Minoru
1909.
ORBY, 1907. [Photographs by Sport & General.
LEMBERG, 1910. a extent a safeguard against disease, as in a public horse-box an animal affected by some infectious ailment may have left mischief behind for the next user. Stabling at the place where the meeting is being held is a further detail, though of late the managers of a few courses, in order to attract horses to run, have offered stabling and forage free. There are some few additional expenses. Insurance, for instance, with some company, such as the National Live Stock Insurance Company, who specialise in this kind of business.
For every horse trained at Newmarket Heath Tax of seven guineas is charged; owners almost invariably provide their horses with distinctive clothing-some have two suits, one for general use on the training ground, the other, which frequently reproduces or suggests the colours, for use on the racecourse.
Caps and jackets have also to be bought for the jockeys; there are saddlers' bills, and, not seldom, accounts for veterinary attendance. If an owner breeds his own animals, there is the cost of paddocks, of men to look after the mares, and fees for the services of sires, which may be anything downwards from 500 guineas-the primary cost of a possible St. Simon foal.
As for the rewards, the Duke of Portland in 1889 headed the list of winning owners with £73,858. From the winning totals entries and forfeits have to be deducted.
If an owner bets, the cost of racing may naturally be reduced or enhanced; as a general rule he will probably, at any rate in the long run, find himself a loser by taking the odds.
HANDICAPS.-From one point of view the handicap is an altogether absurd institution, for the result is simply and solely to show how far wrong the handicapper is in his estimate of the ability of the horses he weights. The winner comes in two lengths ahead of his field, and thereby demonstrates either that the adjuster of the weights regarded him as perhaps a 7-lb. worse animal than he is, or else that he accepted the second as a 7-lb. better. A horse wins by a neck.
The handicapper is shown to be only a pound or so wrong; but that is all the race has proved.
Handicaps, however, are practically indispensable, for the reason that it takes more than the general scale of penalties and allowances to give the moderate animal a chance, and if racing were confined to the comparatively few good horses, the sport would be enormously circumscribed.
Selling handicaps-dealt with in a later division of this article, under the head of "Selling Races" -are, of course, infinitely more preposterous, for here a horse carrying 9 st. may give a 2 st. beating to a horse carrying 6 st., vet both are entered to be sold for the same price and supposed to be worth the same amount. Such races merely serve the purpose of filling cards and providing opportunity for betting; they assuredly tend little [RACING to accomplish the professed object of the Turfthe improvement of the thoroughbred. The principal handicaps, nevertheless, have frequently an interest of their own-on certain occasions, when really good horses are called upon to perform very difficult tasks, and succeed in accomplishing them in handsome fashion, a very great and special interest. The handicap, indeed, is of value as serving to show what good horses can do; for those that have most to carry are often called upon to give more weight away to moderate, useful, or even to horses of no small proved capacity, than would be the case in any other variety of contest-more, that is, than penalties and allowances would provide.
Horses may thus make reputations in handicaps, and of late years the old distinction between the weight-for-age and the handicap horse has been well-nigh obliterated, one reason for this doubtless being that handicaps are often worth so much that there are very few owners who do not enter the best animals they possess. Ormonde, St. Simon, Donovan, Isinglass, Persimmon, Flying Fox, Pretty Polly, Bayardo, and some others who might be named, are among the rare exceptions.
The late Duke of Westminster was a typical owner who raced habitually for the most disa hesitate to enter his Derby winner Bend Or in tinguished prizes the turf offers; but he did not handicaps, the sire of Ormonde having won the City and Suburban the spring after his Epsom triumph, and having failed the same autumn in the Cambridgeshire. Here Bend Or 4 years old, carrying 9 st. 8 lb., ran unplaced to Foxhall, 3 years old, 9 st. The two thus met at weightfor-age, and the younger colt, who had never taken part in a "classic" race, very easily beat the classic winner. To Lucy Glitters, who was second to Thebais for the Oaks and a good third to Iroquois for the St. Leger-beaten less than two lengths-Foxhall gave no less than 2 st. 7 lb. In the face of this, what ground can there be for disparaging Foxhall as a "handicap horse"? St. Gatien, a Derby winner, or deadheater, which is much the same thing, gained lustre by his success in the Cesarewitch as a three-year-old with 8 st. 10 lb. Melton failed in the Cambridgeshire, but carried 9 st. 3 lb. home, as a four-year-old, in the Liverpool Autumn Cup.
