THE RACE FOR THE ENGLISH DERBY.

{From the. Own Correspondent of the Lyttelton Tim. s .) Dunedin, July 23. Just before the start the first favourite waa Insulaire, whose appearance and style of moving gained him many new friends. The second favourite at the start was Bonnio Scotland, who was purchased an hour or two before the race by Lord Rosebery from Mr Robert Peck, the owner and trainer of the colt, who appeared in public for the first time. Thuria was much admired as he walked up and down the paddock, and Sefton was so perfectly trained, and had evidently made so much improvement since ho ran third for the TW Thousand Guineas that lie advanced to 8 to 1, at which price Cyprus, who was the only representative of the Russley stable, found plenty of friends. Childeric and Af talus were not in much request, and the "dark" colt Knight of the Cross, as to whose merits rumour had been so busy a few days beforfe the race, scarcely had a' backer at tho last. _\ T one of the others were mentioned in the betting, and they might as well havo remained m their stables for any chance they had of winning the race. Tho" only absentee of the 23 eolourod on the card wa3 Mr feck's Reefer, with whom it had been intended tomake the running for Bonnie Scotland, but the transfer of tho hitter to Lord Ros bcry rendered his presence wnccesaary, and the only

which had two representatives were those of Count De Lagrange and Prince Soltykoff, who sent Pontoise and The Callant to force the pace for Insulaire and Thurio. In the defile past the stand, Knight of the Cross and Bonnie Scotland, who was not generally recognised, as he did not carry the colours indicated on the card, led the way, but when the twenty two runners wheeled round, and cantered down to the starting post, Childeric took the lead, and was as ■ much admired as any. There was little or no delay at the post, and the flag dropped to an excellent start, the whole field running almost in a line for the first 200 yards. Soon after this Sefton took a slight lead, and held it all the way down the hill by Tattenham corner, with Thurio, Oasis, and Childeric as his immediate attendants. Sir Joseph and Insulaire came next, and the latter, who had been running well within himself, passed Thurio and Oasis, who dropped back beaten when they were once in the straight line for home. Childeric was going so well at this point that his victory seemed very probable, but he could not overtake Sefton," who was never deprived of the lead, and won by a length and a half. Insulaire, making up a lot of ground at the last, was within that distance of Sefton, the same interval separating second and third, and Topaz, whose name was not quoted, ran fourth, in front of Thurio and Bonnie Scotland. Sir Joseph ran very badly, and Attalus, though lie showed great speed, was beaten before it Came to racing in good earnest. The result Of the race is not in accordance with the previous running, so far as the first and second are concerned, for in the Two Thousand Guineas Insulaire had a clear advantage over Sefton, beating him as easily as he wits himself defeated yesterday. The two long Journeys which Insulaire had had within the _st week may have slightly affected him, but Sefton has also improved in the interval more than his rival, for when he ran second to Pilgrimage in the Two Thousand Guineas, he was as fit as hands could make him. It is none the less singular that this year, as last, the horse •which ran third for the Two Thousand Guineas should have won the Derby, and that the horseß which finished second to them at Newmarket should have been behind them at Epsom, Sefton was ridden by Constable, who has thus won his first. Derby in the colours of _ gentlemon for whom ho had never ridden before. Ho is the property of Mr Stirling Crawford, who had never before secured the prize, often as he has made a bid for it. By Speculum, out of a West Australian mare, Sefton was bred by General Peel, and purchased by liis present owner for 1000 guineas at the annual sale of the Glasgow Stud Yearlings, but he did not do much as a two-year-old, the best of his four unsuccessful performances having been when he ran second to Redwing for the Hurstbourne Stakes at Stockbridge. He began his three-year-old career by getting second to Thurio, who had 51bs the worst of the weights in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket, and though he afterwards won the City and Suburban Handicap, he had only sst 81b to carry, and coidd but just defeat the heavily- weighted Advance. When in the following week ho was third for the Two Thousand Guineas, h is Derby prospects eeemed very doubtful, and it does not say much for his competitors that he was able to win so easily. — Pall Mall Gazette.