RACECOURSE AND PADDOCK.

Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7862, 13 May 1891, Page 6

RACECOURSE AND PADDOCK.

LECTURER.

In the whole course of Turf history it has not often happened that when a financial crisis ie reached a great success is scored, and the owner is set on his legs again by the exertions of a horse. Very varying were the fortunes of the late Marquis of Hastings, and the name of Lecturer will always be remembered as the animal that came »to the rescue and temporarily removed the pressure. As John Day, the well known Danebury trainer, put is himseif before the Cesarewitch of 1836, it was " a case of Lecturer or Whitecrose street," as the plunging Marquis had just been called upon, by the grace of Her Majesty Queen Victoria, to meet a dishonoured bill of several thousand pounds, to which, with his usual accommodating spirit, he had unwisely appended his name. " merely as a matter of form, and to oblige—well, not Benson. Just at that period the family exchequer was at its lowest ebb, and the Marquis of Hastings was certainly iv sad straits. This, and the fact that it was wholly and solely through the ability of Lecturer that the ebbing fortunes were for a time stayed, and that the knowledge became public property, will always make the name of that game little stayer Lecturer long remembered in the sporting world. Lecturer was a horse that developed stamina and ability with age. As a two-vear-old he did not take high rank. In fact, it can be said that he never won a race, although he was sent to the startingpost on four occasions. Lecturer was originally bred by Sir Tatton Sykea, and he first ran as Mr Alfred Day's. At the time that Lecturer won the Cesarewitch, which period we may accept as being the zenith of his fame," he is described as a rather good-looking, low, long horse, by Colsterdale out of Algebra, standing about 15 hands ljin high, with a handsome head and neck, good, strong back, and well ribbed-up shoulders, beautifully set on muscular arms and thighs, well formed, strong knees, hocks close to the ground, ana capital strong flat legs. Like many another good horse, Lecturer made his debut at Ascot, where he contested a Maiden Plate, but he was unplaced, the wiuner bein? by Mr R. Kelso's Gretna. who was ridden by J. Mann. Lecturer was not fancied when he first ran, as he was not backed, but he managed to run fifth iv a tolerably big Held. At Odiham he ran third to The Squire for the Hurstbourne 6take>j, aud then he wa9 unplaced in a sweepstakes of lOsovs each on the concluding day of the Goodwood Meeting, the race being won by Gomera. Mr Ten Broeck'e Idler, whofitiished second, started favourite at 7 to 4, the subject of this notice being next fancied at sto 2. His next and last appearauce in public was in the Nur&ery Stakes at Weyinouth, when he was juat beaten by a head by Mr Notley's Wild Dave. Lecturer made considerable improvement during the winter, and he ran his first race as a three-year-old at the Newmarket Craven Meeting of 1866. This was in a handicap called the New Plate, and he had'only s*t9lb to carry. He still ran in the name and colours of Mr Alfred Day, though it was generally known that for some short time the Marquis of Hastings had given £500 for him.

