THE ENGLISH DERBY.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXXII, Issue 10629, 7 June 1897, Page 4

THE ENGLISH DERBY.

SOME REMINISCENCES.

Gftltee More has added another laurel to his crown by winning tbo greatest classic race of the year— tbe DsTby. One has to go back many years to find another Instance of an Irish- bred cr>)ti necuilrig the coveted prizs j ia fuel), the last occasion on whloti the Emerald Islo chimed the orcdlb of being tbe blrthnlooe of the Derby winner was wbnn St. Gitleu nti a dead heat with The Harvester. However, this Year Inland has not to divide tho hosorn, but) wloa right out, Probably when English paperß with &n account of the race come to Innd we shall read the usual enlogiumu about the winner* for the ll halo of glory which ia toe pasb has surrounded the victors en the Epsom Downs U not quite a thing of the pait, and writers are apt to see In the wlnoeis of the blue riband of the turf tbe " colt of the century," or gome other term almost eqaally flattering. There are seldom any seoond-clftss horses amongat the roll ot Derby firsts. In the minds of sporting writers the hero of the hour Is either a very great colt Indeed or he Is one of the very worst horses that ever won the race, and that, let it be told, is something very bad Indeed. It is Incontrovertible that som« of the winners of the paßt hive been of snoh an extremely moderate class that they could not afterwards win' soiling plate«. Thin description, however, usually only descrlbßß the chance colts who were never ; heard of before the Derby, and whoaa j fame is on ephemeral that they are forgotten very soon nfterwarde, having no freih deedß to keep them 111 the memory of turfites. In ail probability Oaltse More will be ranked as one of tbe best, rather than one of the worst, of clbsbio winners. His performances ns a two-year-old were most meritorious, and In tibe Middle Park Plate he defeated Velasquez, a oolt considered to be a very h!gh-olos» aoimaU That triumph he has repeated thin year, In both the Two Thousand Gnlneas and Derby, and his right to be considered the colt of the year is now unquestioned. Should he keep sound nntll Leger day he will probably have bia name enrolled amongst the winners of the triple crown. Last year saw two good colts out, Sb, J?ruaquln and Persimmon, and with the breakdown of the former, tho Prlnce'a colt was certainly an easy first over the remainder of his contemporaries. This year it would sacra as though the contest for position la very similar, for with Galree More out of the way, Velasquez would easily silence the rest of tbe opposition. Although there have been few Irishbred colts enrolled as Derby winners of late years, it is not that they do not breed good horses in the little greon Isle, for many of tho best handioap horses on the English turf to-day boll from the land of the Shamrook. It is merely that fewer colts from soross the water are entered for the greotraoe. Galteo More has a pedigree fairly bristling with the names of good horses, His sire, Kendal, was born in the same year as the mighty and unbeaten Ormonde, whom many writers have called "the horse of tbe century," and was by the same sire, Bend 'Or, from Windermere. As a two year-old Eendal won with ease the only two races he ran for, and his trainer, John Porter, averred he was little, If anything, inferior to Ormonde, As a three year-old Kendal suffered severely from lnfluenzi, an ailment which also brought about Ormonde s speedy retirement from tbe turf. It wea deemed advisable to withdraw him from his engagements, and he was early pnt to tha stud, belne sold after a few years for a big prloe to go to Ireland. Mention of Ormonde's year reminds one that many good judges of the game are of opinion that there were more really firstclass threeyearolds seen out in that year than In any other season within the memory of the present generation. Minting, who played the unenviable part of runner-up to Ormonde in all the great races, waa quite good enough to have won the triple cown in any ordinary year ; and The Bard, who as a two-year-old had a reoord ot 16 raoes undefeated, made a very good third on the Hut, while a really goad colt In Saraband, by Kendal'a three-qnarter brother Mnnoaster, although only worthy of fourth place In this gallery of equine celebrities, was ao^ knowledged to be a mnoh better animal than 60 per cent of Derby winners are. WA crucial test of morlt waa obtained when Ormonde nnd Minting met the gallant Benrligo, the foremost handicap horse in England, in the Jubilee Plate of that year. " Bendi, 1 ' bb he wsb popu larly called by racegoers, was«ln great form, and over hlB favorite dhtanca wbs thought to be good enough to give the three-year-olds a close race. But it was not so, for the younger horses left their older antagonist and had the finish to themselves. Those who saw the struggle between the leading pair will not readily forget— how the hitherto Invincible Ormonde, who was not quite hlmßelf that day, appeared beaten at the distance, and how when the whip wbb drawn on him he momentarily swerved with distress, then straightening himself out, and rnnnlag with unflinching gamenesn, be gained the vlotory by a short head amidst a babel of oheers from all who love a good horse. Velasquez, too, claims relationship with some good horses, bia sire Donovan having as a two and three year old won ell the Important raoeß, plaolng to his owner's credit the largeat snm In stakes ever won by one hone up to tho close of his three-year-old oareer, though tbe amount has slnoe been passed by Isinglass, and nearly, if rmt qnlte, equaled by St. Frusqnln. Vista, dam of Velasquez, is also dam of Sir Vißto, a prevlons Derby winner,