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T SOME ASCOT GOLD CUP RACES. Interesting Reminiscences of One of the Most Famous Races in the World. "In the bnve days of all" no Derby winner was considered to have quite sel the seal on his fame until he had wen an Ascot up. a race which really ought to rank amongst the •classics." Perhaps no other event possesse* quite such a thrilling history. What memories are called up by a mere perusal of the knag list .* i is. What a glamour ••Hie ilruid" has casl round the doings of Zingaiioe. l.il-eetia. Touchstone, "lasy" Lanercosi. Beeswing, The Hying Dutchman. Teddington. West Australian and Fisherman. These are only a few of the BMMi ■otable of the winners prior t. 1SC.O. and. lo deal adequately with liiein. I should require four or live columns of The Sportsman instead of the space that lias he.n allotted to me. Why. Indeed, should I altcinpl a tank thai has been already so inin.il. ibl.x ::. oniplished by the greatest lint writer that has ever lived. The deeds of all these area! horses, and of many more, are recorded iinperishably in the j i s ot "Fast and Paddock." -Silk and Scarlet," and "Scot! and Sebright," and it seems ;he wisest course for me to take up the tale of 1800 and to con Una Myself to Jotting down a few stray memories «.f races thai 1 nave seen for the Ascot Cap. 1 was fortunate Indeed in the year of inv tirst xi-it 10 Ascot in witnessing probably the bmmI remarkable performance i ve* accomplished in the his lory ot the b.id cup. There weir only three runners. Gladiateur, Regalia and Breadalboue. and. had all been well will, the nighty l-rciichman. odds 01 .. lo 2 on liim would ml have been accepted. From bis early days, however, he always Battered from navicular disease, doubtless inherited from Ids dam. Miss Jladiater, which was always a hopeless cripple and could sever be trained. lb- was lame, on and oil, all lliiong.li his career, ami as. before be started for this race. Ids "dickey" leg was worse than usual, ilari.v Griuaabaws orders were lo lie nicely up with his lield until the hold turn, t n-e his mount very carefully down the hill, and then lo make the best of his way home, hither the Jockeys idi a o| "lylag up with his lield" was a very peculiar one. or his defective sight was to blame, for Br. ad alhane passed the grandstand the lirsi time fully twenty length* in flout of Regalia, which was lead lug Gladiateur by abonl half thai distance, lrom thai point, however, Hiimshaw carried our his iii slruclions lo tin- biter and came down the hill Into Swini.y Bottom iii each leisurely fashion that, when lie was oil level ground again, the Other pair were thr.e hundred yards ahead of him at the most moderate estimate. The style in which the meat horse Closed up that immense gap when he was al last allowed to si ride along was simply incredible. People could scarcely believe their eves when he strode past lie- Judges box forty lengths in front of Regalia, whose tongue was hanging out of her mouth like that of a beaten dog, whilst Breadalbane had scarcely reached the bend into the new course, and never linished at all. Small wonder that such a line Judge as the late .lames Waugh always ma in laincd thai Gladiateur was the greatest horse that ever lived, and no doubt many veterans wili agree wiih him. Personally 1 should assign thai proud position to Si. Simon, but, alter all. tiie matter is purelj one ..I surmise and incapable of proof. It is an universallj accepted turf adage that dassie form will always b. at the best handicap form, bin there is no rule without .m exception, ami the Cold 110 ot 18S7 proved to be one of them. The field of leu was .111 except ionallv fun- 0:1 . Including three oaks winners in Begalia. Tormentor ami Illppia. that tine stayer, Kan .1. which had run away from Lard Lyon in the Doncaster Cup of the preceding .-11111111111. Julius, which was destined to will a Ceaarewitch with 112 ] nils on his three-year-old lack. John Davhl and Lecturer. The las: named wonderful "pony" never quite reached fifteen hands, but was a horse of remarkable length. When fairly stretched out in a gallop he carried his head so lav. that it was almost on the ground, and he had such extraordinary round setioa that he used to cut his elbows, and had to be shod with hall tips. Thanks to Cannon on John Davis which was paei mai ■ 1 1 w Fordham en Lecture;-, the race was run from end to end. a:nl so good was the pioneer be won half a dozen races on his own account thai season that they wire well int.. th. straight before be was done with. Then lb .iritieid. who rode Begalia, saw Cannon looking round for Fordham, ami. knowing what this meant, he watched his opportunity, ami when John Davis was pulled out to lei up his staid.- 1 oiiipnuiim on the inside. Begalia, and not I tui-.:. was the one that prompt! look advantage of tin- opening, this smart more obliged Fordhau to pull his mount back and come round on the oul- side. but. in spile of losing some ground, the lilte coli .is t.-o good lo he denied, and wen bj a length ;. id a half. Though Fordham and Hesrtfleld were always oa the best of terms, and il look a great ileal to upset the equanimity ot lie- former, he did not at all like being bested in his fashion, ami as they were returning to weigh in, said, very solemnly, "Tom, if youd beat me I should have objected to yon." Weil might Lecturer be tar mod "the Dane-Lury retriever." An enormous sum had been landed over bis Ceaarewitch victory of the preceding year, just when il was badly wauled, whilst the liar quis of Hastings recovered 2259,000 of his Derby losses on Hermit over this race. lu spit of in-amount of money that must have he.