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SOME FACING OF A CENTURY AGO L Long Distances Great Weights and Small Values Characteristic of the Turf of LongGone Days Decidedly Imbued with quaint features is a recent reminiscent account of some racing occurrences at Warwick England a hundred years ago The wide difference between racing and racing values of that time and the present are picturesquely presented Then as also in this country at tlie same time the highestclass horses were raced over long distances In heats and foe sums that now seem ridiculously small In his account of ancient AVarwick racing Augur of London Sporting Life says It Is interesting to note that racing at Warwick was one of the earliest institutions I find record of Rices at Warwick in 1770 when on the twentyninth of August five horses ran two fourmile iieats for a plate of 50 a Mr Herberts Sparkler u fiveyear old winning both heats There was more variety about the sport on the following day when five ani ¬ mals had to run four heats of four miles for a tO plate as the first three heats were won by a differ ¬ ent horse each time The winner of the third heat a Mr Lentons sixyearold North Brlton miist have been a real good stayer for lie won tlie fourth heat also Racing one horse sixteen miles for jefiij would horrify some of our presenttoy owners who would want to keep their animals In cottonwool ever after But there was better siwrt at AVarwick later on as just one hundred years ago In Septem ¬ ber there were seven events decided during two days and on the second day there was the following race Gold Cup value 10O the guineas rest In specie a subscription asubscription of ten guineas each with twenty fourmiles guineas twentyguineas added by the stewards for all ages four miles Twenty subscribers Lord Oxfords br m Alctoria by Hanibletonlaii 0 12S 1 Mr Pryses gr Ii Grlntaldi aged Kl Mr Andrews h Thorn aged 151 151v v Tlie gray horse Grimaldi had won the Cold Cup in the previous year and odds of C to 4 Were bet on him but Aictorla was backed at 7 to 4 On the same afternoon there was a Maiden Plate of 0 given by the members which I take to mean nieiii IHIS of tlie AVarwick Club whicli was evidently in existence then Lord Oxford ran a liveyearold brother to Aictoria the Gold Cup winner biit after winning one heat the race was run for in twomile bents ami running second in tlie next he fell lame and was drawn the event being won by a Mr J Baileys Fourth of June a threeyearold which fourth In the first heit won tlie next two This threeyearold must have IMMMI a fine staying colt for I find him subsequently winning plates of two mije Iieats at Shrewsbury and AVrexhani lieatilig horses of all ag cs He trained on too for a a fouryearold he won a 70 plate in twomile heats at Newton a CiO plate In fourmile heats at Nant wieli and a rO plate in threemile heats at JJrox ash the latter race lielng1 run on the downs near Bromyard Reverting to the winner of tjie Gold Cup at AVarwick one hundred1 years ago recorded above it is related in the Stud Itook of this mare Aictorla by Ilambletonlair out of Beatrice by Sir Peter that she breedOn was put to the stud but will not breed On the opening day of the AVarwick meeting a hundred years ago there was a race in three four mile heats for His Majestys Plate which caused a lot of subsequent trouble as It was won bv a bay gelding supposed to be byAVorthy and four years old but it turned out afterwards on an investigation before the Jockey Club at Newmarket that the horse entered for it bv the description of b g by Worthy 4 years old was in fact the nay gelding Ilylas i years old in consequence of which payment of the plate was stopped U also transpired that the same animal had started for plates at Newton Lancaster Preston Ormskirk and Lichlield under the description of Trusty bv Worthy 4 years old Evidently gentlemen riders were not very keen in those days for although there were eight sub ¬ scribers for a Hunters Sweepstakes of 10 guineas each gentioinen riders twomile heats there were only two starters Mr J Lockley winning with a sixyearold bay mare by Totteridge Apparently Mr Lockley farmed all the hunters races with this useful mare whicli later in the year received the name of JennybaiigtheWeavers She started the year 1S10 by walking over for a Hunters Sweep ¬ stakes at Manchester the conditions reading for horses etc that never started or had been in train ¬ ing before the time of naming 1CS pounds each four miles On the n3xt day she walked over for a similar stake and she turned up at Oxford in Tidy to walk over for another Hunters Sweepstakes but was not allowed to for want of the requisite certificate Then came tlie AVarwick race already referred to and then she went on to Shrewsbury where after being beaten In a twomile sweep stakes for hunters 1GS pounds gentlemen riders four miles Being christened Tennybahgthe AVeavers she won a silver cun for hunters at Oswestry and wound up the year by being df qualified Tor crossing in the seeopd heat of u Members Plate sir Oswestry So imiPhH imiPhHEWTtirwick EWTtirwick one hundred years ago
