250 THE ENGLISH TURF 



Hambledon he claimed for ;^200 at Leicester, won the York 

 and Doncaster Cups with him, and refused an offer of 3,000 

 guineas made by the late Duchess of Montrose. For New- 

 court, who won for the Highfield establishment the North- 

 umberland Plate, the Manchester Cup, and several other 

 races, he gave ;^225 ; and Roehampton, with whom he won 

 the Northamptonshire Stakes, he claimed for ;^300 out of a 

 selling race at Goodwood. For Prince Rudolph he gave 

 £igo, and with him won the Liverpool Spring Cup and 

 the De Trafiford Handicap of i^ 1,000 at Manchester. The 

 Docker too he got for an old song from Major Joicey, and 

 though individual cases can be quoted of ex-selling platers 

 who have turned out quite as well — Victor Wild, Chaleureux, 

 and Herminius to wit — it is our opinion that no racing man 

 of the present generation has maintained such a run of 

 lucky deals as William FAnson. Fancy any one man winning 

 the Northumberland Plate (twice), the Manchester Cup, two 

 Liverpool Cups, York Cup, Doncaster Cup, and the North- 

 amptonshire Stakes with selling platers ! 



Malton trainers generally affect the Northern Circuit most, 

 and Newcastle-on-Tyne has always been one of FAnson's 

 happiest hunting grounds. At the Summer Meeting (Gos- 

 forth Park) of 1888 he won nine of the twenty races decided 

 on the three days, including all the principal stakes. On 

 Tuesday he took the Stewards' Handicap with Derwent- 

 water, the Ascot Plate with Pickpocket, and the North 

 Derby (;^ 1,800) with Belle Mahone ; on Wednesday he 

 won the Northumberland Plate with Matin Bell, the Monk- 

 chester Plate with Governor, and the St. Oswald Plate with 

 Peacemaker ; and on Thursday he won the Seaton Delaval 

 Stakes (;^ 1,044) with Chittabob, the Newcastle Handicap 

 with Bonaparte, and the Thursday Plate with Hawkeye — 

 something like a record. For many years the Highfield 

 establishment used to win from fifty to sixty races, and on 

 one occasion the total of seventy-six races was achieved in 

 a season. In those days FAnson used to buy yearlings at 

 Doncaster and elsewhere for his patrons, but now most of 

 the owners who train with him breed their own, and since 

 this state of affairs existed the luck has not been so srood. 



