98 THE TURF 



6 St. 9 lbs.) ; and Buccaneer comes into the same 

 category, except that he won at Epsom as a four-year- 

 old, carrying 7 st. 10 lbs. The previous season the 

 race had fallen to an Oaks winner, Reve d'Or (6 years, 



7 St. 13 lbs.). The Great Metropolitan is the com- 

 panion race at the Epsom Spring, but, as is usually 

 the case in long distance handicaps except the Cesare- 

 witch, good horses are the exception in Metropolitan 

 fields. They have, moreover, much deteriorated 

 during the last few years ; indeed, a few extremely 

 bad animals have won the Metropolitan. Previously 

 some good, sound, honest stayers had been successful 

 in this race. Dutch Skater, who did credit to himself 

 at the stud as the sire of the St. Leger winner Dutch 

 Oven, won in 1872. There is an incident of some 

 interest about the Metropolitan of the following year. 

 Tom Cannon won on Mornington ; his second son was 

 born on the same day, and named after the horse in 

 celebration of the victory. That Mornington Cannon's 

 name is now written large in Turf history need scarcely 

 be stated, for he has headed the annual list of winning 

 jockeys on six occasions. Hampton, a horse who 

 grew from little things to great, won in 1875, as a 

 three-year-old, carrying 6 st. 3 lbs., a creditable per- 

 formance with the low minimum which then ruled 

 New Holland, a slow, muddling horse belonging to 

 Prince Soltykoff, managed to get home in 1876, and 

 1879 was memorable for the victory of a good, honest 

 animal in the American Parole. Chippendale, who 



