The Express.
London, England, 1864-12-13 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THZ WWI&

StO,—Those who fullQw two-year-old rent-
-01•11CeS have invariably discovered some new star at the
Epsom Summer Ileetuig, and they were sot disappointed
this year, although in the Woodcote, Gardevisnre and Puri-
tan, who bad previously shown whet they were made of,
were first and third, the filly bettiug the colt just as
cleverly as she was bound to do, after her may overthrow
of Tennyson at the Spriug Meeting. Dividing the pair, we
had the useful La Fortune, who was only beaten half a
length, but has never sines run up to.lthe earner form
being still • maiden. There were one or two bin;
of promise among the unplaced, but they all
wanted a lot of tune, Wedding Peal and Maid Marian
particularly, and the latter had quality enough soot to
score a win. In the Heethcote Puts La lUcbante ran in
splendid form, when only beaten • ueck from Lady Clifdeo,
and with Attraction (who got • bed start, however),
and Gemma, behind her, and thus, when Victorious one
out in the half mile Two-year-old Stakes his friends were
very sweet, as they took their inspirations concerning him
from Vision, La Meditate's double victrese is the early
spring. He had some quality to beat in AntiMacaaaar, Le
Biarnais, Verderer, Wings of the Wind, Sc., but got home
very cleverly ;and awes to the credit of the two first-named
that they finished so close to him, for he is one of the very
best horses of his day, the great pity being that he is
not in the Two Thousand or Derby. Ascot was
rich as ever in the germ that adorned the juvenile
races, Liddingtoo ligurtog in two of the most important
of them, and by iris defeat of Gardevisnre and Shrapriell
in • biennial, convinced the world as to his superiority over
all previous " public form." Wild Boy also made • creditable
tint appearance by getting wood to him ; and when looking
at the after perfottuamces of Ostregor and itothomago, who
were, with the slashing Salpinctes, unpaced, it is surprising
how be got where be did. Carrying a 51b. penalty to the
New Stakes. Liddington now ran homes tan lengths waiter,
Grinder, Spice, Harold, and Contract, however, comprising
the best of the fresh lot he beat, so that there was little to
boast of here, and the four lengths defeat of Gardevisure on
the first day was what be took such high ground upon.
Auditor greatly distinguished himself in the Trial Stakes,
and also in a plate won by Lemonade, with the promising
Black Draught second, for be was before La M.ichante sod
le others ; and Ls Bi'arnais also improved on his
previous form by winning the weight for age Queen's
Stand Plate, with &wheal beaten three lengths
from him. for the latter afterwards disposed of Kraig,
La Fortune, Jezebel, Fermata, Indigestion, and the no.
certain Audi:, and showed Mr. Merry to have • very useful
second-string to Liddingtos, Zambesi being anything but up
to concert pitch as yet. Koeig was, at the ram* time, not
the horse at Ascot he suhsequently proved himself, or he
would not have allowed Teouyson to beat him so cleverly
for a triennial, wherein Maid Marian and Reginella nn
next to the pair, and the good-looking Tixllebsn and Night-
watch were, with La Fortune, " nowhere." In • Maiden
Plate, • creditable delnit was made by King Charming. when
he beat Shrapoell, Cordele, mid Leader, who were all " in
form," if Audits, Radcliffe, Spice, Pepper's Ghost, Lady
Florence, and many others be disposedof, were not ; but be
could not come anything like as a level with Liddingtoe,
whose preeige was added to by the result of nearly every
two-year-old contest at the meeting, Gardeviaure's &Sage
previous to it making her out the superior of King Charm-
ing, Tennyson, Lemobade, Auditor, and Zambesi—aad Mr.
Merry's dyer gave her a good 10Ib. beating. At Hampton'
there was nothing good enough to make either Vision or
Victorious gallop ; bat at Newton, the former's troublesome
spring opponent Blackbird disgraced herself by allowing
the Leader to beat her, and it became evident she was be-
coming • rank jade, notwithstanding she managed to win a
nee two days afterwards. The Hampshire reunion, that
followed next, assumed almost as ranch importance en
Ascot ; for after Willem had shown us bow respectably Dis-
cretion could do when she turned the tables on Simple Maid
(who beat her and several other cleverly at Herpoidea ere
the Friday before the Epsom week), and • pretty Gamma di
Vergy filly out of Flight bad done a new trainer, A. Day,
some credit, sou., rare doings took place at Stockbridge,
Here the Daneburyitee brought oat the Duke, and they
made no such mistake with him as with Koenig at Ascot,
fur in the biennial he boa Wild Boy, La Fortuue, and Be-
ware= easily, in addition to Nukabeva and one or two
others, who proved themselves of some account afterwards.
