ENGLISH RACING.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXXIII, Issue VI, 6 August 1904, Page 20

ENGLISH RACING.

ROYAL ASCOT. (From Our Special Correspondent.) LONDON, June 17. Fine weather makes fine birds (pardon the liberty taken with a well worn adage) at “Royal Ascot,’’ and as the morning of the opening day of this famous meeting gave promise of a blue sky the day long, the ladies with one accord donned their brightest and gayest frocks, and their most bewitching millinery. So the Royal enclosure at Ascot formed a beautiful panorama of grace and colour, a parade of exquisite artifice, and untold wealth. The King came with bis gracious consort, the I’rliice of vvaics brought his charming lady, and the great dames of society, with the lords, mustered in great strength. Such an assembly of rank aud fashion can only be seen at Ascot on a fine day. But it is not for me to deal with Ascof>fl social side; for these notes the racing is the mutton, so have at it! In the opening event, the Trial Stakes of £620, run over a short mile, the Duke of Westminster’s smart colt Grey Plume, 3yrs, 7.4, easily defeated a field of ten, and so justified his position as first favourite at 11 to 8 against. But in the* ensuing race, the “Gold Vase’’ of £760, weight for age, run over two miles, Mr 8. B. Joel’s Bachelor’s Button, syrs, 9.8, upset a couple of better fancied candidates in Hands Down, 3yrs, 7.8, and Jlammerkop, 4yrs, 9.4; and the Coventry Stakes of £lBO9, for two year olds, run over nearly six furlongs, also proved a iritfall for backers. On form Mr Penton’s Vedas should have been able to account for the six animals iu opposition, and the fielders se« med to be erring on the side of generosity when they offered 11 to 10 against the colt. The reason no doubt was the favourable reports made concerning Lord Rosebery s Cicero, the winner of the AVoodcote Stakes at Epsom. This son of Cyllenc and Gas was the only other animal backed, 4* to 4 being the best price on offer at flag fall. Backers were not far out in selecting those two, for after running a couple of furlongs Vedas assumed command, only, however, to resign to Cicero in the next hundred yards. Lord Rosebery’s colt gradually drew away from the favourite, and won by a couple of lengths' from Vedas, the latter being three lengths ahead of the rest of the field. For the race of the day, the Ascot Stakes of £1945, hid over two miles, no less than 22 runners s|M>rted silk. Naturally, with such a collection tb pick ami choose from, backers were much div filed, and after some heavy speculation, no Jess than ten animals started at odds between 100 to 12 and 100 to 7, nominal favouritism resting with Sandboy. 4yrs, 7.9, at 100 tp 12. The most fancied goods, however, were right out of it, when it came to racing, for after a fast lun to the distance, Mr Miller’s Merry Andrew (Xury—Merryfoot), syrs, 7.6, which started at 26 to 1, drew out and won by half a length from Pitre Gold, syrs, 6.8, the rest of the field being beaten off. The winner’s time was 3.22 2-5, which heat by close eti 12sees. the previous record for the rade. The next event of importance was the Prince of Wales’s Stakes, one ipile five furlongs, of £1875, for three-year-olds, for which a field of ten went to the jM>st. Backers declared on the Duke of Westminster’s Uy dal Head (St. Frusquin— Rj'dal), 8.3, being well content to take 6 to 4 about tho colt. Their confidence was well founded, for before half the journey was covered, the favourite came to the head of affairs and though vigorously oiinllenged by Admiral Breeze, 8.13. he won easily enough by a couple of lengths, the third home being the King’s horse (’Uatsworth, whiclr finished four lengths away. On llie morrow tho piece de resistance nr a “fat” card was the Royal Hunt Cup of £2620, decided over seven furlongs 166 yards. As usual there was very heavy speculation over this race, but of the 28 runners, Mr L. Rrassoy’s Wild Oats, 4yrs, 8.2, at 5 Io 1. Robert le Di;d>lc, syrs, 9.0, at 9 to 1, Kilglass. nnd Mr Keswick’S <’snrdas. a son of Ladas nnd Polka, syrs, 7.5, carried (he main weight of money. Others well supported were Coßftack and Niphctos, but the rest were backablo at all prices from 20 to .100 to 1, including the Hungarian horse LTnknfl, syrs, 8.2, which figured among the 40 to 1 chancog. Considering tho size of the field, baegers were not far out hi their calculations, n fast Mui pice jwivliuf darijas a winner a Irumn and a haff 1n front of file outsider Tlitzati,

