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ST. LEGEK WINNERS OF RECENT YEARS. It is interesting to aeee that during recent years the last of the classics has frequently brought with it quit.- unexpected results. The triumph of Black .iest-r last year can hardly lx- placed in that cate-gorv. though Keiinvniore. Peter the Hermit and Hapeears were all preferred to Mr. J. B. .locis coll. That i lie casv viet iry of the las! named was in .J thing hut a fluke, the winner has since demon straled. even if it is allowed that his display in the Newmarket Gold Cup did not enhance his reputation. But if there was nothing staggering about the result of last seasons St. Leger. the same certainly cannot be said of that which immediately preceded it In fact, ti"" -"ill Doiicast.-r race of iwo rear* baeft "" a* down to htaterjr ae aa* of the ii;..st pxtraordiaarj oa record. Although not eva.-tiv the inosi lettable »f thoio.ighl red*. Lea-rata, which had area the Two; Thousand ami oh taine.l second position in the Derby on the disqualification of Craganour. was generally regarded as the best to stuud, the chief sources of danger, in the opinion of the prophets, being Aghdoe and Bachelors Wedding. When the race had been run. however, the three favorites were occupying the three rearmost positions, those at the end that mattered being respectively tilled by Night Hawk. White Magic and Seremond — assmvly three of the worst animals associated with leading berths in the race. To add to the mystery. Night Hawk nt only won easily, but actually created a time record for the event. If one should desire at any time to emphasize the glorious uncertainty of the apart of kings, lie could do worse than choose Night Hawks St. Leger as his text. The success of Tracery a year earlier was not unexpected, albeit Lomond was a hot favorite for the race. It was. of course, recognized later that Tracery was an uncommonly good horse, and had he been as fit ea Derby day as he was at Donca«ter. the American-bred celt, and not Tagalie. would in all Ilk dawned have carried off the Epsom prize. Going a year further back one may be permitted to marvel at the fact that a hiirs • like King William should have been preferred to Prince Pala tine for that particular St. Leger, though here again the victory of the "Prince" was not calculated to create surprise: while the successes of Swynfc.rd. Bayardo. Your Majesty and W-hiI Winder were mere or less in accordance with anticipati-.uis. Treettbeck had numerous supporters for the race of l.MXi. though the majority favored the Oaks winner. Keystone II.. but the previous vear Challa-combe sprung a suprise. Mr. W. M. Singers mui of St. Serf winning easily from Polymelus, with the odds-on chance. Cherry Lass, merely third. Pretty Polly. Sceptre and Back Sand were the three winners preceding Challacombe. and these were all popular fancies: but in 1901 Doricles. a 40 to 1 commoditv, caused a bit of a stir by getting tb« lietter of the Derby winner. Volodyovski. in a close finish. Mr. Le MM ld de Kotschild did not gei the race until the case had gone into what Ted Sloan used to call the "objection room," Lester Beiff, the rider of Volodyovski. bringing a charge of bumping. The stewards, however, overruled the objection. They agreed that the second had been interfered with." but not by Doricles. For the previous real St. Leger surprise one has to go back to 1894. though Wihlfowlers victory over .T.-dda.i was not anticipated by everybody. In the year particularized the race was deemed to l e in the nature of a match between the Two Thousand and IH-rbv hero Ladas and Matchtiox. which had run second to Lord Boseberys colt in the earlier classics. Ladas was an 11 to 10 on chance, while Matchbox started at 2 to 1 against. Once again Matchbox met more than his match, as it were, in Ladas: but both were fairly easily beaten by Lord Aling-tcus tillv Throstle, which, on offer at 50 to 1. beat the" favorite by three-parts of a length. — "Augur" in London S|K»rting Life.
