THE DERBY.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XXVIII, Issue 2058, 26 July 1867, Page 3

THE DERBY.

{From (lie. Field, May 25.). ■ ..Tho chapter of accidents had clearly enough brought many of the runners to the post, and there were not half-a-dozen nags in the iuclosure flint wero worth a Beeond glance, Amongst the first in. were Woolcot's, two, , Wild Moor and Hedbourne, neither of which, on the score of appearance, could claim much attention from the connoisseurs. Ilandy to these, but sauntering about in solitary state, without anytliiiig to leKd or clieer liim, is the appropriately-named .Hermit, in the coolest of the cool Shade, tinder, the dripping plantation—a very outcast, as it were, at whom nobody looks, and of whom nobody thinks. And yet he i 9 i\ good-looking horse, to follow niore: particularly, with those fine loins, great ■ haunches, and big but rather short) thighs. I'Ki-n lie h (is,powerful ■ muscular armS, firstrate joints, and short wearing legs, though his long, lean head is not quite elegrfntly set on his strong, well-shaped, clean' neck ; while liis shoulders are nicely:' laid, muscular, and bloodlike, aiid his middle is good, - if a • trifle too long. With the marked peculiarity of the point of the quarter coming down in a line with the point of the hock,. Hermit has all the style of tho thorough-bred; but still he walks by with a somewhat weary, listless air, And one straightway , remembers how he has"broken a blood-vessel," is "ricked in the back," has "not had a gallop for a week," arid has gone. clean out of the betting. Otherwise lie was the best of all the colts as a two-year-old, and,, the best yearling at Middle Park, where we picked him out (in print) as a very clever, nicely . topped nag, with lots of power on a short : leg, and that " we shall wager Mr Chaplin's will: be worth more than the other grand chestnut by this time two years." That other chestnut was Pedagogue, a son of Governess, knocked down for 1500 guineas, Hermit being sold for 1000 guineas; Marksman, curiously enough, camo next in the catalogue, and. also. making 1000 guineas, Verily Mr Blenkiron has got an advertisement for his second Saturday iii June, and no mistake ! Another early arrival is the Irish outsider, Fitz-Ivan, a very good-looking, upstanding, well-grown colt, that should have ran better than lie did, And here are the bucolic couple—the low, lengthy, big-limbed Butterfly; . with; liia heayy neck and kettledrum. :»h.6ad.as, : \ana>tKe far smarter Lord Hastings, though too high on the leg for such a journey as this. That catty, slouching, misshapen brute is Bedlamite, a son of btoekwell; this great, raking, wiry filly Skysaii, who, if she does not make too much noise over it, should bo amongst the dangerous division; and yon rough, staringcoated horse, that looks as if he had received a hedge-side preparation, the renowned Van Amburgh. A rather racing-like taking colt is the Yorkshire Tynedale, but his companion, the Corporal, seems far more fit to carry a light weight with . the Bedale then win the Derby; and the threecornered, faint-hearted little Leases looks like a two-year-old by the side of,'such a great, fine-grown horse as The Palmer, who has powerful arms and thighs, big. bone, and stitely carriage, though lie is weakislv in his pasterns, and "brushes' - a bit in his march Raquefortis just neat and small, witli his legs well under him. D'Esto'uriiel's sulky rather than savage expression, gives the key to his character; still he strips well, though apparently rather flattered in his work. Julius, too, is bigger;: but it is mere flesh rather than muscle, and there is none of that perfection of finish about him that was wont to distinguish. Mat Dawson's favourites from Russley, But now a rush across tho paddock tells its tale, with many thanks to the Blue Duke for giving us a peep at the crack, instead of nisver,letting him come nigh, as they contrived Jit with .Lord Lyon and Blair Athol.. Famously, too, does the little horse bear the scrutiny; for, by the bright bloom on his coat, the vigour in his frame, and (he cheerful corky way in which he goes, there is no horse so fit as Vauban—not (at all the mean; colt some people. would make him out to bej but a really smart, bloodlike, well-made horse, if he did not stand so upright in his pasterns, or could get his hind legs a litt'e more under him. Such thorough trim would, before starting, almost seem to warrant the 6 to 4 they are taking, although after the race we never saw a horse knuckle over so fearfully as Vauban, when " Remote, unfriended; melancholy, slow," they hurried on his clothing in the first quiet corner they could get to. He was led upon parade by Uncas, a niceish little horse, but of no size; and, in :f act, as the gentleman jockey