1877

THE early part of this year's racing calls for no comment, though I may mention the defeat of the future Derby winner, Silvio, in the Biennial at the Craven week, owing probably 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, purporting to be an order to scratch Julius Cæsar, 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, particularly 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 Maximilian 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.

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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, Rob Roy, by three-quarters of a length. Soon after running third for the Derby of 1877 Rob Roy 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 beautiful 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, Belphœbe, 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 Rosebery, 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 Chypre, 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 Lonsdale, followed up an Epsom Handicap victory by

winning the 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 splitting the pair. These three horses must have cost backers a lot of money. Redwing, 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 début, 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 Rosebery, 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 policeman 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

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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 UnderSheriff 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

so good, only just won the 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 Richmond 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, but was not disgraced. On the morning of this day Mr.