The Waterloo Cup
- The Waterloo Cup has long been the chief prize of the coursing year, ranking, indeed, with the Derby of the Turf, and it has been copied in other countries where the sport has been introduced. Strange to say, its origin and be- [COURSING ginnings were of the humblest character, and its promoter never could have foreseen its ultimate importance, though he lived to see the event one that it was the ambition of every courser to win. It was in the year 1836 that the proprietor of the Waterloo Hotel in Liverpool improvised an eight-dog stake, which he styled the Waterloo Cup, and it was run for on the Altcar estate of Lord Sefton, the home of the famous Altcar Coursing Club before referred to, and ever since it has been decided on the same ground. Appropriately, the founder of the first Waterloo Cup was the winner, and, better still, he achieved the distinction by nominating a greyhound, belonging to Lord Molyneux, called Milanie. Lord Molyneux was father of the late Lord Sefton, so long connected with coursing. The year following its foundation the Waterloo Cup was increased to sixteen runners, and the year after to thirty-two, at which limit it remained till 1857, when it was made a sixtyfour dog stake, and continues so to the present day. The entry money is £25 per greyhound, and the nominations, giving the right of competing, are usually arranged by a committee of members of the Altcar Club at the November meeting of that institution. The running takes place in February, when frost does not interfere, and, with a Waterloo Purse and Plate for the thirty-two and sixteen greyhounds beaten in the first and second rounds of the Cup respectively, the meeting is comfortably completed in three days. The stake partakes of an international character, though England, with the preponderance in nominations over Ireland and Scotland, necessarily possesses the best chances of winning the coveted prize, which latterly has been increased in value by Lord Sefton's addition of a yearly trophy. Since 1857, and up to 1909, England has provided forty-two winners, Scotland six, and Ireland five.
Since it was increased to a sixty-four dog stake, amongst winners of the Waterloo Cup no fewer than twenty-three of the forty greyhounds were "named "-that is to say, the owners were not the nominators, although the most particularly interested parties. Singular features of the Waterloo Cup are noted in connection with two celebrated greyhounds-namely, Lord Lurgan's Master M'Grath and the late Colonel North's Fullerton, the former of whom was victor on three occasions, with a break of a year, whilst the latter actually divided with a kennel companion and then won outright three years in succession. The wonderful merit of these performances is strikingly apparent when it is seen that a COURSING] greyhound has to defeat six opponents before it can be proclaimed the winner of a Waterloo Cup, not to omit the chance of getting extra courses in the shape of "undecideds." Coomassie, one of the smallest greyhounds ever known, was the winner in two successive years; but previously, when the stake was a "thirty-two," entailing five courses for the winner, Cerito was three times successful, with a break between the first and second occasions. years ago have ceased to exist; in fact, in Australia itself, coursing is now mainly confined to the country districts. To South Australia must be given the credit of introducing the pastime to the "Greater Britain of the South." It was in the year 1867 that a few sportsmen were hunting kangaroo with greyhounds, when a wallaby (a smaller species of the marsupial) jumped up, and a very fine course resulted. A new arrival from England at once suggested the forma- THE TURN.
WINNERS OF THE WATERLOO CUP FROM 1900. 1900.-Mr. J. H. Bibby's Fearless Footsteps. 1901. Mr. J. H. Bibby's Fearless Footsteps. 1902. Mr. G. F. Fawcett's Farndon Ferry. 1903. Mr. J. H. Bibby's Father Flint. 1904. Mr. G. Darlinson's Homfray. 1905. Mr. W. H. Pawson's Pistol II. 1906. Mr. H. Hardy's Hoprend. 1907.-Sir. R. W. Buchanan-Jardine's Long Span. 1908. Mr. E. Hulton's Hollow Eve. 1909.-Messrs. J. E. and S. M. Dennis's Dendraspis. 1910. Mr. S. Hill-Wood's Heavy Weapon.
In The Colonies.-Here Coursing was introduced with more or less success. Australasia (covering the great island continent, Tasmania and New Zealand), the sport was at one time exceedingly popular, the most influential men entering into it, regardless of expense, judging from the prices they paid for imported greyhounds.
Of late years, however, interest in the pastime has declined, and the strongest and most influential clubs of fifteen or twenty tion of a coursing club, which proved the forerunner of coursing as practised in this country, especially as the English hare had about that time been introduced successfully -too much so, as eventually turned out, for the farmer, since it breeds three or four times a year, with as many as four and five in a litter. Hares, in fact, in some of the colonies have been for years legally classed as "vermin." Emulating the old country, Waterloo Cups were started in South Australia, New South Wales, Victoria, and New Zealand. That in Victoria was for years conducted on precisely the same lines as the original one in England, the stake and number of greyhounds being identical, and imported English dogs frequently were victorious, whilst the late Mr. George Warwick, the leading judge of his time, was engaged for a season. In addition, National Coursing Clubs were founded, and the greyhound registration system followed.