said of his partners at the race-ball," they were a .very ragged lot," with such cattle as ..Owen Glyridwr*- The Rescue, The Man of Ross, and so' forth, to make up a "set." Even the Frenchman, Dragon,<has not grown or at any rate improved a bit since last year, when., we; : liked ; him at Ascot—than we do by this writing, as he lud then the makings of a very useful horse about him. But vainly do . we seek our own first favourite, Marksman, or that other grand mystery, the Rake, although in drawing the upper side of the covert we encounter the Grand Cross hinnelf—a great heavy-topped, flash, flat-catching animal, as much like a charger 'with his "beautifully arched.neek, 1 ' and as little like a race-horse as a man would wish to see,: For choice we should have gone for the gelding Taraban; but John Scott is clearly not in force, and at best his pair rank only amongst, lorn hopes, and dead-and-gone, of which the Derby field of '67 is mainly made up. In the canter past .there is nothing goes like Marksman, who, with wondrous. propelling power, has certainly about; the finest ; hiod-leg action ever Been; Hisbrightruddy coat, too, fairly flashes under the gleam of wintry sunshine; and, though Mat may have left them, he has not taken away with him the', secret of how to make the most of a horse on Russley Down, The Rake w;e never got alongside, as he is hurrird through the paddock so soon as the race is over; and it would be consequently idle to hazard an opinion as to how far his preparation was interfered with by his accident. Under all the circumstances of the case, we never remember a morning in the paddocks passed with so little enjoyment; and as one sought one's way back for a place and a glimpse of the finish, it was with something of the same feeling as the charity-hoy, who, when he got to the end of the alphabet, seriously doubted whether it was worth while going through'ao much to learn so little. Everybody. writing.on ; the.; Derby liad predicted a small field, from the quantity of rubbish that it. was sunnosed :would have to be 'eliminated on, the day. But lot. the "rubbish" was all there, and the telegraph board shewed,' to everyone ft surpriso, thirty runners; Master Butterfly, Leases, the Amanda colt, Owen Glyndwr, lien Nevis, Wild Moor, cum multis. ahis, camo ,to see if. among the mediocrities of the year a place might haply be found even for such.as them. There was only one absentee* of. note. .'Plaudit, after figuring In yesterday's quotations at .10 anil Soto 1, iiad tlio pen, striiclc through jiis name this iiiorning, tliougii perhaps that can hardly be . said under tho circumstances. The number on the card was made up by Lord Uxbrldge's Distin, ridden by l'aiihbn, whdso only.piirt. in the perforHianie consisted in refusing to go near his horses, thus delaying the start.; The process of clearing the coura' was performed witli that wonderful mixtiro of patience and energy that have made the ntiiiieu ol Superiii

tcndcnt Wnlkor and the A Division household words, Mr Tanner and his men were there to look lifter our watches and purses, mid tho worthy Inspector—who ha* taken Iloyalty and racing men under his special proteellon, vice tho pursuit of disreputablo murderers and thieves—ushered the Prince of Wales, liis royal brother, I'rinoo Adolplius of Meelc-lenberg-iitrclitz, and Prince Took into the Stund about the timo of the first race, The royal party camo by road, and wero greeted witli loud cheers, followed by much merriment as tho rear of the cortege was brought up by one of her Majesty's carriages not generally seen on festivo occasions—to wit, the prison van ; which emtio • lumbering up in great haste, us if tho capture of somo of the unite was on its mind, Kindly reserving its eiforts for Royalty, down came tho severest hail storm soon after the party arrived, nnd the pleasures of the paddock were much marred inconsequence. In fact, many gave up going to what is.generally such a pleasant haunt, rather than brave the weather. But now the course is froe from the horses, and the Rake, who, with Marksman, was saddled at tho Warren, is the first to make his appearance ; and a much finer-looking horse than the beautiful son of Wild Dnyrtil was not stripped to-day. Ills magnificent quarters and muscular development were a theme of admiration, and many hastened to plunge on him at the last moment, from his looks alone. The next to show were Distin, Unens', Vmibun, Fitz-Ivun, Lenses, Dragon, Hermit, Van Amburgh, the Amanda colt, Gipsy King, &c , &c, the rear being brought up by Julius and The Palmer. The preliminary cantor was led by Owen Glyndwr, Tiie Palmer, and Lord Hastings, The Hake being at the tail of the string ; ami nearly half an hour after time they went down to the post, and were handed ovor to Mr M'George.

