310 THE ENGLISH TURF 



general in horses of direct Blacklock descent than in those 

 of direct Newminster descent. 



King Fergus was a greater success at the stud than he 

 was on the racecourse, and he is described as having been 

 a very handsome chestnut horse of 16 hands, with immense 

 bone, and free from blemish of any kind. He was foaled 

 in 1775, and was in training until 1781, but he won only 

 eight races in four years, and was then sold to Ireland, 

 where he stood for two or three seasons. This early part 

 of his stud career was evidently a failure, for he was put 

 into training again when nine years old, and was second 

 for a Lord Lieutenant's Plate at the Curragh in 1784. A 

 year later he was back in England, and stood for a season 

 at some livery stables near Park Lane. He was next sent 

 to Catterick, in Yorkshire, and from thence to Shipton, near 

 York, where he sired Hambletonian, Beningborough, and 

 others. Afterwards he stood at Maidenhead, Egham, Turn- 

 ford in Herts, and at Gogmagog in Cambridgeshire, finally 

 ending his days near Boroughbridge, in Yorkshire. On the 

 whole his stud career was very successful, as one hundred 

 and nine of his stock won over 30,000, to say nothing of 

 several cups, which in those days were more often the prize 

 contended for than is nowadays the custom. Where the 

 option is presented, specie is preferred to the trophy in these 

 practical times. 



Hambletonian will always be remembered as the hero of 

 the famous 3,ooo-guinea match at Newmarket in 1799. The 

 famous son of King Fergus, who was bred in Yorkshire, 

 and was owned by Sir Harry Vane Tempest, was a bay 

 horse, and without doubt the best performer of his day. 

 In the match his opponent was Diamond, of the Herod 

 line, and a saying of the day was to the effect that the 

 Eclipses were speedy and jady, and the Herods hard and 

 stout. This theory was conclusively dispelled by Hamble- 

 tonian, who won the match by "half a neck," after a 

 tremendous struggle, in which his stamina pulled him 

 through. The race was run over the Beacon Course (4 miles 

 138 yards), and it is recorded that the time was only 

 7 minutes 15 seconds. Besides this match Hambletonian 



