mr. 
 
234 RACING RE^^IIXISCEXCES 
 
 Ford, wlio was judge, will remember the race well, 
 as he commented on the superb riding afterwards. 
 
 Gordon, a magnificent-looking dark-brown Her- 
 mit horse, but whose hind pasterns were too long 
 and too oblique ever to enable him to stay, won the 
 Stewards' Cup for me, but I dared not have much 
 money on him. After Eiversdale's forward running 
 in the Prince of Wales' Stakes at Ascot, it was only 
 natural that he should press The Bard closely for 
 favouritism in the Manchester Cup, as he was receiv- 
 ing 2 St. 3 lb. from the second in the Derby. The 
 race was a match between the two, and at the turn, 
 Eiversdale had such a good lead that it looked 
 impossible for The Bard to catch him. He struggled 
 gamely on, however, and reduced the gap to a length 
 and a half, by which distance he was beaten. Wood 
 laid rather far out of his ground in the middle part of 
 the race, no doubt mindful of the great weight his horse 
 was carrying, but I think perhaps he might have re- 
 duced the winner's lead more gradually, though even 
 that would not have given him the race. Kingwood 
 was a little lucky in winning the Welbeck Cup at 
 Derby from Crafton, to whom he was conceding 
 16 lb., as the second did not get off so well ; but when 
 Kingwood was once on his legs, swinging along on 
 this sort of course, he took an immense deal of beat- 
 ing, and he was just now at his best. 
 
 Before Windsor July meeting I told Sherrard to 
 give a two-year-old — Stetch worth, by Hampton out of 
 Donzella — ^I had bought at Doncaster for 1,000 guineas 
 last September for myself and Mr. E. D. Sassoon, a 
 gallop with Gordon at 2 st. 7 lb. He mistook my 
 orders, and trying at 21 lb., the old one won in a 
 
FOUR HEADS 235 
 
 canter. Nevertheless I sent tlie liorse to run in the 
 Eoyal Plate at Windsor, the stake being worth over 
 SOOl. He looked to have no chance of beating Enter- 
 prise at 7 lb., but he jumped off, made all the running, 
 and won by two lengths. It was a pleasant surprise. 
 On the following day an extraordinary race took 
 place for the Windsor Handicap, the first four horses 
 being separated from each other by four heads, and 
 Archer, who rode the fourth, Cairo, thought he had 
 won. The judge, however, ordered the number of 
 my horse, Plantagenet, to be hoisted, and told us 
 afterwards there was no doubt about the result. At 
 l^ewmarket next week Enterprise won the July Stakes 
 in a canter, thus enhancing the form of Stetchworth ; 
 but Wood, who had been riding the latter at exercise, 
 was not at all pleased with the way he went, and 
 begged me not to back him in the Chesterfield Stakes, 
 as he thought he was a rogue. He certainly was, 
 one of the deepest dye. He only ran half the 
 distance, then shut up, and in spite of what he could 
 do he never won another race. Melton showed fine 
 speed in the July Cup, giving twelve pounds to 
 Brighton, who, however, hates a hill, and beating 
 him three lengths ; and Kingwood followed up his 
 Derby victory by winning the Beaufort Stakes in a 
 canter, with a great deal the worst of the weights. 
 
 In the International Two-year-old Plate at the 
 Kempton Park first summer meeting The Baron 
 scored a meritorious win, giving 1 st. 2 lb. to 
 Cactus, who had been well tried, and beating him by 
 a head, a very different performance from the slovenly 
 one in the Woodcote ; and Salisbury, a good two-year- 
 old by CambaUo, had an equally severe race when he 
 
236 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 defeated Gallinule and ten others in the Zetland Plate 
 at Leicester the following week. The day after this 
 Melton showed what a first-class horse can do in a 
 handicap by winning the Leicestershire Cup in 
 a canter, carrying 9 st. 4 lb. It was hard lines for 
 Mr. Vyner that Minting- should have iione wronof at 
 
 J o CO 
 
 the eleventh hour, as the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown, 
 worth 10,000/. to the winner, was voted a good thing 
 for him. I believe a weakness was detected in one 
 of his legs, and the pen was promptly put through his 
 name, though of course not in time to save many people 
 from losing their money, as there had been betting 
 on the race for weeks before. The greatest credit is 
 due to Mr. Hwfa Williams for having created a race 
 of this description, and in sj)ite of the pouring rain 
 that fell all day there was a tremendous concourse 
 of people, sheltered by acres of umbrellas. With 
 Minting out of the wav, Bendiofo started a hot 
 favourite, and, in the hands of Tom Camion, won the 
 bisfofest weiofht-for-ao'e race that has ever been run 
 for — in England, at any rate — in a canter by three 
 lengths. Candlemas, ridden by Archer, beating St. 
 Gatien — who appeared bustled all the way, the race 
 being only over a mile and a quarter — by half 
 a length for second place. Both the winner, owner, 
 and jockey were heartily cheered after the result, 
 Bendigo apparently being a great favourite with the 
 public. 
 
 It is a thousand pities that Sandown has not a 
 better racecourse, the greatest liberality having been 
 always shown by the executive, not only to owners of 
 horses, but to everyone who comes there. Mr. 
 Lowther in 1888, when there was some difficulty 
 
THE SANDOWN FIVE FUELOXGS 237 
 
 about allowing tlie autumn meeting at Sandown, 
 cliaracterised it as ' the best-managed meeting with 
 the worst course in England,' and though I certainly 
 do not go as far as to agree with him in the latter por- 
 tion of his remark, I confess to having a wholesome 
 dread of backing any horse on the straight five- 
 furlong course, which is ' against the collar ' nearly 
 all the way, many horses not being able to act on it 
 at all. I have found horses standing straight in front 
 with good hind-quarters, and that get their hind legs 
 well under them, the best suited to this course, and a 
 horse of my own — Magician — who was built this way, 
 always ran a stone better animal on this course than 
 on any other. Doubtless a perfectly true-made horse 
 will act on any course, but how many of these do 
 we see ? 
 
 At Goodwood Grafton made up for his defeat by 
 Kingwood at Derby by winning the Stewards' Cup 
 easily, and I believe CajDtain Machell won a good 
 stake, the horse starting at 33 to 1. Again my stable 
 stood Hambletonian, who beat Kingwood a long way 
 in the trial, but, as is the case with eight trials out of 
 ten, the race showed that the home question had 
 been incorrectly answered, the reason being that 
 Kingwood does not try at home. Saraband showed 
 his true form by winning the Chesterfield Cup in a 
 canter from How's That, who was also unlucky 
 enough to follow Crafton home in the shorter race. 
 At Lewes The Baron proved what a rare weight- 
 carrier he was by winning the Astley Stakes by three 
 lengths, carrying 9 st. 7 lb., and it is extraordinary 
 that this horse who was now displaying such fine 
 speed should have so failed to distinguish himself at 
 
238 EACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 three years old in spite of his moderate second in the 
 Derby. King Monmouth ran a ratthng race with Le 
 Caissier in the Great Ebor Handicap at York, and only 
 failed by a neck to give him 2 st. 5 lb., but he ran 
 a game honest horse, and, considering the many races 
 he has won and taken part in, it is wonderful he 
 should have shown his best form almost to the moment 
 when he was taken out of training, I believe as sound 
 as on the day he was foaled. With 7 to 1 laid on 
 him, Ormonde simply played with his opponents in 
 the Leger, the best of whom was the fast-improving 
 St. Mirin, who, although he finished second, could 
 make no sort of fight with the winner, and Silver's 
 six lengths' victory over Candlemas, Grey Friars, and 
 Gay Hermit in the Doncaster Stakes landed him a 
 firm favourite for the Cesarewitch, one of the half- 
 owners of Candlemas putting 1,000Z. on him in a 
 bet. The Bard, whose victorious career had been 
 checked for a time by his defeats in the Derby and 
 Manchester Cup, was having it all his own way now, 
 and added the Doncaster Cujj to his other victories. 
 By his running in the Cesarewitch and subsequent 
 races. Silver showed that either his victory at Don- 
 caster was a stolen one or else that he would not 
 race, and Stone Clink, a very fine chestnut mare 
 by Speculum, outstayed The Cob, Eurasian, who 
 was Mr. Hammond's second string, finishing third 
 some lengths in front of his stable companion, St. 
 Gatien. 
 
 Either Archer made too much use of Enterprise in 
 the Middle Park Plate or he refused to struggle when 
 the pinch came, and suffered an easy defeat by 
 Florentine, whose owner. Lord Calthorpe, for years 
 
THE DEFEAT OF ST. MIRIN 239 
 
 a stauncli patron of the Turf, was standing next me 
 whilst the race was being run, and showed no 
 emotion when his horse collared the favourite, merely 
 remarking, ' Why, I win, after all.' I wondered in 
 my mind at the time whether he was really glad or 
 not. A friend of mine lost a lot of money on this 
 race, and I had the good fortune to get him back 
 most of it on the Friday. After the races were over 
 on Thursday he came to me and said he had lost so 
 much he should go to London unless I could tell him 
 some good things to stop for to-morrow. After 
 looking through the programme we made out five 
 certainties. He had the pluck to bet on them, they 
 all won, and he got back 8,000/., losing a com- 
 paratively small sum on the week. I hope, however, 
 beginners at racing will not think this good luck 
 occurs frequently. Such days are few and far 
 between ; besides they rarely come at the moment 
 when they are most needed. I only quote it as an 
 extraordinary circumstance. 
 
 Carlton started first favourite for the Cambridge- 
 shire, having won the Manton trial. Nevertheless, 
 St. Mirin, also a Manton horse, ridden by Archer, 
 beat him several lengths, but could never quite reach 
 the Sailor Prince, to whom he was giving a stone and 
 three years, and suffered defeat by a short head. 
 Many of us thought Archer had won, and in the 
 excitement of the moment, when he returned to scale, 
 he declared as much himself, but a few minutes after- 
 wards I asked him quietly, and he said, 'J^o, Sir 
 George, honour bright, I didn't think I had won.' 
 All connected with Carlton vowed he had not run up 
 to his true form, and their judgment was triumphantly 
 
240 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 proved true tlie following year, though not before he 
 had to sustain one more defeat. 
 
 In the Jockey Club Cup St. Gatien gave 3 lb. 
 to Melton, and with Eurasian to make the running, 
 galloped him to a standstill, and this was the last 
 race but one these two Derby winners ever ran. 
 They were very different types of a racehorse, Melton 
 being small, symmetrical, all quality, and gifted with 
 speed rather than stamina ; whilst St. Gatien was a 
 great strong, big-boned horse, a trifle coarse, but with 
 a wonderful swinging stride, and he could stay for a 
 month. There was a doubt about Melton's courage, 
 I should add, and so much whisky was given to him 
 before this race that Tom Cannon, who rode him, 
 declared that the horse was quite drunk. The one 
 other race I allude to is the Liverpool Autumn Cup, 
 which Melton won easily, giving any amount of 
 weight away. He was ridden by his old jockey 
 Archer no more, Watts having the mount, for on 
 the Monday of this meeting a terrible event had 
 happened. Poor Archer, under the influence of 
 delirium, had shot himself. The week before he said 
 he felt very ill, and although he rode in the first two 
 races at Lewes on Thursday (Tommy Tittlemouse 
 being the last mount he ever had), he was persuaded 
 to leave the course at once and to go home. When 
 he reached Newmarket he was violently ill, was put 
 to bed, and, having a pistol in his room by his bed- 
 side, ended his life. Whatever faults he had, poor 
 fellow, he was the finest ' backers' jockey ' that has 
 ever lived. He only thought of winning the race on 
 the horse he rode somehow, and although he often 
 got into trouble about foul riding, it was probably 
 
FEED AllCIIElL 241 
 
 excessive anxiety to win that led him astray in the 
 excitement of the moment. I do not mean to 
 advance this in the least as an excuse, but it may, 
 perhaps, be in some degree accepted as an extenuat- 
 ing circumstance. He finished very powerfully, 
 almost tying his long legs under the horse he was 
 riding, though sometimes he let their heads go at 
 a finish. His hands were perfect, and he rode more 
 by balance than grip. Some of his best races were 
 ridden over the Epsom course, notably Master 
 Kildare's City and Suburljan, and the Derbies he 
 won on Bend Or and Melton. He had the most 
 gentlemanly manners when talking to anyone, and 
 that was to a great extent the reason of his popu- 
 larity. At his funeral his grave was heaped up many 
 feet high with flowers sent from admirers and friends 
 from all parts of the world. It is sad as one drives up 
 to the Cambridgeshire Stand to look at that quiet little 
 cemetery with his grave standing a few 3'ards from 
 the road, and to think how often he has galloped up 
 in hot haste to the course, little imacrinino: how 
 shortly his career would be checked, and that soon 
 he would be lying in that little churchyard which 
 he had so often heedlessly passed, laughing and 
 chatting with his companions. 'No doubt excessive 
 wasting and the exhaustion occasioned by Turkish 
 baths hurried him to his end. 
 
