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ESGUUTO-S GREATEST RACE FOR FILLIES. It is a long time sim-e the Oaks led to ante-i-,.t letting but he would be a bold man who dared tT suggest that as a sporting event the race has w mv of its power of attraction. It was founded bv the twelfth Karl of Derby iu 1770 much in the sloie manner as the St. Leger. which preceded it Uv hiw "ears. The suggestion for the race was raised at The Oaks, where the Karl of Derby was a magnificent scale, and from the .nailing -n en fact that the St. Leger. open to horses of both L!v.s h-id proved successful, the idea probably ar.s,. to initiate a race confined to three-year-old «lh..s There were but seventeen subscribers, but they included the most noble in the land, and with "dozen of the entries competing, the race had a toe send-off A vear later came the Derby, for and nliie* and from that date the greatness of .-.Its r„*?m Races has been acknowledged. It is still i cVrn.r«l and no matter what may occur in the iurf world during the next generation the Derby n. oaks days will, with Southerners Ht a".y ,at,• continue the most popular open air attractions ii. ,h,o.!ooriatelv enough the first Oaks was won by L-rdoerbv. lie filly to score for him being Brid-get daughter of Herod, of which so much has been written in recent years by men who have made a . l Je s ndv of the breeding of the race horse. Lord I erbv" won again fifteen years later with Hennione V...I then in ISol a Lord Stanley triumphed with Earl had successes in lv.lll wPh Iris whi e he late anierl Pilgrim, and in 1900 with Keystone II.. r f ... .T the rv handsomest mans ever put into training. the only classic- race iu which the Tie- oaks is • n,t. -obi braid and scarlet sleeves" have net iJL.. .seen" iu front at the finish. Twice our lattice- s..„ lied the second. Thais be.ng runner up to timer tar v Pilgrim in 1890, and Priucesso cle Galles Mh tboMi * r"jal to i.rola in 1909. »u l iu years COltJL4JLttackelaTtbe list of Oaks winners, the oJmfrfSdeed I make .fine array, especially during : the first fifty years. Then the turf had not become a democratized, and its patrons included such sportsmen - as the Prince of Wales afterwards George • IV. i. the Dukes of York. Rutland. Grafton, Richmond, " Bedford. Portland. Leeds, and Hamilton; : Lord Derbv, Lord Egremont. Lord Fitzwilliam. • Lord Jersey". Lord Exeter. Sir Charles Bunbury. Sir I F. Standish. and a host of others whose names as s owners of race horses would be welcome now. Sir r Charles Bunburv. who won the first Derby with i Diomed. and gained a later triumph with Eleanor, . took the Oaks on one occasion only, and it was in i 1!*1 with the last named. She was the first to it secure Ix.th races, and the performance stood as a i re.or.l until isr.7. when it was equalled by Blink v Bennv. Many have tried since then, but Signoriu-etta - DMisi alone successfully. Nor have more p won the Two Thousand and One Thousand as wejl 1 as the Oaks, the three being Crucifix 1840. Fot-mosa - lsr.Si. and Sceptre 1902. Of these For-m - sji was after all only half a winner of the Two Thousand, which she divided after a dead heat. . A notable feature in connection with the early history - of the Oaks is the number of owners who won a it on two or more occasions. The Duke of Grafton - stands first with nine victories — Pelisse l» 04i. . More! UN, Music 1813. Medora 1814. Minuet t 1 1815 1. Pastille 1822i. Zinc 1823. Turquoise e 1828. and Oxvgen 1811. Lord Giosvenor won atx k times— Faith 1781. Ceres 1782i. Maid of the e Oaks 17S.li. Nike 17971. Bellina 1799 1. and I Meteora 1M5 . His record was almost enualled bv v L rd Egremont. whose winners were Nightshade e 1788, Tag 17S9I. Platina 1795. Epheniei-i •i 1 1 -o: i , and Carolina 1820. The Duke of Bedford I Mi l» rd Exeter each scored thrice, and those with II two wills were Sir !•. Standish. Lord Clermont. L r.l il Chesi.-rlicM. and the Duke of Richmond. During % the past fifty years sitoils have Iteen more eipialiy I distributed, hut the late Lord Falmouth had four r winters— vis Queen Bertha 1*63, Spinaway t lKT..i. Jannette ll*7S». and Wheel of Fortune e MVT.h. and iu Spinaway s year he also supplied the i» ■cond iu Ladylove. The Duke of Portland can look i j " » ? 1 1 t ; : a - • " : • I s r i . i it a i v - p 1 - - . - a - . t e k e I v e •i I II il % I r t e i» i back upon the race with satisfaction. Memoir hav-ing won for him in 1890, and Mrs. Buiterwick in 1893 Amiable in 1894. and I«i Roche in 1900. Princess Dorrie is the fourth winner for Mr. J. B. Joel, who has already scored with Jest. Glass Doll. and Our Lassie. Outsiders have been successful on many «■- enskms. of course, but not so frequently as might I* supposed considering the reputation of the sex for fickleness, and if au analysis were made it would show that the fielders have done better over the Derby than the sister race. There have been no such upsets as those effected by Hermit. Done-aster, Sir Hugo. Jeddah. Sig:!orinetta. and Aboyeur. In our own time the longest-prie-ed winner has been Jenny Howlet, which brought off a H to 1 chance in 18S0, and was the