The Continent. - Some years ago, coursing, according to the English system, was introduced into Russia by the Grand Duke Michael, Prince and Princess Alexander Scherbatoff, and Count Stroganoff, the two latter of whom kept up kennels in England, and joined the principal clubs, and Count Stroganoff won the Waterloo Cup in 1894 with Texture, an English-bred greyhound that he had purchased only a few weeks previously in London for 110 guineas. This is one of the most striking exemplifications of the "luck" that is popularly supposed to surround Coursing. The Coursing in Russia took place near St. Petersburg and Moscow, and the principal event was the Waterloo Cup, the peculiarity of which was the circumstance that most of the nominators ran several greyhounds in their own individual names, and thus frequently "swept the board." The Russian Waterloo Cup was generally won by English-bred greyhounds, and an English judge and slipper were always engaged. Of late years the pastime has fallen off in popularity.
Coursing was experimented in France about twenty years ago, on the inclosed system; but after one or two successful seasons it quietly died away, for reasons to which it is unnecessary to allude. A few enthusiasts during recent years started coursing in Hungary, but lack of recruits hampered their efforts from the outset.
America. In the United States at one time Coursing appeared to have taken firm root, the one drawback being the many hundred miles separating the great centres of population from the prairie land in the west, where the running took place. The sport in recent years, however, has been rarely heard of, and a series of scandals which originated in inclosures in San Francisco not only brought Coursing into disfavour, but stopped the steady importation of English greyhounds. The National Greyhound Club's rules were almost identical with the English version; there was also a "Greyhound Stud Book," not to omit a Waterloo Cup. On the prairies the animal known as the jack rabbit abounds, and so game is readily at hand-in fact, it in every way tests to the utmost the qualities of a first-class greyhound. The Judge. A "good judge" is the sine qua non of a well-organised coursing meeting; and ever since the sporting papers commenced giving full detailed reports, their representatives have never hesitated to criticise what in their opinions was an error on the part of the official on horseback, or as in some countries, notably Lytham and [COURSING Southport, on the ladder. In the last century, when matches between a brace of greyhounds were in vogue, the owner of each chose an umpire, and these two in their turn appointed a referee, in case of a difference of opinion. One of the earliest and best known judges of the last century was Mr. William Nightingale, whose heart and soul were in his work from the moment a couple of greyhounds were slipped. He was enthusiastic to a degree when he spotted a good dog, and equally the contrary with one of the opposite stamp. Foilowing him was Mr. Anthony Dalzell, and then Mr. George Warwick, who in the zenith of his career once judged 105 days in a single season, frequently having to travel from the extreme south to Scotland, and vice versa, so as to be on the ground the following morning by nine o'clock or often earlier. Some big days, too, he accomplished, his record being IOI courses in a single day at Lurgan. If anything, Mr.
Warwick's feats were excelled by Mr.
James Hedley, the leading judge of his day, a born courser, so to speak, as his father was a keen follower of the sport on the Borders, and was wont to take the future judge out to meetings when quite a small boy. Suffice it to say that the nominators of no fewer than twenty-four Waterloo Cups elected Mr. Hedley their judge, a striking testimony to his wonderful ability and unquestionable honesty. On his retirement, about three years preceding his death, the coursing community presented him with a testimonial amounting to more than £2,000.
Officials. - Indispensable officials to coursing meetings are the slipper, the flag steward, and the slip steward. The first named must not only be an adept at handling the leash, so as to start each dog on equal terms, but he must likewise be a smart pedestrian (running as well as walking). The late Tom Raper (a Yorkshireman, and father of the present show ring judge of that name), was undoubtedly the most capable of his time, and since his day he has not been approached by the later generation. The flag steward's duty is to signal the judge's decision promptly, and, of course, correctly, as a single error on his part creates no end of confusion. Hence it is better that he should be an expert in the sport, and keep the competing greyhounds in his eye as long as they remain in sight. The slip steward also is a responsible official, it being his duty to see that the greyhounds are brought to slips in proper time, and in their proper turn.
W. F. LAMONBY ("SKIDDAW").
COURSING] GREYHOUND CELEBRITIES. - In treating of celebrities among greyhounds, it is somewhat strange that we should find ourselves restricted to the last hundred years or so for any authentic information.
For a record of names, not to speak of performances, we find ourselves at a loss till we come to the very end of the eighteenth century, and even then the details are but meagre till we are well advanced into last century. It is true that quite at the close of the eighteenth century Mr. Mundy had a dog called Wonder, but this must have been a case of adult baptism, and the owner cannot have had the fear of the fines and penalties exacted by the keeper of the studbook before his eyes. The dog was indeed a wonderful performer, and his blood in great fulness runs in all strains of the successful dogs of the present day. He was a grandson of a bitch belonging to King George III. Royalty is also still represented as widely by the descendants of a dog which belonged to Princess Charlotte.
They have in course of time combined with those of her royal grandfather's dogs. It is believed that the blood of the Archbishop of York's black and white dog runs in the strain of the famous Bab at the Bowster, the best dog of modern days: a veritable mother in Israel, for there are probably few first-class dogs who cannot boast of being her descendants.
