594 



A HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH TURF. 



assure the success of Mr. Lynn's venture. The second year (1837) was somewhat 

 memorable from the fact that the Irish horse, Dan O' Council, who had done well 

 in Ireland, was among the competitors for the chief race, and at the start he was 

 an odds-on favourite ; but he could barely complete the first round ; and The Dnke, 

 a horse which at one time in his career had carried a whipper-in of one of the 

 Midland packs, won for the second year in succession. The year 1838 saw Alan 

 McDonough's Sir William, ridden by Mr. Pott, the winner of the chief Liverpool 

 race. Sir William, a grand-looking chestnut, by Welcome, was brought over to 

 England, from Ireland, by his owner in 1837, and when in the humour he would 

 go kindly enough, but proved himself generally wayward. When McDonough 



rode him in a steeple- 

 chase in Cheshire Sir 

 William fell, and the 

 rider was dragged for 

 a long distance. When 

 the horse was stopped 

 by some bystanders, 

 McDonough remounted 

 and won, his victory 

 being anything but ac- 

 ceptable to the English 

 division, who were ex- 

 tremely jealous of the 

 Irishman. Not long 

 afterwards McDonough 



was deliberately upset at Dunchurch by a man named Ball, who, after a chase 

 of about a mile, received a severe thrashing from the whip of Captain Lamb, 

 the owner of the steeplechaser Vivian. Interfering with unwelcome competitors 

 was by no means an unusual occurrence. 



Returning, however, to Sir William and Alan McDonough, the injuries 

 sustained by the latter a broken collar-bone and three or four ribs were so 

 severe as to keep him in bed for a considerable time. The accident led to the 

 sale of Sir William for ^350, and Elmore resold him a few days later to Lord 

 Cranstoun for ,1,000, who at once matched him against Lord Suffield's ferry 

 for ,1,000 aside. The next thing was to find a jockey. Several Leicestershire 



Keinpton. Two beauties over the water. 



