A HISTORY OF SUSSEX 



Rous Memorial fell to Lord W. Beresford's 

 well known Volodyovski, then a two-year-old. 

 In 1906 some fair racing was witnessed. The 

 Gratwicke Produce Stakes (800), for three-year- 

 olds, went to the Duke of Portland's Greendale, 

 with Gorges second ; the Stewards' Cup 

 (M57) to Captain Greer's Rocketer ; the Ham 

 Produce Stakes to Sir E. Vincent's Amber. 

 Lord Ellesmere's Winwick won the Goodwood 

 Plate, value 825. The Sussex Stakes were 

 taken by the Duke of Westminster's Troutbeck, 

 a sterling horse, third for the Derby and winner 

 of the St. Leger in that year. For the Good- 

 wood Cup (1,570) Plum Tree beat Plum 

 Centre, with Gorgos third. The Prince of 

 Wales' Stakes, a two-year-old race, worth 3,000 

 to the winner, were taken by Lord Wolverton's 

 colt by Florizel out of Marsh Marigold, with Lord 

 Rosebery's Traquair second. The Drayton 

 Handicap (576) fell to Brother Bill, and the 

 Rous Memorial (1,105) to Bellavista. The 

 Gordon Stakes, for three-year-olds, was won by 

 Lord Derby's Victorious ; the Chesterfield Cup 

 (522) by Mr. Bass's Gold Riach. In the 

 Molecomb Stakes, worth 805, Mr. Raphael's 

 My Pet II was the winner. On the whole the 

 meeting was a good one ; fair fields contested 

 the events and the sport was above the average. 

 It has been said that Goodwood of late years 

 has shown symptoms of decline. It is true 

 that the meeting has been affected by certain 

 developments of modern racing; but the fixture 

 is unique in the sporting world ; and the lovely 

 surroundings of the place, the fine air, and the 

 freedom of the Down country are and will be 

 always things of real delight to all classes of 

 race-goers. The public spirit and generosity 

 of successive Dukes of Richmond during a 

 hundred years have placed all these good things 

 freely at the pleasure of the public ; and to these 

 noblemen a deep debt of gratitude is due, not 

 only from all Sussex, but from all England. 



In addition to the three principal Sussex race 

 meetings Lewes, Brighton, and Goodwood 

 with which we have thus dealt, various small 

 gatherings have, from time to time, been held in 

 different parts of the county. There were races 

 at Midhurst as far back as 1729. They were 

 of but small account and came to an end after 

 the meeting of 1738 ; ' East Bourn ' had also a 

 meeting in 1729^1 which plates of 10 and 

 25 were contended for. In 1730 the 10 

 Plate was won by Mr. Gilbert's Hobler from 

 Mr. Bruce's grey gelding ' after a dispute.' A 

 purse of 25 at the same meeting was won by 

 Sir Walter Parker's Silver Tail, which defeated 

 Mr. Lidgiter's 'Sweep Chimley' (sic). In 1737 

 the old Eastbourne meeting was held for the last 

 time until 1866, when a temporary revival took 

 place ; from that year the Eastbourne Hunt Flat 

 and Hurdle Races were held until 1875, after 

 which they ceased. 



46 



In 1735 there were races at Chichester and 

 Steyning. These seem to have been of very 

 small importance ; the Chichester meeting was 

 again held in 1740 and Steyning in 1745. 

 Shoreham had a two-day meeting in 1760 ; on 

 the first day a silver cup was run for in heats, 

 a heat being 'three times round the Sheep 

 Field.' 



In 1785 an aristocratic, but short-lived, meet- 

 ing was held at Up-park, a private estate near 

 Goodwood. The Prince of Wales, Lord 

 Grosvenor, Sir H. Fetherston, Mr. Delme, and 

 other owners ran horses in various matches. 

 The principal event was a cup, value 120 

 guineas, which was won by Sir H. Fetherston's 

 Epaminondas, 'rode by himself.' Up-park 

 racing actually commenced with a few matches 

 in 1782. It was held again in 1784, but 

 ceased in 1786. In 1787, at Alfriston, a 

 silver bowl and a subscription purse of 50 

 were offered. Mr. Bird's Highflyer won both 

 events. This was the solitary adventure of 

 this quiet village in the world of racing. In 

 1 8 1 6 a meeting was also held at Michel Grove. 

 This seems to have been got up mainly by a 

 Mr. R. W. Walker, master of a pack of hounds, 

 and every race was won by him or by his 

 relations. There was, it is true, a race for 100 

 guineas, the gift of this gentleman, ' for horses 

 that had taken seven tickets with his hounds.' 2 

 This was won by Mr. Gilbert's Omphale, which 

 however, with the second horse, was disqualified 

 for not being able to produce the necessary 

 certificates. Mr. Walker's own horse, Ippogriffo, 

 was eventually awarded the prize. As a racing 

 curiosity, this meeting of Michel Grove never 

 again repeated is worthy of note. 



In 1826 Hastings and St. Leonards held a small 

 meeting, which had increased in 1830 to two days' 

 racing, with five events. Hastings races never 

 attained to any importance, and, after a chequered 

 career, were dropped in 1846, to be revived in 

 1849; a fi* r tnat vear tne y ceased till 1865, 

 when they were revived for two seasons. In 

 1829 the old East Sussex Hunt, the forerunners 

 of the present South Down Hunt, held a meet- 

 ing which continued until 1844, when they 

 were discontinued, the hunt having come to an 

 end. Worthing was another small meeting, 

 which began in 1860 and was last held in 1864. 

 From 1870 to 1872 Rotherfield held a minor 

 meeting, which, however, is not of sufficient im- 

 portance to demand notice in detail. In 1871 

 the Honourable Artillery Company brought off a 

 meeting on Brighton Race-course, in which a flat 

 race and some hurdle races were contested. This 

 meeting ceased after 1873. The legislation of 



'Tickets entitling the purchaser to hunt with a 



pack of hounds formed a method of collecting 



subscriptions to hounds in those days in a manner 

 similar to the modern ' cap.' 