The first name which is handed down to fame is Lord Orford's Czarina. She was a wonderful bitch. She won forty-seven matches. Those were the days of matchmaking, when each owner vied in friendly rivalry with others of the same club.
Stakes, as we have them, were scarcely known. This Czarina never was beaten.
Considering the length of courses in the old Swaffham Club, to which Lord Orford belonged, this was an exploit which means more than catches the eye at first sight.
It is stated that she never bred till she was thirteen years old: a statement which savours of the mythical, for it is doubtful whether any greyhound has ever bred at that age in modern days. Certainly they have not bred anything good, whereas her progeny, Claret and Vengeance, were at the top of the tree. Lord Orford rode out to see her win her last match. The excitement caused by her victory was too much for him: he dropped off his pony and died.
This happened in 1791.
Her grandson Snowball was even more celebrated. He found his vates sacer " in Sir Walter Scott, a genuine sportsman, who entered heartily into the mysteries of course, and from his famous lines a ("'Twas when fleet Snowball's head was waxen grey") we can picture to ourselves the turns and doubles and wrenches, the struggle to reach the covert, the effort to take to the hill, and the fatal gap. Apart from this performance of Snowball in his old age, we have no record of his triumphs, but it is true, as Scott has it, that his race was triumphant in England and Scotland "o'er each meaner stamp." The date of his birth was about 1796. Mention has already been made of Wonder, who was born about two years later. He, possibly, GOING TO A MEETING. (From an old print.) was a dog of still greater excellence, but he lacked the necessary chronicler. However, he established the fame of "Mr. Mundy's breed." In those days each owner of a kennel jealously guarded the secrets of his harem, and all that transpired was that a dog was of such or such a breed.
Mr. Mundy, Mr. Topham, Lord Stradbroke, Lord Rivers, Mr. Lloyd, Mr. Swan. Mr. Best, Mr. Hassall, Mr. Swinfen, and many others established a name for their blood, rather than for any particular dog; but we can trace the union of the Snowball with the Wonder strains with excellent effect in Moorcock, Romp, Tiger, Tippoo, and a younger Snowball. Mr. Hassall's Harold, one of the unbeaten heroes, was of this strain. About this time Mr. Gooda lake's kennel was greatly in the ascendant, and its bright particular star was Gohanna.
Mr. Goodlake was an enthusiastic courser, and it was possibly from a pardonable desire to embalm the "glories" of his breed that he undertook the compilation of the first stud-book, from which we now draw almost our only information. After a few years he evidently found the labour too great, and owners were so jealous of their breed that many years afterwards Thacker apologised for mistakes he had made by saying he would not venture on the impertinence of writing to the owners for information.
The stud-book was discontinued, and blank of about ten years follows, when Thacker started one on a larger scale: a work which under various forms has been carried on to the present day. Waterloo was the hero at that time. He was a dog of a peculiar colour, which varied so that sometimes he was described as dun and white, sometimes fawn and white, and sometimes brindled and white. Lord Eglinton bred him and challenged All England with him. Mr. Goodlake took up the challenge with his very good dog Gracchus. The match was run off at Ashdown Park, where the hares were famous for their stoutness, and Waterloo won easily. In connection with his colour, in his letter of challenge, Lord Eglinton names his dog Waterloo, but excuses himself from giving his colour because of its well-known pecиliarity. The blood of Waterloo still runs in the great family of Beacon and Scotland Yet, as well as in those which claim Fusilier as their ancestor. “ With reference to this challenge, it may be remarked that more than once there was a challenge stake run off at Ashdown between North and South. Lord Sefton, Mr. Graham, Mr. Borron, the Listers, Mr.
John Jardine were the chief representatives of the North, while Mr. Randell generalled the South, and was ever in the front himself. Stonehenge," in his book on The Greyhound, gives an account of several breeds the Newmarket, Wiltshire, Lancashire, Scotch, and Yorkshire varieties-and no doubt in those days there was a distinct difference owing to the different style of coursing. At Newmarket and Swaffham and in Wiltshire, courses of from two to four miles were not rare. On the plains of Altcar a few hundred yards was the limit.
In Scotland the running was more on the hill than in the vale, while in the northern counties the country was inclosed, and fallow or growing corn more often met with than grass.
F The want of communication and the [COURSING jealousy of rival breeders helped the great law of the survival of the fittest. But just at this time Captain Daintree placed his grand dog, King Cob, at the service of the public. He was essentially a Newmarket dog. Strange to say, Lord Stradbroke, who was a great supporter of Newmarket coursing, considered that the use of King Cob had poisoned his breed, and was glad to get rid of the produce. In this way Mr.
