His Father's Head Lad

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 25

His Father's Head Lad

Mat looked after some of his lordship's , horses, and in 1840 he had the care of Lord r Kelburn's Pathfinder, engaged in the Derby, and wtyh whom he made the long, \yeary pilgrimage trom Gullaneto Epsom, being, o£ course, many, days upon, the journey, and stopping on the Vay at,Catterick Bridge races to run and win a match there; but no luck attended the Northern colt in Little Wonder's Derby., It was not until several years later that his [ lordship made any / notable success upon the Turf, with which; he was so loner identified, and there is Uttle ,or nothing to record of his horses underMatthew's care, at-GuUane, where,, contemporary with them, was'the more useful .team of Mr Ramsay. Some-years later,when Matthew, like, bis brothers, had set up for -■> himself as a trainer at .Caweton, he had for; his chief patron a scion of nobility in some > of his traits not unlike the eccentrio old earl, though, perhaps, of amoregraciousancl equable disposition. This wag 4 Lord John Scott, grandson of the third/]suke of Buocleugh and Queensberry,-farpiJ^»rly know as ■ " Old Q.j" and a very remarkable character at that day. Training for Lord John, Matthew Dawson had Tinder his care Hobbie Noble, who won the New Stakes in the first Exhibition year, also the July in the same., season, and was afterwards sold to Mr Merry, , who ran him in Daniel O'RQurke/s" Derby. The Reiver was another July winner for Lord John, and,then came Kilmeny and Olotilde (Goodwood Stewards' Oup winners), and finally'Cannobie, who won the Metropolitan . in '56, and ran third, in Ellington's Derby, ' when brother Tom supplied the winner. About this date Lord J. Scott disposed of a part of his stud to Mi, Mexry ftnV lotto*

«lnding,,the brood mares Phryne* Ladylitire\vell, ind'iCatherine Hayes (the Oaksjand' Ooron^ti^i winfaer of a few years before); also SQme^oungsters—Folkestone, Trovatore, and Blanche of Middlebie,—all useful winners, while the mareE' produced sopaeof the best of the Russley craoks in after time. Matthew went .with him from Oawston, to Russley, and a long and prosperous connection with Mr Merry's stud followed for him, whose earliest,, rewards were Saunterer's Goodwood Cup and Sunbeam's Coronation and Leger, and other races with the speedy little ..black -and' Chanticleer's massive' daughter* These achievements, as also others of the early debutantes of Russley, if not Wholly to Mat's credit, were, at least due to.him aS3" regards their initiation, whether'the horses came first from Scotland or &om 3Lord John's paddocks. The.fact being tb#j/ Mr Merry first trained at Gullane, where young Mat looked after his horses, and among them, was that stout and useful grey Chanticleer, the winner of a North Plate,-. :Goo&wx)od -Stakes, and Doncaster Cup intone-season, besides many other good races, and who afterwards sired Sunbeam, i- In 1852 Mr Merry; finding Scotland too far distant from English meetings, removed his horses from Gullane; and at first placed them under William Day, at Woodyates,t>ut shortly afterwards, preferring to have tiis. own private trainer, ha took a lease, of Russley and installed his stud there under the care of John( Prince. At that time Mat had also left Gullane, and was training for Lord J. Scott at Cawston, as before mentioned, and- when a few years later Lord John sold some of his stud to Mr Merry, Mat Dawson was associated with Prince in the management of