242 RACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 1887 
 
 Oberox did the fielders a rare turn by winning the 
 Lincolnshire Handicap this year, starting at 50 to 1. 
 As this is the first great handicap of the year there 
 is ample time to sum up probabilities, to take note 
 of trials, and so on, and several animals were fancied, 
 including Middlethorpe, Fulmen, Pizarro, Castor, 
 Isobar, and King Monmouth. Fullerton ran in this 
 race, and after looking hopelessly out of it early in 
 the struggle he was making up his ground very fast 
 at the finish, and flattered takers of 10 to 1 ; but he 
 was too late, and improved his position too near 
 home. After the race Wood told me the horse could 
 not act in the heavy new ground in the early part of 
 the race, and said if it had been fifty yards further 
 he would have been up with Oberon ; and this opinion 
 was verified by the race for the Babraham Plate, at 
 Newmarket, soon afterwards, when FuUerton, meeting 
 Oberon on 7 lb. better terms, defeated him after a 
 good finish by three-quarters of a length. 
 
 In the Craven week Lord Suffolk, the senior 
 Steward of the Jockey Club, retired in rotation, 
 and it was universally admitted that a better Steward 
 we never had. All his decisions were marked by 
 extreme common sense and an absolutely impartial 
 regard for justice. Everyone had confidence in him. 
 He is an excellent judge of human as well as of 
 
ACCIDENT TO ENTERPEISE 243 
 
 equine nature, and raised the character of Jockey 
 Club stewardship. 
 
 The Baron was so long winning the Craven 
 Stakes, giving 10 lb. to third-class horses like Car- 
 rasco and Eex, and only just beating them half a 
 length, that good judges shook their heads at his 
 prospect of winning the Derby. The Cob started 
 a warm favourite for the Great Metropolitan, and 
 won very easily. Manton was in form this year, and 
 it was one of the most extraordinary incidents of 
 modern days that Carlton, now four years old, and 
 carrying only 6 st. 12 lb., should have been beaten a 
 length by Merry Duchess, who was actually giving 
 him 7 lb., whilst he could only defeat Castor by a 
 head for second place, meeting him at 2 lb. Of 
 course little Calder was powerless to get Carlton out, 
 but it is cruel luck to have a horse beaten in an 
 important handicap when his subsequent form showed 
 that he must have had at least 21 lb. in hand. He 
 was greatly fancied and heavily backed by Lord 
 Edward Somerset and his friends, who afterwards 
 had only the sorry satisfaction of knowing that their 
 judgment was right, and Carlton ought to have won 
 — only he did not. 
 
 Enterprise apparently won the Two Thousand 
 Guineas in a canter from Phil and Eglamore, who 
 finished close together, but Cannon, his jockey, rode 
 him very tenderly, as if afraid to see how much or 
 how little he had in hand. Had all gone well with 
 Enterprise he would probably have won the Derby, 
 but the result of an accident — he jumped the road 
 and slipped at exercise — was curiously to shorten his 
 stride, and he never won another race. That charm- 
 
 R 2 
 
244 EACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 ing mare Eeve cTOr won tlie One Thousand easily in 
 the hands of Wood, who had created such a surprise 
 when he gained the Dewhurst Plate on her the first time 
 he rode her ; but the truth was that she was a curious 
 mare to handle, and Wood obeyed orders, as some of 
 her previous jockeys had not done. At Kempton, the 
 Jubilee Stakes, a handicap created in celebration of 
 the Jubilee year, was won amidst much cheering by 
 Bendigo, carrying the great weight of 9 st. 7 lb. 
 Watts was very lucky to get an opening on the rails 
 just as he rounded the turn, or he would have been 
 shut in. My horse Fullerton had always been along- 
 side of the winner, and I shall always regret that 
 I did not insist on Wood coming through with Fuller- 
 ton ; but when I told him that was the way I thought 
 the horse ought to be ridden, he begged me to allow 
 him to wait, saying, ' From what little I know of 
 him I feel sure that speed is his best point, and some 
 of the leaders are sure to split at the turn and let me 
 take my place.' This, however, is exactly what they 
 did not do. 
 
 I first made the acquaintance of the unfortunate 
 Mr. Benzon on this day. He had won a very large 
 stake over the winner, and was anxious to know if I 
 would buy some horses for him. A day or two after- 
 wards I consented to do so, on condition that I had 
 the sole control of them and that he would not bet 
 high, an undertaking he gave ; but he was never able 
 to remember it when the ring began to shout out the 
 odds. On the first day of the second spring meeting 
 a Plate w^as run on the Ditch Mile, and G. Barrett, 
 who rode Cambusmore, for some unaccountable 
 reason thought the finish of the race was at the 
 
MISTAKING THE POST 245 
 
 Eowley Mile Post. To my horror, having backed his 
 mount, I saw his mistake within a stride of the 
 judge's chair. Utterly unconscious of what he was 
 doing, he allowed Loates on The Lizard to beat him a 
 head, wdien he could have won in a canter. Years 
 ago Maidment, riding a horse of Mr. Savile's, had his 
 field hopelessly beaten in a handicap on the same 
 course, and eased his horse at the T.Y.C. post. 
 Fordham, riding for Mr. Lefevre, saw what had 
 happened, set his own horse going again, and beat 
 Maidment half a length at the proper winning post. 
 Curiously enough, riding a two-year-old, also of Mr. 
 Lefevre's, at Epsom, he was equally successful on the 
 same lines with Wyatt, who thought he was winning 
 in a canter and checked his horse. It is a most 
 dangerous thing for any jockey to do. Eordham has 
 been ' caught napping,' as they call it, himself, and 
 once I recollect Archer, at Windsor, with long odds 
 laid on him, keeping on stopping his horse till so 
 close home that he had the greatest difficulty in 
 setting him going again in time to get up and win by 
 a head. Some moderate horses contested the Payne 
 Stakes, which was won by Carrasco, who was sold by 
 his owner in the July week for at least double what 
 he was worth to Mr. Benzon, in spite of my remon- 
 strances, and that gentleman's promise not to buy 
 horses without in the first place consulting me. 
 
 The Derby was won in a canter by a dark horse, 
 Merry Hampton, beating The Baron, who was ridden 
 from the turn by Tom Cannon, and struggled slowly 
 and vainly on under whip and spur, Cannon, usually 
 the tender est of riders, having been at him all the 
 way from Tattenham Corner. It was the winner's 
 

 246 KACINCI EEMINISCENCES 
 
 first appearance on a racecourse. He was a very 
 blood-like colt, by Hampton out of Doll Tearsheet, 
 and was purchased for a large sum of money at 
 Mr. Harrison's Doncaster sale of yearlings by Mr. 
 G. A. Baird, who races under the assumed name 
 of ' Mr. Abington.' He was highly delighted at 
 winning his first Derby, and his victory was very 
 popular, as no man has spent more money in buying 
 horses or raced more straightforwardly, though his 
 greatest pleasure is to ride himself; and I verily 
 believe he would have given half his fortune to have 
 been able to ride Merry Hampton. He is quite 
 indefatigable in travelling all over England to ride 
 races, and has constantly lost large sums of money 
 by riding horses belonging to other people in selling 
 races, and making the owner a present of the surplus 
 money it has cost him to buy his horse back again. 
 
 Eeve d'Or won the Oaks in a canter, the northern 
 filly, Lady Muncaster, a great strapping chestnut 
 mare that had run well as a two-year-old, cutting up 
 very badly, and being apparently unable to stay 
 the distance. Acme, a smart two-year-old in 
 Sherrard's stable, won the Hartington Plate at 
 Manchester. He had been bought by Wood at Lord 
 Eosebery's sale and sold for 300/. to Lord Lurgan, 
 and may be instanced as an example of the varying 
 value of horsefiesh, for Lord Lurgan sold him for 
 twenty times his original price — for as many 
 sovereigns as he had given shillings. One of the 
 horses that Lord Calthorpe obtained when he pur- 
 chased all the Duchess of Montrose's yearlings in a 
 lot privately, ran a dead heat in the Breeders' Foal 
 Stakes with Springhaven, and Carlton, carrying 
 
AN OBSTKUCTivE police:^ian 247 
 
 8 St. 9 lb., secured the Manchester Cup after a 
 fine race with Quilp, the trial horse of the Derby 
 winner, Carlton having won the Chester Cup since 
 his unlucky defeat in the City and Suburban. After 
 pouring rain had fallen for twenty-four hours the 
 course on Friday was like a quagmire, and it was 
 folly on my part, knowing that Fullerton disliked 
 heavy going, to let him run in the Wilton Plate 
 and to back him heavily. He was easily beaten by 
 King Monmouth. 
 
 Unless the state of the ground is an explanation, 
 it is incomprehensible how Briar Eoot could ever 
 have won the Whitsuntide Plate, beating Caerlaverock 
 and Ayrshire by a neck and a head, to say nothing 
 of Senanus, one of the fastest two-year-olds in Eng- 
 land, but unplaced in this race ; though travelling to 
 Sandown on the next day, he won the British 
 Dominion Stakes by five lengths. The Jubilee Cup 
 at Ascot was won by Minting, who had got over the 
 mishap to one of his legs that had affected him during 
 the previous year ; but Bendigo, with odds laid on 
 him, was off colour and made no show in this race. 
 Claymore owed his victory in the Prince of Wales 
 Stakes to the stupidity of a mounted policeman, who 
 was on the course next the rails, probably having no 
 idea the horses were so near home, and an accident 
 seemed imminent when he galloped across the course 
 with the field of horses almost on him. Wood on 
 Eeve d'Or had to pull up, as had Cannon on Phil, 
 both these having been going well at the time, and 
 all the other horses were more or less interfered 
 with except the winner. Wood, at this meeting, 
 renewed his acquaintance with the Manton scarlet, 
 
248 RACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 winning the Hunt Cup on Gay Hermit, and the Ascot 
 Derby on Timothy, Uyo consecutive races. The 
 latter was a charming horse and own brother to 
 Peter, who had distinguished himself on this course 
 by his eccentricity and speed. On Friday every 
 one looked forward to the match between Ormonde 
 and Minting in the Hardwicke Stakes, people wonder- 
 ing whether the report that Ormonde had 'joined the 
 band ' (to use a common expression for ' roaring ' ) 
 was correct. There could be no doubt of it after the 
 race, which was a beautiful sight to witness, the careful 
 nursing of the winner by Tom Cannon being a marvel 
 of patience and judgment. Minting made most of the 
 running till about two hundred yards from liome^ 
 and Bendigo being in difficulties, the race was reduced 
 to a match. Minting, ridden by John Osborne, was still 
 leading next the rails with Ormonde at his quarters. 
 Inch by inch Cannon crept up, apparently without 
 any great difficulty, and those who knew his riding saw 
 that he was saving his horse for a final effort. ^Vhen 
 he called on Ormonde the horse gallantly responded, 
 and won by a neck. If not a bloodless victory, it 
 was perhaps a little more easily won than most 
 people supposed ; at any rate there was less absolute 
 doubt about the result than most of the lookers on 
 imagined. It was a treat to witness the gameness of 
 the two horses and the superb riding of both jockeys. 
 My horse Kingwood came out this year in the 
 Stockbridge Cup, and won in a canter, again having 
 been beaten in his trial before leaving home ; and 
 Friar's Balsam, who had proved himself so smart at 
 Ascot, made mincemeat of his four moderate oppo- 
 nents in the Hurstbourne Stakes. The following 
 
KINGWOOD 240 
 
 week lie beat Seabreeze easily in tlie July Stakes. 
 On tlie Wednesday of tlie July meeting, Ormonde, 
 with 30 to 1 laid on him, had to be pricked with the 
 spur to beat Whitefriar, to whom he was only giving 
 U lb. in the Imperial Cup, and many people thought 
 I was foolish not to run Kingwood against the great 
 horse instead of preferring to win the Bottisham 
 Plate the previous day. Certainly, I believe King- 
 wood, who was a stone better horse than Whitefriar, 
 would have beaten Ormonde that day ; but it would 
 have been no pleasure to discredit so great a horse 
 at the end of his glorious career, and I preferred to 
 make a certainty of the other race. Ayrshire, a 
 beautiful horse, had some trouble to catch the speedy 
 Bartizan in the Chesterfield Stakes, giving 7 lb. away, 
 and he only got level with him a few strides from the 
 post ; but penalties take a great deal of carrying up 
 this hill. 
 
 At the first summer meeting at Kempton, Mr, 
 Benzon begged me so hard to let him have King- 
 wood to win the Victoria Cup with that I sold him 
 the horse for 2,250/., and although seven furlongs 
 appeared a little far for him, he won anyhow from 
 St. Mirin and Gay Hermit, the latter tAvo animals 
 confirming their running in the Jjiverpool Autumn 
 Cup at the end of the season. At Goodwood, Mon 
 Droit, an Isonomy mare, sold for a song to Mr. John 
 Porter at Mr. Manton's sale of yearlings, won the 
 rich Pious Memorial Stakes. Moderate horses con- 
 tested the Cup, which resulted in a dead heat between 
 Savile (a son of that old slave of Mr. Savile's, Lilian) 
 and St. Michael, and the run off was in favour of the 
 former, a three-year-old, after another good race. 
 