Sharpe, of Hoddom, obtained his celebrated Queen of the May, and was rewarded by winning the Waterloo Cup with her son Hughie Graham. Soon after Mr. Sharpe had got her, Will Nightingale was judging in Scotland. He was singing the praises of King Cob's stock, and someone told him that there was a King Cob puppy entered at the meeting. He laughed at the idea of a King Cob puppy being found so far north, but the moment he saw her run he called out, "That's a King Cob." The enterprise of Mr. James Hedley, the father of the late famous judge, took Matilda Gillespie to King Cob from the border of Northumberland, and was rewarded by The Tollwife, who laid the foundation of Mr. John Jardine's unequalled successes. es. These two daughters of King Cob now live in the almost universal progeny of Bab at the Bowster, and that distinguished family of Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe, which was the glory of Northumberland and the champion race at Altcar. A year or two afterwards Sir James Boswell bred Jason, who was very successful both in the field and at the stud, notably with his son Vraye Foy, who again, through Egypt and Lopez, is represented by most of the first-class dogs of the day, another line of Jason being found in Herschel's pedigree. This, with The Czar, is characterised by "Stonehenge" as the "bulldog cross"; but Captain Daintree held that there was a bulldog strain also in King Cob, which makes it common to all greyhounds. About the same time appeared Mr. Sharpe's Monarch, whose dam was bought from a tramp. The bitch must have shown great quality, and the purchaser must have been a rare good judge, for her son has left his mark on the stud-book to the present day.
And now we come to sound ground, for we have the bead roll of the winners of the Waterloo Cup to guide us and tell us something of the performances of those dogs whose fame still lives in coursing annals.
And it is worthy of remark that though the Waterloo Cup began in a very small way by being only an eight-dog stake, and in its second year a sixteen-dog stake, and in its third, one for thirty-two dogs, yet SUPPLEMENT] THE WATERLOO CUP SLIPPER WITH DOGS.
THE TATE CENTRAL LIBRARY BRIXTON, S.W.
SLIPPING A BRACE.
THE CHAMPION.
FULLERTON, DIVIDED 1889, WINNER 1890, 1891, 1892.
WINNERS OF THE WATERLOO CUP, 1898-1906 WILD WIGHT, WINNER 1898.
THE TATE CENTRAL LIBRARY BRIXTON, S.W.
BLACK FURY, WINNER 1899.
THE ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF SPORT [SUPPLEMENT FEARLESS FOOTSTEPS WINNER 1900, 1901.
FARNDON FERRY, WINNER 1902.
FATHER FLINT, WINNER 1903.
BRIXTON, S.W.
CENTRAL LIBRARY BRIXTON, S.W.
HOMFRAY, WINNER 1904.
SUPPLEMENT] THE ENCYCLOPÆDIA OF SPORT PISTOL II, WINNER 1905.
HOPREND, WINNER 1906. [SUPPLEMENT THE TATE CENTRAL LIBRARY BRIXTON, S.W.
TWO TYPICAL COURSES.
COURSING] the second and third winners and probably the first are still successful in their progeny, as they themselves were in their flesh, not only over the plains of Altcar, but all over the coursing world. The strains of LONG SPAN, WINNER OF THE WATERLOO CUP, 1907.
Blue Bugle and of Emperor are still among the most cherished, sometimes perhaps unconsciously, by breeders of the present day. Emperor, indeed, failed himself in the deciding course, being beaten by a kennel companion, but two of his sons revenged his defeat, and his other successful descendants are legion. As Lord Sefton was the founder of the Altcar Club, as he brought in the best blood from North and South to improve the native greyhounds, it was but fitting and fortunate, not only that his bitch Milanie should head the list, but that in Senate we should have one of the most valuable lines in every modern pedigree.
It is not without reason that the term "fortunate" is used. His father and mother were as well bred as could be, but perhaps not coming up to the Lancashire ideal, that ideal being a sprinter, the trainer was about to put them down, when the bitch came in season, and they were respited till the puppies were weaned. The produce was Oliver Twist, Senate, and Eastham.
Contemporary with Senate in the North was Figaro at Newmarket, a son of King Cob; somewhat unfortunate himself, as was his sire, but the father of a host of dogs of the finest stamp. Among them were Mocking Bird, one of the handsomest bitches seen, Bedlamite, and Boreas. It may be noted here that all the progeny of Bedlamite were without exception black, while those of Boreas were of all colours. Weapon, Lablanche, Gamechicken, Hurkaru, Music Master, and a host of others, including sisters of Mocking Bird, still testify to the permanent value of the merits of Figaro.
Bedlamite was a small dog of 58 lb. weight, but full of quality; his stoutness and cleverness were undeniable. He naturally became the favourite sire, especially in the South; but his blood survives to-day chiefly through Hopmarket, a daughter of the famous Cerito, and through Randell's wonderful bitch Riot, who was the grandmother of another public favourite in Mr. Haywood's Rebe. Riot was mated with the best dogs of the day, but her most successful son was Regan, the sire of Rebe by Barrator, himself a most extraordinary dog. Though he failed to have his name inscribed in the roll of successful dogs in the Waterloo contest, yet his style pleased the eye of all good judges; but what attracted most notice was the complete command which his master had of him. At a word he would lie down and take not the slightest notice of a hare passing close to him, or he would play at leapfrog with his master, or he would fly at and worry a man. Bedlamite's rival in the South was David, doubly a descendant of King Cob (but not through Figaro), and a grandson of Senate.
