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AMERICAN INVASION OF ENGLAND. Richard Ten Broecks Long Endeavor to Prove Superiority of American Racers. A very notable and almost forgotten racing Incident was the Invasion of England before the Civil War by the American turfman, Iticbard Ten Broeck. A wealthy man, he took over the best horses money could buy in this country and did game and partially successful battle over there for a number of years. Ills venture tills a remarkable page In turf history, and this description of its features by Francis Stevens in Sports of the Times is valuable and worthy of presentation. Ten Broecks invasion, among other things, resulted in his bringing to this country horses that have indelibly left their impress on our breeding interests. Mr. Stevens reminiscence of Ten Broecks career in England says: In looking over, recently, an old volume of the "Spirit of the Times" for 1S55, when that journal was edited by "The Tall Son of York," Mr. William T. Porter, some matters were brought to mind connected with Mr. Bichard Ten Broeck and his racing venture in Knglaud in 1S57 and subsequent years. It had long been a disputed question, arising out of the different modes of breeding, training, riding and racing pursued in the two countries, which system lias developed the greatest speed and bottom in the thoroughbred horse, and national pride on each side of the Atlantic claimed the palm for home. At length, Mr. Bichard Ten Broeck, of Kentucky and New Orleans, determined to undertake the risk of an actual trial, although as early as 1S43 an American horse and one or two mares had been sent abroad, and one, the horse Tempest, by Trustee, out of .Tanette, sister to Sir Charles, had raced in England. In 18."." he liegan to select the horses w:hich were to be sent over to England. Of course his first choice was the famous Lexington, winch had won the great State Stake at four-mile heats from Highlander, Arrow and Lecompte in S:OSJ and S:0l, over a muddy course, and had been beaten by I.ecompte at four-mile heats in 7:20 ami 7:3SJ, the liest race ever run in America to that day and the fastest time on record. It was said that the defeat of Lexington was jIuo to the fact that his rider, Meichoii. pulled him up at the end of the third mile in the second heat, thinking the race finished. This defeat led to the great match for 5,000 to run a dash of four miles to beat 7:25. The race took place on April 2, 18.".". and Lexington won in 7:l.l. On April II, Lexington once more met his great rival Lecompte for the Jockey Club Purse of .000 and an inside stake of ,500 each, at four-mile heats. Lexington won the first heat in 7:2:5" and Lecompte was drawn. Some time during the summer before leaving the south, it being Mr. Ten Broecks intention to ship the horse over in IS", and to race in 1S50, Lexington got out of his box and gorged himself with feed in the night. He was discovered by some of the stable boys and returned to his box. In the morning nothing was said to his trainer by the boys and Lexington was sent out and worked strongly. lie finished in such a distressed condition that he came near dying. His trainer was at a loss to account for this distress, but was told by a fellow trainer what had taken place. This, of course, compelled a let-up in Levington3 training and he was sent north to New YorK and thence to Saratoga for the benefit of the water and air. He was in the charge of George llico, who afterwards was famous as a trainer. After a stay at Saratoga, he was sent to Mr. Charles Lloyds place at Holmdel, X. J., and . there galloped again. He was doing well wheuthe got the better of his rider and, running away .injured himself. Through this injury, coupled with his gorging himself in the summer. lie was so out of condition that lie went blind and was thrown out of training and was sent to Kentucky where, in 1S5I5, he made his first season at the stud, at the farm of the late .Mr. W. F. Harper between Midway and Spring Station. Kentucky. This disaster caused a change in the plans of Mr. Ten Broeck and Ids trip abroad was postponed. In September, 1S50, Mr. Ten Broeck Sent to England via Scotland by the Cuuard line from Boston, the horses Iryor, Lecompte and Prioress. Pryor was foaled in 1S52 by Glencoe out of Gipsey sister to Modoc by American Eclipse. He was a high-class winner at all distances. Lecompte was foaled in 1S50 by Boston out of the famous Beel by Glencoe. 