250 EACING EEMINISCENCES 
 
 Ayrshire easily accounted for tlie Prince of Wales' 
 Stakes, worth 3,000Z., and Carlton added another big 
 handicap, the Goodwood Stakes, to his account, 
 carrying 9 st. and winning by ten lengths. At York, 
 Mon Droit gave 11 lb. to Noble Chieftain, and beat 
 him a neck, but the latter, who has since made a 
 name for himself as a speedy horse, was very unfit. 
 
 On the first day of this meeting, a gentleman 
 came to me and said, ' If you have any influence over 
 Mr. Benzon do persuade him not to play at baccarat. 
 I know a man who is going to make a dead set at 
 him.' My reply was that Mr. Benzon would listen to 
 nothing — that I was sick of advising him, and that it 
 was only a question of time for him to lose every 
 shilling he had. On the Friday after York races 
 were over I went to Huntingdon, and was met by this 
 very man before the race, who said : ' What I told 
 3^ou at York, Sir George, came ofi* last night.' For a 
 moment I did not understand his meaning, but he 
 quickly added, ' The report here is that Mr. Benzon 
 lost a very large sum of money at the hotel at York 
 to the man I warned you of. He stayed there after 
 the races were over.' That nioht I returned to 
 London, and the next morning went round to Mr. 
 Benzon's rooms, found him in bed, and asked him 
 if the story was true. ' It is ! ' he said ; ' I lost 
 10,000/. to so-and-so ' — mentioning the name of a 
 notorious so-called ' professional backer ' of horses. 
 Of course I said how sorry I was, that he knew how 
 hopeless I thought he had been lately, and then, 
 hoping to rouse him to some sense of his position, I 
 said : ' Wliy don't you collect all the money you have 
 got in the world and throw it out of window to save 
 
KILWARLIN'S LEGER 251 
 
 you the trouble of getting through it as you are try- 
 ing to do ? ' and catching sight of some sovereigns 
 on the floor under and around his bed, which had 
 evidently rolled out of his pockets, I added, 'Not 
 content with losing your money like a fool, you must 
 needs throw it about the floor ! ' This did appear to 
 wake him up, and he promised to amend and not to 
 go on gambling in the reckless way he had done. 
 But although meaning well at the moment, he was 
 too weak to resist the mania of which he was the 
 victim, and the result is too well known to my readers, 
 and too painful a subject to dwell upon. 
 
 At Doncaster, Ayrshire won the Champagne 
 Stakes in a canter, and the Leger was peculiarly 
 exciting, for Kilwarlin stood still when the flag 
 dropped, and could not be set going till the rest of 
 the field were well on their journey — perhaps a hun- 
 dred yards in front of him. This race must have 
 reminded those old enough to recollect of Lord 
 Clifden's sensational win four - and - twenty years 
 previously. Eobinson, an ex-apprentice of Tom 
 Cannon's, on this occasion rode admirably, exercising 
 notable patience in not trying to make up his ground 
 too soon ; he got to his horses in the course of the 
 last half-mile, and, challenging Merry Hampton, beat 
 him by half a length amid much excitement. I could 
 hardly believe my eyes when I saw Kilwarlin well 
 with the leading horses at the bend. Merry Hampton, 
 the Derby winner, had, or was supposed to have, a 
 bowed sinew, and there was at one time a great doubt 
 about running him, but Mr. Peck was convinced that 
 the nature of the mishap would not afiect the horse 
 so much as to break him down, and his judgment 
 
252 RACING REMINISCEXCES 
 
 was borne out by tlie way lie ran. Humewood, a 
 three-year-old by an almost unknown sire — Londes- 
 borougli — having been purchased from T. Cannon by 
 Lord Eodney after he had won the Jubilee Handicap 
 at Sandown, upsetting the odds on Harpenden (on 
 whom Mr. Benzon had laid nearly 15,000/. to 8,000Z.), 
 started first favourite for the Cesarewitch, and won 
 it very cleverly from Bendigo, whose performance, 
 however, was a grand one, and it was a treat to see 
 the way the old horse struggled on with 9 st. 7 lb. on 
 his back, mercifully ridden by Cannon, Carlton 
 finishing third, carrying only 5 lb. less. Again did 
 Bendigo cover himself with honour, when, with 6 lb. 
 more than he carried in the long race, he fought out 
 the battle in the Cambridgeshire to the finish, only 
 being beaten half a length by Gloriation, and beating 
 Humewood this time out of sight, besides giving 
 12 lb. more to Carlton. 'Defeated, but not dis- 
 graced ' can well be said of him when he took leave 
 of the Turf after two such gallant performances. 
 
!]53 
 
 1888 
 
 Donovan won tlie Brocklesby Stakes this year very 
 easily from a very moderate lot, the second to him, 
 Poem, only being capable of winning a good selling 
 race. Undoubtedly Donovan was the best horse 
 that ever won this early two-year-old stake, and 
 he far and away eclipsed the performances of the 
 gallant little Bard ; indeed, I do not think the 
 son of Galopin and Mowerina ought ever to have 
 been beaten except in the Whitsuntide Plate at 
 Manchester, when he was trying to do an impossi- 
 bility, viz., to give 13 lb. away to that good, but 
 unfortunate, horse, Chital3ob. The only other time 
 that he was beaten this year w^as in the Prince of 
 Wales' Stakes at Goodwood, when he was probably 
 not himself, a fact which he had demonstrated on 
 the Tuesday in the Ham Stakes, Avhich he won with 
 some difficulty from the moderate Pleur de Lys and 
 Pantomime. His Two Thousand defeat has since 
 been explained, as his young trainer had let him 
 down too easily, and he had not done sufficient work 
 to get the severe Eowley Mile, which takes more 
 galloping than many people imagine. In this race 
 he showed from a stone to eighteen pounds below his 
 proper form, and besides spoiling his splendid three- 
 year-old record, his defeat administered such a severe 
 blow to backers that it was with faint hearts they 
 
254 RACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 supported him for the Newmarket Stakes and Derby. 
 He is rather a mean-looking horse to the eye, but he 
 is the finest-actioned horse and most perfect mover it 
 has ever been my good fortune to see. 
 
 Veracity showed some return of his two-year-old 
 form by winning the Lincolnshire Handicap cleverly 
 from Tyrone and Lobster and twen.'y-three others, 
 and the victory was a very popular one, as he had 
 been a great disappointment to Mr. Leigh, who had 
 purchased him for a large sum after his defeat of 
 Kingwood (the latter not quite himself) at the end of 
 his two-year-old career at Manchester Autumn 
 Meeting. 
 
 At Leicester Spring Meeting the magnificent 
 Chitabob made his appearance in the Portland 
 Stakes, and started favourite on account of his great 
 reputation. He looked more like a three-year-old, 
 being a great strong chestnut horse up to 15 st. with 
 hounds, very good to follow, and giving one the idea 
 of tremendous speed. Either because he was back- 
 ward or the course did not suit him he failed to 
 show his true form. After half-a-mile had been 
 traversed, Pagan was seen to be hard at work on 
 him, and he was unable to finish in the first four, 
 Donovan winning easily by three lengths from the 
 good-looking, but uncertain. El Dorado. The race 
 was worth 6,000Z. to the winner, and it is a curious 
 coincidence that the Duke of Portland should have 
 won the rich prize, named after him, the year of its 
 inauguration. 
 
 At the Epsom Spring my horse Pullerton won the 
 City and Suburban easily, the favourite. Merry 
 Hampton, breaking down. I had very httle money 
 
FRIAE'S BALSAM 255 
 
 on the winner owing to my trainer's doubts as to 
 whether he could get him fit in time, and I was not 
 enabled to try him. The easy nature of the course 
 enabled him to get the extra quarter of a mile. In 
 the Craven week General Pearson's seldom-seen 
 colours were to the fore on Anarch, a beautiful 
 horse by Thurio ; and the evergreen King Monmouth 
 compensated for his Leicestershire Handicap second 
 by easily securing the Babraham Plate ; but Orbit had 
 to be hard ridden to dispose of Cotillon in the Craven 
 Stakes, and Lord Lurgan afterwards sold the second 
 to Mr. Leopold Eothschild for two thousand, that 
 gentleman getting his money back when he scored a 
 popular victory with him in the Manchester Cup of 
 1889. With odds of 3 to 1 laid on him for the Two 
 Thousand Guineas, Friar's Balsam was hopelessly 
 beaten at the Bushes, and the Duke of Portland was 
 enabled to run first and second with Ayrshire, a 
 charming horse, but not a glutton over a distance, 
 and Johnny Morgan, the weak-necked Orbit being 
 beaten a head from the latter. After the race it was 
 discovered that Friar's Balsam's jaw was fractured, 
 and in consequence at no part of the race could 
 Cannon induce him to take hold of his bit. This 
 was as great a blow to backers as Donovan's defeat 
 the following year, and it would be interesting to 
 know how much money was lost on the two 
 favourites for these races. Equally wonderful was the 
 defeat of Seabreeze by Briar Eoot in the One Thousand 
 Guineas, as the latter had never exhibited the form 
 she had shown in the Whitsuntide Plate at Man- 
 chester as a two-year-old, when she defeated Ayrshire, 
 Senanus, &c., in deep mud. It was a treat to see 
 
256 TtACIXG REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 the way in which Minting romped home with 10 st. 
 on his back in the Kempton Park Ju])ilee Handicap. 
 The judge placed Tyrone second to him, but the 
 general impression was that The Cobbler occupied 
 that place, he having made tremendous running till 
 Minting reached him. 
 
 At Epsom Summer, Prince SoltykofF was warmly 
 congratulated on his success with Gold in the Wood- 
 cote Stakes, and the Duke of Portland must have 
 been almost tired of receiving the same compliments 
 when Ayrshire sailed home the winner of the Derby 
 from Crowberry, with whom J. Osborne appeared to 
 lay rather far out of his ground, probably because 
 the horse could not act down the hill. 
 
 Merry Andrew, who had previously won the 
 Manchester Cup for Lord Bradford, secured the 
 Grand Prize by a head from Xeapolis, Eickaby riding 
 a determined race on the winner ; but although Briar 
 Eoot started favourite for the Oaks she could not 
 finish in the first three, and Seabreeze won easily 
 from the outsider, Eada, who was better than most 
 people imagined. At Ascot Ossory won the Prince 
 of Wales' Stakes by three lengths from Galore, 
 but later in the week the pair met in the St. James's 
 Palace Stakes, which was only a mile, and after 
 heavy betting the race resulted in a dead heat, the 
 fine riding of both Cannon and Webb being much 
 admired. Captain Machell brought off one of his good 
 things when Shillelagh won the Hunt Cup, ably ridden 
 by little George Chaloner — who some day should be at 
 the top of the tree in his profession — and Seabreeze 
 won the rich Coronation Stakes the same day, but had 
 to lower her colours to Phil on Thursday in the Eous 
 
FIRST APPEARANCE OF AMPHION 257 
 
 Memorial, though Timothy recompensed the stable 
 by securing the Gold Cup and Alexandra Plate in a 
 canter. An own brother to Peter, Timothy was 
 purchased by Captain Machell at Mr. Manton's sale, 
 and Mr. M'Calmont, a new comer on the turf, was 
 fortunate enough to become his possessor. Thus 
 ended another brilliant Ascot meeting, and every- 
 body connected with racing ought each year to 
 feel grateful to Lord Hardwicke, who, when Master 
 of the Buckhounds, added more money and created 
 fresh races, to him alone being due the fact that 
 Ascot is the best meeting in the world. 
 
 Amphion won the Champagne Stakes at the 
 Bibury Club gathering at Stockbridge in a canter, his 
 solitary appearance in public before that having been 
 when he won the Croydon Two-year-old Stakes. He 
 could not belong to a worthier man or truer gentle- 
 man than his owner. General Byrne, and I hope many 
 more successes are in store for him. Fuller ton won 
 the Stockbridge Cup in a canter from three very bad 
 horses — he was on sale before the race — and Donovan 
 made mincemeat of the speedy Present Alms and 
 Pantomime in the Hurstbourne. At Sandown how 
 Bullion managed to win the Electric Stakes very 
 easily from such speedy horses as Hazlehatch, Juggler, 
 Senanus, Briar Eoot, and Bartizan, will always be 
 a mystery to me, though it is true he was in receipt 
 of 11 lb. from the second and third, but his 
 connections must be tired of backing him, and his 
 victory here may be regarded as a fluke. In the 
 autumn of 1890 he was very nearly winning a 
 handicap over the same course with a very light 
 weight on his back, but when he had practically 
 
258 RACING EE3IIXISCEXCES 
 
 settled tlie field lie suddenly seemed conscious that 
 the wmmng post was near, and afraid to pass it first, 
 for he shortened his stride to a degree that would 
 have seemed impossible without ocular demonstra- 
 tion, and contrived to let Mr. Leopold Eothschild's 
 Galloping Queen beat him a head. Thus it is with, 
 arrant roo'ues ! 
 