It may be the combination of the Northern with the Southern race which eventually gave his family the pre-eminence; be that as it may, there is scarcely a pedigree of note which has not the name of David in it. The union of Bedlamite, through The Brewer, with Glimpse at Glory, a daughter of David, produced Gaudy Poll and a HALLOW EVE, WINNER OF THE WATERLOO CUP, 1908. number of winners of the first class in the South.
Bedlamite was put to Flounce and produced Jacobite, probably the fastest dog of his day, but a very wide worker. Old coursers still talk of Jacobite, and of Belligerent, a grandson of Weapon, a few years later as showing most wonderful speed.
GG But while the line of Mr. Brundrit's dog has died out, that of Jacobite survives in the numerous families of Cardinal York, Picton, Forster's Meg, whose son Kingwater almost rivalled his sire in pace, and the great family of Lord Haddington's, which at one time swept the board.
The next which attracts attention is Cerito, one who ranks with Master M'Grath and Fullerton as thrice winner of the Waterloo Cup. In her case the Cup was only for thirty-two dogs. But when she was beaten in her second attempt, she succeeded in running up for the Altcar Stakes. She left one descendant, Hopmarket by Bedlamite. The family of Hopmarket by her union with Sharpe's fast dog Larriston, promised to carry all before them, but it has nearly dropped out of the front rank, the produce of Bit of Fashion, a most successful bitch, being the most conspicuous; but with the physical failure of Fullerton, the comparative failure of Young Fullerton, and the more complete failure of the rest, this family seems on the verge of extinction. It is worthy of remark that these three great winners, Cerito, Master M'Grath, and Fullerton, have all been more or less failures at the stud; while those who stand next in rank, Coomassie and Miss Glendyne, as dual winners, have met with no more success. Sackcloth, who followed Cerito, deserves more than a passing notice. Not only did he belong to Lord Sefton, but he had been to Amesbury, where he had won three courses in the beginning of February; then to Ashdown, where he won a fourteen-dog stake three weeks later, and the week after he won the Waterloo Cup; truly a magnificent performance and an undeniable proof of stoutness. The judgment of Lord Haddington, then Lord Binning, in breeding from him was properly rewarded in giving him a succession of winners, whose performances it was a pleasure to watch. Through Sackcloth and through Patent the line of Foremost, once a successful rival at the stud to Figaro, chiefly now exists; but the success of Greentick, their greatest descendant, spreads it far and wide. Larriston, a very fast dog by Mr. Sharpe's famous Liddesdale, ran up to him. Larriston was successfully mated with Hopmarket, and also with Mr.
Hayward's Hopbine. The produce of the latter union was Rackety Hoppicker, the founder of Haywood's great successes, a strain not likely to die out, as it permeates all breeds.
And now we must come to the two last of the Waterloo Cups limited to thirtytwo dogs, when Judge beat Scotland Yet, [COURSING and Protest beat Judge, and Blackcloud won the Altcar Stakes-a collection of great names. No finer dog than Judge ever won the Waterloo Cup, and it is pleasing to remember that he won it for Sir Thomas Brocklebank, the best, the most respected, and almost the oldest supporter of the sport.
Judge was most successful at the stud, and the cross between Canaradzo, a son of Scotland Yet, the runner-up, and daughters of Judge was as much sought after as that between Herschel and Greentick in the present day. Scotland Yet was the sweetest of runners. She was a great favourite of Will Nightingale. It is said that in her last course he took off his cap (he could not see her beaten), and whispered to her trainer: "Draw her, Jimmy, draw her; she is not running to her form." She was of a beautiful shape, white, with a small patch of brindle. Most of her family took after her and introduced the white and brindled colour, which was for a long time the winning colour in the North. The coming of this family was a distinct era in the history of the greyhound. They all had the same style of going; starting slowly, they stole along with the smoothest of action, and as they neared the hare they shot out and pressed it from the first with determined efforts to kill, but never throwing themselves out: a very winning and a very pretty style. Their stoutness was not a strong point, though Coorooran, one of the family, was noted for his lasting qualities in the old Dirleton country, where the hares were of the strongest, and a threelegged hare was known to try the mettle of the best of them. They were good killers, and so, as a rule, made short courses. The family consisted of Canaradzo, who won the Waterloo Cup and was sire of King Death, who also won it and the Plate as well, Coorooran, Seafoam, Bugle, Dalgig, and Canopy, besides others who bred nothing of consequence. Seafoam was the sire of Lobelia, and Bugle the grandsire of Seacove, also Waterloo Cup winners. King Death was the sire of Cock Robin, who ran up to Master M'Grath, and of Chameleon, who thought by some to have been the best bitch of modern days over the Altcar ground.
