Stories Of English Turf Notabilities., Daily Racing Form, 1908-05-01

article


view raw text

STORIES OF ENGLISH TURF NOTABILITIES This anecdote brings to my memory a somewhat similar one of which Mat Dawson was the hero which I give In the words of the friend who has kindly supplied me with It When Mat trained for Lord John Scott his brother the duke paid him a visit and as a matter of course he took him the duke down to see his stud Mat being in attend ¬ ance Lord John leading the way from box to box describing each one as he went along always crying Wattle this was the duke come and see this one Wattle I think this on i will win the Derby and BO on until presently Wattle and Mat fell a little behind Then Mat taps him on the shoulder Now Wattle when his lordship goes to bed tonight slip down and I will give you a glass of toddy Wattle accepted What transpired deponent saycth not but next morning Wattle let the cat out ot the bag with a hearty laugh and then Matthew Dawson discovered to his horror and mortification that he had been hobnobbing with the Duke of Buccleuch but Wattle gave him a firm shake of the hand saying he was the right man In the right place and a jolly good fellow fellowAnd And the mention of Mat Dawson reminds me of a curious story of which Jiis brother Tom of Tupglll was the hero When Ellington won the Derby In 1850 Tom Dawson of Tupglll who trained the colt won about 20000 On the Monday after the race he went to Tattersalls to receive his money The whole of It was paid to him in bank notes After the set ¬ tling he dined and look the train for home first having packed his bank notes In an old leathern hat case without any lock but simply tied with a piece of string Mr Dawson fejl asleep in the train and when the guard who knew him well awoke him at Nortluillcrton and told him he must change carriages Mr Dawson got out of the train leaving the old hat case behind In those days telegraphy was not quite so simple a matter aa now and Mr Dawson did not recover his hat caso for a whole week during which time It had traveled to Edinburgh Aberdeen and various other places Ultimately it came back to the rightful owner with the string neither cut nor untied and with all the bank notes safe Inside I need hardly say that Mr Dawson with that astuteness that rarely forsakes the professional turlite took particular care not to display the slightest anxiety about his hat case but uierely informed the station master that he had preserved the article for a good many years and as there were some papers In it which could ne t possibly be of any use to anyone but himself he should like to recover it itI I will bring these random reeollerions to an end with an amusing adventure of Movninston Cannou and Cordelier on the Cesarewltch eu i f 1881 Aa tin horses that afternoon were leaving the Bird ¬ cage to contest the Autumn Hanellcnp one o tha tiercest storms known at Newmarket f r n long time swept over the heath The hail stcies came down like pistol bullets and Cordelier maddened at the tempest swerved made for the rails and ran through them getting his head uneler the second line of posts anel sending Monilngtou over the rails and right into a carriage the door of which was at the moment open openTwo Two ladies were Inside and on the front seat lunch was still uncleared The popular young jockey pulled himself together a bit and assured his astonished hostesses that he was not hurt and at once accepted their kindly suggestion of a glass of wine Monilngtou had IKJCH wasting hard to rielo Victorious at Tst 121b so bard indeed that it Is believed that he could have actuallv ridden 7st lOlb that day and he hael not had time since the Cesarewltch to lunch He therefore took the op ¬ portunity of observing that he was very hungry The ladies though they hud not precisely Invited him to come In were delighted to entertain him and so while the other jockeys who had weighed out fen the race were being drenched windsmitten and battered by hall stones at the post Morny Cannon sat dry anel comfortable In the carriage regaling himself with chicken anel champagne In boots anel breeches As Morny afterward remarked it was rather an odd way to call on ladles in a carriage at lunch time over rails and head first but alls well that ends well Tbormanby in London Sports ¬ man


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1900s/drf1908050101/drf1908050101_6_6
Local Identifier: drf1908050101_6_6
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800