La Flèche, beaten for the Derby by a horse subsequently proved to be much her inferior, but winner of the One Thousand, Oaks, and St. Leger, ran in handicaps, won the Cambridgeshire as a three-year-old with 8 st. 10 lb., and the Liverpool Autumn Cup next year with 9 st. 6 lb. Memoir, an Oaks and Leger winner, ran in handicaps.
Throstle won the St. Leger. beating Ladas and Matchbox, for which latter the Austrian Government paid 18,000 guineas. Soon afterwards Throstle met Best Man, a "handicap horse," and he beat her easily. Isonomy was a "handicap horse," but it would be difficult to say how much superior he was to the Derby winner of that year, Sefton.
The Lincolnshire Handicap is always the first of the season, and is invariably run during the week which includes the 25th of March, unless that week is the week next before Easter Sunday.
A few three-year-olds occasionally take part in it-Clarence won in 1892 and Wolf's Crag in 1893-but are rarely successful, even in these days of early maturity. The class of competitors is generally rather moderate or useful than very good, yet Bendigo (1885, 5 years old, 8 st. 5 lb.) was a horse of class, and the reputations of Clorane (1896, 5 years, 9 st. 4 lb.) and Winkfield's Pride (1897, 4 years, 8 st. 9 lb.) were enhanced Sceptre, 1902.
Our Lassie, 1903 [Photo. by Clarence Hailey.] RACING] WINNERS OF THE OAKS, 1902-1910.
T Keystone II. 1906.
Glass Doll, 1907.
Pretty Polly, 1904.
Perola, 1909.
Cherry Lass, 1905. 1908. Signorinetta (see p. 431).
FF Rosedrop, 1910. by their victories. The next really important handicap is the City and Suburban at the Epsom Spring Meeting, and here class is often well represented. Sefton, who did win the Derbymodest specimen as he was of the horses that have earned that fame-carried off the City and Suburban as a three-year-old in 1878 with 5 st. 8 lb.-it was not till afterwards that the minimum weight in handicaps was raised to 6 st. Master Kildare (5 years, 9 st. 2 lb.) won in 1880, and in course of time became notable as the sire of Melton; Bend Or, as already remarked, won with 9 st. in 1881. Bird of Freedom, who (albeit in a bad year) won the Ascot Cup, preceded that event by securing the City and Suburban in 1885 (3 years, 6 st. 9 lb.), and Buccaneer comes into the same category; he won at Epsom as a fouryear-old, carrying 7 st. 10 lb. The previous season the race had fallen to an Oaks winner, [RACING Sir Visto. Althorp, too, won the Ascot Cup the year after taking the Metropolitan, but until 1904, when Throwaway won, he was probably the worst horse that ever carried off that trophy, and had the luck to meet two extremely poor opponents.
One no better than Throwaway, Bomba, won the Ascot Cup of 1909, however.
The Chester Cup, first run in 1824, was for many years one of the most important handicaps of the year. Entries were made many months before the race, and betting on it was heavy and continuous throughout the winter. Alice Hawthorn, Leamington (twice), St. Albans, Tim Whiffler, Beeswing, Paul Jones-admiringly called "The Steam Engine" by his friends-Knight of the Garter, and other good horses have won the Chester Cup. The day on which it was run used to be a holiday all round the district and along the borders of North Wales; but for some reason [Photograph by Sport and General.
TATTENHAM CORNER. CLOSING ON TO THE RAILS ON THE STRAIGHT COURSE. Rêve d'Or (6 years, 7 st. 13 lb.). The Great Metropolitan is the companion race at the Epsom Spring, but, as is usually the case in long-distance handicaps except the Cesarewitch, good horses are the exception in Metropolitan fields. They have, moreover, much deteriorated during the last few years; indeed, a few extremely bad animals have won the Metropolitan. Previously some good, sound, honest stayers had been successful in this race. Dutch Skater, who did credit to himself at the stud, as the sire of the St. Leger winner Dutch Oven, won in 1872. There is an incident of some interest about the Metropolitan of the following year. Tom Cannon won on Mornington; his second son was born on the same day, and named after the horse in celebration of the victory. That Mornington Cannon's name is now written large in Turf history need scarcely be stated, he having headed the annual list of winning jockeys on six occasions. Hampton, a horse who grew from little things to great, won in 1875, as a three-year-old, carrying 6 st. 3 lb., a creditable performance with the low minimum which then ruled. New Holland, a slow, muddling horse belonging to Prince Soltykoff, managed to get home in 1876, and 1879 was memorable for the victory of a good honest animal in the American Parole. Chippendale, who afterwards won the Cesarewitch, and on two other occasions came very near to victory, was successful in 1880, and the Duke of Hamilton carried off the prize in 1882 with Fiddler, a horse who afterwards gained a reputation by beating Foxhall for the Alexandra Plate at Ascot. But this was one of those instances in which horses win fame which they scarcely deserve, for after his severe exertions on the previous day in the Ascot Cup, Foxhall was too stiff and sore to do himself justice. In 1883 Lord Rosebery won with Vista, who subsequently distinguished herself by becoming the dam of a Derby winner, albeit an extremely bad one, in or other the race diminished in interest, and the number of starters fell off. When Joe Miller won in 1852 no fewer than forty-three animals went to the post, and it is said that they had to be started in two rows; of late years, however, the fields have not seldom failed to reach double figures; Prudhomme in 1882 and Merry Prince in 1885 met only six opponents, and Biserta in 1883 had only five. Eastern Emperor, who carried the Duke of Beaufort's colours, must be reckoned as a good horse, for previously to winning the Chester Cup in 1886 he had carried off the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot, thus showing himself to be possessed of both speed and stamina. Next year Carlton, who ran in the colours of the Duke of Beaufort's son, the late Lord Edward Somerset, won the race before making a great name for himself by his success in the Manchester November Handicap with the heavy weight of 9 st. 12 lb. Tyrant, who won in 1890, was also a good horse, the Chester Cup being one of a skilfully planned succession of victories.
