The Express.
London, England, 1866-01-17 00:00:00

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

REVIEW OF THE. DERBY LOTS.
oils STRAGGLY:BE.)
TO THE EDITOR OP THE EXPRESS.

Sta,—Whether the Frenchmen are this year
spin to vanquish us on esmagne's most sacred racing
pound, or a Blair Athol is to drop from the cicuda and
summarily dispose of all " public form," are questions it
would be premature to discoid now, so much having to be
does during the next four months to render either hypo-
thesis possible ; but, whatever in the strange or unforeseen
line may happen, nothing can prevent the Derby of 1866
milking a contest of more than ordinary interest. Let
Lion, Student, Janitor, or Auguste, or
any other horse, run away with the Two Thousand
Guineas, we still have Rustic, liedan, Blue Ribeed,
and Stabbed to dispute with the victorious one
en Epsom Downs, eves supposing the defeated candidates
at Newmarket all declined meeting their conqueror again ;
and the chapter of socidents will (have to be very heavy
indeed if we have sot a sufficiency of cracks to sustain the
excitement to the last. At present there is quite a host
of them in the field, the reputations Lord Lyon, Rustic,
Student, Janitor, Redid), and Blue Riband have fairly
earned in public, and that Auguste, Slabber, the Bribery
colt, Knight of St. Michael, and Maravedis bear in circles
that should not err, giving theta all such strong positions
is the minds either of the followers of favourites or out-
siders that opinions promise to differ as much as ever on
the Derby day. With three such horses as Lord
Lyon, Student, and Janitor in the Two Thou-
sand (which owing to their formidable preten-
sions is quite a dead letter), the result of that
contest moat affect the Derby, of course ; but not to
such an extent as has often been thecae.; and I hope to see
the Blue Ribaod knot almost as difficult to untie on the
eve of the pith of May as it is Dow. In entering upon my
task it must be freely admitted that the " clerk " lot invests
me with uo suzh terrors as it did two yean ago, when,
after aniiysing the two-year old form, and finding nothing
to recommend in the hest of the representatives thereof, I
threw them all overboard and plumped boldly for that
prince of darkies, Blair Athol ; the difficulty is to discover
the pick of the batch of brilliant performers that presented
themselves before the world last season—the one best qua-
lified to get over the Surrey hill', and stay the severe
mile and a half, and most likely also to reach the
starting poet sound in wind and limb. In recently
reviewing the juveniles of 18433, mv observations
were confined mainly to what had been done, all
idea, as to promise being left out of the question ; but in
discussing the Derby everything must be taken iuto con-
sideration, and in endeavouring to point out from what
quarters tie greatest danger is to be feared by the scknow-
lodged cracks, I must take cognizance not °sly of a few that
have rue unsuccessfully, but of a great many that have not
started in public at all.