Her two long undecideds with Gone, in Peasant Boy's second year, were recognised as an abuse of the power of the judge, and led to a change in that department. Cock Robin was grandsire of Misterton, and Chameleon the dam of Commerce, who had the worst of the scrimmage for the Waterloo Cup of 1879. Canaradzo is also represented in the descendants of Ptarmigan; was COURSING] Mr. Fawcett's splendid family from Fair Future have several strains of Canaradzo apart from one of King Death; Herschel has a line of Coorooran, and probably there are few winners who have not some of the DENDRASPIS, WINNER OF THE WATERLOO CUP, 1909. family blood in them through Contango as well as other lines.
We have somewhat outrun our subject in treating of this great family. In 1857 the Waterloo Cup became a sixty-four dog stake. King Lear, a very elegant white dog with a little fawn about him, won it, and David ran up for the Purse. King Lear was scarcely a success at the stud; still, he was the ancestor of Muriel, and still lives in the stout-hearted breed of Sir Robert Jardine. Of David it is scarcely necessary to say much. In the South his stock carried all before them; in the North, if his puppies were not so successful in the first generation, they have happily combined with the strains of the country, and he takes rank with Canaradzo, Judge, Figaro, and their congeners as indispensable in a pedigree of the first class. Patent was probably his most successful son in the field and also at the stud, but now he is not so often met with as other sons, though in fact his blood appears in the pedigree of Greentick, whose great grandam Merrywife was by David his sire, out of Henrietta by Regan out of Lady Clara his dam, the grand lines of Barrator and Riot being thus thrown in.
The following years seem to have produced no dogs which live in our memory, though Lady Watford, the grandmother of both Brigadier and Master M'Grath, and Java the grandam of Bed of Stone and Gaudy Poll, were among the unsuccessful competitors for the Waterloo Cup. We then come to the era of Canaradzo and his family, the praises of which have already been sung, soon followed by the success of THE TATE CENTRAL LIBRARY his son, King Death. That sterling good bitch, Rebe, showed her quality by twice running up for the Cup and dividing the Purse; foreshadowing the even more excellent performance of Bed of Stone in winning successively the Purse, the Plate, and the Cup. And now comes a time when, for a few years, the form of the greyhound of the day was absolutely of the highest class.
We will take the Waterloo contest of 1867.
In the last eight of that year we find Master M'Grath, Lobelia, Brigade, Cock Robin, Charming May, and Patent Lever, Bab at the Bowster having been beaten by Lobelia in the preceding round after an undecided.
Each of these was equal to winning the Cup with the necessary luck. The next year the names of Bacchante and Cataclysm and that of Lady Lyons, the sensational conqueror of Master M'Grath, swell the list, and this period, this Augustan age, seems to end in a display of rockets in the shape of Bendimere, Cavalier, Waywarden, Cyclone, and that extraordinary bitch, Bed of Stone, who, through her one solitary son Bedfellow, has stamped successive generations with her hall-mark. Chameleon in the following year kept up the reputation of her parents King Death and Chloe, both being winners of the Cup in their day; and the name of Smuggler appears, whose excellence, not appreciated at that time by Warwick, reappeared as a halo of glory around that princess of her kind, the charming Miss Glendyne. Still the quality of the competitors seems to have died away from that SUCH A SELL, RUNNER-UP TO DENDRASPIS. time. Here and there a name appears which we mention with the greatest respect, as, for instance, Gallant Foe, whose defeat afforded one of those rare instances when the crowd differed from Mr. Hedley; Contango, that sire of sires, the worthy mate of Bed of Stone, being the son of Bab at the GG2 Bowster, perhaps the best greyhound of modern days; Lord Glendyne, the grandsire of Miss Glendyne; that sensational bitch Coomassie, possibly the smallest and the smartest winner of the Cup, whose pedigree unfortunately must for ever remain unknown; Misterton, the winner of the Cup in a memorable year when on the second day the courses were run with two or three inches of snow on the ground, fatal in many cases to the fastest dog from the hare doubling back: the conqueror in a scrimmage, not a trial: the sire of the largest number of winners, and yet a strain to be avoided; Princess Dagmar, one of the famous Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe family; Snowflight, whose victory and defeat alike were full of incident. But few of these appeal to our memories as quite of the class of that wonderful time about forty years ago. Not even Greentick, sterling and honest and unlucky greyhound as he was, the premier of stud dogs, quite fulfils our ideal. It is not till we remember the exquisitely finished style of Miss Glendyne, and the resolute manner of Herschel, who would never be denied, that we have good grounds for not despairing of the quality of the breed. It was a thousand pities that a broken toe prevented Miss Glendyne from meeting Herschel, when we might have been treated to such another display as the never-to-be-forgotten struggle between Master M'Grath and Bab at the Bowster.