-n invested on him. Lecturer was not given so goad ■ favoril ■ as lilppia. Truly they did not play at betting In those rlajra. The three placed horses la the Derby ol Hie same year wen- the only runners for the cup of 1898, and two of these were post entries. Bine Gown, a borse which has never bees osln.iaicil al bis real worth won very easily, ami Speculum was second, thus reversing Epsom positions with King Alfred. sir Joseph Hawlev. the owner of Blue down, fair! v haled the coll. probably because he persisted in showing his superiority to Boaicmciaa and Green Sleeve, which Were such prime favorites with the baronet, and the little coll never had fair play dining his career, being conataatlj started far iaahrnl-ficanl events, quite unworthy the attention of a Derby winner, in spile of which his career was ex cepi ionally brilliant, bis second In the Cambridgi shire as ■ three-year-old with 120 pounds in tie- saddle, still ranking very high SBWIIfBl great hail li cap performances. The victory of Brigantine In the following year is notable from the fact that she disposed Of Blue Gown and Formosa, and also that since "that old lteeswing" iron in 1842 only four mares have carried off the Gold up, a poor percentage indeed in sixty-eight years. Some- races appear to be iab.K to ihe softer sex. I he Lincolnshire Handicap being another in which they rarely score, and Ibis si ins a worthy subject, lor discus sion at the next big meeting of suffragettes. There is evidently rank Injustice somewhere. Sabinus. one of the beat of the small band of distinguished geldings, was the hero of 1S70. He had a fair lield behind him. but the Cap, as is tin case wiih the Two Thousand, Derby and SI. Leger, is now confined to entire colts, a very right and proper condition. I have a very vivid memory of afortemer, which won tor M. Letevre in 1871. lb was a big chestnut, equally at homo over live fur KMMCS or three miles, for he could go almost as fas! as Sunder and sta. nearly as long as The White Knight. The same popular owner for M. Lefevre was always regarded as one of ourselves anil raced on grand and sportsmanlike lines upon which no Englishman could have Improved scored again in the following year with Henry, which upset the . .his of ."• to 2 that were laid on Pavonine, for which Hannah, winner of the One Thousand, Oaks and St. Leger of the preceding siason. acted as pacemaker. M. Lefevre was second in the following year with Flageolet, but, game and a great Stayer as he was. neither ho nor anything else in the race had the remotest chance with Creinoane. 1 shall never for-.t the magnificent style in which Mr. Saviles great horse moved on that day. and his trial for Hi.- race. Which took place over the last two miles and a half of Ihe Beacon Course, was so remarkable that I s.-t it out at length: Horse. Ate. Weight. Fin. Clem. .inc. -1. 139 1 Kaiser, ::. K o 2 Lilian. 4. 112 :; Lilian. 4. 105 0 Wan eaaUy b four bnagtts; six lengths between second and third. il must be mentioned that Kaieer only jumped in for the last mile ami a Quarter, and when it is remembered thai this i, .it had previously only been beaten a short head for the Two Thousand, and had run a dead heat for second place in Hie Derby. whilst In sabsequently landed the Prince of Wales Slakes at ascot and four other races off the reel, 11 must he admitted that Cremornef performance was one ol the nn-t remarkable ever recorded either in public or private, and I may mention that his owner, who was one of the most dashing speculators the turf has ever known, never ceased backing him .so long is anyone would bet against him. My allotted spa..- is so m-aih exhaasted that I cannot afford io dwell over these delightful old memories. Bolard, the hem of 1874, will always be reuMoibered as having taken Hie Cap to France from the absolutely best field that ever contested it. Flageolet ami Doncaster, who ran a dead heal for si o nil place, being followed home by Gang Forward. Marie Stuart and Kaiser. Twii..- months later Don casters turn came, and he siored as in- liked, also carrying off the Alexandra Plate on the following • lav. Il wis a very near thing, however, whether he could run at the meeting al all. In traveling from Busaley to As. ol op the Tuesday he wrenched off his mar fore si damaging liis foot somewhat seriously, ihe teg was kepi in a fomenting bm kit for six- hours that night, after which a poultice was applied to ii:e foot, and. as a good deal of rain fell during the Wednesday night, and the ground was - "t, he got through both races all right, and lived to make the racing fortunes of the late Duke of estminster. Vi-.nonil won in 1S7S and his record of carrying off the Hold fane, the Cold CUD and the Alexandra Plate ai ihe same meeting, ami iiiakim: every vard of the running in each of them, is in no danger of ever being broken. for«in these days we seem to have quite lost Ihe knack of breeding hardy, cut-and come-again customer* of this class. The names of i-ononiy. Robert the Devil. St. Simon and many others of the early winners call up reminiscences that one day I may have the chance of relating.— Sydenham l i-.on in London Sportsman.
