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THE "HORSE OF THE CENTURY." Exploits of the Mighty Ormonde in His Unbeaten Career in Racing. The "eighties" were certainly rich in exceptionally good horses, as will be generally admitted when I recall the fact that amongst the "lassie" winners during that period are enrolled the names of Bend Or. Robert the Devil. Thebais. St. Gatien, Melton. Paradox. Ormonde. Donovan anil Seabreeze. There may be some who will take objection to the introduction of St. Gatien to this select little party, on the ground that he could only run a dead heat with a moderate colt like Harvester for the Derby, but it is never safe to judge a horses merits by the result of one race, and it is quite certain that St. Gatien had not come to anything like his best form, or els. was by no means himself when he ran at Epsom, though even as it was. the general opinion was that he ought to have won. and would certainly have done so had the dead heat beea run off. Be this as it may. the back- nd of that season saw him in his true colors, and his easy victory in the Cesarewiteh under 122 pounds was one of the best performances ever accomplished in that race. A fortnight later his stable companion Florence, carried off the Cambridgeshire under 127 pounds and. from what he could do with her at home, there is no doubt that 140 pounds would not have stopped him in that race. It is. however, of Ormonde that I wish to write, as he is generally considered to be St. Simons chief rival for the proud title of the best horse the world has ever seen. As was the case with St. Simon, the only time that anything ever finished in front of him was in his first trial, which took aa*M over three-quarters in the first week of October, and is thus given by John Porter in his interesting book "Kingsclere:" Horse. Age. Wt. Fin. Kendal 2 119 1 Ormonde 2 120 2 Whipper In 132 3 Whitefriar 2 132 4 It seems a little strange that the last-named should have been asked to give thirteen pounds to Kendal, and I imagine that his weight is a misprint. This, however, is of small consequence, the main point being that Kendal won by a length and. as a result. Ormonde was started far a minor race at the Second October meeting, instead of opposing Minting in the Middle Park Plate. Ormonde Came to Hand Rapidly. In the trial given above. Ormonde had his clothes off for the first time in his life, and was by no means wound up, but the gallop did him a great deal of good and he came to hand rapidly. Thus he had no difficulty in upsetting the slight odds laid aa Modwona in a Post Sweepstakes over the liretby Stakes course, and followed this up by cantering away witli the Criterion Stakes and Dew -hurst Plate. This was a marvelous year for two-year-olds, as. in addition to Ormonde. Minting and The Bard, went into winter quarters with unbeaten certificates, though the last-named had been hard at it from Lincoln to Doncaster. and had earned sixteen brackets. They did not keep horses to look at a quarter of a century ago. Then there was Saraband, which had won six of the eight engagements he had fulfilled, and whose third in the Middle Park Plata showed him to be only three pounds behind Minting. The Bard was not engaged in the Two Thousand, but Ormonde. Minting and Saraband made their first appearance as three-year-olds in that race. The slightest shade of odds was accepted about Minting, in which Matthew Dawson, not unnaturally, felt unlimited confidence; whilst, thanks to Archer being in the saddle — the great jockey had an even bigger following than Woottoon has now — Sarband was a slightly better favorite than Ormonde, which ran untried, and started at 7 to 2. However, he won so easily from Minting that Mr. Vyner did not think it worth while to run his big horse in the Derby, but employed him more profitably in lucking up the "rand Prize of Paris, this being the last British victory in that event until Major Loder scored with Spearmint, just twenty years later. The Bard a Worthy Opponent. Ormonde was not. however, to have a walk -over for the Derby, for The Bard was amongst the oppo sition. and I have always considered that this was the stilTest race that the great horse ever had until his wind became affected. Just for a few strides as they descended the hill from Tattenham Corner, the little colt — for The Bard was scarcely more thai: a pony — fahrhf held him; but outside the distance, where the slight limb for home began. Ormondes superior stride told its inevitable tale. It was another example of the truth of the old saying that "a good big one will always beat a good little one." and the only exceptions that I ever remember to this rule occurred in races over long courses. In the Hardwicke Stakes at Ascot. Ormonde easily be.i1 Melton, the Derby winner of the preceding year, and 7 to 1 was laid on him for the St. Leger, in which St. Mirin was the beat of his opponents, and he only had an exercise canter. He was allowed a couple of walk -overs before the end of that season. and whenever he ran prohibitive odds on him wen-asked for. Inhappily, about the time of the St. Leger, syni] -toms of his wind being affected had been detected. Those naturally grew worse as time went on and, as a four-year-old. he was a pronounced roarer. This makes his performance in the Hardwicke Stakes all the more phenomenal. The Swinley course is about as severe a mile and a half as can lie found in England, and jet he beat Minting by a neck. A practical walk-over for the Imperial GaU Cup at the Newmarket July meeting closed his marvelous career and he went to the stud in the following year. In his first season he sired two first-class horses in Orme and Goldfinch, but then had a bad attack of fever. The Duke of Westminster, who had a strong objection to breeding from a roarer, sold him for ..0O0. and he was subsequently passed on for 50,000. but his severe attack of illness seemed to take all the vitality out of him, and he did little more good. -"Augur" in Sporting Life.