 On the same course the following day, to resume, 
 Eoyal Star (another of the Bullion kidney) ran an 
 extraordinary race with the winner El Dorado, when 
 attempting to give the latter 13 lb. Donovan beat 
 Gold after a close race in the July Stakes at New- 
 market, and I am not sure that this race, and the 
 Chesterfield for which he ran a dead heat with 
 Hamptonia on the Thursday, did not do much harm 
 to the Prince's colt, as he has never run up to that 
 form since. On Wednesday FuUerton easily gave 
 his solitary opponent Van Dieman's Land 7 lb. in 
 the July Cup, and previous to the race Lord Dudley 
 purchased him from me, but I regret to say he did 
 not turn out a remunerative bargain, though he will 
 be valuable as a stallion. He was sold with his 
 eno-agements in the July Cup and Victoria Cup, 
 worth 500 sovs., at Kempton, and walked over for 
 the latter. 
 
 The Duke of Westminster must have considered 
 himself fortunate to win the Eclipse Stakes at 
 Sandown, worth 10,000Z., with such a moderate 
 horse as Orbit, his second string, Ossory, finishing 
 second to him. Cannon riding the winner of this race 
 for the second time. Except for the defeat of Satiety 
 in the Gratwicke Stakes, 10 to 1 being laid on him, 
 of Seabreeze in the Sussex Stakes, and of Donovan 
 
GOLDSEEKER'S SUCCESSES 259 
 
 in the Prince of Wales' Stakes, together with the 
 fact that Eada galloped Timothy to death with her 
 light weight in the Cup, Goodwood calls for no 
 particular mention. It is always a charming and 
 interesting meeting, though this year on account of 
 the heavy going it was unpropitious to backers, as 
 were Brighton and Lewes. At the latter meeting 
 the high-priced Napoleon, half brother to Goldfield, 
 had odds of 9 to 4 laid on him for the Astley Stakes, 
 but he cut into one of his joints so severely soon 
 after the flag had fallen that I heard the oil oozed 
 through the wound, and, of course, he finished no- 
 where in the race, which went to Lord Calthorpe by 
 the aid of Sea Shell, a mare by Hermit out of Stray- 
 shot, who did nothing afterwards. 
 
 On the Tuesday of Doncaster Goldseeker began 
 a series of four winning races off the reel by 
 cantering away with the Welter Plate, and Chitabob 
 easily disposed of Gay Hampton in the Champagne 
 Stakes, although the verdict was only a neck. Ayr- 
 shire started a slightly better favourite than Sea- 
 breeze in the Leger, in spite of the disquieting fact 
 that he had been eased in his work some days before 
 the race, and after running prominently he died 
 away at the bend, Seabreeze winning very easily 
 by three lengths from Chillington. My horse Grafton 
 won the Doncaster Cup from four bad animals, having 
 won three races off the reel, including a dead heat 
 with Sheen in the International Breeders' Foal Stakes 
 at Kempton August meeting, which race he ought 
 to have won outright but for running so green. Sea- 
 breeze followed up her Leger victory by winning the 
 Lancashire Plate from a large field, of whom Ayr- 
 
260 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 sliire ran tlie best, finisliing second, Friar's Balsam 
 being unable to make any show after his enforced 
 retirement. 
 
 The French took a large sum of money out of 
 the ring when Tenebreuse easily won the Cesarewitch 
 from twenty-two other runners, Mill Stream, who 
 was thrown in, finishing second, with the favourite, 
 Trayles, a bad third, though next year showed there 
 was good cause for supporting the latter good-look- 
 ing horse for so much money. Donovan fairly 
 galloped away with the Middle Park Plate, and in 
 the Champion Stakes Friar's Balsam in a slow-run 
 race easily defeated Minting, who could hardly have 
 been himself. The forward running of Mamia (who 
 was a good two-year-old) in this race caused her to 
 become a strong favourite for the Cambridgeshire, but 
 the falseness of her performance with Minting at a 
 difference of only three pounds was proved in the big 
 handicap, run for the first time on the Eowley Mile, 
 as carrying only 6 st. 9 lb. she was nowhere in the 
 race, which fell to Veracity, who beat the outsider 
 Cactus by a head, the favourite Bismarck, after show- 
 ing a very bold front, tiring to nothing and finishing 
 third, though he showed no disposition to swerve 
 across the course, as he did in the Stewards' Cup at 
 Goodwood when he had the race at his mercy. 
 
 Donovan gave 10 lb. to Enthusiast in the Dew- 
 hurst Plate, and no one who saw him win this race 
 with quite 7 lb. in hand, would have been prepared 
 for his defeat in the Two Thousand the following year 
 when the second here beat him, of course at even 
 weights. On the Friday an extraordinary race took 
 place between Eeve d'Or and Cotillon, single handed 
 
NEVER BEATEN TILL PAST THE POST 261 
 
 for the Jockey Club Cup, at a difference only of ten 
 pounds. To the consternation of the plungers, 
 Cannon was seen to be hard at work on the mare at 
 the Bushes, whilst Cotillon was leading two or three 
 lengths, and apparently going well within himself, 
 but Eeve d'Or struggled gamely on, and, once on terms 
 with her opponent, she cleverly defeated him by three- 
 quarters of a length. FuUerton started first favourite 
 for the Liverpool Autumn Cup, but once again showed 
 his dislike for sticky ground, and did not finish in the 
 first four, Lady Eosebery, well served with her light 
 weight, winning very easily from the unlucky Bis- 
 marck, cleverly handled by G. Barrett, who nursed 
 his fine speed, which enabled him to get where he 
 did. At Manchester, always an admirably con- 
 ducted gathering, which, however, suffers under the 
 disadvantage that the ground gets very heavy during 
 the final race meeting of the year. Claymore, un- 
 supported by his stable, won the November Handicap 
 by six lengths, Phil and Fallow Chat following him 
 home. The fact that seven to one was laid on the 
 field at the start, showed the open nature of the 
 contest, and that the handicapper had done his 
 work well. 
 
262 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 1889 
 
 Two charming specimens of the thorough-bred 
 on a small scale finished first and second in the 
 Brocklesby of this year, Semolina and Lactantius, 
 the first-named winning cleverly at the finish, the 
 only animal of note behind them being Heresy. The 
 winner was the first of St. Simon's produce, her dam 
 being the famous Mowerina, and her sire looks like 
 becoming an even greater success at the stud than 
 Hermit. Out of fifteen races this same little mare 
 took part in, she won twelve, and though she was 
 practically winning all through the season, she 
 finished up fresh and well by a victory in the Free 
 Handicap for two-year-olds, on the last day of the 
 Houghton week, which ends racing at Newmarket 
 for the year. Wiseman, the best handicapped horse 
 in the race, cleverly disposed of Acme in the Lincoln- 
 shire Handicap, but the defeat of the second was 
 brought about by an impudent piece of fraud, having 
 been due to a forged telegram, apparently signed by 
 the gentleman in charge of the horse (who had been 
 sold to Don Juan Bocau, of Buenos Ayres), and ad- 
 dressed to the trainer, telling him to stop the horse in 
 his work. When the owner was over here, some one 
 with an eye to business asked him whether any 
 money was to be made at Buenos Ayres, at racing or 
 pigeon-shooting. The answer in broken English was 
 
A SUCCESSFUL 50 TO 1 CHAINXE 263 
 
 in the affirmative, coupled with the remark, ' You 
 tink me mug, they big mugs over there ! ' 
 
 This gentleman never got a halfpenny back of 
 the 5,000 guineas he gave for Acme after he left this 
 country, as the unfortunate horse broke his leg whilst 
 running in a race in the home of his adoption, and 
 was literally hacked to death with knives, the officials 
 not permitting a gun to be used to put the wretched 
 animal out of his misery. His last race in England 
 was the Liverpool Spring Cup, which he won very 
 easily, carrying 9 st. 5 lb., Indian Prince and Shille- 
 lao'h being: second and third. 
 
 The valuable Prince of Wales' Stakes at Leicester 
 was won in a canter by Donovan, who had shown the 
 year before his liking for the course. Pioneer alone 
 following him home many lengths in front of Minthe 
 and Enthusiast, the respective winners of the One 
 Thousand and Two Thousand Guineas. How con- 
 temptuously good judges of racing would have 
 laughed that day if any one had been foolish enough 
 to have prophesied the success of Enthusiast in the 
 Two Thousand, a race in which Donovan ran, and 
 of Minthe filly in the sister event. The result of 
 the Biennial at the Craven Meeting kept up its name 
 for surprises. Evergreen winning it from a hot 
 favourite of Lord Falmouth's in Krishna, who, how- 
 ever, turned out a very bad plater. 
 
 At Epsom, Goldseeker, whom many thought the 
 pick of the handicap when the weights came out, 
 started unbefriended at 50 to 1 offered in the City and 
 Suburban, and won from end to end, FuUerton again 
 showing his liking for the course by linishing second 
 with 8 St. 12 lb. on his back. Laureate, who had 
 
264 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 been well backed for the Derby, made his appearance 
 on the Tuesday of the First Spring Meeting, and, with 
 odds freely laid on him, was fairly worn down and 
 beaten by Freemason ; while the next day, to the con- 
 sternation of backers, some of whom took a long time 
 to recover the blow, the great Donovan was beaten a 
 head by Enthusiast in the Two Thousand and was not 
 even clear of Pioneer, who finished third. Well as 
 Cannon rode, I do not blame F. Barrett as some 
 people did, for no doubt the trainer of the favourite 
 had not done sufficient work with the horse, and he 
 tired from want of condition. Besides the enormous 
 amount of money lost by his defeat, it spoilt the 
 otherwise brilliant record that would have been his, 
 for, in addition to winning the largest sum that has 
 ever been won by a horse,^ his performances, extending 
 over two years, during the whole of which time he 
 was in training, not only stamp him as an undeniably 
 good horse, but prove how sound he must have been. 
 If early in his four-year-old career he may have shown 
 signs of weakness in one of his legs, that is certainly 
 not to be wondered at, considering the many races 
 he had run, and the severe preparations he had under- 
 gone. There are very few horses that would have 
 lasted as long, and I hope his owner will limit him 
 to very few mares at first when he retires from the 
 Turf, for the horse is sadly in need of rest, and of time 
 to let down and furnish. As I think I remarked 
 elsewhere, he was without any exception the best- 
 actioned horse I have ever seen. 
 
 A wretched lot of mares contested the One 
 Thousand, which was won very easily by the hard 
 pulling Minthe, and the next race introduced us to the 
 
 ' In all 55,354Z. 10s. 
 
SIGNORINA 265 
 
 beautiful Signorina, who beat a large field in a canter, 
 and never suffered defeat in the other eight races 
 she took part in during the year. Of good quality 
 and size, she still struck me as being rather too much 
 set to make a great three-year-old, and the way she 
 chopped her field the first two hundred yards in the 
 Middle Park Plate at the end of the season, betokened 
 such terrific speed as to be incompatible with staying 
 powers. Both she and Semolina are great feathers in 
 the cap of St. Simon. Although odds w^ere laid on 
 Priar's Balsam when the numbers went up for the 
 Kemp ton Park Eoyal Stakes, he was well beaten 
 when a mile had been traversed, and when the long- 
 backed Melanion, supposed to be better at the weights 
 than Ayrshire, struck his flag in the straight, the 
 Derby winner, grown into a beautiful horse, had only 
 to resist the mild challenge of Seabreeze, now turned 
 roarer I regret to say, to win another huge stake 
 for the Duke of Portland, who, the following week, 
 ran first and second with Donovan and the Turco- 
 phone for the rich Newmarket Stakes, this being the 
 first year of that race. The defeat of the good-look- 
 ing but ill-tempered El Dorado in the Payne Stakes, 
 won by the game Morglay, a well-named son of Sir 
 Bevys, told his owner that his chance was a very 
 moderate one for the Derby, whilst Donovan, again a 
 very warm favourite, his defeat in the Guineas having 
 been explained away, kept well. After the favourite 
 Heresy had looked all over a winner in the Woodcote 
 Stakes on the first day of the Epsom Summer Meet- 
 ing, she was caught and defeated by Surefoot, who 
 appeared to run rather green, and a great future was 
 predicted for this good-looking son of Wisdom. 
 
266 RACING EEMIXISCENCES 
 
 On Epsom Downs Donovan came galloping down 
 the hill like great guns, and a long way from home it 
 was seen he would win the Duke of Portland his 
 second successive Derby. Perhaps the surprise of the 
 race was the forward running of Mguel who finished 
 second, beating the rest of the field some way. On 
 Thursday the beautiful Heaume, not the least like 
 his dam, the quick thickset little Bella, won the Great 
 Surrey Breeders' Foal Stakes, and then on Friday 
 L'Abbesse de Jouarre astonished everyone, including 
 those who were supposed to know most about her, 
 by winning the Oaks from the favourite Minthe and 
 ten others. Xone could have been more amazed than 
 her owner, Lord Eandolph Churchill, when he re- 
 ceived the welcome telegram, announcing her victory, 
 in Norway, whither he had gone for a fortnight's 
 fishing. At Manchester King Monmouth won the 
 Salford Borough Handicap, Fuller ton, most unfairly 
 handicapped to give the winner a stone, finishing 
 second, and it will ever be a mystery to students 
 of racing form how Cotillon managed to win the 
 Manchester Cup in a canter, whilst Trayles, who was 
 only giving him six pounds, failed to get a place. 
 