The betting had undergone little change, if we except the factof The Palmer becoming second favourite. Vuuban held his place with wonderful firmness, and the confidence of his owner, trainer, stable, and general public seemed unbounded. Even at the short price he was at, numbers hastened to get on, and took the 10 to 8 with the feeling that it was putting it down only to take it up again. Perhaps there has been no instance of late years of such an extraordinary position as the Duke of Beaufort's horse held. People who did not fancy him, when asked " What was to beat him ?" were content to shake their heads in reply. Some vague outsider floated before their eyes, or it was in The Palmer or Marksman they placed their confidence. No one mentioned Hermit except in derision, and the man who had opened his mouth to back him would have had gold poured into it in abundance. There was a show of bringing Dragon in the early part of the day, and at one time 100 to 6 was bis quoted price, hut lie soon retired to 30 to 1. Van Amburgh was not in good ( dour, and at one time there was a difficulty about Challoner, on whom Mr Payne had a claim; but M. Lc Terriere, who, in Mr Fleming's absenco from illness, looked after the horse's interests, was able to arrange this, and Van Amburgh had the advantage of the jockey's services. The Rake's final price was 9 to 1; and 11 to 1 about Marksman was taken freely. No horse was intrusted, with more place money than he was; and Mr Merry, though not sanguine of beating the favourite, made no secret of his confidence that lie would get very near him. For half an hour were we kept shivering in the keen air, and watching the repeated breakings away of Taraban, Lord Hastings, Marksman, Dragon, and Palmer, who were the principal offenders; and Mr M'George subsequently reported Grimshaw, the rider of Marksman, for disobedience. The two best behaved horses were Vauban and The Hake. D'Estournel, who was ridden by Kdwards, did what many people said he would—stuck his toes in the ground, and refused to budge an inch when the flag fell. The violet lioups of his Grace of Newcastle were the first to show in front, and us they streamed through the furzes the favourite was seen to run through his horses and boldly make his own running, Julius succumbing soon after passing the mile post. From this point there were but three or four in it, and as Fordham indulged Vauban with a pull on approaching the Corner, Marksman showed in> front, followed by Vau Amburgh, The Palmer, Wild Moor, and on the lower ground by Hermit and The Rake. Coming into the straight the blue jacket was seen to be in trouble, and the cherry colour soon after to drop back, and loud shouts were raised for Vauban, Van Amburgh, and Marksman; but Vauban soon settled the lion tamer's pretensions, and then it looked as if the issue was to be left to the other two. As they approached the Stand, Fordham was setn to be riding the favourite, and Marksman, apparently going within himself, looked all over a winner, until suddenly on the lower ground the rose jacket of Mr Chaplin was seen coming up; and, to the intense astonishment of everybody, "poor Hermit" challenged Marksman, and though the latter ran most gamely, he was beaten after an exciiing finish by a neck. People could scarcely believe their eyes when Hermit's number was hoisted; and though after a pause there was much cheering at Mr Chaplin's good fortune, yet, as we have said, the feeling was one of bewilderment at such a very unexpected turnup, and prevented any great demonstration, That an unprepared horse, who. had broken a blood-vessel, been stopped in his work, and consequently unfit, should come and win the Derby, was such a blow to all preconceived opinion and judgment, such an upsetting of all one's ideas on "public form," that we might be excused for not being able to make it out. One thing is certain, that we were wrong when we called this year's lot of horses mediocre, If we had said very bad, we should have been nearer the truth; and