11c was a noted winner at all distances and had the honor of being the only horse that ever defeated Lexington. Prioress was foaled in 1852 by Sovereign out of Beel. dam of Lecompte, etc. The horses were sent over in charge of David Palmer, who trained for Mr. Ten Broeck, and arrived safely and were put in slow work. The lot became acclimated and were largely entered in all the prominent stakes and races for which they were eligible. The first start made by the American horses was at "Glorious" Goodwood on July ".0, 1S57, for the Goodwood Cup, 2i miles. Pryor, 121 pounds, ridden by Charles Littlelield now living at Shecpshead Bay. X. Y., and Prioress, 10! pounds, ridden by Gilpatrick, started and were unplaced. The race was won by Count F. de La Granges Monarque, five years old, 121 pounds. The winner Monarque was destined to play an important part in English racing, as lie sired the mighty Gliuliateur, which avenged Waterloo by whining the 2,000 Guineas, Derby, St. Lcger, Ascot Gold Cup and other races. Gladiateur was the second horse to win the Triple Event and the first foreign-bred horse to win the famous blue ribbon of the English turf, the Epsom Derby. Lecompte vOtily started once and was third to Fisherman for the Warwick Cup, o miles, and died shortly afterwards. Pryor also died and thus the stable wasreduced to Prioress.- Shortly after Goodwood, when the entries for the great fall handicaps were made, Prioress was named for tiie Cesarewitch and also for the Cambridgeshire Handicap. When the weights appeared, it was found that Prioress had been given only fi3 pounds In the Cesarewitch and when the odds were long agaiust her the bulk of the money of Mr. Ten Broeck who was a great bettor was carefully put on at the odds of over 100 to 1 and in some ases at 150 to 1, as the bookmakers thought it was finding money to lay against the American mare. The race was run October 13, 1S57, over the Cesarewitch course, 2 miles anil 4SJ yards, thirty-four starters, among them Warlock, Fisherman, Saunterer, Gunboat, Odd Trick and Tasmania. Prioress, 93 pounds, ridden by Tankersley an American at 30 to 1; El Hakim, three years old, !:; pounds, at S to 1, and Queen Hess, three years old. 0G pounds, .".0 to 1, ran a dead heat. The owners all insisted on a run-on and here wa wher.j llie American system of training came info play, as Prioress had been trained to run beats. She was cooled out by Palmer and LUtlefijeld and came to the post in fine condition, with the famous George Fordham in the saddle. El Uakim was theftfavorlte at 0 to 4, Prioress at 2 to 1 and Queen Bess at .5 to 1. Fordham made a waiting race and won by a length and a half, thus bringing off the first of Mr. Ten Broecks famous coups. Mr. Littlelield was at the finishing post with Prioress clothing and was very jubilant over the victory, as he had a sovereign on at 100 to 1, as also did Palmer, the trainer. The. victory In the Cesarewitch was memorable on account of its being the first dead beat made for the event and the only time in its history to date in which three horses have made a dead heat for It. It was also "noteworthy as it Itprescntcd the first victory by an American horse in England. Mr. Ten Broecks winnings were very large. Prioress started for the Cambridgeshire Handicap with ninety-eight pounds up and was unplaced, Odd Trick winning. Prioress was a good bread winner for Mr. Ten Broeck as she also won in 1S5S the Great Yorkshire Stakes over the St. Leger course- at Doncaster, 1 mile C furlongs and 132 yards, and a number of matches and Queens Plates. Prioress and The Brewer ran a dead heat for second place in the Cesarewitch in 1S58, won by Bocket, and she was third to The Promised Land for the Goodwood Cup of 1S59 at two and one-half miles. In 1S5S and later on Mr. Ten Broeck added to his stable Satellite formerly Sherritt, a good winner in America by Albion, out of a mare by Leviathan, who won the Stamford Plate and Plates at Ascot, Brighton