54 FA.AIOUS EACINCi MEN. 



bad boiiglit Zinganee, for whom he gave 2,500 guineas. But the 

 horse was past his prime and no good afterwards, though he ran for 

 the Ascot Cup under the Eoj'al colours in 1830, when he came in a 

 ** bad last." At that time the King was on his death-bed. Yet, ill 

 as he was, he felt so anxious about the result that he sent his 

 fcictotum. Jack Katford, specially over to Ascot charging him to 

 come back express with the news, the instant the horses had passed 

 the post. The love of the sport was with him to the very last, and 

 hence, despite all his faults, turfites still retain an affection for his 

 memory. Indeed his connexion with the tm"f is the only relation- 

 ship in which the character of George IV. stands out fi'amed in 

 a bright and pleasant setting, for there he was always seen at 

 his best, jovial, frank, good-natured, fascinating — a kind muster 

 and a true sportsman. 



The King's brother, his Koyal Highness the Duke of York, was 

 almost as keen a lover of the turf as his Majesty himself. "Jolly, 

 cursing, courageous Frederick," as Thackeray calls him, was indeed, 

 on the whole, a far more manly character than Creorge, and certainb; 

 superior to him as an all-round sportsman. He began his racing 

 career in 1800, and, though his stud was a small one, he was. 

 exceedingly lucky, for he carried off the Derby twice — with Princr 

 Leopold in 1816 and with Closes in 1822. He was the patron of 

 the old Bibury Club, where only gentlemen riders were allowed ; 

 and strange tales are still told of the wild doings which went on at 

 the seat of Lord Sherborne when his Royal Highness came down for 

 the Bibury races, and foregathered there with Colonel Mellish, Sir 

 Charles Bunbury and other choice spirits. He was the prince of 

 bon vivants, and was seen to perfection at the head of the table. 

 " The quaint old toast of ' I drink to Cardinal Puff,' " says " The 

 Druid," " may be said to have died with him, and perhaps there is 

 hardly a man alive who would know how to propose it with all its 

 intricate but graceful honours." There is extant a somewhat 

 elaborate description of this once celebrated toast, which is, how- 

 ever, too long for quotation here. It must suffice to say that the 

 words were few, as in Caleb Plummer's famous song, '' We'll drown 

 it in a bowl, my boys ;" and that the duke's art consisted in giving 

 the peculiar turns and twists to the glass he held in his hand when 

 proposing his historic toast of " Cardinal Puff." " The duke's stud," 

 says the writer already quoted, "of thirty-two animals, including 

 seven hacks and ten grey ponies, was brought to the hammer on 

 February 0th, 1827, just one month from the date of his death. 

 The Duke of Richmond gave 1,100 guineas for Closes, who was very 

 beautiful in every point except his feet, which were sadly infirm ; 

 while Mr. Payne bought Figaro, wlio had run Moses in for the 

 Derby, at 200 guineas more. The King also gave 560 guineas for 

 Rachael ; but racers, hacks, carriages, and dogs only produced 8,804 

 guineas — a mere mole-hill, compared with the Skiddaw-like pile of 

 debts which he left behind him. Rundell and Bridge, his jewellers, 