It is true that Bit of Fashion divided the honour of her first Cup with Miss Glendyne, but in the opinion of most the one owed her forward position to good fortune, the other to merit. They were both by Paris, a brother of Princess Dagmar, and one of that brilliant family of Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe, which for a while had the monopoly of the Waterloo Cup as Herschel's has now. Bit of Fashion has earned a higher fame in being the dam of Fullerton, who stands pre-eminent among dogs as the winner or divider of four Cups, as much an idol of the public as Master M'Grath, and probably of the same class, as their owners carefully declined to subject them to that test of stoutness which appeals to every courser's heart, however much he may admire the speed which brings a dog first to the hare and the carefulness which keeps him in his place. The victories of Texture and Thoughtless Beauty produced two sterling good greyhounds, but there was in each case a slight flavour of luck which prevents them from taking the highest place unchallenged by the carping critic. Fabulous Fortune and his family promise to rival that of Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe, and yet in their [COURSING case health or condition have shown them in such different colours that, much as we must admire their cleverness, their honesty, and their resolution, they seem to bring the qualification of constitution into too much prominence.
There are so many varying circumstances which attend the success or failure of a dog that mere success in the field cannot be received as decisive evidence; there must be an appeal for a new trial. A case in point is furnished by Mineral Water and Greentick. Twice they met; twice did Mineral Water receive the verdict. At Gosforth the judge overruled the jury; but an appeal to the stud-book and the calendar leaves no doubt as to the merits of each dog. Mineral Water scarcely survives in any kennel but that of Sir Thomas Brocklebank, while Greentick has founded a dynasty.
Accepting the fact of a dog having transmitted his excellence to his posterity as a necessary confirmation of the verdict of the judge, and applying this criterion in examining the claims of the dogs named in the foregoing pages, we must allow that, with one or two exceptions, they have all established their right to a place in the Valhalla of greyhounds.
Even this must be received with some reservation, for the union of a dog with a certain bitch may have met with very great success, while his failure with others may have been just as striking. Witness the produce of Beacon and Scotland Yet, Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe. But with bitches it is altogether different. From circumstances beyond control, a bitch may not have been mated with the right dog, or the produce may have died, or she herself may have been short-lived, while during her running career she herself may have not been able to take part in the great contests of the season. Riot and Prizeflower, and perhaps Carlton, may be cited as instances of the latter kind, while Cerito and Bed of Stone left behind them only one representative each in Hopmarket and Bedfellowproduce which alone were enough to place their parents in the highest class.
Most of these dogs had their characteristics and peculiarities. Fullerton comes first as the winner and divider in four consecutive contests for the Cup. He was certainly a fast dog, though his brother Simonian could always lead him; but among a crowd of mediocrities he stood forth as a giant. He was brimful of wisdom. With a competitor of the same class it might have been to his disadvantage; as it was, he expended it on the handling of the hare, which was a treat to see.
COURSING] Master M'Grath comes next as the winner of three Cups. A small, shabby dog, called by some the Irish terrier, he went like a bolt out of the slips, was as HEAVY WEAPON, WINNER OF THE WATERLOO CUP, IGIO. quick as a cat on his feet, and always dashing for a kill, which he seldom missed. We will pass by Coomassie, probably the smallest winner ever recorded, as quick as lightning with the hare, and a deadly killer, an art said to have been brought to perfection by practice in killing rabbits on a farm, for she seems to have failed in stamping her quality on her progeny. We come to Miss Glendyne, by some thought to have been the finest greyhound of modern days, good all round; and if she had not broken a toe it is more than possible that she might have kept the Cup at Shortflatt Tower till her nephew was ready to take her place. Then, passing over the family of Ptarmigan and Gallant Foe-viz., Paris, Palmbloom, Pathfinder, Peter, Prenez Garde, Princess Dagmar, Jester, and others, of whom it may be said that they were all big, fine, slashing dogs, carrying a good deal of flesh, with plenty of pace and cleverness, and not too fond of following their game if they could not kill-we take a great stride backwards to Canaradzo and his family, passing by the way that good hard dog Cauld Kail, a lightly made, wiry animal who could run in every country, but more especially on the hills, where he always managed to get the upper side, and if the hare disappeared over a knoll he ran all the harder to catch sight again, an intelligence he inherited from his famous granddam, Ladylike. This family of Beacon and Scotland Yet comprised Canaradzo, Coorooran, Canopy, Seafoam, Seapink, Bugle, and some others.
They all had a peculiar style of stealing away with the smoothest of action, seemingly making a race of it with their opponent, but drawing out at the finish, rattling the hare about viciously, and quickly killing at a long shot. a The sire of Seacove, Strange Idea, deserves some mention. Seacove was granddaughter of Bugle, brother of Canaradzo, with all the cleverness of the family but not the colour. Strange Idea was one of the winning produce of High Idea; fast and clever, with a peculiar manner of wearing their hares, which ran up points very effectively, they both were always more dangerous to meet at the beginning than the end of a stake. And lastly, we come to Herschel, only half a winner, to the regret of all who respected his owner and felt what a tower of strength he presented to coursing in the light of a relaxation, not a business, to the genuine sportsman. Gladly would he have been hailed as the holder of the long-coveted prize, and quite as enthusiastically would the dog himself have been cheered on his complete victory. However, it was not to be. Misfortune followed him the following years, and he retired to the years, stud, where, if quality of produce be the test, he stands facile princeps in the pages of the calendar.