 At Ascot Donovan again showed his heels to his 
 opponents in the Prince of Wales' Stakes, and on the 
 same day the game little Semolina wore down Sure- 
 foot in the Thirty-second Biennial. Eada in the 
 Triennial, by proving herself the equal of Sheen, 
 again showed how impossible was the task set Fuller- 
 ton to give her three stone -Q.Ye pounds in the memo- 
 rable race when ignorant and ill-natured people said 
 Wood had not tried to win on him. Eada also finished 
 second to Trayles in the Gold Cup, beating the 
 
THE THIRD ECLIPSE STAKES 267 
 
 favourite Cotillon two lengths, as far as the first and 
 third were concerned the form being totally incon- 
 sistent with that shown in the Manchester Cup a 
 week before. Surefoot made amends for his defeat 
 earlier in the week by winning the New Stakes from 
 Heaume, who appeared to be running on. Gulliver 
 upset the odds laid on the ungenerous Miguel in the 
 Hardwicke Stakes, and Trayles gave 15 lb. and a 
 clever beating to Netheravon in the Alexandra Plate, 
 though the winner was a trifle sore after his long race 
 on the hard ground the day before. 
 
 At the Sandown July Meeting, Ayrshire, whose 
 leg was not very sound, easily accounted for the 
 Eclipse Stakes of 11,160/., El Dorado defeating 
 Seclusion by a short head for second money. The 
 course at Sandown is never very hard or very soft, 
 owing to the sandy nature of the soil, which must 
 have been a relief to the winner after the iron state 
 of the iNTewmarket training grounds. 
 
 At Goodwood, Dog Eose, who was spotted as the 
 pick of the handicap when the weights appeared if 
 he could only get the six furlongs, won the Stewards' 
 Cup rather cleverly from Amphion, who ran a great 
 horse, carrying 8 st. 13 lb., and actually giving a 
 year and six pounds to Noble Chieftain, who might 
 just have beaten him but for being in a bad place in 
 the race. Veracity showed what an improved horse 
 he was by winning the Chesterfield Cup with 9 st. 
 3 lb., and Semolina and Eiviera continued their suc- 
 cessful career in the valuable Two-year-old Stakes, 
 while people were much struck with the command- 
 ing appearance of Le Nord, who showed great speed 
 when he defeated his solitary opponent Eightaway, 
 
268 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 a cliarming little horse, in the Molecomb Stakes. 
 Alec Taylor again exhibited his partiality for the 
 Goodwood Stakes by winning it with Ingram, who 
 looked big in condition and was not fancied, and the 
 meeting concluded with Surefoot beating two platers 
 in the Findon Stakes and retiring for the year, a 
 report having already oozed out that his temper was 
 none of the best. 
 
 Brighton — always a delightful meeting, but full 
 of ups and downs as regards the result of the racing, 
 besides the nature of the course — introduced us 
 to the Grand Prix winner, Yasistas, purchased for 
 three times his value by Baron Hirsch. Still, con- 
 sidering he was not perfectly trained, his two seconds 
 to The Baron and Whistle Jacket were respectable 
 performances, and people there and then spotted him 
 as a likely winner of one of the back-end handicaps. At 
 Lewes the moderate-looking Sainfoin easily disposed 
 of Garter in the Astley Stakes ; the second was 
 giving the winner 10 lb., and had been slightly 
 amiss, but he showed great speed in the race. A 
 wretched animal. The Saint, credited ]\ir. Mackenzie 
 (I should have said ' gained ' for him — a favourite 
 expression of his owner's — as good a hearted man as 
 ever lived) with nearly 1,000/. by winning the Inter- 
 national Breeders' Two-year-old Stakes at the Kemp- 
 ton Park August Meeting, which shows that occasion- 
 ally good stakes can be won by bad racehorses ; and 
 the compact little Wishing Gate, half-sister to 
 Althorp, won the valuable Foal Stakes the next day. 
 The winner is the property of Mr. Lawrance, one 
 of our Newmarket officials, and her victory was 
 extremely popular. From now till the day of the 
 
 I 
 
DONOVAN'S LEGER 269 
 
 race Donovan was always a strong favourite for the 
 Leger, odds being laid on liim, while Chitabob, who 
 had beaten Pinzon in a canter for the Great York- 
 shire Stakes, was established a good second favourite. 
 Eight well, too, did Chitabob run in the race, and at 
 the bend it looked as if it would be a match between 
 him and Donovan, but he died away to nothing, 
 leaving the favourite, who had been pulling F. Barrett 
 out of the saddle, to sail away by himself, Miguel 
 outstaying the other beaten horses and finishing three 
 lengths behind him. Chitabob's forward running in 
 the Leger made some folks think that his speed was 
 better than Donovan's, but they were quite out in 
 their calculations, as ten days afterwards, in the rich 
 Lancashire Plate at Manchester, over seven furlongs 
 only, the Derby winner again showed his superiority, 
 easily beating Chitabob by two lengths, the same 
 distance separating that colt from the speedy French 
 two-year-old Alicante. 
 
 Odds were laid on the beautiful Signorina for the 
 Middle Park Plate, and the speed she betrayed in the 
 race was simply marvellous, she having all her field 
 in trouble before half the distance was covered, 
 and winning in a canter by three lengths from the 
 great unfurnished Le Nord, who dropped back to the 
 outsider. Golden Gate, in the last few strides, and 
 only beat him a head for second money. The 
 Cesarewitch, set to be run on the Thursday, a not 
 at all popular innovation, fell an easy prey to 
 Primrose Day, a four-year-old mare who was ' pitch- 
 forked ' into the handicap, and it was odds on her 
 from the T.Y.C. post. She was followed home by 
 the Goodwood Stakes winner, Ingram. A certain 
 
270 RACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 amount of mystery surrounded Primrose Bay, no one 
 being quite sure whether a great coup had been 
 landed or not, and rumours as to ownership caused 
 Mr. Alec Taylor to lodge an objection against her, 
 which was promptl}^ overruled, although legal ^yo- 
 ceedings were taken by Mr. Godfrey against the 
 nominator, Mr. William Goater ; but the plaintiff 
 seemed to have been actuated by the wish to cut off 
 his nose to spite his face. So convinced were backers 
 of public form that Primrose Day had speed enough 
 to win the Cambridgeshire, in spite of the contrary 
 assertions of those who should know most about her, 
 that she started first favourite for the race, in which 
 she never showed prominently, Laureate, a charming 
 little horse by Petrarch, winning by two lengths from 
 a street-corner tip, Claribelle, who just defeated 
 Theophilus, a very blood-like horse, by a head. The 
 owner of the Avinner, Mr. John Hammond, is sup- 
 posed to have netted 20,000^. by this success, and to 
 have got home on a bad year. 
 
 Philomel, an Irish-bred mare j)urchased by 
 Colonel Xorth, was originally favourite for the 
 Cambridgeshire, but she went out in the betting, and 
 made no show in the race, which caused the stable to 
 hold aloof from her in the Liverpool Autumn Cup. 
 Nevertheless she won it very easily from Eeve d'Or, 
 who at last showed a glimpse of her three-year-old 
 form. This was the first important race Colonel 
 North had won, and as by his large purchases of 
 yearlings he showed his intention of becoming a 
 staunch patron of the Turf, the victory was well 
 received. As usual, the last important race of the year 
 was the Manchester November Handicap, and Fallow 
 
THE FINISH OF 1889 271 
 
 Chat followed up her Lincoln Handicap success by win- 
 ning it easily, the hurdle-racer, Conservator, finishing 
 second, with the disappointing Phil third ; but the 
 performances of Father Confessor, Amphion, and 
 Yasistas in 1890 showed they could not have been 
 up to the mark in this race, and it was a sound bit 
 of judgment on Mr. Abington's part to purchase 
 the former at the winter sale, now so popular, held 
 by Messrs. Tattersall at Xewmarket. 
 
 I missed my usual visit to the South of France 
 this year, and lost in consequence the entertainment 
 of the tables and of the club at Xice ; and it occurs 
 to me that I omitted in its jjroper place — I think 
 about the year 1882 — to mention the exjDeriences of 
 a friend who was at Kice and saw baccarat played 
 for the first time. He watched with interest the 
 players staking their counters, and some of them 
 declaring a fixed sum by placing a pencil on the table. 
 Suddenly it dawned on him, having no money in his 
 pockets and not very much at his bankers', that he 
 would do the same thing, and exclaimed, ' Why, any fool 
 can play this game ! Garcon^ donnez-moi un crayon' 
 On its being brought to him, he at once dashed it on 
 the table with the declaration, ' Cent louis cm crayon^' 
 which was courteously acknowledged by the banker. 
 The tableau he had backed won, and a hundred 
 louis was paid to the pencil ; but on my friend leaving 
 down the money and the pencil a second time and 
 winning, the gentleman on board whose yacht he 
 was living thought it time to interfere, and per- 
 suaded him to leave the table with his cheaply 
 earned three hundred louis. We also paid a visit 
 one nio'ht to the Palais Marie Christine, a beautiful 
 
272 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 villa with a marble staircase and gorgeous rooms 
 dazzlingly illuminated. Here also was a club easy 
 of access to almost anyone with a visiting card and a 
 little money, and baccarat was being played for very 
 large stakes. I merely mention this, because a year 
 after, a gentleman I know, who was a very heavy 
 player, took the bank at this very club, and although 
 he held and dealt the cards the whole time, he was 
 cheated out of 22,000Z. ; at least so the police sent 
 word to inform him the next morning, after they had 
 set their seals on the doors of the club. My friend 
 then learnt that a detective in evening dress had 
 been in the card room the night before, and had 
 seen him cheated, but had not given him one word of 
 warning, and when he had heard what had happened 
 and asked their advice as to what steps he should 
 take, as a cheque he had given for 10,000Z. might 
 still be stopped, they merely shrugged their shoulders 
 and told him that was his business, not theirs. Not 
 knowing therefore whom to accuse, he made up his 
 mind to put up with the whole loss, seeing it would 
 be almost an impossibility to recover his money. 
 He is rather shy now abroad when playing with 
 strangers. 
 
273 
 
 1890 
 
 The first j^ortion of the racing season of 1800 lias 
 been remarkable for the in and out running of the 
 two- and three-year-olds in weight for age races. 
 The high-priced Simonian, who, however, never can 
 be a first-class horse, won for Colonel Korth his first 
 Brocklesby Stakes at Lincoln Spring, defeating- 
 Macuncas — who looked all over a winner, but who 
 could not stay and declined to finish — by a length and 
 a half. The Eejected, who carries his neck stretched 
 out as if he had the kitchen poker down his throat, 
 due to an accident when a foal I believe, easily won 
 the Lincolnshire Handicap from Shimmer and Lord 
 George, neither of whom got the mile under full 
 pressure ; but as the winner was giving them 
 1 St. 10 lb. and 1 st. 8 lb., and a great deal of 
 weight to every other runner with the exception of 
 Laureate, the performance was a meritorious one, 
 and a good stake was landed by a shrewd division. 
 Macuncas made amends for the Brocklesby dis- 
 appointment by securing the Molyneux Stakes at 
 Liverpool, but the field behind him was a very 
 moderate one. Sir Frederick Eoberts being palpably 
 backward. Eight Away, a charming little Wisdom 
 horse, gave his opponents no rest in the Bickerstaffe 
 Stakes, and caused his name to be mentioned for the 
 Two Thousand and Derby, in neither of which races 
 
 T 
 
274 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 was he able to compete owing to a bruised foot, 
 which was very hard lines for Mr. Low, who believed 
 his horse the superior of Sainfoin. Father Confessor 
 was a great tip for the Liverpool Spring Cup, but 
 owing to not having fed well, which has since been 
 ascertained to be a habit of his when away from 
 home, the owner and stable connections did not back 
 him freely. l!^evertheless, he won by three lengths, 
 and his subsequent performances show how much he 
 had in hand that day, and what an immense amount 
 of improvement his trainer Morton had wrought 
 in him since his purchase at auction last December. 
 At Epsom the Duke of Beaufort, who had not 
 won a single race during the whole of the previous 
 year, though having a great number of horses in 
 training at Manton, brought off the double event by 
 winning the Metropolitan with Parlington, who was 
 virtually unbacked, and the City and Suburban with 
 Eeve d'Or, who started second favourite to the shifty 
 Pioneer ; but the winner was lucky to beat the out- 
 sider Yasistas, who might have won if he could have 
 obtained an opening earlier in the race. His Grace's 
 horses had probably been out of form in consequence 
 of fever having been severe in the stable, but the 
 effects had now passed away. At the First Spring 
 Meeting the beautiful Heaume made mincemeat of a 
 very moderate field in the Hastings Plate, and was 
 at once sent to France to meet his engagements 
 there ; Le Xord, who had finished a neck in front 
 of him in a trial, being reserved to try conclusions 
 with the English horses on the morrow in the Two 
 Thousand, which was generally regarded in the light 
 of a match between him and the favourite Surefoot, 
 
SUREFOOT 275 
 
 and so it proved in tlie struggle, but at the Bushes 
 it was apparent that Surefoot had the race in hand, 
 and he won easily by a length and a half from the 
 Trench horse, who, however, beat the others a long 
 way. Blue Green, who must have been short of 
 work, was third, and it was noted that the backward 
 St. Serf showed good speed. 
 