At this period the little Marquis was playing heavily, and he had a rare daahon Lecturer. The horse started at 5 to 4 against, although he had seventeen opponents. Poor little Sammy Kenyon rode him, and the good thing came off, as he won lo a canterby a length and a-half. Another success awaited him in his next effort. This was at Bath, where at first as little as 6 to i was accepted about him, for the County Members' Plate. Finally, he receded in the market, 5 to 2 being laid against him ; but the result proved that there was no just or sufficient cause for his retrogression, as, with none the best of the weights on this occasion, he made a eorry example of his opponents, exhibiting a tremendous turn of speed. It was after this race that he found a friend for the Derby, but be did not run. He was to have contested the Dyrhain Park Plate at the same meeting on the following afternoon, and Harry Day weighed out for him. but he did nor reach the post in time to start. A week later Lecturer went to Epsom, where, with Bst 61b on his back and Cannon up, he was unplaced for the Brighton Stakes. Up to this time Lecturer bad only contested short-distance races, and it is generally believed that but little was known, even by the stable themselves, of the stamina he possessed. When the weights for the Cesarewitch came out that season there was a considerable amount of grumbling, because it was thought that the handicapper had been exceptionally hard upon him. The result, though, actually proved that in handicapping him as a " Derby Horse," Admiral Rous had formed a right estimate of his capacity. As was the case with Lord Hastings' horses, he was located at John Day's at Danebury. Lecturer was entered in the long distance handicap of the Second October Meeting as Mr H. Wilkinson's—a great friend ol the Marquis of generally known amongst bis intimate friends as " Peter." According to the volume on "Racing" in the Badminton Library, the authors of that work have never been able to ascertain with absolute accuracy what Lecturer's Cesarewitch trial really was— it has always been given as Ackworthafc even weigrhts—yet the Earl of Suffolk and Mr W. Gr. Craven have some vague recollections of being told by John of Danebury that it was the Duke who had succumbed at even weights to Lecturer. What, however, they do remember most clearly is old John's account of his blank astonishment and dismay when Lord Hastings threw to him across the table the folded slip of paper which contained his intentions with regard to the coming trial. John thought the task, whatever it was, an absurd and impossible one; nevertheless, he knew that he had to obey orders, as the Marquis was master in his own stable, and brooked no denial. We ourselves have heard, on what we consider good authority, that Ackworth was really the trial nag, and that when they were g.tlloped early one morning, Lecturer won very easily. Both horses carried 7st 3lb; which was the weight Lecturer was handicapped at in the long-distance Newmarket handicap. John Day was not present then, and he was greatly astonished when the Marquis told him the true state of affairs. It was resolved to gallop them again, and the Danebury trainer, who saw the second trial simply astonished at what Lecturer did. "Now, my lord," said John Day, "you can go and win fifty thousand pounds." There was a bit of luck in connection with Lecturer's nomination for the race after all. Lord Hastings, thinking hin horses had been very harshly treated in the Cesarewitch by Admiral Rous, struck them all out, but Lecturer was nominated as above stated by Mr "Peter" Wilkinson who had purchased htm, together with another animal called Black Prince, at the Stockbridge meeting. He was backed for a tremendous lot of money, and at the start he was third favourite, figuring at nine to one. Lecturer's Cesarewitch morning is memorable for the big crowd that arrived early at Newmarket, the renewal of an experiment which had been discontinued for about seventeen years, of running cheap five shilling excursion ' trains from London, causing crowds to assemble on the classic heath. Then amidst much derisive laughter, a notice was posted outside the rooms that Mr Graham declared to win with Regalia, but the position of Chattanooga, the second in the betting, was unshaken. Fred Swindell's mare Proserpine was a great favourite and Chepstow was also much fancied. Five-and-twenty contested the prize, all being "coloured," with the exception of the "chaser" Philosopher, who was nibbled at, at 100 to 1. There was a legend afloat that Tom Oliiver had stated that this horse could beat anything bar Bradamante. The flag fell at the first attempt, and the race was run at a rare pace round the end of the Ditch, and across the flat. At the Bushes Actea was leading, not more than a neck, however, in advance of Proserpine and Lothario, who were racing head and head, with Lecturer, Dulcimer, Sealskin, and Jollity next. Descending the hill, the latter and Sealskin collapsed, and Lothario looked as dangerous as anything half way in the bottom, when Lecturer, going well within himself, obtained the lead, which he retained to the end, defeating Baron Rothschild's colt, who answered gamely to every call made on him, very cleverly by half a length ; whilst the second was a neck in front of Proserpine, the same distance behind being Actea, though she was unplaced by the judge. Hibberd rode Lecturer well, and he was cheered for his riding. The horse was not a "good one" for the ring, as very few escaped laying. It was reported at the time that the Marquis of Hastings won something lik/j sixty thousand pounds, the Duke of Beaufort about twelve thousand, Mr Wilkinson •bout fifteen thousand, and John Day from eighteen to twenty thousand. The stable commission was jointly executed by Mr John Foy and Mr Wiiliatn Wright, the well-known sporting publisher and commission agent of York-street, Covenfe Garden. The former won about eizhfc thousand pounds, and ths latter *boufi

half that sum. It may be worth mentioning that Lecturer ran in the all-black jacket of Mr Wilkinson, and not in the scarlet and white hoops that were once so closely associated with the Marquis of Hastings, and which are now the racine banner of Tom Cannon. Lecturer ran once again after his Cesarewitch success. This was in the Free Handicap at the Newmarket Houghton Meeting, when he beat Strathconan and two others, winning by a head. As a four-year-old, when he had once again become the property of the Marquis of Hastings. Lecturer ran third for the Northampton* shire Stakes, and then won Her Majesty's Plate at the same meeting. He was third in the Chester Cup to Beeswing and Endsleigh, and second to Mousley in the Marquis of Westminster's Plate, also on the Roodee. The last-named horse beat him out of place at Bath for the Beaufort Cup, and then he put the seal on his fame by winning the Gold Cup at Ascot, beating Regalia, Hippia, Tormentor, Rama, Julias, and others Successes in the Alexandra Plate at Ascot, the Huratbourne Cup at Stockbridee, the Stamford Cup followed and then his colours were lowered in the Huntingdon Cup, the Brighton Cup, Her Majesty's Plate at Doncaster, and Rama received forfeit from him in the Newmarket Whip. Lecturer did not run again. He went to the stud, commencing standing at Mentmore, near Leigh ton Buzzard, where he was advertised at 20 guineas. Afterwards he stood for a season or two at the Burghley Park paddocks, near Stamford, and th'en he was located at Wentworth Woodhouse, near Rotherham. He never was a very great success at the stud, although he got a hard, useful little mare in Harriet Laws. Eventually he died in 18S3. at the age of twenty-five. — Licensed Victuallers , Gazette.