HANDICAPS 109 



Oxonian, Trappist, Herald, and Peter. Another horse 

 who went a great pace ought to have won in 1888. 

 This was Bismarck, whose jockey, however, after he 

 had passed the distance, turned round to grin 

 derisively at his followers, whom he supposed he had 

 easily beaten, when his horse seized the opportunity 

 of swerving and running right across the course, 

 leaving a half-bred five-year-old mare from Danebury, 

 Tib by name, to carry her light burden of 6 st. 7 lbs. 

 first past the post by a short head. After Goodwood, 

 what is called the "Sussex fortnight" is completed at 

 Brighton and Lewes. The Brighton Stakes dates 

 from 1824. The race used to be over two miles; it 

 was afterwards reduced to a mile and a half, and 

 subsequently to a mile, the usual difficulty having 

 been found of getting good fields for a long distance. 

 The Brighton Cup has been reduced in the same 

 way. Some good horses have won this, including 

 Caller Ou, Dollar, Ely, Speculum, Albert Victor, 

 Lilian, Marie Stuart, and Isonomy ; but in 1883 there 

 was nothing to oppose Border Minstrel. Fields for 

 the previous dozen years had not averaged four in 

 number, and the distance was consequently lessened 

 to a mile. Brag, a speedy horse belonging to Mr. 

 Leopold de Rothschild, carried 8 st. 10 lbs. in 1885 in 

 the exceptionally short time of i min. 39 sec. The 

 Baron, who had started an odds-on favourite for the 

 Derby (he had consistently shown himself a bad 

 horse) succeeded here in beating three opponents in 