 Tlie winner was at once established an even- 
 money chance for the Derby, and looking back at 
 the extraordinary pace he galloped over the Eowley 
 Mile, winning at the Bushes, as did Signorina the 
 Middle Park Plate last year when Le Xord was again 
 unfortunate enough to follow her home, his backers 
 — myself included — ought to have had very serious 
 doubts as to his ability to stay a mile and a half. 
 Semolina won the One Thousand Guineas Stakes from 
 her stable companion Memoir, who would have won 
 many a length but for the declaration their noble 
 owner made to win with the mare of his own 
 breeding. At Chester, Tyrant, a very good-looking 
 son of Beauclerc, who had cantered away with a little 
 Welter Handicap at K'ewmarket, followed up that 
 victory by winning the Cup, poor Yasistas attempting 
 to give him 21 lb. To these Tyrant quickly added 
 in succession the Great Cheshire Stakes, and in the 
 colours of Mr. Singer, who had purchased him for 
 3,500 guineas I believe, the Great T^orthern Handicap 
 at York, the Doncaster Spring Handicap, and the 
 Gold Yase at Ascot, his runnino- career beino^ 
 checked in the Cumberland Plate, where in a false 
 start all the horses but one ran the course. Tyrant 
 finishing first, half a length in front of Barmecide ; 
 but on the Stewards ordering the horses to go back 
 
 T 2 
 
276 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 to the post the weight was too much for him to carry 
 again, and tiring to nothing he suffered his first 
 defeat this year. 
 
 On the Wednesday of the Second Spring Meeting 
 good odds were laid on Le Nord for the Newmarket 
 Stakes, but once again he demonstrated his inabihty 
 to stay, and finished a bad third to Memoir and Blue 
 Green, the former of which pair looked like winning 
 all the way till she came back to Blue Green in 
 the last few strides, and only got home by a short 
 head. The result of this race caused backers to 
 plunge on the Duke of Westminster's beautiful colt 
 the following day when the numbers went up for tlie 
 Payne Stakes, and although Morion was reckoned the 
 most dangerous opponent, few were prepared for the 
 decided superiority Lord Hartington's horse showed 
 in the race, at no part of which did Blue Green look 
 like beating him. 
 
 Meanwhile 7 to 4 was being freely laid on Sure- 
 foot for the Derby, in which race Morion was not 
 engaged, unluckily for his noble owner as has since 
 been plainly demonstrated. N^o meeting could have 
 been a greater success than the Manchester Whitsun- 
 tide one, good fields being the order of the day. Bump- 
 tious smothered his opponents in the Breeders' Foal 
 Stakes, and scored a very popular victory after his 
 defeat by the symmetrical Peter Plower at New- 
 market. To the last the interest was maintained in 
 the Manchester Cup, Yasistas becoming a better 
 favourite as the numbers were hoisted ; but he could 
 not go the pace, and at the distance was well beaten 
 by Pather Confessor, who looked all over a winner 
 till Cannon ' dropped from the clouds ' apparently, on 
 
SUEEFOOT'S FAILURE 277 
 
 L'Abbesse de Jouarre, having obtained an opening on 
 the inside through the retirement of Houndsditch, 
 who ran well enouQ-h to su£f crest his success in the 
 next handicap he took part in. Though the mare was 
 an outsider the victory was well received, and Lord 
 Eandolph Churchill was warmly congratulated. The 
 result of the Whitsuntide Plate, worth over o,000Z. 
 to the winner, was a blow to backers, as Orvieto, 
 who came out with a tremendous reputation, was 
 made a hot favourite, and after looking all over a 
 winner, stopped as if he had been shot, and was 
 beaten a neck by Eeverend, a hard-looking son of 
 Energy. The favourite did not run to within 16 lb. of 
 his form, and probably hit one of his joints in the 
 last four strides, as he turns his off fore foot very 
 much out, which may interfere with him on the 
 Derby day next year. 
 
 Passing on to Epsom, the Derby turned out 
 perhaps the greatest fiasco ever known. Good odds 
 were always betted on Surefoot, who enjoyed the 
 confidence of his trainer and owner, although he had 
 ^ never been tried to stay the course.' From the 
 beginning of the race the pace was wretched, and 
 when Sainfoin came down the hill with a clear lead, 
 backers looked in vain for Surefoot to join him. 
 With Liddiard restricted to waiting orders, he could 
 not get the favourite to leave Eathbeal or prevent 
 him from biting at Eobinson's leg, and when he did 
 set him going it was manifest that he never could 
 catch the leader, Sainfoin, who, in the slowest-run 
 Derby I ever saw, won cleverly from Le Nord, who, 
 suited by the wretched pace, came with one run for 
 speed and managed to beat the despised Orwell by a 
 
278 EACIXG REMINISCENCES 
 
 neck for second place, the favourite, in turn, losing liis 
 backer's place-money only by a head. The winner 
 is certainly not the type of a Derby horse : he has a 
 very plain head, and is what is termed ' split up,' or 
 bad to follow. !N'evertheless, no one could grudge 
 Sir James Miller his victory after his plucky purchase 
 of the horse for 6,000 guineas from the joint owners, 
 John Porter and Sir Eobert Jardine, and I can well 
 understand the latter, after looking over the horse at 
 Sandown on the day he cantered in for the Esher 
 Stakes (the first time he had seen Sainfoin since he 
 was a yearling), making up his mind that he was not 
 a Derby horse, and deciding to sell him. Liddiard 
 was not to be l^lamed for obeying orders, but a more 
 experienced jockey would have disregarded them 
 and have taken Surefoot to the front, when he beo^an 
 to play the tricks already mentioned ; and he might 
 have been successful in such a slow-run race, as the 
 result of the horse's performances at Newmarket, 
 Ascot, and Leicester teach us that he is only a 
 brilliant miler. 
 
 The result of the Oaks showed that the Duke of 
 Portland acted wisely in not declaring to win with 
 Semolina, as backers were afraid he might do, and 
 with Watts choosing to ride Memoir, the One Thou- 
 sand winner had to make a pace for her. The 
 beautiful Signorina was made a strong favourite, in 
 spite of the fact that she showed a lack of muscle, and 
 when Semolina had shot her bolt at the Bell, Watts 
 took Memoir to the front, G. Barrett on Signorina 
 challenging the Duke's filly a few strides further on, 
 but was easily shaken off, and Memoir placed another 
 important race to the Duke's credit, Ponza who had 
 
MOEiox 279 
 
 been slightly interfered witli, finishing two lengths 
 behind the favourite. A week after the Oaks Signorina 
 again made her appearance in the Electric Stakes at 
 Sandown, and failed by a head to give away only 
 6 lb. to the sturdy Lactantius. This was certainly 
 not the form her admirers confidently looked for on 
 what, perhaps, is her best course. 
 
 On the first day of Ascot Surefoot was expected 
 to retrieve his laurels in the Prince of Wales' Stakes, 
 and he was right in front till within a quarter of a 
 mile of home, w^lien he was hopelessly beaten by Blue 
 Green, on whom G. Barrett had been told to give 
 the Two Thousand winner no rest ; and Blue Green 
 being left in front his backers began to count their 
 gains, till Alloway crept up to him, when either the 
 weight told or he declined to finish, enabling Mr. 
 Houldsworth's big backward colt to score his maiden 
 victory by half a length, which would have been 
 materially increased if the distance had been a 
 hundred yards further. A great pot was made of The 
 Deemster for the Coventry Stakes, but in a ding-dong 
 finish he was only able to beat Siphonia by a head, 
 the moderate Grace Emily finishing within three 
 lengths of the pair. Then came the Gold Vase, and 
 Golden Maze, purchased by the Prince of Wales for 
 3,500/., was made favourite, but she could not quite 
 stay, and Tyrant, running his race on gamely to the 
 end, cleverly defeated L'Abbesse de Jouarre. On 
 Wednesday Surefoot, this time well within his 
 distance, made hacks of his moderate opponents in 
 the Thirty-second Biennial, and Morion proved that 
 the Hunt Cup was the certainty it looked for him on 
 the appearance of the weights by winning it three- 
 
280 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 lengths from Philomel, though the latter's performance 
 was a meritorious one as she was conceding the 
 winner 15 lb. The mare was brought out the next 
 day for the Gold Cup, and looked like winning, till 
 Gold, who was apparently beaten, came again after 
 having made strong running, and beat her by half 
 a length. Orvieto showed his Manchester defeat was 
 a fluke by winning the I^ew Stakes anyhow, and a 
 very interesting race was witnessed for the All- Aged 
 Stakes, in which Juggler failed to concede Mephisto 
 3 lb., and was beaten by half a length ; but Cannon 
 could not persuade Juggler to do his best. For the 
 Eous Memorial St. Serf showed what improvement 
 he was making, although he only got home by a head 
 from Martagon — the favourite, Laureate, evidently 
 not relishing the hard ground, as he was beaten easily 
 in the race. 
 
 It was rather hard on Philomel to pull her out a 
 third time, but she went to the front for the 
 Alexandra Plate, and was installed a slightly better 
 favourite than Netheravon, who, favoured by his 
 maiden allowance, made all the running and won 
 very easily from the mare, whose previous efforts told 
 their tale, for she died away to nothing when Cannon 
 asked her to go up to the leader. 
 
 When the weights came out for the Manchester 
 Cup I remarked to a friend of mine that tlie race was 
 a certainty for Amphion, thrown in as he was with 
 8 St. 6 lb. His owner, however, did not accept with 
 him : it was generally reported that his connections 
 thought he might not stay the course, and this 
 kept backers aloof from him when the numbers went 
 up for the Hardwicke Stakes. With Hayraddin, 
 
TWO JULY MEETINGS 281 
 
 purchased to make running for the Derby winner, a 
 fair pace was secured, and when Sainfoin shook off 
 Surefoot at the distance he looked Hke a winner, till 
 Cannon brought up Amphion and won the race in a 
 second, so quickly did he smother his opponent. The 
 little knowledge to be gained at the Ascot Meeting was 
 that Blue Green and Alloway stayed fairly well, and 
 that if Surefoot were really trained, Sainfoin was his 
 superior over a long course, though it must be borne 
 in. mind that the Hardwicke Stakes was the third race 
 the Two Thousand winner had taken part in during 
 the week. Favourable mention, too, must be made 
 of St. Serf, who was letting down and lengthening (if 
 such a term may be applied) into a very good-looking 
 horse, and had shown good speed in all his races. 
 The four best two-year-olds of the season so far as 
 could then be judged — Orvieto, The Deemster, Peter 
 Mower, and Bumptious — all scored victories, and the 
 latter's second win in the Queen's Stand Plate gained 
 over such speedy animals as Noble Chieftain, 
 Mephisto, and Maxim, was a smart performance. 
 
 For the first time two July Meetings were in 
 the programme of races to come this year, and the 
 time-honoured July Stakes was won by a great, strong, 
 good-looking colt called Beauharnais, one of M. 
 Lefevre's breeding, but he only got home cleverly 
 from the very backward, unfurnished Henry YIIL, 
 who I hope some day will turn out a good horse for 
 his owner, Mr. Eose, w^hose great liberality in pre- 
 senting the Jockey Club with three thousand pounds 
 to be run for in three different long races, has been 
 much appreciated by everyone who takes a real in- 
 terest in the Turf. To show how easily public form 
 
282 KACING REMIXISCEXCES 
 
 may be upset, I must make mention of tlie Kempton 
 Park Grand Two-year-old Stakes run the following 
 week, which on all sides was regarded as a match 
 between Siphonia and The Deemster, the filly having 
 7 lb. the best of the weights as compared w^ith the 
 Ascot running. Captain Machell was, however, con- 
 fident that The Deemster had made improvement 
 enough to concede this, so that an exciting race was 
 looked forward to, and one actually took place be- 
 tween the two ; but they were joined by another 
 animal, the fiaxen-maned Fuse, who had only been 
 able to finish second to the moderate Lady Jacobite 
 at Sandown three weeks before, and she beat the pair 
 by a head, amidst tremendous cheering from the Eing, 
 W'ho had won 200/. for ever}^ 10/. they had risked, 
 Siphonia being a similar distance in front of her 
 Ascot conqueror. Xow comes the explanation : 
 Fuse had jumped off on the w^rong leg at Sandown, 
 and her jockey had never had time in the race to get 
 her into her proper stride. This is one of the many 
 incidents that the poor backer has to contend against. 
 While paying a passing tribute to the excellent 
 programme at the Leicester Summer Meeting, it may 
 be mentioned that the rich Portland Stakes was won 
 by Orvieto, who beat Peter Flow^er by half a length, 
 the latter not having been favoured by the start ; and 
 in the Prince of Wales' Stakes, Surefoot dashed to the 
 front, and never giving his opponents any chance, won 
 by two lengths from Memoir, who in turn was five 
 lengths in front of Alloway, a horse not at all suited 
 to the course. It is a moot point whether Surefoot 
 could have won any further ; at the same time Memoir 
 would never have got any nearer to him unless he had 
 
NEWMAEKET PROGRAMMES 283 
 
 corne back to her. By the success of this colt the 
 substantial sum of 7,750/. was placed to Mr. Merry's 
 credit, far more than most Derbies have l^een worth. 
 
