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EPSOM DEB.BYS OF A HUNDRED YEARS, j Incidents Attending the Running of the Most Famous Race of the World. Second Article. The raw of 34 brought out Mr. liaisons Pleni-liotcutiary. another good son of F.niilius. and by some enthusiasts claimed to lie one of the best that ever ian for the race. Certainly Plenipotentiary was a iKirse of extraordinary power and substance, but bloodlikc. with iK-autifiil action, and won the ; Oertiy from a pretty large field without being J t- arroly extended, yet "Th- Druid" tells us that a Two-year-old course was always his forte, although . ffieiicoe, one of the l»e i animals Ixird Jersey ever J trained, both for speed and stamina, could never live with him. Tlie latter made a great name at the stud, particularly in America, but Plenipotentiary next to none, though thl may have been due to th«. fearful dosing he got from some miscreant at Doiicastcr on St. Uger Par. from the effects of which he never fully recovered. However, he got ; oik- Oaks winner in 4.. aptly enough named Poison. , and from another of his daughters descended Ster- i ling and Isonomy. Yorkshire rejoices over the Derby of .15. when for the first time in its history the great south-country prise went north, the hero being fie dark Mundig. which had never run before in public, and his owner, the Streatlaui squire, almost as obscure. Iiaviug inly just comuiouced racing ujioii his arrival i at mans estate, in commeuioratiou of which event the horse had received his name — a German word. Minifying "of age." The winner was considered at home a moderate horse until "roughed up" with something that could tell them what he was fit for. but the touts got wind of it through "draining" oue of the stable lads, and. this being discovered by his party, they turned the tables upon the clever ones by starting the crack and a stable companion home from Kpsoui and bringing them back again surreptitiously. Tlie race is memorable for a most exciting finish between Scott on the chestnut and Xat Flat man on Ascot, when many of the spectators at the post believed that the latter had won, and for the fact that Mr. Mowes landed 0,000 in bets — a goodly Mini in those days, although some ten years before George Payne had dropix-d nearly twice as much over Jerrys St. Leger: but this was an exceptional case. The artifice that had been resorted to with the winner for tlie confusion of the operators exercised them greatly, and they pronounced it a "nice robbery." anil that the Scotts ought to have been ashamed of themselves. I ird Jersey came to the front again in 1S3G with his third winner, and one of his most famous, if not his Itcst horse, the beautiful and impetuous Bay Middlcton. He had a most fearful temper when first put into training, and in his Derby preparation Jem Kobinson had to be requisitioned to ride him in his gallops because he had liolted with everybody else. He even bolted with Jem, too. at the beginning of the business, but that masterly horseman in time somewhat subdued him. They could never try him. for he could not be got to follow anything, but preferred to go tearing away by himself, and no pace or distance ever made him blow. As in the previous year, only two were placed in Bay Middlct.ms Derby. Gladiator son of Partisan i following him home. Tlie latter might possibly have been first but for being stopped in his work only a month before through springing a curb, and in that race itself almost pulled up through Kill Scott thinking that there was a false start. Both the winner and tlie second are of accredited stud fame — Bay Middleton by his sons Flying Dutchman and Andoverl, and more especially by his fillies: while Gladiator, which never ran again, left us Sweetmeat and Queen Mary i Blink Bonnys and Caller this dam i before being sold for 0. KI0 to the French Government, who got a rare bargain in him with his Miss Gladiator and the mighty Gladiateur. A sensation marked the o| ening of the Victorian Era in 1S37, wlien Lord Berners supplied the winner in Phosphorus, which started at 40 to 1. A fortnight liefore he had won a plate over the Bow-ley Mile, and lieen made a good favorite, but drifted out in the quotations through the fact becoming known that he was amiss, and confined in his box. Tlie sensational, incident, however, about Pliosphorus was that be came the hero— about the first on record — of a iioetic prophecy which apjieared in "Bells Life" the week before, signed "Vates." and giving this remarkable straight tip as it proved: "George Kd wards on Phosphorus the Derby has won." Neither that prophet, however, who was a Mr. Harrison, and was afterwards regularly attached to "Bells Life" in that capacity, nor tlie "newspaper horse." as his champion was scoffingly styled in the ring, ever afterwards did anything to equal this brilliant achievement. An assumedly far better horse was Caravan, which finished second, and which afterwards, at Chester, lieat Harkaway. a winner of two Goodwood Cups, and won the Ascot Gold Cup as a five-year-old. The Derby of 1838 was one of triumph and gratification to Epsom, for