DANEBURY AND LORD GEORGE BENTINGK 



John Day. In his time the house was Uttle more 

 than a cottage, overshadowed by a great horse- 

 chestnut tree and in close proximity to stalls and 

 boxes ; but since then his successors have occupied 

 a building of more modern proportions. Many 

 interesting memorials of the past remain — notably 

 the little cramped room where the old trainer 

 kept his saddles and colours, and where the weighing 

 machine still stands in which jockeys and boys 

 were weighed out before riding a trial to determine 

 an issue on which many thousands of pounds 

 were ultimately hazarded in the betting ring. Day 

 gave evidence before a Committee of the House of 

 Commons in 1844, ^^^ i^ ^is answers to questions 

 by the Chairman stated that thirty-five servants 

 in his employment at Danebury sat down to 

 dinner every day, and upwards of a hundred 

 persons were employed in the stables in con- 

 nexion with the management of the horses in 

 training. 



The old place is full of the traditions of classic 

 race-horses. Mr. Crosby's mare Pussy was trained 

 here, winner of the Oaks as far back as 1834. In 

 the hands of " Old John " (J. B. Day), and starting 

 at 20 to I, she defeated an Epsom field of fifteen 

 runners — a lucky performance, for May Day at 

 the distance, with the race well in hand, fell and 

 broke her leg. John Gully, prize-fighter and 

 Member of Parliament, owned Pyrrhus the First, 

 who learnt his business on Danebury Down and 

 won the Derby in 1846 — a success which the same 

 owner repeated in 1854 with his bay horse Andover. 

 Cossack, who gave his name to the renowned 

 port-wine vintage of 1847, completes the list of 



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