 The Second July meeting went off very fairty, but 
 I do not think its addition is popular. Most of the 
 sport was decidedly of the plating order, and out of 
 the twenty-six races set for decision, no fewer than 
 nine were selling races or races in which horses 
 could be entered to be sold, and as one of the 
 races cost the Jockey Club nothing — the handicap 
 to which Mr. Eose added 1,000/. (and a great 
 success it was moreover) — more than one-third of the 
 programme was dedicated to races in which animals 
 could be sold — a curious way of improving the breed 
 of horses ! The truth of the matter is that the whole 
 of the Jockey Club programmes want the most care- 
 ful revision. Some of the old-fashioned races are 
 ridiculous, and end in walks over, or in two wretched 
 animals going to the post ; and although it is sincerely 
 to be hoped that ISTewmarket will always hold its 
 own, nay, more than that, will ever be looked on as 
 the finest place in the world to race at and the spot 
 where the best races are to be seen, it is a great pity 
 that the Jockey Club do not march more with the 
 times and take a leaf out of the book of Mr. Hwfa 
 Williams and other energetic inventors of new races, 
 which have added so greatly to the success of now 
 favourite meetings. 
 
 In the Liverpool Cup, Father Confessor and 
 L'Abbesse de Jouarre fought out their Manchester 
 battle over again, and, with 4 lb. allowed for his 
 defeat there, the former scored a decisive victory in 
 the hands of Cannon. On the Tuesday of Goodwood, 
 
284 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 Orion, tlie son of two Derby winners, Bend Or and 
 Sliotover, credited the Duke of Westminster with 
 what used to be called ' the rich Ham Stakes,' 
 worth 750/., a race which cannot compare with the 
 colossal sums given at Manchester, Leicester, and 
 Sandown. The Stewards' Cup was a match all the 
 way between Marvel and Galloping Queen, nothing 
 being able to get near them, and the colt won. Again 
 did St. Serf show us his great speed by cantering 
 away with the Sussex Stakes, the best of his opponents, 
 Ponza, finishing last. Wretched animals contested 
 the once popular Goodwood Stakes, which was won 
 by the hurdle-racer, Papyrus, a good-looking son of 
 Marden. Flodden Field, who shows too much speed 
 to stay, carried too many guns, or perhaps I should 
 rather say, ' too much Cannon,' for Haute Saone in 
 the Halnaker Stakes. On Thursday, Orion had 
 Siphonia, on whom they laid three to one, settled 
 at the beo'innino' of the lawn in the Prince of Wales' 
 Stakes, and proved that he must have been either a 
 much better horse than Porter supposed, or else that 
 Mr. Douglas Baird's mare is faint-hearted. Philomel 
 won the Goodwood Cup by two lengths, all out, from 
 Golden Maze, and in the following selling race 
 Colonel Xortli again prevented the Prince of Wales' 
 colours from being successful, by beating ISTandine 
 with Mareschal. A very good-looking horse of Lord 
 Bradford's, called Cuttlestone, won the Eous Memorial 
 in a canter, the favourite. Adieu, reckoned at home 
 the superior of Orion, running like a wooden horse. 
 If a fault is to be found with the winner, he is a trifle 
 long. On Friday, Memoir won the Xassau Stakes 
 from The Star as easily as St. Serf did the Sussex 
 
THE LEGER 285 
 
 Stakes, and was giving the second 6 lb. more than 
 the horse did, but still no line can be safely drawn 
 between the pair. The good-looking Cleator won the 
 Molecomb Stakes for Mr. Lowther, but showed that 
 six furlongs is rather further than he cares to travel ; 
 and a magnificent race took place for the Chesterfield 
 Cup between Father Confessor and Edgardo, the 
 former, being slightly hampered by Silver Spur, just 
 having time to make a dead heat of it ; but that there 
 was not much in it was shown by the decider, in 
 which Cannon had to do all he knew to win by a 
 head ; and too much praise cannot be bestowed on 
 little E. Chaloner, who rode with the greatest coolness 
 and skill against such a consummate master of the 
 art. An excellent meeting concluded with the up- 
 setting of the odds entrusted to Beauharnais in the 
 Findon Stakes, as he was beaten on the post by the 
 game and staying Martenhurst. 
 
 A fortnight before the Leger, to the consternation 
 of Memoir's backers, news came from head-quarters 
 to say the mare had hit her leg and was absent from 
 exercise. Though the bookmakers took no esj^ecial 
 liberties with her, she retreated to ten to one in the 
 betting. This gave the admirers of Heaume, Sain- 
 foin, and Queen's Birthday additional confidence, and 
 on the day of the race the price shortened against 
 the former, and he became a strong first favourite. 
 Porter had expressed great confidence in Eight -Away 
 till he arrived at Doncaster and had had a gallop on the 
 course, when he pulled up decidedly ' dicky ' and beat 
 a retreat to twenty to one. Nevertheless an exciting 
 race was anticipated. Notwithstanding Memoir had 
 done some few gallops before the day of the race. 
 
286 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 her chance was looked on as hopeless by many of 
 the clever division, who would not have Blue Green 
 because he went shiftily in his gallops at home, re- 
 garded Sainfoin as a moderate horse, and did not believe 
 in Surefoot getting the course. Heaume therefore 
 was considered a certainty if he could stay ' home,' 
 and the northern division were confident Queen's 
 Birthday would finish in the first three, if he did not 
 win outright. 
 
 The actual race was a sad disappointment to 
 those who had expected to see an interesting struggle 
 between four or five horses. The leading jockeys, 
 not content with keeping their places at the bend 
 for home, all rode for the inside berth ; the con- 
 sequence was that Heaume was struck into and cut. 
 Queen's Birthday interfered with. Blue Green on the 
 rails half turned round, and Loates on St. Serf, who 
 was pulling double behind these horses, was knocked 
 right out of the saddle across Tom Cannon's thigh, 
 who fairly put him back into his saddle again. Mean- 
 while, Watts on Memoir seized his opportunity and 
 sent his mare to the front, and resisting a late 
 challenge of G. Barrett's, who had managed to set 
 Blue Green going again, passed the post a clever 
 winner by two lengths. Gonsalvo, who came with a 
 rush at the finish, defeated his stable companion, the 
 tiring Sainfoin, by two lengths, thus losing the latter 's 
 backers a ton of place money, and got to within a 
 length of Blue Green. It was a good performance 
 of the winner's after the stoppage in her work, and 
 showed she did not require the old-fashioned Leger 
 preparation that admirers of John Scott always insist 
 is necessary for the great race on the Town Moor ; but 
 
DONCASTER 287 
 
 she certainly did not fill the eye as a well-trained 
 animal, and, as one good judge remarked, looked as if 
 she had been dragged through a horsepond. The 
 victory was a poj)ular one, and many (including my- 
 self), who had taken ^ve to one about the mare at 
 Goodwood, could not get out of their money, and 
 were in the happy position of standing by to see the 
 race and having to win. I did my best to get out of 
 mine, but only succeeded in laying half of it off. 
 
 On the first day of the meeting, Orvieto administered 
 an ugly blow to layers of odds, as, after having 
 looked all over a winner a hundred yards from home, 
 he died away to nothing and allowed the strongly 
 built Haute Saone to beat him easily at the finish. 
 The winner ought to be hard to beat in the One 
 Thousand and Oaks of 1891, as she stays well and 
 appears game to the backbone. L'Abbesse de 
 Jouarre demonstrated her ability to win on all 
 courses by getting home first in the Portland Plate. 
 The victory was hardly earned, a short head being 
 the verdict ; but she carried 9 st. To my mind, 
 the only thing worth recording in Friday's pro- 
 gramme was the marvellous nursing of Ponza by 
 Tom Cannon in the Park Hill Stakes, in which race 
 he was just enabled to get his mount home a short 
 head in front of the slow Star, and the winner looked 
 more like lying down and taking a rest when she 
 pulled up, than returning to the scale a winner. An 
 old-fashioned plunge was safely landed in the Prince 
 of Wales' Nursery, and Tyrant merely showed that 
 he was in the form everyone knew him to possess 
 by winning the Cup in a canter from Padua and 
 Barmecide, the forward position of the latter in a 
 
288 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 muddlino^-run race inducino^ the connections of the 
 stable to miagfine that he had a good chance for the 
 Cesarewitch. A capital meeting wonnd up with the 
 success of Cuttlestone in the Wentworth Stakes, in 
 which he gave the moderate St. Kilda a stone and 
 beat her by a head — form that hardly came up to the 
 expectations of those that saw him win so easily at 
 Goodwood, and who believed he was capable of 
 great improvement. Nevertheless he is an extremely 
 ofood-lookim? colt, thouoii a trifle lonor behind the 
 saddle, and a credit to the youno' sire Eetreat. 
 
 On the following Sunday, Alicante, a magnificent 
 filly by Hermit out of Madeira, won the Prix Eoyal Oak 
 over a mile and seven furlongs so easily that she at once 
 became a prominent favourite for the Cesarewitch, 
 for which race Gonsalvo, on the strenoth of his St. 
 Leger running, held the pride of place in the quota- 
 tions. Manchester September Meeting took place in 
 glorious weather, good fields contesting every race, 
 and on Saturday an enormous crowd assembled to 
 witness the issue of the Lancashire Plate, worth over 
 9,000/. to the winner. Amphion started a warm 
 favourite in spite of the opposition of the Duke of 
 Portland's pair. Memoir and St. Serf, of the two good 
 public two-year-old performers, Orion and Orvieto, 
 and of the highly tried filly by Foxhall out of the 
 speedy Chopette, to say nothing of the Ascot Cup 
 winner, Gold, and Martagon. In this race again a 
 lamentable scrimmage took place at the fatal bend 
 for home, in which Cannon had the reins dragged 
 out of his grasp and went a hundred yards without 
 having hold of them ; but, riding with consummate 
 coolness, he gradually overhauled the leaders, Mar- 
 
AMPHION WINS 9,09l/. 289 
 
 tagon and the Chopette filly (the latter bemg made 
 far too much use of on such a severe course as seven 
 furlongs for two-year-olds against older horses), and 
 won gallantly amidst tremendous cheering by a length 
 and a half from Martagon, who had a clear course 
 throughout the race, and showed his best form. 
 Memoir could never go the pace, and St. Serf 
 was knocked over, thus twice suffering in two very 
 important races from collisions that I cannot help 
 feeling ought to have been at once taken notice of 
 and investigated by the stewards of the Doncaster 
 and Manchester meetings, and, failing them, by the 
 Stewards of the Jockey Club. General Byrne, the 
 owner of the winner, was warmly congratulated alike 
 by winners and losers, and I wish he had more horses 
 in training, and that there were more men like him 
 on the Turf. 
 
 At the first October meeting, Queen's Birthday 
 won the second ' Eose ' Handicap in a canter, 
 showing that his true form had not been displayed 
 in the St. Leger ; and Gouverneur, a magnificent 
 chestnut son of the defunct Energy, won the Eons 
 Memorial so easily from the improved and game little 
 mare Cereza, that he must at once be set down as 
 one of the best of his year. On Sunday again did 
 Alicante show her superiority over the French three - 
 year-olds by winning the Prix d'Octobre in a canter, 
 and at length those who did not believe in her stay- 
 ing powers were forced to admit they were wrong, 
 and that whatever beat her would win the Cesare- 
 witch, for which race she became a hot favourite. 
 
 Kempton Park October Meeting began on the 
 Friday before the Cesarewitch, and again demon- 
 
 u 
 
290 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 strated either the uncertamty of the straight five 
 furlongs there, or the remarkable in-and-out running 
 of the two-year-olds this year, as Blavatsky, who just 
 ten days before had only managed to finish a good 
 third to Eamelton Lassie and Conifer in the First 
 Nursery Plate at Newmarket, receiving 3 lb. and 
 16 lb. from each of them respectively, here credited 
 Lord Calthorpe with a stake worth nearly six thou- 
 sand pounds, by winning the Great Breeders' Produce 
 Stakes from twenty other runners, of whom the good 
 looking Yalauris and Guardian were her immediate 
 attendants home, being beaten a neck and a head 
 from the winner. To show how moderate the winner 
 is, she was beaten three lengths by Grace Emily the 
 'following week in the Prendergast Stakes, Haute 
 Saone winning the race in a canter. On the Wednes- 
 day of the Cesarewitch week Gouverneur followed up 
 his Eous Memorial victory, and won the Middle Park 
 Plate very cleverly from Siphonia, who was two 
 lengths in front of Orion. The latter looked bad and 
 had been coughing. Again Orvieto failed to stay, 
 but he was giving weight to everything in the race. 
 
