The Express.
London, England, 1864-01-25 00:00:00

THE HANDICAP FOR THE CHESTER CUP.

TO TIM ICI:OTOS Or 2112 EX21.&49.

ant,--There is no disputing the fact, that the
Chester Cup's popttLuity is this year at slow ebb, with only
151 subscribers to all, and but 148 hones entered, of which
number nineteen have been named without the knowledge
of their onion, reducing the genuine entry to 129. la the
smith of its (key the acceptances mustered 129 and 131
in 1652 and 1863 respectively, and thus it is patriot the
event has lost a great dead its prestige; the mistake made
last year with reference to Straddle, and which cer-
Minty spoiled the race, not being forgiven yet by
owners of hones. However, Hr. Tophani seems to
have been particularly careful with his last production, and
Lis apparently endeavoured to regain his popularity b
making use of his old sort of " flattering" handicaps, which
is • very clever performance now that the minimum weight is
Bat 71b, for he commences no higher than usual. He es, of
course, driven into a corner with the three-year-olds, for
with Adventurer and Gibraltar in at 9st 2:6 each. and
Caller On and Lord Clifden at Bst 121 b each, it would be
unfair to give one of them more than Gst 121 b ; at this
weight Blarney has a little the best of it even with the
greatest performer of them all, and the most severely han-
dicapped —Lord Clifden ; so that a great number of the
fifty-eight three-year-aids entered must necessarily be shut
out when their weight. take a range of 191 b only. Be-
tween five aged holes and fifty-three four-year-olds there
is a difference of 40lb respectively ; and with only twenty-
five-year-olds he is obliged to take a range of 4416, ten six,
year-olds having as much as 291 b between them ; and there
ainst be some three stone difference between the beet and
worst of the three-year-okls, if we could only determine
where the rubbish is. But this it is impossible to do on
last year's doings, even though all the 58 before Mr. Topbam
have run in }public, with the exception of the filly by
Battle Colleen Pawn, and were he privileged to run as
low as 4st 71b again the feathered tribe would not be a nu-
merous one. 11, e are .bound to suppose that a three-year-
old entered for the Chester Cup cannot be bad, in the esti-
mation of his owner, ea a mcderately good one would not be
able to compete with, a fleet-deer aged horse like Gibraltar,
at 5110 for the difference d age* or 0211 nib more
than the qtllloo'll Plate weights allow, and it cannot
he bad hanwcapping, because performers like Blarney, Caro-
line, the Clown, and Signalman, appose to hare most of the
light weights safe, for the quartette could sot well have
more weight put on their backs, and the 50 71b divisioe are
debarred by the law from getting lam We do not yet
know that each as Lord &Wand, the Count, and Dispute are
bad, for they have invariably ran is good company, and to
be beaten was no disgrace. Washington, Toot Tom, Greco-
land, again, always bad such reputations, that they may
ivmeeydan, t=isnoatSigoth:lir weights,
hat butt Clown public running
are the pick
of the 4-yr-olds ; oral let the fiald be ever so great, I do not
nee how it can contain more than half a dozen of that age,
for the fifty-eight entered will be pretty well weeded by
the 4th of May. How many of them will accept
their imposts it is hard to determine, but the
dissentients tkusaten to be in a majority, although the ac-
ceptance generally ought to be a good one, the 4-yr-olds
and upwards being tempted to stead more then ever they
were. There ere of course exoeptions to this rule, and in
the treatment of the two following lota there is certainly a
wide difference:

Age st lb Age %lb
Lord Clilden
Markdown 4 7 9 Dollar 4 3
Golden Pledge
Carialwook II 7 7 8110W* 8 0
Anideld
Tippler
Morigold 4 7 4 Broadway 4 8
Dr. Syntax 4 7 4 Royal stag 4 6
Change
Canary 6 7 3 Fanfaron
Fantail
Blarney
Clown 3 6 6 Ghillie Canna 3 4
iltrualioan • 3 6 8 Crisis
The Couut 3 6 7 Blr Roger
Lord Zetlaod 3 5 7 Black Fawn
Comtism the performances of those is the first column
with the others, and not one of the lot from La Toucques
down to Black Fawn will look like 'mention to the weights,
although the handicapper is not to be blamed in taking CU*
of a few of then', who labour under the suspicion of having
been kept for hoodlum, as Li 00.111• was for so many
months. Still I cannot see a &ewe foe one of than ; and
nukes some of the bad performers weighed as such have
been reserved for a grand coup, the winner ought to be com-
prised in the remaiaiog sixteen, who look bound to accept,
d their owners deem the Chester Cap worth going for.
However, to eater ado a thorough analysis of the race is
not required, with the acceptances' dee ois Tuesday, and the
handicap shall undergo this moms in my nest —lam, he.,
METEOR.