the winner, Amatoi was the prtqierty of Sir Gilbert Heathcote. a poular sportsman and local magnate, who for many years subsequently trained at Epsom, and resided at Tlie Ihirdans. now owned by Lord Rosebery. and within whose grounds the grave of this particular Derby winner may yet lie seen. In the vicinity also is a liostelry named after the hero of 1S3S. while, of course, everyone has heard of the Amato pump, with its annual "tip." The year 1S39 was another memorable anniversary, and one that is often alluded to. the distinctive feature being a snowstorm, through which Sim Templeman successfully piloted Bloomsbury. There was, by the way. some liother over this winner, the dispute concerning the antecedants and ownership of the horse. Tlie Derby was the first race in which Bloomsbury had ever competed. In 1840 the event was graced by the presence of Qu "on Victoria, who was accoin pained by Prince Alliert. To commemorate the occasion the prince presented the rider of the winner with a gold-mounted whip, the recipient of the trophy being one Macdonald. who won on Mr. Kohinsons Little Wonder. Horse and jockey were exceptionally fortunate, for the latter was comparatively unknown to fame, and neither liefore or after was successful in any of the standard races, while the horse was simply a plain, old-fashioned galloway, and his victory — with 50 to 1 laid against him — a great surprise, so much so. indeed, that he is perhaps the first Derby winner which attained the distinction of having his portrait presented to the world in a Sunday paper. J. F. Herring was the artist, and the likeness, though merely in outline, was of singular fidelity, and no doubt quite a curiosity in those days, when illustrations were certaiuly not the strong point of the newspaiier press. Little special interest is attached to the victories of Coronation in 1S41. or of Attila in the following year, save that the latter was the mount of the la 111011- "Bill" Scott, brother of the immortal John of Whitewall: but "Bills" next triumph, a twelvemonth later, on Mr. Bowes Cotherstonc, deserves more particular mention. The Streatlam s.piire. who had lieen but poorly represented in the Derby since Mundigs success in 1K35. although proverbially lucky elsewhere, had at this time only two horses in* training, and of these — Cotherstone and Aukl Lang Syn — it was a moot |toint which was the worse. Tlie former was one of the poorest yearlings that ever came to Whitewall. and so indifferently did he perform in his two-year-old days that Mr. Bowes would have sold him but for John Scotts lietter counsel. Early in the spring of this year he displayed such marked improvement that a trial was de-termined on. in which the renowned "Bill." having the mount on the colt, discovered in him such latent excellence that, although lieaten in the trial, lie was convinc« l that he was something out of the ordinary, hut the stable was sceptical on the joint. However. Cotherstone was sent to the Craven meeting where he secured the Riddlesworth anil Column Stakes then important events: and having MM thi- Two Thousand to those achievements. Iiecame a hot favorite for the Derby, and in the hands of his famous Jockey won with the utmost ease in a strong run race, beating, among others. Lord George Beiitnincks Gaper, which had been backed for an Immense sum of money, and Gorhamlmry. which ran under a suspicion of being over age. Another noteworthy point a Unit the winner is that he was the first colt sired by the celebrated Touchstone to achieve success at Epsom, though Touchstones first classic winner was Blue Bonnet, which the year liefore had credited him with a St. I -ger, the race that had made the sire himself famous. n.ither Derbv winner in tlie following year 1S44 in Orlando, set the seal uiion tlie stud fame of the Westminster horse, and here again we have a somewhat remarkable year, although the incidents connected with it are the reverse of agree-•tb e This was the year of the notorious Running Rein friud an episode often enough related in tne history of the turf but which can never W tVo often exposed, if only to point the moral that •.uV-h disgraceful doings can never fail of detection in connection with such a race as tlie Derby. The hors** falsely described as Running Rein, by The Saddler was proved in a court of law to be a four rear-old called Maccabeus, by Gladiator, the discovery being chiefly due to the energy and dc termination of General then Colonel Peel, whose horses. Orlando ami Ionian, ran second and third to the imposter. notber horse, named Leandcr. the proiiert..- of one Litchwald a German horse dealer, ran in the same ra -e but broke his leg in running, and. lieing destroyed was then discovered to be a four-year-old which circumstance caused suspicion to be directed to the winner. Running Rein, whose owner. Mr. A Goodman, a low gaming-house keeper, en j joyed not the most unblemished reputation. The disqualified one, afterwards called Zanoni. was ex- ! ported to Russia, where he was greatly esteemed ■ at the stud, being undeniably a taking and band-some horse. ... To l e continued. 1
