AND TIMES OF JOHN OSBORNE 315 



Looking into distant years some fine finishes have 

 been associated with the race for the St. Leger, a notable 

 one being that when Voltigeur, winner of the 

 Derby, was run to a " nose " by the hitherto unknown 

 Irish horse Russborough. The last previous dead heat 

 for the same prize was between Charles XII. and Euclid 

 in 1839, the latter in the deciding heat winning by a 

 head only. Voltigeur, the hero of the 1850 St. Leger, 

 was a half-brother to Charles XII., the sire of both 

 being Voltaire, a descendant of Blacklock, whose blood 

 runs in many of our modern great racers. In 1828 there 

 was a dead heat in the Derby between Mr. Petrie's The 

 Colonel and the Duke of Rutland's Cadland, the latter 

 eventually being the victor, The Colonel afterwards 

 winning the St. Leger in a field of eighteen. Charles 

 XII. further proved his stoutness and game by winning 

 the Doncaster Cup at the same meeting in which he 

 carried off his hard-earned St. Leger. 



Some other memorable finishes have taken place. 

 Tracing as far back as 1827, six went to the post for a 

 Handicap Plate across the flat, when Goshawk, four 

 years, 8 st. 6 Ibs., ran a dead heat with Stumps, five 

 years, 9 st. 2 Ibs., Robinson on the former and Arnull 

 the latter. A second contest between the pair resulted 

 in a second dead heat! A third time they ran, when, 

 after another severe struggle, Goshawk carried off the 

 prize, worth 50! In 1840 another double dead heat 

 occurred between two two-year-olds, last half of the 

 Abingdon Mile. Five started, and Jessica (ridden by 

 S. Rogers) and the Fanchon filly (ridden by T. 

 Stephenson) could not be separated by the judge. A 

 second race also ended in a dead heat, and then the 

 owners mercifully divided the stake, otherwise a like 