and Newmarket, and was second for the Goodwood Cup. Starke, by Wagner, out of Beel, who won In 1S50 the Goodwood Stakes, two and one-half miles, the Bentinck Memorial Plate, three miles and five furlongs at Goodwood, and the Warwick Cup, three miles, and in 18C1 .won the Goodwood Cup, two and one-half miles, the Brighton Stakes, and was second for the Goodwood Stakes. Umpire, by Lecompte, out of Alice Carneal, was heavily backed in the yearling books to win the Derby of 1S00 for a large fortune at very long odds. Umpire won three races at two years old and was well backed for the Derby, for which he started at 0 to 1 against, with The Wizard favorite at .! to 1 against and Tliornianby at 4 to 1. Umpire ran seventh in a field of thirty, Tliornianby winning. The Wizard second and Horror third. The late Mr. G. B. Bruce of the Live Stock Record, Iexington, Ky., was in England in 1SG0 and saw the Derby run and told me the following story: Lord Glasgow an eccentric nobleman, wlto afterwards bred the famous Musket, was very fond of making freak bets. He, knowing that Mr. Ten Broeck stood to win several hundred thousand pounds, said to Mr. Ten Broeck that lie would bet him 5C0 guineas that he, Mr. Ten Broeck, would not whistle God Save the Queen as the horses passed the post. Mr. Ten Broeck took the bet and Mr. Bruce, who stood at Mr. Ten Broecks side, said Mr. Ten Broeck was whistling God Save the Queen as Tliornianby Hashed past the post and he saw his fortune vanish. Umpire won many races for both .Air. Ten Broeck and Lord Coventry, who purchased him. On going into the stud Umpire was successful, getting many winners, and was a famous sire of half-bred hunters and junipers. Other American horses that Mr. Ten Broeck raced in England and won with were Annette, by Scythian, out of Alice Carneal, Lexingtons dam; Echo, by Revenue, out of Sarah Washington, by Garrisons Zinganee; Maggiore, by Lecompte, out of Evergreen, by Glencoe; Novice, by Knight of St. George, out of Sister to Pryor Xo. 1, by Glencoe; Olive Branch, by Lexington, out of Sarah Washington; Rubicon, by Lexington, out of Bay Leal", by Yorkshire; Sumnierside, by Lexington, out of Sister No. 2 to Pryor, and Optimist, by Lexington, out of a mare by Glencoe, out of Jeannetteaii, which won the Palatine Cup at Chester, Ascot Stakes, many Queens Plates and the Stamford Cup, three miles. The object of art going witii the stakes was an elegant silver candelabra, heavily gilded, which afterwards came into the possession of tiie late-Major B. G. Thomas and often graced the table at the famous Dixiana House at Lexington, Ky. Starke was sold to the Prussian Government and was a successful sire in Germany. Optimist, wiiom Mr. Ten Broeck considered one of the best of his horses, came very near being killed, when he was a few days old, at Woodburn Farm, in Kentucky. When Optimist was foaled he had unusually long pasterns, both in front and behind, seemingly inherited from his grandfather, "Old White Face," as Boston was familiarly called, which made eight tracks as lie walked. Mr. Nelson Dudley, who was superintendent for Mr. Robert A. Alexander, owner of the Woodburn Stud, was going to kill him because of the raw and weak condition of these pasterns, which seemed to give the horse great pain. Mr. Alexander would not consent, as he was Mr. Ten Broecks property, and thus his life was saved. Mr. Dudley then had his pasterns bound up and declared that he never would be of any account. Optimist outgrew the weakness and won many times, much to Mr. Dudleys disgust and the pride of Mr. Alexander. Optimist, after his racing career, was sent to France, where he got many winners, among them Mars, which afterwards got Jongleur, which won the Cambridgeshire Handicap. Many others were sent to England and were raced by Mr. Ten Broeck and other owners, among them Arcadian and Blanchette, both by Knight of St. George and out of Transylvania, a daughter of the famous Peytoua; Babylon, by Belshazzar, out of a mare by Trustee; Bonita, by Financier, out of Sarah Washington; Charleston, by Sovereign, out of Millwood; Cliarinian, by Knight of St. George, out of Peytona; Cincinnati, by Star Davis, out of Tliea-trcss; Des Chiles, by Glencoe, out of Brown Kitty; Illusion, by Revenue, out of Sister No.