The race is never likely to be all it once was, for the reason that whereas it was formerly one of the few notable races of the season, there are now so many rich stakes. One that speedily became famous is the Kempton Park Jubilee Handicap, always run in the same week as the Chester Cup. As the name implies, this was started in 1887, and few races in the Calendar have ever so speedily made their way to popularity. Good fields invariably go to the post, and some notable horses have carried heavy weights to victory. In the first year of the race it was won by Bendigo with 9 st. 7 lb. on his back, and the fame of this achievement was surpassed next season Minting won in a field of nineteen with IO st.
Amphion, one of the handsomest horses the contemporary Turf has seen, sustained the character of the Jubilee in 1889 by his victory with 7 st. 1 lb. in the saddle, a heavy weight in view when Wildfowler, 1898.
Doricles, 1901.
RACING] WINNERS OF THE ST. LEGER, 1898-1910 Wool Winder, 1907.
Your Majesty, 1903.
Challacombe, 1905.
Bayardo, 1909.
Troutbeck, 1906. 1899. Flying Fox (see p. 429). 1900. Diamond Jubilee (see p. 429). 1902. Sceptre (see p. 433). 1904. Pretty Polly (see p. 433). 1903. Rock Sand (see p. 429).
FF2 Swynford, 1910. of the fact that he was only a three-year-old and the race was run at the beginning of May. Next year, however, The Imp, a moderate animal who afterwards belonged to the Prince of Wales, lowered the class of the list of winners; but it was sustained again by Euclid, 3 years, 7 st. 4 lb.; Orvieto, 5 years, 9 st. 5 lb.; Avington, 4 years, 8 st. 1 lb.; and Victor Wild, an extremely good horse over this course, who won in 1895 as a five-year-old with 8 st. 4 lb., repeated his victory in the ensuing season with 9 st. 7 lb., and was only beaten a length in 1897 with 9 st. 9 lb.
Ypsilanti, who won in 1903 and 1904, had been bought out of a selling race, as had Victor Wild.
It is very strange that these dual winners should have had this humble experience.
The Manchester Cup is noteworthy for the fact that Isonomy in 1880 made a great stir in the Turf world by his success in a field of twenty-one, carrying the huge weight of 9 st. 12 lb. The performance had been deemed well-nigh impossible until it was accomplished by that good horse. To go into the history of this race, however, it may be said that Isonomy was very lucky to win; a colt called The Abbot, who was only just beaten, could not have lost but that his jockey rode with a most total disregard of the orders that had been given him; nevertheless, the latter was in receipt of a great amount of weight from Isonomy, whose performance would still have been memorable even had he just been beaten. But there is naturally a glamour about success. Between defeat and victory there exists in many cases a difference really of a very few inches-a pound or two, if it be calculated in weight; a little luck in the course of the race would have turned the scale; but the horse that is just beaten is apt to seem a very inferior animal to the horse that just wins. It was supposed that the gallant little Bard would have taken this Cup in 1886, but the lightly-weighted Riversdale, with 6 st. I lb. to carry, just had the best of him, though this defeat scarcely diminished the prestige of The Bard, who carried 8 st. 4 lb. over this mile and threequarters. Carlton, a good sound stayer, as he showed in the Chester Cup and the Manchester