Wild Boy did notfinish nearly so close to him as to Lidding-
ton, and many would have it the Duke's was the superior
performance; but there is no telling how easily f..idelington
wee at Ascot, and Wild Boy's third race in public showed
such decided mediocrity that the Duke can take little cre-
dit for a defeat of him- Nevertheless, Denebary
was in great force during the week, and in the Troy
Stakes Kienig satisfied the stable they had not overrated
him at Ascot when be ran Gardevisure toe heed, aid
finished several lengths before Tennyson, with
Siberia, Contract, Shrapoell, and Sydmonton-fallugtt
horses—ia the Troy Stakes. The minor affairs displayed
Missionary, Todleben, Cadet* Harold, sod Blackbird, in
their beet colours • still, Liddington looked more than ever
the champion of hie year after the meeting, for when Garde-
visure beat Koeuig, Tennyson, Lc., she maim( a Sib
penalty, and, on paper, he was K.euig's superior by at least
a stone. Nothing important tranepired at Beverley, New.
castle, or Worcester ; and Chelmsford and Ipswich are only
noticeable for the great improvement in form Radcliffe (not
in the Derby) exhibited at both places - so that, a leap must
be takes front Stockbridge to Newmarket July before any- '
thing can be found worth dwelling upon. At head-quarters
Liddington and the Duke met to fight out the vexed
question of superiority, bat left it still an open one, even
after Liddingtoo bad won both the great races, for there is
no doubt the Duke ought to have secured the July had Ms
jockey not gone tosleep, sod when the horse came out to
the Chesteitield he looked " all weeps." Against this,
however, there is the fact of Liddington having stumbled,
and thus lost many lengths, in the first encounter, the
great stake of money Mr. Merry backed him for in the
second event raising the suspicioe that something as serious
as this must have happened to him ; and as the pair were
far before Cordelia, Zephyr, Rathomago, Bonding., sad
others, when they carried ilb penalties for the Chesterfield,
there may not have been much wrong with the Duke after
all. The great " form" of the pair there was no doubt
about, for in the July they were lengths before
the magnificent Lelio (who nest make • great three
year-old), Skirter, and Todleben ; and those who saw Spice
bowl over Camboll and others fora .501. Plate, and Cambell
',Bermuda run away from Attache, ox., in • similar ram,
gave Liddington the credit of laiug the better horse, for
Spice was distanced by him at Ascot. The victory of Puritan
in the Exeter Stakes, when he heat Rothomego, Peeress,
Todleben, and Alton (elated at starting), also went further
to his credit, through Gardevisure ; and at the end of the
week the yellow jacket. was es peat • favourite fur the
Darby as ever. At Abingdon. Lilitba, Edinburgh, and a
colt Ly Guidon out of Vest, figured to some little &dean-
' tage ; as did Goe trait, Zisca, and oppressor, the mane week at
Liverpool, the Frenchman cleverly disposing of Spring Gun
and Nothing More, and Oppressor doing the like with
&WI, after she had carried home the top-weight in
a Nursery. Stamford gave us the first intimation of • good
nUy being in the Derby, Siberia soddenly displayed un-
movement by easily defeating King Charming. Jezebel, and
Spice, and saving at:other good word for the long string of
NNu at Deuebury —a mar of whose representatives,
ukubeva and slimpoell, could not, however, get places at
Winchester to Missionary, Grappler, aul Purity, the latter
figuring reniarkally well, as she was • fair third with • 7lb
penalty. At Southampton Grappler woo the chief event,
thanks to Sydnumton being still very " backward" and
Wstchbox heavily penalised; but nothing startling occur-
red after Sibei ia's Stamford victory until we got to the first
of the Sussex meetings at Goodwood, where Siberia sustained
her reputation by running second in the Levant, foe she was
only beaten a neck by Loogdown, who was good-looking
enough to be backed at 20 to 1 for the Derby, and the highly
trie,l Frenchman, 1.1 Maadarin, who was only third, after-
wards woo his race at Brighton very easily from Elthson,
&e. The Ham Stakes field WAS only moderate, SA usual,
with Haarlem sod Skeeter first and second ;and the number
contesting the nude!) was weak, owing to the hard ground
the ken, being an important one, nevertheless, as Oatreger
beat Koong after • magnificent race, with Zinibesi only
third, and Wild Boy fourth—the latter's position show-
ier that both be and Ostreger had greatly altered
since they performed together at Ascot, where the
latter was =placed to Wild Boy's second. It