A CHROXICLE OF THE DERBY. 251 



celebrated as a sire ; a majority of tlie Derby winners 

 claim to be of his blood. This great horse was got by 

 Eclipse out of Sportsmistress, foaled in 1773; he died 

 early in November, 1800. A curious anecdote is re- 

 lated as to how he came by his name of ' Pot-S-os.' It 

 was always intended by his breeder, Lord Abingdon, 

 that he should be called Potatoes, and upon the 

 occasion of his lordship mentionmg to his trainer that 

 such was his intention, a stable lad who had been hs- 

 tening to the conversation could not refrain from 

 uttering a hearty ' Oh my !' This tickled the fancy of 

 Lord Abingdon, who then asked the boy if he could 

 write ; and on being answered in the aHirmative, re- 

 plied : ' Well, my lad, take that bit of chalk, and write 

 down the name on the top of the corn- chest, and you 

 shall have a crown if you do it correctly.' The boy 

 took the chalk, and wrote the word his own way, as 

 some say ' Fot-S-os,' and as others say Potouooouoos. 

 Ko matter which of these ways it was, the boy got 

 the crown, and his lordship adopted the boy's ortho- 

 graphy. Pot-8-os was also the sire of the Derby winners 

 of 1800 and 1802. Waxy in turn became the sire of 

 four winners of the 'Blue Ribbon'— 1809, 1810, 1814, 

 1815 — and AVhalebone, one of Waxy's colts, of three 

 winners ; whilst Gohanna, the second in the Derby of 

 1793, became the sire of Cardinal lieaufort, the winner 

 of the Derby in 1805. "Waxy also contributed three 

 winners of the Oaks. 



The Oaks of 1793 Avas run on Friday, ]\Iay l7t]i, 

 upon which occasion there were thirty-seven subscri- 

 bers and ten competitors, the Duke of P)edford carrying 

 off the prize by the aid of Coilia, who was ridden by J. 



