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ENGLISH TRIPLE CROWN WINNERS Accepting the New Derby as a substitute for the Epsom classic and the September Stakes as taking the place of the Doncaster St Leger Gainsborough makes the thirteenth colt in the history of the turf to carry off what it has been the custom to call the Triple Crown This starts with the Two Thou ¬ sand Guineas and the record of Triple Crowns can only date back to 1813 as the Two Thousand Guineas originated in that year It had been in existence for forty years before a horse was forth ¬ coming to accomplish the feat In 1833 West Aus ¬ tralian was victorious in all three events and in 18i5 came the mighty Frenchman Gladiateur which must have been a wonder for it is stated that he always suffered from navicular disease and was lame on and off throughout his whole career So Sydenlmm Dixon states in his book From Gladia ¬ teur to Persimmon The following year Lord Lyon made a third Ormonde a threeyearold in 1SSC left the race course without ever having known defeat Common which I have always taken to be of inferior class to the others in this category was at any rate the best threeyearold of his age in 1891 and contrived to add his name to the list The nineties were curiously prolific in great colts for we find other winners of the trinlut in Isinglass 1893 only once beaten during hiscareer in Gal tee More iu 1897 Flying FOX in 1899 and Diamond Jubilee started the century It will be perceived that it is not always the best horse which does extraordinary tilings Diamond Jubilee was markedly inferior to his elder brother Persimmon but this latter missed the Iwo Thousand Three years after Diamond Jubilee Rock Sand was lucky enough to win all three races I say lucky because he by no means stands out among classic winners Ard Pat ¬ rick and Sceptre having beaten him a long way in the Eclipse Stakes and where Sceptre instead of giving nine pounds weight for age and sex gave fifteen pounds and won In a canter by four lengths Badminton Magazine