- 2. to Pryor; Knight of the Garter, by Sovereign, out of Levity, by Trustee; Lincoln, by Belshazzar, out of a mare by Jordan; Myrtle, by Lexington, out of Evergreen, by Glencoe; Olive Branch, by Lexington, out of Sarah Washington; Padrona, by Revenue, out of Spiletta, by Stockwell; Sumnierside, by Lexington, out of Sister Xo. 2 to Pryor; Templar, by Knight of St. George, out of Emilia, dam of "Australian; Woodburn, by Glencoe, out of a mare by Trustee, and Woodford, by Lexington, out of Ducatoon. These raced up to" and including 1S07, when the American horses dropped out and there were no American horses in England until the fall of 1S75, when the late Mr. M. H. Stanford sent a stable over there which began racing in 1S7G and was fairly successful. Of the above named horses, Babylon won a race. Echo won six times, , two races wore won by Lincoln, Olive Branch was returned a winner six times, Sumnierside finished first five times and Woodburn won twice and divided the stakes in another. In 1S5S Mr. Ten Broeck purchased Eclipse and Barbarity. Eclipse was by Orlando out of Gaze by Bay Middleton, and had won the Cleanvell Stakes at two years old and at three, the Ascot Biennial, a stake at Newmarket, made a dead heat with Beadsman for the Newmarket Stakes, the pair dividing the stakes, and was fourth for the Derby. Barbarity by Simoom out of Barbarians dam, was a capital race mare, having won eight races at three years old and six at four years of age. In 18,7.1 they were sent to this country. Eclipse made some seasons at Lexington, Ky., getting a number of good winners. From Lexington he was sent east to Mr. Francis .Morris at Throggs Xeck, X. Y., where he remained until his death in 1S7S. Eclipse got, among others, Ruthless, winner of the first Belmont Stakes, and Alarm, the first horse to run a mile in 1:42J and sire of many capital winners, among them Ilimyar, the sire of the great Doiniuo, the grandsire of the unbeaten Colin. Eclipse also sired Fanny Ludlow, the first horse to run a mile and a furlong in 1:50 the record for several years, and grauddam of Foxhall, who won in England two out of three starts at two years, and who ran second at three years old to Bend Or for the City and Suburban Handicap in front of twenty-two others. He also won other races, among them the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire Handicaps. Foxhall was the second horse to win the Cambridgeshire and Cesarewitch Handicaps the same year. Mr. William Day, who trained Foxhall, said that he was fourteen pounds the best horse he ever trained. Foxhall also won the Grand Prix de Paris at three years old and the Gold Cup at Ascot. Barbarity went to Mr. Morris also and was the dam of the famous Barbarous Battalion, as they were called by the late Mr. Charles J. Foster, among them Ruthless, Relentless, Remorseless, Regardless and Merciless, from whom came many good winners. Later on Mr. Ten Broeck also sent over to this country Phaeton and some broodmares, among them Lady Love, dam of Lisbon, who sired Troubadour, who won the Suburban and brought off a grand coup for his owner, the late Captain S. S. Brown. If it had not been for Jl5Ln Broeck, Phaeton and Eclipse never would havecdnie over here, and the American turf would notfcavo had King Alfonso, Foxhall, Joe Cotton, Fonso, Grenada, Himyar, Domino, Cap and Bells, Commando, Colin, Drake Carter, who held for many years the three-mile record, Bersaii and the great Ten Broeck, who held at one time live worlds records, viz., a mile in 1:39 J, two miles in 3:27", three miles in 5:2151, four miles in 7:151 and two and live-eighths miles In 4:5SJ. Mr. Ten Broeck also selected in England for Major B. G. Thomas, King Ban, who was a great success at the stud as the sire of many winners, among them King Fox. Ban Fox and Queen Ban. Every one who came in contact with Mr. Ten Broeck was attracted by Ills graceful manners and charming personality, either in the drawing room or on the race course. Every American turfman must acknowledge a debt of gratitude to Mr. Ten Broeck, through whose instrumentality such horses as Alarm, Foxhall and Ten Broeck were given to tha turf.
