A HISTORY OF SURREY 



rising round the top turn, where it passes 

 the paddock, and descending down the back 

 stretch. The turns are very gradual indeed, 

 and in the straight there is a rise of eight feet 

 from the five furlong starting post to the 

 winning post. There is also what the 

 executive term a kite-shaped coune of a 

 mile and a half, which begins and finishes in 

 front of the stands, and although the general 

 appearance of the place suggests flatness, a 

 walk round the course makes it apparent 

 that there is a good deal of undulation. For 

 a long distance race there is no grander 

 course in the world, unless it be that on 

 which the Cisarewitch is run at Newmarket, 

 or the Cup course at Doncaster, which, by 

 the way, is just the same distance. It is 

 better than the Ascot course, the turn into 

 the straight being more gradual, and if it 

 has an equal at an enclosed meeting, one has 

 to go to far-away Gosforth Park, in North- 

 umberland, to find it. 



Gatwick being of such recent date, it has 

 no great history. It adheres to some of the 

 old Croydon titles for its races ; thus we find 

 the Croydon Hurdle Race and the Metro- 

 politan Steeplechase at the December meet- 

 ing, while the Wickham Hurdle Race figures 

 on the card of the March meeting ; but the 

 Grand National Hurdle Race of the Croydon 

 days has become the International Hurdle 

 Race, and with the altered title has fully 

 maintained its popularity. About eight 

 meetings a year are held, four under Jockey 

 Club rules, and four of Steeplechasing and 

 Hurdle racing. The flat race meetings 

 generally take place in May, June, at the end 

 of August, and in October, and at the first 

 or Spring Meeting, the Alexandra Handicap 

 of six furlongs, worth ;Cr,ooo, is the chief 

 prize of the first day, while the Princes' 

 Handicap of a mile and a half, and also worth 

 £1,000, is the big event of the second day. 

 Other fair class races at this meeting are the 

 Champney Plate, weight for age, over a mile 

 and a half, the Worth Stakes for two-year- 

 olds, and the Marlborough Plate, one mile, 

 for three-year-olds. At the June meeting 

 the prizes are not so valuable, the most 

 important, from a money point of view, 

 being a Selling Handicap of a mile, worth 

 £500. At the August fixture the Norbury 

 plate for two-year-olds, and the August 

 Handicap of a mile and a quarter, are the 

 principal items, and in October the Gatwick 

 Stakes, weight for age, a mile and a half, the 

 Surrey Stakes, weight for age, six furlongs, and 

 the County Nunery are the most important 

 races. But some very valuable races will be 

 decided at Gatwick in the immediate future. 



From a scenic point of view Lincfield 

 stands alone among modern racecourses. 

 It is not placed at an altitude high enough 

 to afiFord the magnificent panorama com- 

 manded by the stands of Epsom, nor can it 

 in this respect compare with Goodwood ; 

 but its more homely beauty is unique, as it 

 is situated on a well-wooded slope, amidst 

 undulating pastures, tree-lined hedgerows, 

 and winding water. The great attraction, 

 however, is the garden of the club enclosure, 

 which is of great size, and is most tastefully 

 laid out. Here ladies can sit and watch the 

 racing without leaving the shade of the 

 magnificent trees, and here Nature and Art 

 in combination have produced floral decora- 

 tions which quite eclipse the somewhat 

 stiffly designed flower-beds of other courses. 

 The bedding-out plants, so dear to the 

 managers of most modern courses, have 

 been discarded in favour of a much more 

 varied array. Thousands of roses, a pro- 

 fusion of flowering shrubs, and a wealth of 

 old-fashioned annuals and perennials give 

 a rural charm, and at the June meeting the 

 tree lupins — which grow in great variety 

 and to a great height — make a show of which 

 any gardener might be proud. 



The Lingfield course is also unlike the 

 usual racecourse. The stands — much 

 smaller than those at Gatwick — have been 

 designed with some regard for beauty of 

 architecture ; moreover, they are placed at 

 a capital angle to the racecourse, so that a 

 good view can be obtained, and though they 

 are not quite so close to the station as those 

 of Gatwick — which adjoins the railway plat- 

 forms — they are only about a quarter of a 

 mile away, and the walk to and fro is by 

 pleasant pathways. The park extends to 

 something like 300 acres, and contains a 

 round course, a steeplechase course, and a 

 straight mile. This last-named track has 

 its starting post very near the bungalows of 

 the Bellagio estate, and is on the descent all 

 the way, the first half-mile being decidedly 

 downhill, while the last half is nearly level. 

 The round course is about a mile and a half, 

 beginning at a point two furlongs below 

 the winning post, and joining the straight 

 course again four furlongs from home. It 

 is flat for something like half a mile, then 

 there is a gradual rise of about four hundred 

 yards to the top of a hill, and then a descent 

 to the junction of the courses. The turns 

 are very gradual, but horses sometimes come 

 vride into the straight, as they do round 

 Tattenham Comer at Epsom. The steeple- 

 chase course is alongside the round course, 

 and both are very genuine tests of merit. 



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