wltk the favourite beatea half a length for second honours, and Robert le Diable a nock behind fourth, and Cossack and Nlphetog close up next. A race which by reason of Pretty Polly’s appearance therein created nearly as much iiitercMl as Hie Hunt Cup was the Coronatl<»n .Stakes, a mile event worth £3OOO, for ( firye-ycur-<dd fillies. Major Loder’s superb mare carried the extrejue penalty, and waa presenting from a stone to 211 b to each of her nine opponents. Yet backers were content to lay 6 to I on the chances of Galliuule’s Qylug daughter, who rewarded their faith in her by cantering home three lengths ahead of everything. As in all her previous 11 essays. Major Loder’s filly never seemed to Im? exerting herself, and apparently had Uue so willed it she could have the length of Fleet street. The Ascot Derby for three-year-old colts, worth £1125, and run over a mile and ahalf, fell to the Duke of I'ortland's Darlcy Dale (St. Simon - Ismay ), which, starting favourite at 5 to 4, easily beat the King's colt, Chatsworth, aud four others. In the Fern HUI Stakes of £630, five furlongs, Mr I*. Gilpin’s Delaunay (Fortunio— Pot), a stable companion of Pretty Polly, squandered a field of 10, including the speedy Hen try* and Bass Rock, and the same stable supplied the winner of the 52nd Triennial Htakes of £730, for two-year-olds, in Mr Neumann’s Petit Blue (Eager— Yesterday’s racing provided one of those “turn-ups’’ for which Ascot is notorious, uamely, the defeat of Zinfandel aud Hceptre by a handicap horse —and not reckoned in the first flight at that—from which they were both in receipt of weight. This was in the Gold <’up of £3269, run over 2A miles at weight for age. There were only four runners, and on the strength of .his previous defeat of Sceptre, Zinfandel (4yrs, 9st) started favourite at 5 to 4 on, Sceptre (syrs, 9.1) being second in demand at 7 to 4: whilst tens were laid against the French horse Maximum If. (syrs, 9.4), which won the Gold Cup last year; aud 20 to 1 was on offer against Mr Alexander’s Throwaway (Rightaway—Theale), syrs, 9.4. Cannon and Madden on Zinfandel and Sceptre respectively were watching each other, and allowed Lane on Throwaway to steal a lead of half a dozen lengths and hold that advantage till until nearly two miles had been covered. They had been going at a slow pace, ami when 'Throwaway was challenged he had enough left in him to stall off the challenge of both Sceptre and Zinfandel and win by a length from the colt, the mare, faltering close home, being relegated to third place. Madden and Cannon no doubt felt very sick al the result, as did the backers of their mounts, which arc undoubtedly’ from 141 b to 211 b better iu a true run race trfan Throwaway. Another piece of bad luck for backerfl occurred in the previous race, which had been reduced to a match between Cossack and Orchid. The former was a red-hot favourite, backers being quite eager to lay 4 to 1 on its chance. It won easily, but an objection was laid on the score of wrong weight, and the race awarded to Orchid! The rich New Stakes of £3042, for two-year-olds introduced racegoers to Mr L. Neumann’s colt Llangibby (Wildflower —• Concussion), which cleared out a field of 10 in hollow fashion, and is evidently the best two-year-old we have seen out so far this season. In the St. James’s Palace Stakes of £2150, for three-year-olds, Mr S.‘Darling’s Challenger (Isinglass—Meddlesome) gave a three lengths’ beating to Rydal Head and Cades, both of whom are, like the winner, St. Leger candidates. The meeting at Hurst Park on Saturday suffered by reason of its close proximity to Ascot, but a really sumptuous bill of fare was provided for its patroas, no less than three races worth £lOOO or thereabouts figuring in the programme. The first of these was the Foal Plate of £1133 for two-year-olds, which brought out a field of 13 youngsters, and was tv on by Captain Orr Ewing’s Thrush, an unfashionably bred colt by Missel Thrush out of Chemiatry. which made every yard of the running and won by a clear length from Lord Durham’s Orator, with Sir James Miller’s Amltic third. For the Victoria Stakes Handicap of £1134, decided over a mile and a quarter, no less than 16 runnel's mustered at the post. Backers were all together out of their reckoning iu this event, for the favourite, Jolly Bird, was beaten out of a place, and a 100 to 8 chance in Sir W. Ingram's Cottager (Oyrfl, 7.13), a son of Common and Marguerite 11., ran home a clever winner a length and a-half ahead of the well-backed St. EmUion (4yr«, 8.6), with a 10 to 1 chance, Alderman (4yrs, 7.7), a good third. In the Duchess of York Plate of £979, for throe-year-olds, also decided over a wile and a quarter, the favourite, Chanter, likewise let down his backers through colliding with the rails, and Lord Fenrhyn's well-backed Peroration (Persimmon —Pannonia) had no difficulty in winning by three lengths from Antonio, with the Duke of I’ortland’s The Scribe third a couple of lengths off. Possibly Englishmen have reason to bo grateful to M. Edmond Blanc for deciding to allow his Derby chance to rest upon one horse, and for selecting Gouvernant as the better of his pair of Flying Fox’s sons. Had lie shipped his so-called “second string,” Ajax, it is quite likely that he would have taken our most coveted racing prize back to France with him. In the Grand Prix de Paris—a race worth £lo,9o4—decided over 11 mile nnd seven furlongs, last Sunday, M. Blanc ran both his colts, aud Ajax wou easily, his stable companion being relegated to fourth place many lengths behind. The winner has now won £19,W0 in two outings, and during his brief career haw credited M. Blanc with £22,400. Ajax has an engagement In the St. Lcgcr, which is run over the same length course as the Grand Prix, and as lie evidently stays well. It is quite probable that he will be sent to England t<» give battle m. Am&nt and the flying Pretty Tolly*