The Express.
London, England, 1866-08-13 00:00:00

*parting IntsUignut.

WOLVERHAMPTON, WHAM, OXFORD,
AND STO _ON RACES.

TO THE XDITOI OP TRI ITPRIBR.
Sea,—There were few winners at Brighton or
Lewes that had not figured at Goodwood, and very little
occurred, consequently, that is worth reviewing, the_prin-
cipal items of interest bring the performances of the Duke
on Wednesday, and of DT.Atournel and Julius on Satur-
day. -The latter did not prove himself quite a Derby horse
b win • the Lewes Nursery with nearly the top-weight,
the did betray an improvement on his form with Dick
Turpin at Winchester; but D'Eetournel's race with the
Duke, Ostreger, &c., for the County Cup was an excellent
trial, and as he never ran fully prepared before, there is
just the chance that he is at the top of the colts tree,
albeit the doings of Seville, Chignon, and Julius had
previously spoken up for Marksman, the Palmer,
and the Hermit. All the two-year-old racing of
the week, tended, however, to add to the fame of Achieve-
ment, who beat D'Estournel so easily for the July, and
Hippie ; and showed that next season's great fillies
races will have a very different class contending for them
to that the Oaks, One Thousand, and other rich prises
were left to, although it must not be supposed that the
best was seen of Tormentor or Tourrnalin in the Brighton
Cop. Both were so much amiss that it was long doubtful
whether either would start • and the Duke having done
plenty of work since Goodwood (where he was so short of
preparation that it was a mercy he ran at all), he was
enabled to give the baron's filly the extra weight and run
away from her, to the chagrin of the talent, who thought
the 71b. penalty was bound to turn the tables. The Duke
goes to Wolverhampton, besides several others in charge of
John Day, whose employers with their long strings, can-
not afford to miss anything like a certainty. They will
have, I believe, Ackworth and Comer& on the ground for
the Wolverhampton Stakes on Tuesday, the letter's Lewes
Handicap form being good enough to win, if Archimedes
still insists on stopping when the pinch comes. Lord Stam-
ford, of course, is a great patron of the sports
in the " black country," and will probably
try to carry off the Welter Cup named after his
estate, Brick having only to beat Effervescence, in
my opinion, to succeed in so doing. The Enville stable
has also a flyer in the Two-year-old Biennial named Cellos,
who will win if she can give 31b to Opoponax; and it is not
to be despised for the Nursery, seeing how kindly the
talent stood the Blondelle filly in the Palmer's race at
Ascot, as she gives Challenge about a stone less than
Julius did at Lewes, the greatest danger perhaps being in
the Newmarket division, if Mr. Chaplin should send
Problem, or Mr. Angell one better than Canard. On
Wednesday, The Duke has the Cleveland Cup, and Lady
Hester the Chillington, to win for Danebury, whose Ischia
is in such good trim now that she may beat both War and
Selim for the Three-year-old Biennial. Recent winners
are always the best to stand for fly races, so that Lady
Valentine and Ozone must be my allies for the Borough
Members' Ph.te, the only other " selection " I can make
being Drum or Life Guardsman for the Holyoake.
Egham Races, clashing with the above, will not bring
together so many good horses, being more of a holiday
for Londoners than a great race gathering ; and after the
two-year-old event, the King John Stakes, plating will be
almost the rule. In this encounter, however, there are
Knight of the Garter, Plunder, Pirate Chief (or the Cha-
mourix colt), King Victor (or Cannon Ball), Dick Turpin,
and Vulcan to participate, there being nothing very alarm-
ing about tho first-named after his second race at Brighton ;
and yet lie ought to get home, Plunder standing second,
and her brother next, in my estimation. Jack o' Lantern
in the Runnymede, Ostreger or the Tartar in the Welter,
and A. D. Wagner in the Betting Stand Plate, must "run
well," as must also Harpenden in the Barons' Handicap
on the second day, when we have four other handicaps
that had better be left alone until the first day's results
have shed their light upon them.
Stockton-on-Tees commences on Wednesday, and with
a racing-like bill of fare that promises the sport will be
well sustained on each of the three days, despite the
bad acceptance for the Tradesmen's Handicap. I'or the two
miles Miss Hawartli takes my fancy, though, in the event
of her being reserved for the Ebor, the top weight,"
Windham, will have to be attended to. The 71b penalty
incurred by Frost may not stand in the way of his beating
all the public horses fur the Cleveland, Newland being still
slightly amiss ; and unless Split-the-Difference is tent for
the Three-year-old Biennial Stakes, the penalized division
will fight then, out, Strathconan being the second best to
" Split," supposing Lord Zetland's dark Quick March, who
can claim a 71b allowance, is not the flyer good judges
once thought her. The Norwood division are certain to
be handy for the two minor handicaps of the first (lay, if
they are not for those of the second, when Vauban will
lay claim to the Lamhton Plate, and win it too, it being
doubtful that the Tykes have a real flyer in waiting for
him. The Hardwicke is a more open juvenile race, The
General, in the absence of Marksman, being about the best
I know of that may show; nor will the Great Northern Leger
be reduced to a certainty, even if Wcstwick should prefer
his Oxford engagement to it, as we have yet to learn that
Strathconan can beat Honesty over a mile and a half,
whatever he might do with him at a mile. On Friday an
exciting four-year-old race is promised, Elland and
Broomiclaw being both under orders for the Claret, and
%lathlike is not likely to decline meeting them. The
mare ought, in truth, to prove the better horse, for whilst
Elland will not like his 71b penalty, Broomiclaw may not
be able to compass the two miles. Several other closed
events are in Friday's list, but they are totally dependent
upon how things may result previously.
Both Wolverhampton and Egham will send numbers
on to Oxford, which follows them on Thursday and Fri-
day, in the shape of man and beast, and the many closed
events in the programme may be so seriously affected by
the two days' proceedings, that I can only briefly allude to
some of them. The chid Handicap will not be worth touch-
ing upon unless Westwick is tempted by the prize, which
is not worth quite so much as the Northern Leger.
though it may be easier to win ; and I can only observe of
the Prince of Wales's Stakes, that Captain Kidd or Moon-
beam should greet the judge first. The Nursery comes off
on Friday, and for this my fancy inclines to the
unchristened lot, the Marsrui colt, in at Set 101 b, having
been complimented, for reasons best known to the handi-
capper, with 7st 6lb at Wolverhampton, whilst the 7st
Catherine Hayes filly was not disgraced when beaten in her
two engagements.—l am, &a METEOR.