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ASCOT GOLD CUP ANTICIPATION. There has been some discussion of late cm Tl" value of the Ascot Cup. and suggestions have been matte iiiat ii should lie Increased to a Bve-tgare - I ih.- expense of the oecnpaats of the Bo.tjI euchware. Ih,-. however, would be s mtatake botti ways, tor here i- i„. reason to suppose that lO.ixiti •Hrercign* prise would attract say larger tield-tliiiu now g.. In the post, ami. on tin- other hand, the H »al enclosure i- u,,, :, cynosure of wealth. That iHuethlag more tnigbt l«- derived from it for the general beaedi of the a-..i prograai atay In- ad mined ai once, but i be Cap is already worth plenty " money to the v i. and the more SO that the victory add- enoranonsl to the value of the horse. W • need onlj eoasidei the case of Prlaee Palatine i i enpared with Stedfast. tut it A-.-ot la-i year there was very little between them on the book, and nhai little there «a- seemi d to siightlv favor M.ilf.i-t. tint after the Ascot Cap, which Stedfast dnl not run far, Prlaee Palatine became worth at lea-t twice as macfa as his rival ih.- Eclipse Stake- -bowed haw little there really was between [hem. but the Ascot Cap victory carried all before «w " and then there was the Doacaetci CafJ to cotii- V iileta the tale of Prince Palatines tame, until nnally raane bis crowniag tiKimph in the Jockey lob stake-, with Ktedfasl receiving lump- of weigh! ami heiaa badly beatea. ii may be that Ktedfaat, as a five ear-old. will train on into a 1 nil i h.unpion. though I doubt his ability •• beat either Prlaee Palatiaeor Tracery at wefarkt-for-age. Iraeery woald seem to tie more notable i,.i sprint ing capacity than for -tainini: but that i- not mv Mew ol him at all. TO me he MeSBS to be ■ tin.. stayer, and it msatd be dihVnlt to name ■ St. leger winner which sssaokad my hi- aamsaeata - ruthlessly as Tracer* did almas! from end to end oT that race. It niu-i never be forgotten thai Maiden Frlegh • M - ml for the St. Leger and beaten pointless bj Traeerr. l have referred lo this point before, but it will bear lojietitirm, for he Cambridge-hire favoritism of Maiden Frlegh with such a weight as 11$ pounds, speaks volumes for the three-year-old class. It i a fact that WoottOB, who is a level headed youth, thought that Maiden Frlegh had an odds -on chance, -o well was he running for the Cambridgeshire until be either hit his leg or in some other way rendered himself bora de combat for the time being. Xow. if Wootton was right — and those who knew nest about Maiden Brlegh fully confirmed the Jockeys opinion — Tracery mast have been equal to the task of winning the Cambridgeshire with sosaethtag more than 120 pounds on his three-year-old back. Tracery goes higher in front than stayers usually do. and he is rather light and long in his back ribs and loin, but he does stay most unquestionably well. So good, indeed, is he on his smashing defeat of Maiden Frlegh and the rest of the St. Leger held that Prlaee Palatine will need lo have recov ered his ere Im-m form if he is avoid defeat by Mr. Belmonts champion in the Cup races of this year. It will not surprise me if Irinre Palatine never forgets his last race. Anyone who has ever run Orel a long distance when untit — as I have done on.v or twice long ago — i- well aware that the physical distress ami discomfort resulting from the eaTort produce a lasting Impression on the mind. Now a horse with no deflaite means of knowing why he has been put through the mill in this heartbreaking fashion is not at all unlikely to conclude bat racihg i- a game lie has had enough of. Of course. Iriti e Palatine may rise superior to the occasion, but it i- asking for trouble when hoises are taxed to a degree which their coaditiOB does not Justify. I could call to mind many eases where such trouble has resulted. Cutis, for instance, could never be relied on to do his best after the race in which. being short of work and not at all expected, he got -i clone that he had to be ridden out desperately i beat Land League over a mile and a half. He won. but never liked racing after that. Xoetniform was very muck above himself when he ran his first three laces in England, and I Irmly believe that this Btterly upset him. for until then he knew nothing of the bitterness of defeat, and the experience would lie a horrible one to him. which had heel in the habit of salltag away to win at leisure. The AsCOt Cup i- generally regarded as the classic • -i of stamina, and he good winners of it are valued more for that victory than all the rest pul together, no matter how valuable the stake-. Pet -minions wonderful tinal inn for the Ascot Cup, when he came right away from Wtnkflekls Pride. will never be forgotten by those who saw it. but people hardly remember that be won the Felip-e Stake-. Bayardos Ascot Cup Victory added far more to his value than did an.v of his other triumphs, for until then there was a persistent lea-ileiii to doubt hi- being a genuine stayer. After he had been taken to the front, half a mile I torn home, ami won the Ascot Cap in a common caster all such doubts disappeared, and no horse now at the Stud is in quite -neb demand a- Bayardo. Donca-t-i wa- another horse whose value was greatly Increased by hi- winning the A-col Cup. A fortnight or SO before that race 1m i1i he and Marie Stuart were oflered to tin- Cobham Stud Company for 8.000 guineas, with their Ascot engagement. It wa- mere! owing to a legal technicality that the deal did not go through. When the Ascot We. k came Marie Stuart won the Gold Vase, ami Don caster he Cap and Alexandra Plate. A- a result of that Robert Peck gave 12,000 guineas for him alone, and Sterling Crawlui.l bough! Marie Small for 4.000 gnima-. Those were accounted very hi.i prices iadeed at the period in question, but the Duke of Westminster did not hesitate to give Robert Feck a good profll on his bargain. It was a In. K . purchase for hi- Grace, a- Doaeanter sired Bend Or in his first season a I the stud. H is very satisfactory to see so many as tifty-ftve entries for thi- years Ascot Cup: among them the. ■• i material for a splendid field, but natieipatioaa of the -mt ate mote often than not disappointed. Se eral of the be-l I hi ee year old- are engaged, includ insr Sanquhar. Pine, I.oitvois. Rack Flint, and D-y Comet. Lomond and Sweeper II. appear among the entry, though neither -eems at all likely to gel the course. Prince Palatine. Tracery, and Stedfast will, it is to be hoped. I»- tit and well on the day. Then. Iadeed, are shall have a race worth seeing.— "Spe cial Commissioner." in IhkIou Sportsman.
