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ROMANCES OF FAMOUS RACES. I I Some Sensational Turf Events of England in Which t Royalty Has Figured. One of the most interesting features of English j elaaaical turf events is their age. Indeed, it is ! necessary to go bauk to the beginning of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries for the date of origin of some of them, ami many volumes could still be written concerning their romance and history. lake the As. ot races, for Instance, at which royalty and the elite foregather ill July. They were really founded by Queen Anne in 1711. and kings and queens hare been inure or less Intimately associated with them ever since. F.ven Queen Victoria, who was little given to horse racing, had many recollec-tions of Ascot, She went there first as a young girl ■ in 1834. and on that occasion gave a ten pound note to the winning jockey. Little Bell, and when she did f... asked the Iki.v his weight. "Please, maain." he I answered, "master says aa how I must never tell niv weight to anybody. I Winn Persimmon won the Ascot Gold Cup for the i Prince of Wales, who is now King Edward, there were scenes of unparalleled enthusiasm These were repeated this year when Minoru won the Derby for the king. But even these did not equal the excitement in INol when George. Prince of Wales later George IV. I. won tb" most sensational race ever witnessed on Ascot Common. Five million dollars was said to have been staked, and when Chifney. on the princes Baronet, snatched a victory by half a , head, with Bve other horses running neck and neck to within a few yards of the winning post, the enthusiasm of the 40.000 spectators was boundless. "I made fourteen ban. mis fast week." said George III., to his son when congratulating him. "but your baronet is worth all mine put together." It was the third Duke of Richmond who started tin- Goodwood races in 1XOO -a meetiug which has rivaled Ascot in its attraction of royalty ami society people. One of the most memorable races for the Goodwood Cup was that of 1830. when King William IV. entered three horses, which came in first, second and third for that event. Ascot and the St. Leger excepted, the Derby is the oldest elassital event on the English turf, the first race having been run in 17S0. it was a Captain Burgovne — who amazed society in 174:! bv elop-lag with Lady Charlotte Stanley, the daughter of the Karl of Derby — who really founded the race. He purchased an estate near Banstead Downs to stimulate the native breeding of horses, and instituted the famous Derby Stakes in 1780t How many have wanted to win the Derby and have been disapiMVinted. More than one Lord Derby would have given worlds for the honor. It was Lord Glasgows ambition in a long life, but he only got second once. The dukes of Beaufort and Hamilton took nearly all the other classics, but not the Derby: and so the list of men who have spent fortunes in striving for success in this historical race might be prolonged. One of the most successful Derby winner was probably .Tohn Gully, the man who rose from tin- prize ring to the House of Commons. In is::il be won 00. 00 over bis horses. St. Giles and Margrave, when they won the Derby and St. Leger. lie invested niueh of his money in collieries, and by this means is said to have doubled his fortune. The St. Lester, the second eldest horse racing event in this country, was founded four years before the Derby. It takes its name from the famous Don-caster sportsman. Colonel St. Leger reallv nro-nounced "Siiiinger." although it is generally pronounced as spelled by tlie majority. It is a race which lever fails to arouse enthusiasm in the north, and in the days before railways, laborers living fifty miles away would save up their shillings weeks he-fore, walk to Doneaster. see the race, and yvalk 1. .me again. Many memorable St. Legers have taken place, including two dead heats, while on ono occasion a horse pained Theodore, against which the ..his had been quoted at 1.000 to a walking stick— or. officially. 1.600 to ."i — won. One hundred years ago the race for the Two Thousand Guineas, which King Edward won the other day. was instituted, the year after the founding of the Chester Cup. The title of the former race originated from the fact that it was established as a sweepstakes of 10O guineas each, and tlie subscribers numbered twenty, while the One Thousand Guineas had the same conditions with ten subscribers. and was therefore called the One Thousand Guineas. One of the greatest races in connection with the Two Thousand was u hen Donovan was considered such a certainty that odds of 85 to 2n were laid on him in a field of nine. Tom Cannon, however, was riding a bad-tempered horse named Enthusiast. which would only go when he liked. And he did like on that dav. and Cannon pulled off the race bv a head. Both the Oeearewitch and the Grand National were founded seventy years ago. in which year also the Cambridgeshire was established. Die Grand National was first run by a syndicate of sportsmen win had acquired the lease of the grandstand an. I race course at Aintrce. where from time immemorial tlie Liverpool races had been held. This syndicate decided on a steeplechase on a grander scale than had hitherto been attempted: hence the name. Grand National. This race has lieen notable for the number of gentlemen riders who have succeded in bringing Ihcir mounts first past the post, and there are still old sportsmen In the north who remember tlie race of 1818. when John Brown, the well-known prise tighter, bet Captain Alleyne that he would be in tbe fourth field from home when the winner passed tbe l ost. But when Berbers Brook was reached the second time his horse, which was palpablv unfit, e: nie to dire grief, and gave the venturesome pugi list such a toss as lost him his senses for the time being, as well as his wager. The Keliiiso stake-; is a race of more modern origin, baring been established in 1880. When the Sandown Park race committee announced that they Intended to give a fortune at once in tlie shape of 1909.sh0,000. thus eclipsing all previous prizes, no small sensation was created in the racing world. Tbe .list ieet ion of riding the winner of tlie first ten thousand pounder belongs to Tom Cannon, who brought Rondign home in a canter. Tbe race for he Eellpee Stakes of 1X02 was memorable on account r.f the fact that the late Duke of Westminster entered his horse Orme. which was a pronounced favorite for the Derby that year but was reported to have been got at. so did not run. He ultimately won the I.elipse Stakes by a neck.