when we mention that such a wretch as Wild Moor was fourth, we think no other proof is necessary. We must confess to not understanding Marksman beating Vauban, as we considered the Two Thousand running to be correct, and not to be reversed, Vauban was 'believed to be a stayer, but lie declined at the half-distance, just about where Rustic failed last year—a great disappointment to his noble owner, and indeed to the sporting world in general, with whom his grace's success would have been highly popular. Daley rode the winner with great patience and judgment. He got the mount on Custance resigning his claim to ride in favour of The Rake, and lias been most handsomely feed, being presented by Mr Chaplin with a thousand immediately after the race, and he is to have another £3OOO also. Mr Chaplin and Captain Macliell, of course, carry off large stakes (the latter backing him in running at 1000 to 15); and the public, as a rule, are winners, as they were unable to get out, so stuck to the odds they took about him last year, and now their " dead money," at they thought it, returns to them with a very pleasing vitality, Some large losers are reported, both in the Ring and among amateurs, who took liberties with Hermit under the impression that he was" gone," never to return ; but we believe much of this is exaggerated, He is rather a bad horse for the Ring ; but still they must have got so much money out of The Rake and Vauban, that probably no great harm is done, Certainly this will long be remembered as the year of Hermit and the snowstorms. We look back through the long vista of years, and can remember no such startling coup, nor anything similar to it. We slmllgo on wondering and exclaiming, " Who would have thought it ]" for some weeks, and doubtless in proces* of time our turf Solons will explain it all to their, if not tho public satisfaction. At present wo have only to record the fact that the Derby of 1867 has lieen won by a " poor," " infirm," " beaten," " mysterious," " hopeless" horse, who started at 100 to 1.

Dkkhy Stakes of 50 sovs each, h. ft., for three-year olds; colts, Sat Kllb.; fillies, SstGlb; tho second received 100 sovs; 1J mile 256 Bubs, Mr Chaplin's eli. c. Tlio Hermit, by Nowinitiator—Occlusion, by 'l'admor (J. Daley) ... ••• 1 Mr Merry's oh. o, Marksman, byDundoo— Sliot (Grimshaw) ... ••• 2 Duko of Duuufort's br. o. Vauban, by Mus-covite-Palm (Fordham) ... ••• 3

netting : « to 4 agst Vuuban, 7 to 1 agst The Palmer, 8 to 1 each agft Tho Rako and Van Amburgh, 11 to 1 agst Mnrksnuin, Iqq

to 7 agst Julius, 100 to G agst D'Kstournel 30 to 1 each agst Dragon ami Grand Cross, 50 to 1 ngst Tynedale, fi6 to 1 each agst Master Butterfly aud Kitz Iran, and 100 to 1 agst Hermit. Mr Vanning Imd in a measure anticipated the weighing of the jockeys engaged in the Derby (Hiring the running of Ihe lientinck Pluto, and their numbers with their respective riders were placed on the telegraph board only a few minutes after the lime set down on the eurd; but it was upwards (if half-an-hoiir before twenty-eight of the two dozen anil six runners were Fei n leaving the paddock, Marksman anil The Hake, from prudential motives, imd their toilets completed at the Warren Ktubles, and were then walked round to Tultenlmm Corner, where they were joined by the others. Little or no time was lost in the preliminary canter, in which those most interested took exeoption to several of tlicir favourites, and were seen hastening Imck to the inelosure for the purpose of shifting their investments, and getting on those most taking the limey. During the turmoil and confusi n that necessarily ensued, the cavalcade \ms marshalled down to the starting-post by the veteran Starling, who, in due course, delivered them in something like order into the custody of Mr M'Gcorge, who led them to the post. Here a series of mishaps commenced, occasioned through the rcstivenuss of D'Kstour el and Man of Ross, the pair most resolutely refusing to join their horses ; this, added to the repeated breaks away, in