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EPSOM DERBYS OF A HUNDRED YEARS Incidents Attending the Running of the Most Famous Race of the World. Eleventh Article. Tin- Derby of 1S94 will tie long rememliercd by reason or certain exceptional circumstances. This was "faihU* vear." and of course Ladas was owned bv the Karl of Roseliery. who was at the time Prime Minister. There was nothing extraordinary in a petmier owning a race horse, or even a Derby candidate; but Ladas was the first animal to carry off the great. -st event of the year for the head of the government of the day. Uird Roseliery had previously endeavored to win the Ih-rby with a colt named Ladas. this being when he was quite a youth. The fact that the original Ladaa proved a failure did not cause Lord Rosebery to regard the name with any sort of superstitious dread: and fortunately the- second Latins showed himself to Im-a distinct improvement upon the first of the ilk. But to hark back a little, Ladaa was by Hampton out of Illuminata. and was bi-d by the Primrose Earl. Ladas Hiatal a bit of a stir on the aeeaataa of his debut in the Weedeete stakes, for which odds of I to 1 were laid on Ola re. the colt being a 10 to 1 commodity. He. nevertheless, won in easy fashion from Mecca, with the favorite third. lie reappeared at Ascot in the Coventry Stakes, which he won from Bullingdoii and Vill-pecula. -He was not seen again until Doncaster. where he won the Champagne Stakes from his only opponent. Seiiiproiiius. His final essay of the year was in the Middle Park Plate, which, with odds ." to 1 on, he won without unduly extending himself. Ladas thus retired for the season bearing the reputation of a good animal with great classic pros- ! IM-cts. His chief antagonist was a colt from Kings- : clere named Matchbox, which hail also raced creditably as a juvenile. The pair first met in the Two Thousand, in which Ladas. a slight odds-on chance, defeated Lord Alingtons colt by a length and a half. The pretensions of Mntchltox having thus been seemingly settled, the Derby assumed the appearance of a one-horse race, and by IK-rby afternoon big odds--9 to 2. to In- precise — were demanded of the supporters of Ladas. There was a huge attendance at Epsom notwithstanding the circumstances. The idea of a Derby victory for the premier, and especialy one so closely associated with Epsom, had caught on, and though , the contest for the big event produced little ex- citement the concourse had the satisfaction of being able to cheer the popular fancy. Coming to the race itself. Matchbox, attended by his stable companion, held the lead for some distance. In fact, the former was still in front when the straight was entered. Hornbeam and Ladas being his immediate attendants. Ladas soon passed Lord Bradfords colt, but Matchbox insisted on making a fight of it. Despite his sameness, however, it was obvious that Ladas held the whip hand, and he finally reached the judges box a length and a half in front, Reminder being third, six lengths further away. A great demonstration followed, the enthusiasm being almost without parallel. Ladas did nothing afterwards. He was beaten in both the Princess of Wales Stakes and the Eclipse Stakes. In the St. Leger he again met Matchbox, and for the third time he proved his superiority to the son of St. Simon, but to the astonishment of everybody both were Iieaten by a stable companion of Matchbox, the outsider Throstle, which won by three-quarters of a length from the Derby winner. His only effort as a four-year-old — in the Jockey Club Stakes at Newmarket — also resulted in defeat. There is a good deal of truth in the old adage to the effect that it never rains but it iiours. and there should have been no great surprise in the circumstance that Lord Rosebery should follow up his Derby victory of 1S94 with another twelve months later. This second triumph was. moreover, achieved by an animal of comparatively poor class, judged by the usual Epsom standard. This was a colt by Barcaldine out of Vista named Sir Visto. The debut of Sir Visto. like that of Ladas. was made in the Woodcote Stakes. The competitors for this were not a great lot. Cheam and McNiel being regarded as the best of the bunch, though Sir Visto was included among the possibles. He. however, ran poorly, the race going to Saintly, belonging to Mr. Daniel Cooper, who therefore received some consolation for the defeat of Glare a year earlier. Sir Visto next took part in the Imperial Produce Stakes at Kempton Park, and here he improved upon his earlier form, winning the rich prize by a head from Float — also one of Mr. D. Coopers fillies — and Galeottin. and in this success his labors for the year camp to an end. I Sir Visto — again like Ladas — commenced his three-i year-old season in the Two Thousand, in which I he ran third to Kirkconnel and Iiveno. He occu- • pied a similar position behind the Owl and Solaro in the Newmarket Stakes. Sir Vistos next race was the Derby, for which R.ironteur and Le Var I started joint favorites at 5 to 1, Sir Visto quoted at 9 to 1. f As was the case the previous year there was little real interest in the great race, but for a totally different reason. The fifteen constituting the field for the Derby were so moderate that it i was impossible for anyone to enthuse over them, i Then- was little of incident in the race until Tat-i tenham Corner was reached, and not much afterward, for that matter. At the famous landmark t Beckhampton was leading, with The Brook — a M ; to 1 chance — and Curzon following in his wake. Sir ,• Visto being among the middle division. A quarter . of a mile from the winning peat Curzon went to s the front, pursued by Kirkconnel, but Sir Visto was ; i going well, and inside the distance Sam Loates i tackled the gelding, and eventually won by three-quarters of a length, with the winner of the Two 1 t Thousand third. This second success of Lord Rose-e bery was again heartily acclaimed, but the scene would not stand comparison witli that following tin-victory of Ladas. . j After being beaten in the Princess of Wales Stakes Sir Visto was put by for the St. Leger. • s Here again his lines were cast in pleasant places. • • His most troublesome opponent proved to be Tele-t seojie. a horse belonging to Mr. Washington Singer. • . which as a four-year-old won the Manchester No- • vember Handicap, carrying 94 pounds. It would 1 p have been a terribly jMior sort of Derby winner r which could not have accounted for such a horse. and Sir Visto won by three parts of a length. Still. • when all is said and done. Sir Visto was a lucky horse to have won two classic races. Fortunately he was foaled in a moderate year, otherwise our r narrative would have taken a different course. To be continued.
