SPORT ANCIENT AND MODERN 



for which a classical winner would be heavily 

 penalised. 



Epsom itself at one time afforded a sort of 

 Derby Consolation Stakes in the shape of the 

 Epsom Grand Prize, and it is a fact that on 

 one occasion the race was won by a horse 

 who, as subsequent running proved — as far 

 as such matters can be proved — would have 

 won the Derby itself had he not been kept 

 for what appeared to be the easier task. 

 Reference is made to the well known St. 

 Simon horse St. Serf, who won the Epsom 

 Grand Prize in 1890, the Derby of that year 

 going to Sainfoin. Later on in the season 

 the last named did very little to maintain his 

 reputation, whereas St. Serf won many races, 

 and when the pair met again, in the Free 

 Handicap for three year olds at Newmarket, 

 the Epsom Grand Prize winner very easily 

 defeated the Derby winner, who, indeed, 

 finished last in a field of five. It had been 

 generally considered for some months that 

 St. Serf would have won the Derby had he 

 been started, but the result of this New- 

 market race practically put the matter beyond 

 doubt. 



As regards weights and distance there is 

 nothing more to be chronicled, but it may be 

 stated that only on three occasions has the 

 race been won by a filly, viz. by Eleanor in 

 1 80 1, by Blink Bonny in 1857, and by 

 Shotover in 1882. Of winning owners Lord 

 Egremont — who took the third Derby — has 

 the greatest score, the race having fallen to 

 him five times in its early days. This score 

 has never been equalled, but the Duke of 

 Grafton was four times successful in the first 

 fifteen years of the nineteenth century, and 

 in the middle period of the Derby's history 

 Mr. John Bowes won four times ; his last 

 winner, just fifty years ago, being that famous 

 horse West Australian. Coming to a period 

 a little later. Sir Joseph Hawley also won 

 four Derbys, and later still the late Duke of 

 Westminster was successful with Bend Or, 

 Shotover, Ormonde, and Flying Fox, of 

 which the two last named were exceptional 

 Derby winners. In its early days such good 

 supporters of racing as Sir Charles Bunbury, 

 the Duke of Bedford, and Lords Grosvenor 

 and Jersey could each claim a triplet of win- 

 ners ; and during more recent years four 

 owners have each scored twice since the year 

 1890, the King with Persimmon and Dia- 

 mond Jubilee, Lord Rosebery with Ladas 

 and Sir Visto, Sir James Miller with Sainfoin- 

 and Rock Sand, and Mr. Gubbins with 

 Galtee More and Ard Patrick, while the 

 Duke of Portland won in 1888 and 1889 

 with Ayrshire and Donovan. 



Brief reference only can be made to some 

 of the more important circumstances con- 

 nected with the Derby. Diomed, the first 

 winner of the race, was sold at the end of 

 1798, by Sir Charies Bunbury, for fifty 

 guineas, to go to America, and on landing he 

 changed hands again at 1,000 guineas. He 

 did good stud work on the other side of the 

 Atlantic, and became one of the fathers of 

 the American turf. Passing over the next 

 half dozen years, with the remark that three 

 of the six winners were sired by Eclipse, we 

 come to Lord Derby's Sir Peter Teazle, who 

 was successful in 1787 in a field of seventeen, 

 the largest number of starters the race had 

 known up to that time. ' Sir Peter,' as he 

 was always called, was a great celebrity ; he 

 was of the Herod line of the Byerly Turk, 

 and was a son of Highflyer ; his name lives 

 to this day in the stud book, chiefly through 

 the line brought down by Wild Dayrell, 

 Buccaneer, and the Hungarian horse Kisber, 

 who won the English Derby in 1876, and 

 that which comes through Sweetmeat, Gladi- 

 ator, Partisan, and Walton, and which is now 

 to be found — for example — in the dams of 

 such celebrities as Ormonde and Sceptre. 

 Sir Peter was the sire of four Derby winners. 



In 1788 the Prince of Wales (afterwards 

 George IV.) won the Derby with Sir Thomas, 

 who started an odds on chance ; and passing 

 over the next four years we come to Waxy, 

 who, starting at 12 to I, upset the odds 

 laid on Gohanna for the Derby of 1793. 

 Waxy was a great horse and is one of the 

 most memorable of Derby winners, because 

 to this day his blood has come down in direct 

 male line (through several channels) and is to 

 be found in several of the most powerful run- 

 ning lines. He was bred by Sir Ferdinand 

 Poole, and was the sire of Whalebone who 

 won the Derby in 1 8 1 o ; and Whalebone in 

 turn sired Sir Hercules, whose son Birdcatcher 

 sired The Baron and Oxford. From The 

 Baron came Stockwell, Doncaster, Bend Or, 

 Ormonde, Orme and Flying Fox in direct 

 line. From Oxford came Stirling, Isonomy 

 and his sons Isinglass and Gallinule. From 

 Stockwell, through his son St. Albans, came 

 Springfield, Sainfoin and Rock Sand. 



Then again, to go back to Whalebone, 

 that horse sired Camel as well as Sir Hercules, 

 and from Camel, in direct father to son de- 

 scent, came Touchstone, Newminster, Lord 

 Clifden, Hampton and his many sons, of 

 which Ayrshire and Royal Hampton are 

 doing most for the blood now. Touchstone 

 was also the sire of Ithuriel, from whom 

 came Longbow, Toxopholite, Musket and 

 Carbine ; and Newminster founded another 



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