"THE LIVERPOOL" 



horses had done over the Aintree course. Still, there 

 was always a contingent engaged for the first time, and 

 in the cases of these the handicappers were bound to 

 judge them by what they had done elsewhere, at the 

 same time, however, realising that winners of good 

 races at Park or other meetings were by no means 

 necessarily Liverpool horses, that, in fact, probabilities 

 were altogether against their ever coming into the select 

 category. As for the number of runners, on two occa- 

 sions the field has extended to two and thirty, when 

 Abd-el-Kader won in 1850 and when the French five- 

 year-old, M. R. Hennessy's Lutteur III., came over in 

 1909; twice only ten runners have gone to the post, 

 when Charity won before the race became a handicap in 

 1 841, and again in 1883, when the present Prince 

 Kinsky, then Count Charles, won on his own mare, 

 Zoedone. 



Something should be said about what may be 

 described with little fear of effective contradiction as 

 the most famous steeplechase course in the world — one 

 may admire Auteuil and other places without a pretence 

 that they are comparable with Aintree. Precisely how 

 this place came to be selected is not known. Some years 

 ago I wrote a large book entitled " Lord Derby's Race- 

 horses " for the present Earl, and the family papers he 

 provided to aid the task made mention of various other 

 courses in Lancashire. The earliest was at Wallasey, 

 where there are records of racing in 1682. William, 



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