last filly to win for the North. She was trained by William I* Anson. whose father had owned and trained the 1 57 win- ner. Blink Bonny. The Malton stable had two repre- sentatives. and Bonnie Marden was more fancied than Jenny Howlet. but Mr. J. B. Cookson was not a lucky man. and had to see his filly beaten four lengths, though it was some consolation that the prize went to his great friend. Charles Perkins. Mr. Cookson had occupied the same tantalizing position twelve months earlier, when Coromandel II. was easily beaten by Wheel of Fortune, but in that ca« success was not expected, for the winner stood out conspicuously as the best three-year-old in training. Of Lord Falmouths earlier winners. Jannette had the luck on her side. Pilgrimage had beaten her fer the One Thousand, after winning the Two Thou- sand, and would have repeated the performance at Epsom, but one of her legs went before reachini: the bell, and it was a most artistic piee-e of riding on the part of Tom Cannon which enabled her to ge-t within a length of Jannette. When Lord Fal-e mouth gained his first success, with Quen-n Bertha. his horses were trained by John S.-ott. at Whitc- wall, Malton, and it was oyer this mnre that he had the only bet he ever made in connection with racing. Mrs. Scott expressed her belief that Queen Bertha would win. whereupon Lord Falmouth bet her sixpence that she would not. He hid a sixpence mounted in gold and surrounded with diamonds. and in due course presented it to the worthy dame, much to her delight. An Oaks that will always linger in our memory was that of 1S67. Achievement was out and out the be-st two-year-old of the previous season, and having shown that she retained Iict form by win- ning the One Thousand in the canter, the Epsom race appeared at her mercy. Many went to get back the money ihey had lost ove-r Hermits Derby and laid odds of 3 to 1 on. but to the e-hagrin of her owner and e-verybody else she could ctnlv make a dead beat with Romping Girl for second place to Hippia. The winner started third favorite at 12 to 1. and won by a length in the hands of Johnny Daley, who had upset calculations on Hermit two days earlier. It was the Barons first success in a classic race, but he had been third for the Oaks in 1888 with Zephyr, and second and third in the previous year with Breeze and Tomato. Four years after Hippia he won it with Hannah, which" also carried off the One Thousand and St. Leger. while iu the same season with a son of Zephyr, Favonius by name, he landed his only Derby. The year ISS4 will remain memorable for the performances in the Derby and Oaks of a colt and filly that had been se-nt up for sale in the spring by Lord Falmouth. They were Harvester and Busy-Itetely. and Tom "ami n was within an ace of buying both for Mr. Abington. He bid np to S.50O guineas for the colt, but then stopped, and Sir John Willoughby tfred him for another "hundred." Then when Busybody came into the ring there was another spirited competition, but Cannon had made up his mind to have her, and Mr. Eil-raond Tattersalls hammer fell at his offer of S.S00 guiiH-as. Harvester ran a dead heat with St. Gatien fer the Derby, and. with "guineas to pounds" laid on her. Busybody, which had won the One Thousand, gave Tom Cannon a fairlv comfortable ride in the Oaks, though she finished onlv half a length in front of Superba. On the eve of Ascot she met with an accident ami could never run again, but at the stud she produced a real good horse in M« ddler. which would probably have gained classic honors but for his nominations be-eoinin- void by the untimely death of the "Squire." Whe-n his horses were sold in July. 1893. Meddler fetched 14...h guineas, and went to America. Only twice in its long history has the Oaks re -sulted in a dead heat. The first oe-e-asion was In 1888. when Mr. Gratwickes Governess and Admiral Hare urts Gildermere "tied." Gildermere was favorite at 9 to 4. and Governess a 4 to 1 chance. and on running off the slight odds of « to 5 were laid «.n the former, but after another fin- rae-o Governess won by three-quarters of a length. The other dead beat was in 1S7K. wlien two Fren.-h tillicS. Count de LaGranes Camelia and M. Lupins Engnerranele. could not be separated by the judge, but in this instance a division was quickly agreed iil oii. Count LaGrange had previously won with Fille de lAir. and sine-e Camelia and "Enguerrande no forii n-reared filly has won. Signorinetta the heroine of 1908. belonged to an Italian, and Mirski. which trium bed two years ago for a French sportsman, but both were bred and trained in England. Of all the great mares that have won none were letter ban S.eptre and Pretty Polly, and the former stands f.a-th as the only winner outright of the Two Thousand. One Thousand. Oaks, and sf Leger. With the prese-nt fashion of picking ai.i .boosing engagements the record may never be eepiaMed. The largest field that ever ran for the race was in 184K. when Harry Hills Cymba beat twenty-five opponents, and the smallest ten years ago. "when Pretty Polly frightened away all but three, thougu there were 211 entries. — The Winning Post.
