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MATCHED RACES IN ENGLAND -v First on Record Took Place Over s Five Hundred Years Ago. s n p j Yoltlgeur-TIic Flying Dutchman Race One of Most Famous In English History r JSlue Gown-Friponnier Another. , Tis written somewhere that "matches -are the elementary particles from which rac- t ing sprung" and merely because of this they j are interesting, but, with the postwar boom in racing in progress and rumors of matches l filling the air, a look-back at some of the old-time struggles is rather fascinating. j The first match on record took place in 1377 , between Richard II.,. then Prince of Wales, . and the Earl of Arundel, owners up, and i the future king was beaten. The next re- corded match took place at Newmarket on 1 March 8, 1622. It was for 100 and was be- 1 tween horses belonging to Lord Salisbury and the Duke of Buckingham and the formers horse won. i Then in 16CG the first instance of the pay- r ment of a forfeit is chronicled in a match between Lord Mountgarret and Mr. Elliott, , in which the former received and the latter , paid forfeit, and in the following year colors were chronicled for the first time, as in a match between Mr. Elliott and the Hon. Howard Uie formers colors were white and the latters green. About ten years later the name of Tre-gonweil Frampton appeared in connection with the turf, and in particular with matches. On St. Patricks day in 1675 his , horse, Nutmegge, beat Lord Montague of Cowdrays Lusty in a match for, some say, -900, and in the following year he ran two matches for 1,000 within a week; the one against a horse of Sir Robert Howards son and the other at Salisbury. Then comes the time of the probably baseless scandal about his horse Dragon. The story, as told by Dr. Hawkcsworth in 1753, goes that Mr. c Framptons stallion Dragon beat a mare in i a match for 1,000 and that the marcs t owner, being disappointed at the result, of- l fered to race her for 2,000 against any marc or gelding; whereupon Mr. Frampton - qualified Dragon for the match on the fol- t lowing day, which he won and from the j results of which died soon after. This is j probably an absolutely baseless tale, as there 1 were several Dragons about at this time. i An amusing tale is that of the match be- : tween Mr. Framptons favorite horse probably either Spider or Pontz and a horsa , : called Merlin, whose chief backer was Sir William Strickland. Merlin was sent to Newmarket to complete his training under a man named Heseltine. Framptons jockey met Heseltine soon after and suggested they should, on their own account, try the two horses together, so that they could know the j best and both make fortunes on the result. Heseltine wrote to Sir William Strickland about this and he immediately consented, but told Heseltine to put seven pounds more weight upon Merlin. Frampton also con- ; sented and also put up seven pounds extra , on his horse. Merlin won the trial by a , half length, so that the match to Heseltines stable looked a good tiling for Merlin, and to Framptons stable looked something like a certainty for their horse. The stakes were doubled, as both parties were, not knowing the others game, confident. The match came off and resulted in a win for Merlin by about the same distance as he had won the secret trial, and so much money was lost that the legislature introduced a bill to prevent the recovery of any sum exceeding ten pounds bet on a horse race. In addition to his many matches Frampton was a keen cockfighter and also raced mules at Newmarket. His picture by Wooton is typical, as it represents him with a jockeys whip in his hand, a fighting cock on the table beside him and a greyhound at his feet. MATCHES UXDEll HEAVY WEIGHTS. In most of the matches light weights were carried, but in 1727 a match was run over ! four miles between Mr. Vanes mare, Bald Charlotte, with 252 pounds up, and Mr. Ash-bys Swinger, with 215 pounds up, and won by th former, and these weights were eclipsed at the York Spring Meeting of 17SS, ! i when, according to Orton, there was a match 1 for 100 guineas between Mr. Maynards bay ! : mare and Mr. Bakers gray horse, each to j i carry 420 pounds. The horse started favor- j i ite, but the mare won. In 1700, to be precise on March 25 of that ! year, the historic match between Sir Henry i Tempest Vanes Hambletonian and Mr. Cook- j sons Diamond took place. Both horses were seven-year-olds and the former carried 115 I pounds and was ridden by Francis Buckle 1 . and allowed the latter, which was ridden ; j by Fitzpatrick, three pounds. Hambletonian was Yorkshire trained and bred and was in addition a Leger winner, so was strongly ; i I supported by the north, while the south j pinned their faith to Diamond. The stakes j ; l were :!,000 guineas, and the match was run 1 ! over the Beacon course, which then, as now, was four miles one-eighth and 138 yards. The betting at the start was 5 to 4 on Hambletonian, which was mostly in front for . the first three miles. Coming across the fiat the pace improved, ana from the Dukes . ! stand to the winning post it was one of the finest races ever witnessed, with Diamond having slightly the best of it, but Hambletonian . gradually wore him down and won t by a half