THE WATERLOO CUP 9 



killer was considered the winner,' apart from any points of 

 merit as calculated nowadays. When these points had been 

 adopted small stakes were run for, and no better illustration of 

 the progress and development of the sport can be found than a 

 reference to the historical records of the Waterloo Cup, which 

 is rightfully called ' The Blue Ribbon of the Leash' — for is it 

 not the summit of a coursing-man's ambition to be returned 

 the winner of the great event? and should he be fortunate 

 enough to have bred and trained his successful nomination, 

 the achievement will rank as a red-letter performance in the 

 pages of his life's history. The Waterloo Cup finds its parallel 

 on the turf. In these days of 10,000/. stakes a man may win 

 a prize of greater pecuniary value than the Derby ; but even 

 the most mercenary of racing-men and those who look upon 

 the sport as a profession would in all probability, if asked, tell 

 you they would rather win one Derby than two Eclipse Stakes. 

 So it is with the great trophy of Altcar. A Gosforth Gold Cup is 

 won and forgotten, but a Waterloo triumph is a living memory. 

 Let us then look to the foundation of this popular stake, 

 and, again adopting ' Robin Hood ' as our authority, unearth 

 its records. The year 1836 saw its beginning. That begin- 

 ning was modest in the extreme, for we find in the 'New 

 Sporting Magazine ' a record of the event described as an 

 eight-dog stake at 2 sovs. each. The contest was conducted 

 under the auspices of a Mr. Lynn, and resulted in a win for 

 that gentleman's nomination, Melanie, though the owner of the 

 bitch was none other than Lord Molyneux, eldest son of the 

 Earl of Sefton, who had kindly given permission for the stake 

 to be run on the now classical plains of Altcar. In addition 

 to the stakes, a trophy, in the form of a silver snuff-box, was 

 presented to the winner. The following year saw the nomina- 

 tions increased to sixteen at 5/. each ; and the eight dogs 

 beaten in the iirst round could compete for ' the Altcar Plate,' 

 an equivalent to the Waterloo Plate of to-day. The next 

 celebration found thirty-two nominations at 25/. each, and no 



' This was evidently not the case in Queen Elizabeth's time. — Ed. 



