36 KINGSCLERE 



Heath of the year before. Everybody who is familiar 

 with the more sensational incidents which have 

 occurred on the Turf during the past twenty-five or 

 thirty years will remember the disqualification of 

 Blue Gown for the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster 

 in the week of Achievement's defeat of Hermit in 

 the St. Leger. The incident, which was essentially 

 unprecedented in the chronicles of the national 

 sport, was the crowning result of a carefully matured 

 plan, for the mainspring of which one must look to 

 one of the official reports in the ' Racing Calendar.' 

 The 'return' of the Sunning Hill Stakes, on p. 98 

 of the volume for 1866, reads innocently enough; 

 but thereby hangs a tale, or, rather, the portentous 

 beginning of the story of the Champagne Stakes 

 of 1867, and of the Derby which followed in due 

 course. The Sunning Hill Stakes was awarded to 

 Baron Rothschild's Hippia, Sir Joseph Hawley's 

 Fakir (Wells) being placed second, and Satyr third ; 

 but it was Mr. H. Savile's D'Estournel that had 

 passed the winning-post first, beating Hippia by a 

 head. Morris, the rider of Hippia, objected to 

 D'Estournel for cannoning against him, and the case 

 having been heard after the next race, the following 

 decision was given : ' The opinion of the Stewards 

 is that Hippia is entitled to the stakes, but no blame 

 is attached to John Doyle, who rode D'Estournel. 

 (Signed) Cork, W. G. Craven, H. J. Rous.' Inas- 

 much as Wells was third in the race — he finished a 

 length behind the leading pair, and ' saw it all ' — he 

 was the most weighty witness at the hearing of the 



