A HISTORY OF KENT 



chance, by a very useful stayer in Snail, 

 which subsequently won the Northumber- 

 land Plate for Lord Rosebery. 



The Barham Downs course saw other 

 sensational defeats besides that of Lilian, 

 and no more exciting episode in the whole 

 of Kentish racing history has ever occurred 

 than on the occasion of the defeat of Caller 

 Ou in 1863. This grand Malton mare, a 

 St. Leger heroine, and the winner in all of 

 forty-eight races, thirty-four of which were 

 Queen's Plates, was not only beaten by 

 Gibraltar, but, with odds of 5 to 4 laid on 

 her, also had to figure in the finish behind 

 Zetland. The former horse, a son of Cowl, 

 was the property of Mr. Jackson, and was 

 trained by Searle at Epsom, with Fordham 

 up on the occasion of his victory over the St. 

 Leger winner. His price on this occasion 

 was the worst of the trio, the odds against 

 his chance of winning being 5 to i. But he 

 beat Zetland by a length, and the judge's 

 verdict gave Caller Ou as a bad third. 



The Canterbury Queen's Plate came to an 

 end in 1879, and the last winner to figure 

 in its records was Vivandiere, a horse belonging 

 to Mr. Clifford ^ of London Bridge House. 



The meeting at which Vivandiere won 

 was the last held on Barham Downs and thus 

 was brought to a close a venture which, 

 although somewhat chequered towards its 

 close, had altogether lasted longer than 

 others in the county. 



The Canterbury collapse, however, came 

 long before the final abolition of Queen's 

 Plates in 1887, the money for the race-course 

 grants being then handed over to the Royal 

 Horse Commission, which, in conjunction 

 with the Royal Agricultural Society, saw to 

 its disposal. The society, when visiting 

 Canterbury in i860, had the compliment 

 paid them of a race bearing the society's 

 name being included in the Canterbury 

 race programme. This event was \\on by a 

 horse not inappropriately named Clydesdale, 

 which also competed for the Queen's Plate 

 decided on the same afternoon. In the 

 latter race, however, the son of Annandale, 

 the property of Mr. George Lambert, was 

 beaten in a canter by half a dozen lengths 

 by Mr. J. Saxon's Defender. 



In those days Canterbury was only a one- 

 day meeting, but its duration varied con- 

 siderably in the course of its long career. In 



1 It was a son of this Mr. Clifford who met with 

 his death at another of the Kentish meetings 

 (Bromley). The Bromley course, indeed, has been 

 singularly unfortunate in the matter of fatalities, 

 for it was here too that a fall resulted in the death 

 of James Potter, the trainer and jockey. 



the earlier portion of its history one finds a 

 four days' fixture referred to in the Calendar, 

 and at other times a three or a two days' 

 meeting is mentioned. The Canterbury 

 race-week was always looked upon as the 

 social event of the district, and the officers 

 stationed there, at Shorncliffe and at Dover, 

 always afforded a great measure of the support 

 that it enjoyed. 



Canterbury Races were associated with that 

 good old-fashioned function, the annual ball, 

 and in 1842 one of the races bore the title 

 of the Ball Room Stakes, to which was added 

 a whip subscribed for by the ladies upon 

 the condition that competition for it should 

 be confined to ' gentlemen qualified as for 

 the Anglesey Stakes at Goodwood, with the 

 addition of members of " Arthur's," the 

 " Travellers'," and those who have been 

 members of either of the Universities of 

 Oxford or Cambridge.' The length of this 

 race was about two miles, and Mr. Tollit 

 supplied the winner in Tiger, by Lottery, 

 sire of the winner of the Grand National in 

 1839. Mr. Willan \^as the recipient of the 

 whip. 



STEEPLECHASING 



To the late Mr. Richard Russell of Otford 

 Castle belongs the credit of organizing the 

 earliest of Kentish jumping fixtures about 

 the year 1866. He began by promoting a 

 meeting upon his farm at Sevenoaks, and 

 the good send-off which this effort enjoyed 

 promised better results than \vere subse- 

 quently achieved. There were plenty of 

 starters at the opening meeting ; some 

 famous riders were present and carried off 

 most of the principal events. Mr. Arthur 

 Yates won a race on Harold, a horse upon 

 whom he achieved a sensational performance 

 at Croydon ; and others ^vho were successful 

 in first catching the judge's eye were Mr. 

 George Ede, Mr. F. G. Hobson, and Johnny 

 Page, all of Grand National fame, besides 

 Mr. W. H. P. Jenkins, one of the committee 

 of the National Hunt, and Mr. ' Dick ' 

 Shepherd, a native of the district and a very 

 favourite rider in the county. Mr. Russell 

 was a good and well-meaning sportsman, but 

 it is to be feared that many advantages were 

 taken of his good intentions, and he found 

 the organization of the sport rather more 

 than he could manage. One of his friends, 

 on being asked why it was that Mr. Russell 

 gave up his steeplechases, remarked good- 

 humouredly that he only did so when all the 

 gentry of West Kent had lost their watches. 

 Convinced at length that his services to this 



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