The Yorkshire stables, that have on occasions supplied a
moiety of the Derby favourites, are at a fearful discount
this year, and apparently depend on the unknown school to
sustain their prestige at Epsom. The veteran J. Scott has
few horses in his keeping, and not one of last season's cele-
brities among them, Clues and Knight of St. Michael being
his two public performers ; and these have been cut up so
badly as to be totally incapable of telling what their comps-
aloes C.lll hope for before they meet the cracks of their year.
War was to have run at Stockton, but met with an acci-
dent rn route that has kept him chained ever since, or be
was to have played some havoc, and done much for the
honour of Whitewall. Now, the followers of the Bowes
block are looking hopefully towards Westwick, a colt whose
pedigree no one can quarrel with, seeing he hag Stockwell
for his !ire and. West Anstnlian's " maternal" Mowerina
for his dam ; and other believers in "The Wizard" dream
of Lord Exeter's Knight of the Crescent, by Knight of St.
Petri, out of Besika • but neither is such a great gun in
the north as Mr. T. Dawson's uefashionably-bred Stabber,
by Stiletto out of Bit of Blue. This latter is entitled to
some c..ueideration from the fact of the Czar and Mrssmate
being in the same team (as was also Split the Difference,
until recently), the pair having not only figured in good
slomroor, but by their appearance given promise of
distinguishing themselves some day. Messmate was an
especially good-looking two-year-old, and if there had only
been a little more of him he would not have remained one
of the Dull, outsiders after coming out at Stockton, where
be figured so respectably under the moat adverse
eircun.itnaces that if Stabber is found ranch the
superior to him, when they are put through
the mill for their Derby his chance may be
second to eons. The colt by Stockwell out of Midsummer,
now teamed privately for Mr. S. Hawke, after having been
brought up at J. Scott's, 1 have heard little good of ; and
seeing litgie to like in Aldcroft, who had all the beat of the
weights when he beat Tormentor at Lincoln, there is nothing
in the north but Mr. Watt's Strathconaa, trained by the
slever J. Watson at Richmond, that I can deem worthy
rival. cf Scott's and Dawson's champions. This horse has
ran under great disadvantages, having figured in the best of
company when performing at York and Doncaster, so that
his defetta became a matter of course, on account of his
greenness ; but when he met Repulse, as green as himself, at
Stockton he very cleverly disposed of her, while at Rich-
mond ii,acsty was unable to fairly extend him ; and he
looks and goes too much like a "clipper" for me to believe
yet they hate) one in Yorkshire to do them better service in
the Derby thee he will, with nothing definite to be learned
coscsrc.iag Stabber, Westwick, and Knight of St. Michael.
The Newmarket "Iota" that can be styled formidable
are not numerous, and only the senior Hayhoe's end r.
io Jennin's have been making any stir for some time past.
The former was early ill the kW with Baron Roths-
.ianitor, who has all the attributes
el a i)erby winner, and showed what child's
play it was for him to mount the fatal Epsom-hill,
when be cantered home for the Woodcote last summer. He
was a great horse at this time, or he would not nave beaten
Rustic nail Chibisa, " backward" as was the former at
Ascot; and with Robin Hood, Dalesman and Lothario—
three sp!eudid colts, and the former no mean doer in public
—in the 3arou's interest likewise, there will be no better
colour ti. wear on the Derby-day than dark blue and yellow,
if all see, well, every one of the team promising to make
better three-year-olds than they were two-year-olds. Whe.
thee Count Legrauge has a second Gladiateur is best known
to T. Jenniugs. who can judge better than the world can
bow far Auguste is capable of improving on the Goodwood
form with Mr. Pitt. I can only express my doubts, nod
venture the opinion he has not in Auguste, despite the
market indicating otherwise ; and the blue and red will
scarcely be carried to glory by the English-bred Plutus or
Raven, failing Auguste, judging from their public career.
Golding Lae some good material to work with in a Young
Melin.uree colt (dam by Teddingtou), and the brother to
Rapid Rhone of Lord Glasgow's ; but what he can make of
them me-t be left for tine to tell, it being too much to hope
that a ('secret Peel will turn up in the best of them.
Joseph Daw,an's party build their hopes on Mr. Pryor's
dark Arteaian (by Stockwell out of Lquatioo, the dam of
Diophantut and Archimedes), and the " suspected" Rector,
the latter of whom must improve upon his public form
to the extent of two stone to come in the
first elm's ; and John Dawson has almost as much
to do for Count Batthyany's Mount Palatine,
Mazeppe, and Earl of Derby, and Captain Gray's
Chronometer and Centaur, to render them of any use
against Lord Lyon, Student, Rustic, and the like. The
once-fancied Earl of Derby, by Stockwell out of Ranee, he
has never been enabled to bring out in public, and it is
doubtful whether he can get him to stand the preparation
for the Derby. Centaur, again, only came out once to run
shamefully, but to impress the entice with his good looks
at the same time, and we have certainly to see the best of
Ding yet, as well as Mount Palatine, the acknowledged
stable champion, but who has not proved himself nearly
good enough for such a Derby as that of 1866 will be. Mr.
Chaplin possesses a couple of representatives is the erratic
Vaspasian soil Denis ; and the former should tell him what
the son of Newminster and Queen Mary is capable of, if
he has rot lost all his fame. 1 am afraid this
is not o nth, and that Bertie is no better bargain than the
eleven•tbousaeders, Breadalbane and Broomielaw, there
being but a poor prospect for him unless he is of a far,
superior class to the best of this pair. Mr. Savile has one
or two good-looking representatives at Gilbert's ' • however,
something more than good looks will be wanted in this
fray, or Prince D. Saltykoff's Duke of York (at Blanton's),
and Mr. Brvan's Lineret (at Goodwin's), would hive equal
chances with anything trained at he idquarters. As it is,
unless they are playing a deep game with Auguste, the Duke
might prove the second best to Baron Rothschild'. represeo-
tative of all the Newmarket horses that run in the Derby.
Out of Yorkshire and Newmarket there are few dark
horses requiring my notice ; still, I know of many
good judges that look for something better than Knight
of the Crescent, Westwick, sod Stabber in the foreign
Maraved;s, or the Irish Torn Kiog. The latter, by King
Tom Darling's dam, is the property of Mr. St. George,
who showed them one good two-year-old at the Curragh
last year in Monitor (not in the Derby), hut is believed to
posses- a much better one in this son of King Torn, and if
so the English have far more to fear from him than from
the Ftniaca. M. Lapin's Maravedis (by the Flying Dutch-
man Payment) has never yet crossed the Channel ; but
a few have been over to see him, and their opinions favour
the idea of his being something after the stamp of his
brother. Dollar. Another "strange foreigner," Major Fri-
sklin's Stilton, hes given us a taste of his quality, having
boss a good fourth to Ewa, Robin Hood, and Crown Prince
on the only occasion of his running in this country, for a
Triennial at Newmarket First October • whilst at Chantilly
and Paris he ran two severe races with' the French Czar, a
horse (not in our Derby) of some character on the eentineet.
But I presume we saw all he was capable of at Newmarket,
and his display there will only place him among ou• second-
raters.—lam, Bta, METEOR.

THE FkitmElLS' CLUB.—The following subjects
bare been selected for discussion in 1866 :—Feb. 5,
"British Tillage, Present end Future;" proposed by Mr.
J. J. Mechi, Tiptree-hall, Kelvedon. March 5, " The
(mac plague, and the Government Measures;" proposed
by Mr. H. Garb* Sallebury-square, Londe°. April 2.
Agricultural Shows, sad their Influence ea Agricultural
Progress ;" proposed by Mr. A. Cresskill, Beverley. Ma 7,
"Oa locreeeing the Supply of Animal Food :" by
Mr. B. Smith, Emmett's Graage, South Melton. Nov. 5,
Mlle Present Aspect of Steam Cultivation ;" proposed by
Mr. J. A. Clarke, Loop Settee. Dec., " The Best Mode
sad Period of Applying Manures ;" proposed by Professor
Teekkar,Saliaborpriairs, Loudon.