SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



land and farther afield. Five brothers were 

 born and bred on the Denton Hall farmstead- 

 ing of Lord Carlisle, and they were all coursers 

 of the old-fashioned stamp, breeding and run- 

 ning their greyhounds to some substantial pur- 

 pose. The eldest of them, Mr. John Hyslop, 

 now more than fourscore years, makes a point 

 of attending the Border Union, while the two 

 youngest, also veterans, still breed and run a 

 few dogs now and again. The other two 

 brothers died some years ago. Mr. John 

 Hyslop was for many years honorary secretary 

 of the old Brampton Club, and fifty years ago 

 officiated as judge at the Border Union meet- 

 ing. But it is with the many good greyhounds 

 that sprang from Denton Hall that we have 

 now to deal. Two of the earliest winners were 

 ' Young Eve ' and ' Harpoon,' by ' Eden ' out 

 of ' Old Eve,' and ' Harpoon ' in the same 

 season carried off the Scottish Champion Cup 

 as well as a valuable stake at Workington. 

 The next to bring lustre to Denton Hall was 

 ' Hue and Cry," winner of the Brougham 

 Castle Cup in 1859, an< ^ m a y ear or so the 

 future famous brood bitch ' High Idea* was to 

 the fore. She was however in due course 

 eclipsed by her son ' Strange Idea ' (by ' Car- 

 dinal York '), who opened his career by win- 

 ning the Brampton Puppy Stakes, and he won 

 the Waterloo Plate on the occasion of the first 

 of ' Master McGrath's ' three Waterloo Cup 

 victories. It was at the stud, though, that 

 ' Strange Idea ' made a name, and not only 

 were his fine speed and brilliancy transmitted 

 to future Denton Hall winners, but to grey- 

 hounds all over the country, and at the present 

 day there is scarcely a greyhound of note in 

 this country, as well as in Australia and 

 America, in whose pedigree the ' Strange 

 Idea' line is not to be found. The 'Car- 

 dinal York High Idea ' combination included 

 ' Lion's Share,' who divided the Brampton 

 Cup ; ' Bright Idea,' second for the great 

 Bothal St. Leger in Northumberland ; and 

 ' No Idea,' who divided the Bridekirk Cup. 

 ' Confidence ' was another great performer, as 

 she was a winner at Brougham and at Bramp- 

 ton, and divided the Bridekirk Cup with Sir 

 Thomas Brocklebank's ' Brigade.' ' Strange 

 Idea's ' best success at the stud however was 

 a bitch called ' Covet,' a daughter of the 

 Northumberland ' Curiosity,' and given to 

 the Messrs. Hyslop for the stud fee. A 

 lucky bargain it was too, as the bitch com- 

 menced when very young by running to 

 the end of a Sapling Stakes at Brampton, 

 where she also shared the Puppy Stakes. In 

 a month only from this ' Covet ' was taken 

 to Bothal, where she divided the St. Leger 

 of 143 puppies, and then changed hands for 



200, the new owner being the Lancashire 

 courser, Mr. James Spinks, who renamed the 

 bitch ' Sea Cove,' under which name she 

 divided the Hardwick Cup in Shropshire, and 

 then won the Waterloo Cup. This string 

 of successes, it is interesting to know, was 

 achieved when the bitch was a puppy. She 

 was not by any means a fast greyhound, as a 

 matter of fact she was led by ' Confidence ' 

 in a private trial prior to the Waterloo Cup. 

 The last of the really good greyhounds owned 

 by the Denton Hall triumvirate was ' Hermit,' 

 who created a memorable surprise when he 

 turned the tables on Lord Haddington's ' Horn- 

 pipe ' in the final course for the Stainburn Cup 

 at Workington. ' Hermit ' had been previously 

 run to death almost, and went to the encounter 

 a thoroughly distressed greyhound, whereby the 

 issue appeared a certainty for the Scotch bitch. 

 However the unexpected happened, as it often 

 does in coursing, as after ' Hermit ' had been 

 led to the hare he resolutely set to work 

 when the opening came, and finished the 

 winner. 



Captain Dees was a prominent member of 

 the Whitehaven Club in its palmiest days, and 

 his successes on Lord Lonsdale's ground were 

 simply marvellous. On two occasions a brace 

 and once three of his greyhounds were left in 

 for the Whitehaven Cup, which required to 

 be won three times in order to become the 

 permanent property of a member. It took 

 Captain Dees seven years to accomplish the 

 feat, and the details are so interesting that 

 they are here given : 1859, Captain Spencer's 

 'Seagull'; 1860, Mr. Lindow's 'Lizard'; 

 1 86 1, Mr. (now Lord) Brougham's 'Belle of 

 Eamont' ; 1862, Captain Dees's ' Ewesdale' 

 beat his ' Duke ' ; 1 863, Captain Dees's 

 ' Detector,' his ' Duke ' and his ' Ewesdale ' 

 divided ; 1864, Mr. Blackstock's < Beckford ' ; 



1 865, Mr. A. Thompson's 'Ticket of Leave' ; 



1866, Captain Dees's ' Doctor ' beat his ' Dean 

 Swift.' ' Duke,' it should be added, was by 

 ' Seagull,' ' Detector ' by ' Judge,' and ' Doc- 

 tor ' and Dean Swift ' by Ewesdale.' ' De- 

 butante,' a sister of ' Detector,' won the Border 

 Union Puppy Stake in 1863, and 'Ewesdale' 

 won the Bridekirk Cup in the same year. 



The name of Mr. G. A. Thompson, 

 owner of ' Ticket of Leave,' recalls another 

 prominent Brampton courser. At one time 

 he was honorary secretary of the old Bramp- 

 ton Club, and he started as an owner of 

 greyhounds in 1853 by running second 

 for the Club Cup with ' Telemachus.' 

 Two years after Mr. Thompson was victor- 

 ious in the Brampton Cup with ' Titmouse,' 

 who also ran second for the Caledonian Cup 

 to ' Jacobite,' whilst she divided the year 



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