which Marksman, Tarahan, Lord I Innings, Dragon, and Grand dross were the principal performers, caused the start to he protracted upwards of an hour. The delay sorely taxed the pitience of the anxious multitude, and was made the more intolerable through being accompanied by a drenching shower; hut at length the welcome shout of " They're oif " annouiteed the commencement of the race. Then the colours of Julius, oil the right of his horses, were seen slightly in advance of Redbournc, Skysail, Fitz-Ivan, and Roquefort ; to these succeeded Vauban on the lower ground, with Marksman, Corporal, Van Amburgh, Wild Moor, The Rake, and Hermit on his whip hand. The r.ext division were headed by Owen Glyndwr, The Rescue, Tynedale, Dragon, .Man of lioss, and The l'almer, the extreme rear being brought up by Mr Eastwood's pair, Tarabaii, the Amanda colt, and D'Hstournel. The latter, who jumped round as the flag was lowered, was left a long way in the rear, which mishap was followed by his bolting out of the course. During this contretemps ilie leaders threaded their way through the furzes without any noticeable alteration, but as they entered the old course, Redboume dropped away beaten, and his place was taken by fcjkysail, who proceeded along the brow of the hill to the mile post at the girths of the Duke of Newcastle's colt. The pair were a couple of lengths in advance of Vauban, on whose right were seen the colours of Wild Moor, Corporal, Marksman, and The Rescue, while on the lower ground followed The Palmer, Hermit, Van Amburgh, and The Rake close together, the others being headed by Tyndale, Dragon, Roquefort, Lfneas, and Kitz-Ivan, but widely separated. Descending the hill Julius gradually came back to his horses, mid on passing the three-quarters of a mile post his colours suddenly disappeared from the van j this example was followed shortly after by Skysail, The Rescue, Corporal, 'and Dr-igon, the dead being now held by the favourite. The latter, as they approached Tottenham Corner, was indulged with a steadier, which for a brief period gave to the race an open appearance, and as they came round the bend he was joined by Marksman on his right, and by Van Amburgh, The l'almer, Wild Moor, and Ty:iertale on the lower ground. The lot rim in such close company tbat it was difficult to assign them places, shortly after crossing the road Vauban and came on clear of his horses, Marksman, however, being close on his track, - \Aith Van Amburgh, Hermit, The Palmer, and the Hake in attendance. But ere the distance was reached the hopes of the supporters of the last-named two were obliterated by their defeat, which was immediately proclaimed from the stand; but the shout had hardly died away before loud ringing cheers were heard proclaiming the success of the popular Duke of Beaufort, whose representative at the moment appeared to have the issue in hand. These hopes, however, were but shortlived, as Fordham at half - way up was observed to be hard upon his horse, and in a few strides farther Vauban's chance became hopeless; for Grimsliaw brought up Marksman on ltis r ght, and immediately headed him, the pair being followed by Vitn Amburgh, Hermit, and Wild Moor, to the inelosure. Here Mr Fleming's colt was disposed of, when Daley, who had ridden Hermit with exemplary patience, gradually crept up ; heading the Duke's colt at the Stand, he challenged Marksman at its extremity, and riding with the greatest determination, was just able to get up in the last stride, and land one of the most extreme outsiders, after an exciting struggle, the clever winner by aneck. Wild Moor fiuished fourth, Van Amburgh fifth, Owen Glyndwr sixth, Tynedale seventh, The Palmer eighth, and The Corporal next. At the head of the next division, who were pulling up, were seen the colours of The Rake, Leases, Julius, and Gipsy King; to these succeeded, at wide intervals, '' lie Rescue, Grand Cross, and Roquefort. The last three were Ben Nevis, the Amanda colt, and Distin. Net value of the stake, £7OOO. Run in 2min. 52sec.