The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-27 00:00:00

TO THZ 111/TOZ Or TEI HAPIIHINL

Sni,—Totally different in its characteristics to
the meeting held only three weeks ago at Goodwood, York
turned out quite as brilliant an affair in its way, a new
cliaraoter being given to the re-vinion, owing to the gtiy
appearance assumed by the ancient city, for the gaudily
deeorabod triumphal archon, thrown up on the oecamon of
the Prime and him*, of Wales's visit, were allowed to
stand over the race week, whilst the race committee,
liberal as ever, " stood Sam ' for the re-illumination of
the old Ouse Bridge on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.
This fact, however, has already been told to your
readers ; and it is more my province to analyse
the three days' racing, with a view to discover
how it influenced the future. It was vastly important
in many instances, especially as regarded the three-yeer-old
doings, previous results being upset on several occasions.
This Yorkshire Oaks, to start with, was a contradiction to
that at Epsom, when Lady Vane disposed of Micelle so
summarily ; but this she always promised to do, it must
be admitted, when fit, which she was not on the OaksdL
and as her ladyship is not in the St. Leger, little no
was taken of the performance, especiall7 as Quick March
ran her to a neck. The two-mile Biennial result was
somewhat singular, seeing that Auguste and Ischia—both
reputed " *oft 'uns," and the latter behind Mirella at
Epsom—stayed the course almost as well as War, and quite
as well as Sealskin, considering he was meeting them with
81b the worst of the weights. After Cecrops's overthrow,
and by a two-year-old, for the Zetland mile, it might
have been thought the Frenchmen, whose heart he
almost broke when running him over a mile only at
Brighton, was clean out of the fray ; but he ran
surprisingly stout, although I cannot help thinking
War ought have ran much further had Challoner
come to the front with him sooner, for he is one of those
gluttons that does not want waiting with. His companion
black, Waldwick, made • fine example of his opponent,
for the Ebor, as Covey judiciously (he is not the most
patient of horses) gave him his way half a mile from home,
and allowed him, still without leasing his head, to gallop
his opponents fairly to a stand-still. As I surmised a week
ago, the race was but a match between this Westwiek
and Gomm, and the colt won even easier than antici-
pated, it being impossible to reconcile his performance
with that in the Great Yorkshire Stakes on the following
day. Here he was unable to make • struggle against
Strathconan, whom he defeated " in • walk" at Stockton,
when Snowden brought up the grey (" like aghast from the
grave," as a plunger on Rustic remarked) at the distance;
but the result of that race was altogether inexplicable,
as even War looked bound to beat Strathconan over a long
course, recollecting how they ran a mile at Epson, and in
the Derby Rustic ran a good half a done the better horse,
The latter is not quite so fit just now, it is true ; but it is
probable the deed flat served the gallant grey, and that the
different tactics adopted with him (for he invariably made
his own running, a game few Newminstera ever played
successfully, instead of waiting) allowed of his at last vin-
dicating the highopinion which his trainer, than whom there
is hardly a better judge in all Yorkshire, always had of him.
If the raze is to be taken as a true-run one, the complexion
of the St. Leger is altered most materially, for Strathco-
nen beat Rustic quite as easily as Lord Lyon did in the
Derby, and I am surprised there was not • greaterrevolution
in the betting, for when Sabreur beat the Wizard he be-
came almost as good a St. Leger favourite as any-
thing, despite his indifferent performances previously,
and when Blair Athol, with his 71b. penalty, suc-
cumbed to The Miner, they laid " 5 to 2 on
the field," Klarinska's upset of only a moderate
lot last year " shunting" the great Gladiatenr. However,
it has seldom happened that the St. Leger has been a reflex
of the Great Yorkshire Stakes, the two events having been
but once carried off by the none horse, and even in recent
years St. Leger Winners have been hasten over the Knaves-
mire mile.and.thiee-quarters. Gamester, as well as Blair
Athol, to wit. But under any circumstances Lord Lyon,
Bavernake, Rustic, and Btrathconan have only to reach
Doncaster in good health and condition for the race to
cause its wonteil excitement; and from the rumours
abroad concerning Lord Glasgow's roan colt, and more than
one of J. Scott's (we have not done with Westwick yet, I
am certain, despite his ignominious defeat), it is not impos-
sible that another St. Leger surprise is in store for the
world.

Very few first-raters contested the two-year-old events ;
and, sae a natural consequence. there were many cur-
'prises, the meeting opening most inauspiciously for
backers when the little Corporal won the &Maud a
weight for age race, in which juveniles had to inn a mile.
It was a hard task for them, especially against such a pay
as Broemielaw and Cerope ; still, the former wee not an
one of his winning humours, and as the mile appeared
rather too much for the three year old, there was !nothing
so very stuvrisinf in the Corporal winning, and after all
he only boat 'Shire" two necks." The latter's stable com-
panion Rose, beaten by Vauban at Stockton, showed more
decisive form when she upset Bumblekite, Sunnylock,
Scour de Oharitd, and the Dean, for the Convivial, and sub-
sequently performed the like office for Lady Hester in the
Filly Sapling Stakes, which we must look upon as a great
improvement on the Stockton doings of the grey filly, or
Vauban should never have been beaten for the Eleventh
Biennial. Herein the Danebur7 people, who had been hit
very hard by the defeats of Ischia, Lord Ronald, Crytheia,
Lady Hester, Gomera, &c., made an awful
blunder in " splitting " their interests, and stand-
ing both Ines and Vauban, as had the filly been
reserved for the Nursery instead of the " good thing"
being exposed, they might have netted ten or even twenty
thousand pounds over her, if not all they lost on the week.
As it was, both nags were beaten, Wroughton having
made such progress MCC he last ran that he was enabl
to bowl them out pretty cleverly at the finish, and thereby
make the Derby favourites look a little worse than they
did a week ago. He is not entered for the race himself,
unfortunately, but is in the Middle Park Plate—decidedly
the great event of the month of October—nnd 011iver
can pay him so much attention for that particular race that
Plaudit, the Rake, Palmer, and others will have to look to

their laurels, if AChievement is not in danger. The other
items of the meeting were only of passing interest, and it
certainly cannot he said that the Derby was influ-
enced so much as in other years by the three
days' proceedings at York, which were mainly notice-
able, after all, for the many "surprises" that occured,
and the facers administered to the public, more especially
the " gentlemen," who were disappointed in nearly every
grand coup attempted. How the little men suffered may
be guessed when Kenyon did not have one successful
journey, though be was nine times in the saddle, and Ford-
ham's three winning mounts out of thirteen were only
accomplished when it was ruinous odds on him. They
will both, perhaps, have some good mount, during the cur-
rent week, at Lichfield and Derby, which are the principal
meetings to be held ; but as even they are too unimportant
to enter into a discussion of, I am not called upon to anti-
cipate one of the hundred races that have to come off be-
tween now and Saturday next.—l am, ke., METEOR.