BRITISH SPORT PAST AND PRESENT 



Chequers Inn, or Turf Hotel, at St. Albans, to arrange the 

 matter. It was a thoroughly sporting affair : the ' articles ' pro- 

 vided for a sweepstakes of 25 sovereigns, each horse to carry 

 12 stone over not less than four miles of fast hunting country, 

 to be chosen by Coleman within forty miles of London. No 

 rider was to be told the line until at the starting-post, and no 

 rider to pass through an open gateway or traverse road or 

 lane for more than 50 yards. Coleman chose a genuine point 

 to point course, starting the field of fifteen from the hill where 

 Harlington Church stands, the winning post being the Obelisk 

 in Wrest Park near Silsoe. Here is ' The Druid's ' account of 

 the race : — ' Coleman so managed the line, that he could start 

 them, and then by making a short cut, judge them as well. 

 Lord Ranelagh's grey horse Little Wonder, with Colonel 

 Macdowell up, won the stake, which was worth about 300 

 sovereigns. The Colonel's orders were to watch nothing bvit 

 Lord Clanricarde, who was on a little Irish chestnut ; and one 

 of the Berkeleys was third. ^ The rest found their way into 

 the Park from all quarters ; with the exception of poor Mr. 

 Stretfield on Teddy the Tiler, who had a fall in jumping a 

 gate back on to a bridge after he had missed his line, and died 

 in consequence.' 



Coleman's general idea of a steeplechase was two miles 

 out and two miles in, and ' keeping the line quite dark.' 

 Hence he concealed men in the ditches, with flags, which 

 they raised at a given signal, as soon as the riders were ready. 

 Other managers liked four miles straight, and after erecting 

 scaffold poles, with a couple of sheets to finish between, they 

 left the riders to hunt the country for their line, with no 

 further directions than ' leave that church on your right, 

 and the clump on your left, and get to the hill beyond.' 



The St. Albans meeting lasted only a few years : its own 

 success was its undoing. Steeple-chasing was a novelty, and 

 such large and unmanageable crowds collected that the 



■ Lord Clanricarde's ' little Irish chestnut ' was Nailer, who came in second : the 

 Hon. A. Berkeley rode Mr. Wombwell's grey Rockingham. 



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