3 so THE BLUE RIBBON OF THE TURF. 



the pilot of the winner ; Chalonerand Maidment beinj^ 

 on the dead-heaters. The race was won by a length 

 and a half, the odds offered against Doncaster at the 

 start being 40 to 1 ; 9 to 4 against Gang Forward, 

 4 to 1 against Kaiser. Chandos ran into fourth place. 

 There were 201 subscribers. Value of the stakes, 

 £4,825. Doncaster has, it may be said, proved a gold- 

 mine to the Duke of Westminster, who purchased the 

 horse from Mr. Robert Feck at a cost of £14,000, or 

 guineas, the animal having been bought by Mr. 

 Peck for £4,000 less than that amount from Mr. 

 Merry, for whom he trained it ; it has been said 

 the purchase of Doncaster was the best day's work 

 the Duke ever did, and the sale of the horse the 

 worst day's work ever done by Mr. Peck ; but then 

 it could not at the time be foreseen that Doncaster 

 would prove such a rare good bargain. Mr. John 

 Corlett, a well-informed writer on turf affairs, esti- 

 mates that the horse and his progeny have been 

 worth to the noble Duke considerably over £150,000. 



'It never rains but it pours,' says the old proverb, 

 and in Mr. Merry's case it proved true, the Oaks and 

 also the St. Leger falling to him by the aid of his 

 charming filly Marie Stuart, which, ridden by Cannon, 

 beat seventeen competitors (139 subscribers), winning 

 the race by five lengths. Wild Myrtle was second, 

 Ano-ela third. The odds of 2 to 1 were offered against 

 Marie Stuart. Marie Stuart, the winner of both the 

 Oaks and St. Leger, was purchased from Mr. JMerry, to 

 whom she belonged, for a sum of 3,500 guineas, by 

 Mr. W. S. Crawford. 