neck. John Hilton was judge and Mr. Betts the starter. Sir H. T. Vane $ was so proud of his win that he drove in a t postchaise and four to London to tell all the news and rode Hambletonian in the j park the following week. The pictures of this match the start and I the finish by Sartorius are too well known to need description, but are becoming gems i in the sporting print collectors collection. . There are also single prints of these two horses by the same artist, which are, I think, , even rarer that the other two. In 1S04 the famous Mrs. Thornton, Alicia Meynell, rode her famous match against Mr. . Flint on his Brown Thornville for 500 guineas 3 and a side bet of 1,000 guineas. Brown l Thornville won, and Vinagarella, Mrs. Thorntons - mount, which was nearly twenty years s of age, broke down. The next year again, at York, she rode Colonel Thorntons Louisa x in a match for 700 guineas against Mr. Bloomfields Allegro, giving fifty-six pounds, !, with Buckle up. At the start Louisa made e the running and took the lead for a long way, when Allegro went iip to and headed 1 her for a few lengths ; the lady then challenged - Buckle and after a pretty contest won n her race in good style by a half length. As s , j ; , ! ! i 1 ! : j i j i ! i j I . ; j ; i I j j ; l ! . . ! . t $ t j I i . , . 3 l - s x !, e 1 - n s . Orton writes : "Her bold and excellent joc-keyship elicited the admiration of the assembled thousands, who hailed her successful struggle with the most enthusiastic shouts of applause and congratulation." In 1S15 a match that created a lot of interest was run between Lord Braybrookes Sir Joshua and Mr. Houlsworths Filho da Puta. It was for 1,000 guineas, over the Rowley Mile, and Sir Joshua was in receipt of seven pounds. Arnull rode Sir Joshua and Goodisson was up on Filho, which would most certainly have won had he not reared up at the start and lost several lengths, which he could never quite make up afterward. VOLTIGEUR AND FLYING DUTCHMAN. The next great match, probably the greatest of all, came off on May 13, 1851, between Voltigeur and the Flying Dutchman. The Flying Dutchman was by Bay Middleton i Barbelle, was the property of Lord Eglinton and was bred by Mr. Vansittart. As a two-year-old he ran and won five times, then 1 in 1849 he won the Derby by a half length from the outsider Hotspur by the way, the House of Commons by 138 votes to 119 had decided to take a holiday for this event and after walking over for a couple of races ; at Liverpool went on to Doncaster to win i 1 the Leger from Nunnykirk and Vatican. Al- . i together as a three-year-old he won six races and retired to his winter quarters unbeaten. The following year he won the Ascot Stakes and a sweepstakes at Goodwood and then, giving nineteen pounds, was beaten by Voltigeur for the Doncaster Cup. Voltigeur was by Voltaire Martha Lynn, was the property of Lord Zetland and was bred by Mr. Robert Stephenson. He only ran once, and won, prior to the Derby of 1850, which also he won by a length from Pitsford, with Clincher a half length away third. His next race was the St. Leger, in which he dead-heated with Russborough, and in the runoff, after a terrific struggle, won by a bare length. The next day he walked lover for the Scarborough Stakes and then ibeat the Dutchman for the Cup. The latters jockey, Marlow, had dined rather too well and set the pace at a terrific speed, leaving nothing for the finish, and was beaten by a half length. The matter could not be allowed to rest there and, after much talk, the owners, Lords Eglinton and Zetland, agreed that their horses should run a match at the fol- lowing York Spring meeting for 1,000 over two miles. Admiral Rous was asked to al- locate the Aveights, and he arranged that The. Flying Dutchman should carry 120 1-2 .pounds and Voltigeur 112, so that the latter, j according to the present scale, was in receipt j of three and one-half pounds over and above ! weight for age. Wagering on the event dur- ing the winter was high and mostly done at I even money. Marlow and Flatman were engaged to ride again and both horses under-; went a searching preparation. The match came off and the Cup tactics were reversed, as Voltigeur made the running and five-1 eighths from home was three lengths ahead, Then The Dutchman commenced to draw up and gradually overhauling his rival won a great race by just under a length. To com-i memorate this match The Flying Dutchmans Handicap was established and on the second occasion of its celebration was won by Vol- tigeur. This latter was a great horse, but was beaten by a better. After this match others fall into insig-i nificance, but the one between Sir Joseph Hawleys Blue Gown and Friponnier must be mentioned. Blue Gown had won the Derby of 18G8 and Friponnier had won eighteen out of nineteen races when they met for 500 over the Dutch Mile at New-t market in 1869, Blue Gown winning by a half length after a good race. The last match of any importance, to date, was run on October 27, 1900, at Hurst Park between Eager and Royal Flush. The for-j mer was six years old and the latter aged, and both carried 126 pounds. Moray Cannon was up on Eager and beat Lester Reiff, on Royal Flush, pretty easily by three lengths, Adair Dighton in Baileys Magazine.