Some of the bitches who have been winners have been mentioned incidentally, but Bab at the Bowster deserves a second notice. Probably the best greyhound of modern days, she proved her excellence in all countries, over the plains of Altcar, on the hills of Lanarkshire, with the stout hares of Southport, and set her seal on her claim FULL STEAM, RUNNER-UP TO HEAVY WEAPON, WATERLOO CUP 1910. a of precedence by producing Contango, Banrigh, The Admirable Crichton, and number of others, whose blood runs in the veins of every successful greyhound of these days. The peculiar merits of Riot also should not be overlooked, especially in these later times, when the owner of Master M'Grath set the fashion of keeping his dog for one contest only in the season, an unsatisfactory proceeding, to put it in the mildest way, followed by the trainer of Fullerton. The record of Riot, on the contrary, shows us that she was running every fortnight or three weeks, weather permitting, for three seasons, giving a total of 84 courses run, of which she won 74, a fitting moral wherewith to end the dissertation on the celebrities of the stud-book. But perhaps a short account of two most exciting courses within the last thirty years may furnish a tail-piece of greater interest. The first of these two memorable courses was that between Herschel and Fullerton in 1889, in the last tie but one. What with a wet season, and water standing in pools, the hares were running very badly, only three or four hares escaping in the three days. Fullerton had the reputation of being a bad killer at home, but with the weak hares he took his share in the deaths.
The courses, and especially his, seemed to be very short, so he was very fresh for his fifth course. Herschel, on the contrary, was lamed in his very first course; and on the second day, for his fourth course, he ran a hare single-handed from the Withins to Gore House Wood, and in coming back he got on two fresh hares, and ran them till he lay down exhausted. As a natural consequence, the next day he started very stiff from the slips, and Fullerton led him by three lengths, and put in three or four wrenches. Herschel then exchanged, and put Fullerton in possession, and then by a magnificent effort forced himself past, fairly took the hare away from him, wrenched two or three times strongly, seeming to leave Fullerton, and unfortunately killed.
The excitement of seeing the old dog, stiff and lame, fairly take the hare from the young and fresh puppy was intense, and many thought it was the finest performance of a brilliant career. The other course was one which roused the feelings of the onlookers to a still greater extent. It was the deciding course for the Cup in 1869, fought out between Master M'Grath and Bab at the Bowster.
The course was run on the farthest of the Hill House meadows, which is bounded by the road leading to the Withins. The crowd was standing on the embankment, the hare coming straight to them. A little knot of spectators was placed broadside on, near the road. The hare was driven from the other side of the main road, a beat which usually affords good hares. The slip [COURSING was a perfect one, worthy of Tom Raper, that prince of slippers. Master M'Grath began as usual to draw out, but in a long straight run, parallel with the ditch, Bab at the Bowster gradually collared him, and as they neared the bridge a cry from that little band on the road arose, "The bitch leads!" and leading she was by half a length when the hare took the bridge. This was fatal to her; she had to go round, while Master M'Grath, with his wonderful quickness, was across the ditch on the inside like a flash. The hare doubled right back, and then there followed a long series of the quickest of exchanges, a treat indeed to see, when Master M'Grath, nearly at the place they had started from, drew out and made one of his dashing kills. Everyone felt convinced that they had then seen the finest pair contest the final for the Cup in the finest style which it was ever likely for them to behold. The winners in these two courses undeniably stand out as the most successful in the contests for the Cup, and yet they both have turned out worthless at the stud, while the losers have distinctly conferred on the whole race of greyhounds those qualities which we all desire to see and strive after; the qualities whose praises have been sung in the foregoing pages with, it is to be feared, wearisome iteration, but certainly with heartfelt appreciation. No doubt not only pace but special quickness with the hare are called for at Altcar more than anywhere else. Master M'Grath and, we may add, Fullerton were dogs of this character, a shade above the dog-racing of the enclosures. But anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing the coursing at Altcar at club meetings of late years will feel that stoutness and true running are absolutely necessary for success, and as the hare leads them a far from merry dance, the owners of the cracks must sigh in vain for the deadly jaws of the Canaradzo tribe.
GLOSSARY.
Brace. A pair of greyhounds.
W. ELLIS.
Bye. A course in which, owing to the withdrawal of its opponent, or to an odd number at the bottom of the stake, a greyhound has no one to meet. The first class of bye is called accidental, the second natural. Collars. When two greyhounds of the same colour are coursing they are ordered to wear a red and a white collar respectively, the red being on the left and denoting the upper dog on the card.
Cote. An old coursing term, signifying that when two dogs start together, and one outruns the other and turns or wrenches, it be allowed two points, or three points if the hare be bent on the outer circle.
Division. When two or more greyhounds left CRICKET] in a stake divide either by mutual arrangement on the part of the owners, or compulsorily through bad weather or scarcity of hares.
Draw. Of the owner; to withdraw a dog. Also the classifying of the greyhounds prior to the running for a stake.
Enter. Of the trainer; to show the young dog its game for the first time, and to prepare it for coursing.
Exchanging. Of the greyhound; when the dogs alternately move the hare from her course, they exchange points.