Lord Bentincks Costly Miscalculation, Daily Racing Form, 1906-10-30

article


view raw text

LORD BENTINCKS COSTLY MISCALCULATION. In an early edition of Dailys Magazine the Hon. Francis Lawley tells a story which, most strikingly illustrates the uncertainty of racing and the difficulty of making any thing like accurate forecasts. It would le hard to find a more remarkable instance of the way In which. With the best of all conceivable means of judging, an owner and his associates have judged wrongly. Here Is the story: "The Stewards Cup, at !oodvood, founded in 1810, was a race at which Lord George Beutlnek always aimed. It was bis ambition to win It in 1843 with African, which lie backed for a very large sum, and, which started first favorite, at 3 to 1. On the day before the race Lord Georges confederate, tiie late Duke of Richmond, resolved that he. would start his fpuryear-old mare Belena for the Stewards Cup, although she had been tried as being slightly inferior to African at the weights. They yere, however, so near together that Belena was thought to be dangerous, and Lord George was obliged to back her, partly to cover his outlay on African and also to make her a good winner, and here jet me add that I cannot in the least understand what the Duke meant or anticipated. however, at the last moment it imfprtunately. occurred to Lord George that he had -backed The., Whaler, a "three-year-old pelouglng to the Duke , of Richmond, heavily for the Goodwood Stakes; and that Kitchener, who then weighed less than three stone, was to ride him. Thinking that it would give the little boy confidence if before the Goodwood Stakes he had a mount in another big field, Lord George desired John Kent to send for Yorkshire Lady, and to start her with Kitchener on her back. Yorkshire Lady was a four-year-old handicapped at six stone four pounds in the Stewr ards Cup, but having been amiss she was totally untrained. "A boy was immediately despatched on Johil Kents back to the stables at Goodwood, and he galloped back to the course on Yorkshire Lady as hard as she could lay her legs to the ground. With ;her ordinary shoes on her feet and blowing like "La grampus, as she had been fed and watered, she was just, in time to get to the starting post with Kitchener up before the flag fell. There were several false starts, during which Yorkshire Lady regained her wind, and to the horror of Lord George the end of the race resolved itself into a struggle between Yorkshire Lady and Belena, the former winning by half a length." ,


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1906103001/drf1906103001_2_2
Local Identifier: drf1906103001_2_2
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800