 The next day a field of twenty- two faced the 
 starter for the Cesarewitch, and as little as 5 to 2 
 was taken about Alicante. As soon as the horses 
 came in sight it w^as apparent that the pace was 
 extremely good, so much so, that before reaching 
 the T.Y.C. post, the jockeys of Eoyal Star, Yasistas, 
 Fallow Chat, Barmecide, and other fancied ones were 
 seen hard at work on their horses. At the Bushes, 
 Gonsalvo on the far side of the course, the Irish 
 horse Victorious, and Judith were the leading trio, 
 Alicante going well behind them, and Sheen pulling 
 
SHEEN'S CES ARE WITCH 291 
 
 double behind her. A few strides further on Luke 
 sent Ahcante to the front, and Webb on Sheen at 
 once challenged them. For a few strides a sharp 
 struggle ensued, but Sheen quickly got the best of 
 the mare, and, going gallantly on, passed the post a 
 winner by two lengths, thus accomplishing what no 
 other animal has ever done in the race. To my 
 mind it was a magnificent performance, and although 
 people sneered at the quality of the field behind him, 
 I believe that, fit and well. Sheen would have held his 
 own with the giants of the past quarter of a century, 
 not even excepting the mighty Isonomy. The vic- 
 tory was popular, but few people besides Prince 
 SoltykofF's friends believed in the possibility of his 
 horse being able to carry the weight (9 st. 2 lb.) 
 successfully home, and only a few days before the 
 race there was a doubt about his running, which was 
 only dispelled when the welcome rain fell in torrents 
 on the Tuesday. The acceptance of 6,000^. to 2,000/. 
 a few minutes after the decision of the race by a 
 prominent French owner about the second, landed 
 her a hot favourite for the Cambridgeshire, a price 
 however that she did not remain at. 
 
 Next week the Autumn Meeting at Sandown was 
 brought off in delightful weather, and having been 
 invited by Mr. Leopold de Eothschild to stay with 
 him for it at Gunnersbury, the pleasure was enhanced 
 by the lovely drive home in the evening along the 
 banks of the Thames, a charming picture presenting 
 itself in the many autumnal tints of the trees lit up 
 in glowing colours by the rays of the setting sun. 
 Is there any landscape in the world dearer to an 
 Englishman's heart than the Valley of the Thames ? 
 
292 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 The interesting race of the first day was reduced 
 to a match between Juggler and Dog Eose, the 
 mounts of Cannon and Watts. The last time the 
 pair met was at Goodwood, when, ridden by the same 
 jockeys, Dog Eose in receipt of five pounds defeated 
 Juggler by three-quarters of a length. Here they 
 met at even weights, which would give Juggler the 
 advantage of two pounds, Never did horses run 
 more correctly, and the betting was as close as the 
 actual race. Dog Eose made all the running till 
 challenged close at home by Juggler, who got the 
 best of him in the last few strides and won by a 
 neck, both the jockeys riding superbly, getting 
 every ounce out of their horses without abusing 
 them with whip or spur. 
 
 The mention of this meeting at Sandown re- 
 minds me of the Sandringham Cup, which origi- 
 nated with General Owen Williams, his idea being to 
 ask a certain number of owners who were also 
 breeders to subscribe to it ; but in his wish to exclude 
 those who only bred for sale he made the mistake of 
 calling it a private sweepstakes. Although in fram- 
 ing the conditions of the race the General and Mr. 
 Hwfa Williams kept well within the letter of the 
 Jockey Club law, they hardly acted up to the spirit 
 of the law. One's idea of a private sweepstakes is 
 that three or four intimate friends, all owners of 
 horses discussing racing after dinner, should sud- 
 denly propose to put down a sum apiece to test the 
 merits of their future two-year-olds in a friendly 
 contest. No doubt this was the view the Stewards 
 of the Jockey Club took, when they communicated 
 their decision to Mr. Hwfa Williams that they 
 
THE SANDRINGHAM GOLD CUP 293 
 
 could not allow the race to take place, and as under 
 Eule 44 they may forbid ' any ' race, there was 
 nothing more to be said ; but I am glad to see that 
 the race has been re-advertised, the words ' private 
 sweepstakes' being omitted, and that the race has 
 filled well. It is an important advertisement for any 
 race meeting that the Prince of Wales should have 
 given permission for a race to be run there under 
 the name of the Sandringham Gold Cup, and not a 
 little of the extreme popularity that Sandown has 
 gained is due to his Eoyal Highness's frequent 
 presence there, and the manifest interest which he 
 always takes in the proceedings. Almost simul- 
 taneously with the discussion that arose as to the 
 legality of the Sandringham Gold Cup under its 
 original conditions, a motion by the Stewards of the 
 Jockey Club appeared in the Sheet Calendar to add 
 to Eule 122, which runs, 'Extra weights shall not 
 be incurred in respect of matches or private sweep- 
 stakes,' the words ' limited to three subscribers' This 
 addition was fortunately negatived by the Club, 
 apparently after some discussion, as if it had been 
 carried it would have prohibited four friends from 
 making a friendly match or private sweepstakes, at 
 any rate with valuable animals, with which they 
 would not care to run the risk of incurring a penalty 
 in some future important engagement. For my 
 part, I sigh for the days gone by when many matches 
 were made at Newmarket, when immense interest 
 was attached to them, the best jockeys secured, and 
 if the weights were cleverly adjusted, you might 
 back your fancy by laying the slightest shade of odds 
 which the Eing shouted to take — as their perquisite ! 
 
294 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 On the first day of the Houghton week, long 
 odds were laid on Gouverneur in the Criterion Stakes, 
 opposed as he was by three moderate animals, 
 the best of whom was Gay Minstrel. He easily 
 accomplished his task by three lengths, but he hung 
 to the right, and my curiosity being aroused, I asked 
 Watts who rode him the cause of it. ' Well, he hung 
 away from Barrett's whip,' was the reply. I said 
 nothing, but thought what a good judge the horse 
 was ! All day long, betting took place on the big 
 event to be decided on the morrow. Alicante main- 
 tained her place in the market closely pressed by 
 Morion, about whom the report was rife that he had 
 only been trained for one race that year — viz. the 
 Hunt Cup, and had had a special preparation for 
 this event. Another story told was that the gentle- 
 man who races under the assumed name of 'Mr. 
 Fairie ' had offered six thousand pounds for Yictoricus 
 who had only finished a bare couple of lengths 
 behind Alicante in the Cesarewitch, and that the 
 offer had been refused. Wonderful to relate, the 
 story was perfectly true ! Tostig was very firm in 
 the market, and his connections deemed defeat im- 
 possible, stating that the result of his trial was put- 
 ting in Snaplock at about 7 st. On the day of the 
 race people did not seem eager to back him, and 
 alleged as the reason that Mr. Baird, the part-owner, 
 had gone to Worcester to ride there. They were far 
 out in their calculations as regards that fact, for 
 whatever amount of weight Tostig might have had 
 in hand, nothing would have kept ' Mr. Abington ' 
 at Newmarket to witness the race if he had the 
 chance of riding a winner elsewhere. He lives for 
 
ALICANTE 295 
 
 riding, and would travel any distance, pay any sum 
 of money, to enable him to ride a winner. Speaking 
 from my own knowledge, lie has often lost large 
 sums by riding winners, paying out of his own 
 pocket the surplus money that the owner has been 
 obliged to give to get his animal back after winning 
 a selling race, and probably no gentleman rider has 
 ridden so often against professionals as he has. 
 Perhaps the best race he ever rode in was the one 
 set for decision immediately after the victory of his 
 horse Father Confessor in the Liverpool Summer 
 Cup this year. On the uncertain Mirabeau he con- 
 trived to make a dead-heat with the favourite Orange 
 Peel who had Webb for his pilot, and in the deciding 
 heat the latter had to do all he knew to shake off 
 Mr. Abington's challenge and win by a short head on 
 the post. In the last ten years Mr. Arthur Coventry 
 is the best gentleman rider on the flat I have seen, 
 possibly the best of any year, and now that he has 
 relinquished riding, and taken to starting — a worthy 
 successor of Lord Marcus Beresford, good as the 
 latter was — ' Mr. Abington ' heads the list of gentle- 
 men riders, not only in winning mounts, as he has a 
 large fortune at his command, but in ability. 
 
 Apologising to my readers for this digression, I 
 return to the Cambridgeshire. F. Barrett, through 
 Mr. Leopold Eothschild's influence, who made no 
 secret of the certainty he thought the race was for 
 Alicante, had wasted hard to ride the mare, and 
 looked none the worse for it. The flag fell to an 
 admirable start, Einovata being the only unlucky 
 one, and the field of horses came streaming over the 
 T.Y.C. at a terrific pace, Tostig and Alicante racing 
 
296 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 in front side by side. When the Bushes had been 
 passed, it was apparent that the former was tiring, 
 and Ahcante was left in front; but consternation 
 arose amongst her backers when Barrett was seen to 
 take his whip up to resist the challenge of a chestnut 
 horse with a white jacket and dark cap on the far 
 side of the course. For a moment, there were yells 
 of ' Westminster wins ! ' which quickly changed to 
 ' Belmont wins 1 ' and it was actually the latter horse 
 that came stealing up, all to no purpose however, as 
 he only got within two lengths of the French mare, 
 and that distance divided them when they passed the 
 post, Tostig being a very bad third. Morion could 
 never go the pace and was putting in some strong 
 work after the race was over. Another instance of 
 ' let well alone.' Marsh tried to improve him with 
 strong gallops, and no doubt they had a contrary 
 effect. A large sum of money was taken out of the 
 Eing by the winner's success, which however does 
 not all go across the Channel, as in the instance of 
 Tenebreuse, &c. Mr. E. Fry, the largest bookmaker 
 we have now, told me he had laid 40,000/. against 
 Alicante, and lost about 4,000/. on the race. If the 
 second had won. Captain Machell and his followers 
 would have thrown in for a large stake, but it is 
 gratifying to know that they were all up to ' the 
 transformation scene ' on him for a place, and after 
 the ill luck that has attended his stable this year, 
 perhaps he hardly believed in the good fortune of 
 landing such a coup. The winner is a magnificent 
 chestnut mare, not in the least like her dam Madeira, 
 but having the beautiful shoulders and forehand that 
 her sire Hermit was so happy in transmitting to his 
 
SHEEN A.ND AMPHION 297 
 
 progeny. M. Ephrussi threw in for a good stake — 
 not that he lost over the Cesarewitch, as having the 
 good fortune to be entertained at dinner by Prince 
 SohykofF the night before that race, the latter told 
 liim he expected Sheen to run a great horse on the 
 morrow, which piece of information resulted in his 
 taking 1,000 to 30 twice about the winner. It 
 was a pity that the Dewhurst Plate, an important 
 race, should have been set for decision the last race 
 ol the day, but I understand that will be altered 
 another year. It was only natural that Corstorphine, 
 after her good third to Amphion in the Lancashire 
 Plate, should be installed favourite, but she only got 
 home cleverly from Siphonia, in whom Cannon by 
 his delicate handling has been trying to restore the 
 confidence lost in her punishing finish with The 
 Deemster at Ascot. Thursday's racing was only 
 notable for the game manner in which Haute Saone 
 outstayed Mephisto in the All Aged Stakes, and for 
 St. Serf making amends for his two former serious 
 disappointments at Doncaster and Manchester by 
 winning the Free Handicap from Martagon, who 
 here wiped out his Cambridgeshire performance, in 
 which race he never showed, and was amongst the 
 last lot. This race, the Cesarewitch, and Cambridge- 
 shire were all good handicaps, and I congratulate 
 Major Egerton on the marked improvement he has 
 evinced in his work as compared to last year. 
 
 Interest in the racing was maintained to the end 
 of the Houghton Meeting, thanks to the liberality of 
 Mr. Eose, when on the Friday, Sheen and Amphion 
 went out to do battle for his Thousand Pound Plate. 
 They were opposed by Oddfellow, Galway, and 
 
 X 
 
298 RACING REMINISCENCES 
 
 Fallow Chat, with Lusignan started to make running 
 for Sheen. Away he went when the flag dropped, 
 closely followed by his stable companion, and when 
 he had shot his bolt half a mile from home, and 
 Sheen had taken up the running, so well had he done 
 his task that Amphion had not an effort left in him, 
 and Cannon, ceasing a hopeless pursuit, left Webb on 
 Sheen to come home alone by himself. The verdict 
 was three lengths, which might have been increased. 
 This victory has set the seal on Sheen's fame, and he 
 and the Ascot Cup winner. Gold, have now retired 
 to the stud. Never in my recollection has a Houghton 
 week been decided in such brilliant weather. 
 
 END OF THE FIKST VOLUME 
 
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