ORGANISED STEEPLECHASING 39 



stead. Twenty horses were entered, and the following 

 were the starters — Mr. H. Peyton's Bamford, The 

 Hon. J. Brand's The Poet, Mr. Stone's Fitzowen, 

 Mr. S. Tibbet's Enterprize, Mr. Price's Newport, 

 Mr. Elmore's Vespa, Mr. Bainbridge's Muley, Mr. 

 Anderson's Gladiator, Mr. Codrington's Premier, Mr. 

 Allen's Zig-Zag, Mr. Jourdain's Moonraker, Mr. 

 Dickens's Vanguard, Mr. Wesley's Buffalo, Mr. Seffert's 

 Dreadnought, Hon. Mr. Maynard's Taglioni, Mr. 

 Fielding's Young Flyer, Mr. Stubbs's Radical, and 

 Mr. Bean's Jerry. The only thing that need be noticed 

 in connection with the course is that a sharp turn 

 was rendered necessary because a certain farmer de- 

 clined to allow the competitors to ride over one of his 

 fallow fields, so a circuitous route had to be taken to 

 return to the original line. The race was a chapter of 

 accidents. Moonraker, the peerless fencer, fell thrice ; 

 The Flyer belied his name by refusing seven fences 

 and falling at three, while, as if that were not enough, 

 he threw his jockey, Mr. Crommelin, at a gate, and as 

 the rider had taken the precaution to tie a long string- 

 to the reins, so that in the event of a fall he should not 

 lose his horse, his hand was severely cut at the gate by 

 the cord ; and Zig-Zag was cannoned against and nearly 

 knocked down by a mounted spectator. Up to that 

 point Zig-Zag was in the running, the race being 

 virtually confined to him, Jerry, Bamford, Vanguard, 

 Radical, and, after about half the distance had been 

 covered. The Poet. The latter during the last part 

 of the race took the lead and won with great ease by 

 twenty lengths. 



The winner of this St. Albans steeplechase. The Poet 

 (he was one of the despised recruits from the flat, and was 

 a tremendous puller), entered as Mr. Brand's (he was 

 afterwards Lord Dacre), was really owned by old Lord 

 Frederick Beauclerc, rector of St. Michael's, St. Albans, 



