GAPER AT THE DERBY. 109 



the Whistle, AHce Hawthorne, and six others. 

 After the race I said to his Lordship, " Where 

 would Gaper have been had he run ? " His reply 

 was, " He would have been in Epsom town before 

 the others reached the winning-post ! " Robert 

 Hesseltine, who trained Alice Hawthorne, re- 

 marked, "If Gaper can beat Discord at 16 lb., 

 as stated, the Derby will be won by the Sussex 

 nag by little short of a hundred yards." As I 

 understood that John Day had laid £20,000 to 

 £250 against Gaper, I took an opportunity of ad- 

 vising him in a friendly way not to risk such a 

 sum, and at the eleventh hour he got Mr Gully 

 to take £20,000 to £3000 for him about the 

 horse from Lord George, losing on the balance 

 £2750. The tremendous play made by Gaper 

 cut down more than half the field at once ; the 

 hill settled the chance of many more ; and as 

 the leading horses neared the turn five only were 

 left in the race. Gaper came gallantly round 

 Tattenham Corner with a lead of a couple of 

 lengths, and had such a winning look about him 

 that shouts of " Gaper wins ! " rent the air. " Gaper 

 was fit to run for a man's life, but we apprehend 

 that the course was a trifle too sticky for his 

 action." Such was one report of the race. Another 

 said : " Lord George's horse rattled round the corner 

 at such awful speed, and looked so well, that ' Gaper 

 wins ! ' ' Gaper wins ! ' was shouted from hundreds 

 of throats ; but he ended by being fourth in the 



