A HISTORY OF SURREY 



Savernake and Rustic ; he also sired Regalia 

 who won the Oaks in 1875. In all he 

 was responsible for no fewer than seventeen 

 winners of classic races, a number which 

 has, at the time of writing, been equalled, 

 but not exceeded, by St. Simon. The sons 

 and daughters of Stockwell, between the 

 years 1858 and 1876, won j^359,963 in 

 stake money among them, and it should be 

 borne in mind that this was before the days 

 of ten thousand pound prizes, and when no 

 two-year-old race was worth ;f2,ooo. In- 

 deed the only really valuable prizes, as 

 judged by the modern standard, were the 

 five classic races ; and Stockwell's achieve- 

 ment was therefore a much greater one than 

 it would be now. In 1866 the progeny of 

 Stockwell won no fewer than 132 races, of 

 the total value of ^^6 1,1 95, and this amount, 

 both as regards the number of races won and 

 the value thereof, holds the record to this 

 day. In some ways, then, Stockwell was the 

 most extraordinary horse that ever took part 

 in the Derby. He was the best of his year 

 too, and though he missed the great event 

 of his life he turned the tables on Daniel 

 O'Rourke in the St. Leger, which race he 

 won in a canter by ten lengths, while his 

 Derby conqueror could do no better than 

 finish an indifferent third. 



In 1853 Mr. Bowes won his fourth and 

 last Derby with West Australian, by far the 

 best horse the northern squire ever owned ; 

 as a two-year-old he was beaten in the 

 Criterion Stakes by Speed-the-Plough, but he 

 turned the tables in the Glasgow Stakes, in 

 the same week, and never suffered defeat 

 again. It is worthy of note that he was the 

 first horse to win the treble event of Two 

 Thousand Guineas, Derby and St. Leger. 

 At the stud he did fairly well, and was sold 

 for 4,000 guineas to go to France after 

 having been at the stud for some little time 

 in England. 



In 1854 Andover, not a very high-class 

 horse, won the Derby for Mr. Gully, 

 pugilist, bookmaker, and afterwards Member 

 of Parliament for Pontefract ; and in the 

 following year a much more notable horse 

 in Wild Dayrell secured the coveted trophy 

 for Mr. F. L. Popham of Littlecote, near 

 Hungerford. The story of the early days of 

 this winner is perhaps worth repeating: his 

 dam, Ellen Middleton, was one of the first 

 two thoroughbreds Mr. Popham ever owned ; 

 she was mated with Ion, on the choice of 

 Rickaby, Mr. Popham's servant at Littlecote, 

 who up to that time had been a jack-of-all- 

 trades, but now became stud groom, and 

 afterwards the trainer of a Derby winner. 



In due time Ellen Middleton had a colt 

 foal, and as Mr. Popham at this time had no 

 idea of training he advertised this foal, with 

 its half-sister (whose dam was the other 

 thoroughbred referred to just now) for sale. 

 Several offers were made for the pair, and 

 after a while they went to Lord Henry 

 Lennox at 500 guineas. When they were 

 two years old the filly beat the colt in a 

 trial, and Lord Henry sent them up for sale 

 at Tattersall's, when Mr. Popham bought 

 them both back for 350 guineas. As a 

 two year old Wild Dayrell only ran once, 

 winning a sweepstake at the Newmarket 

 First October meeting, but he had won such 

 a capital trial that he started first favourite 

 for the Derby, which he won by a couple of 

 lengths, and so full of running was he at the 

 finish that he went right on into the hedge 

 which surrounds the paddock before he could 

 be pulled up. He was ridden by the late 

 Robert Sherwood, an Epsom man, who in 

 after years trained for Mr. Jack Hammond 

 a Derby winner in St. Gatien. Mr. Thomas 

 Sherwood, a brother of Robert, is now train- 

 ing at Epsom. Wild Dayrell never ran after 

 he was three years old, and died when in his 

 prime as a sire. 



Of Ellington, who won the Derby of 



1856 for Admiral Harcourt, it need only be 

 written that after his two-year-old season he 

 was ridden about by his owner's coachman 

 as a hack. Blink Bonny was a notable 

 winner, and until she took the prize in 



1857 "° fi'ly had been successful since 

 Eleanor won in 1801. Blink Bonny, who 

 belonged to I'Anson, the Malton trainer — 

 the father of the present William I'Anson, of 

 Highfield — also won the Oaks, and at the 

 stud she was a great success, being the dam 

 of Blair Athol, who won the Derby only 

 seven years later than his dam. 



In 1858 and 1859 Sir Joseph Hawley won 

 his second and third Derbys with Beadsman 

 and Musjid respectively, and the first named 

 — on whom it is said that Sir Joseph won 

 ;(^8o,ooo — was not only a good horse, but a 

 successful stud horse, and sired Blue Gown, 

 the Derby winner of 1868. 



Thormanby, who won the Derby of i860 

 for Mr. James Merry, was a light-fleshed 

 horse of the * wire and whipcord ' type. He 

 failed to beat St. Albans in the St. Leger 

 three months later, but he turned the tables 

 on his Doncaster conqueror in the Ascot Cup 

 of the following year. He was a good hard 

 horse, who won many races, and did fairly 

 well at the stud. It was worthy of note 

 that as a two-year-old this Derby winner 

 was beaten into third place for a somewhat 



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