The Express.
London, England, 1868-08-17 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR Or TER ICIPIZNI.

8111,—It ie not very encouraging that long od is
aboidil be laid on three of the 200 candidates for the St.
Leger, or that an Ebor Handicap field is reduced to about
half-a-dozen ; nevertheless, a brilliant campaign iu the
worth may be confidently looked forward to,
horses have got into strong work again, some most
interesting events having to be decided at York, Don-
caster, and Richmond. Sportsmen can spend a month in
the most enjoyable manner .doin/' there meetings, as
they can shoulder their gun and ' up the spare time on
the moors, and thereby set themselves up or the three
weeks at Newmarket that are to be so unusually busy.
Certainly they may not make up each good bags as they
expect, the birds being too strong and wild to be
brought down at all easily, as is testified by
the price per brace on the 16th ncarlf doubling
that of the 12th and 13th, but they will get all the more
excitement and healthy epereise to make amends, and if
the fates are only propitious when they fight the ring
in the Isthmian games, it will prove a pleasant holiday
enough. The fielders, however, will take some beating
both at York and Doncaster, judging from the bills of
fare ; and many " punters " will doubtless prefer a
sojourn in the south to participate ia the good things
served up by certain cliques that are always so much at
home at really "holiday" gatherings. Four of these
take place during the current week, the ball being opened
at Egliani aq Monday afed Tuesday, but with rather a
poor bill of fake, mgbA atihmeribbrs and three aeoeptaneet
for the Surrey and Mllese. x Stakes being Mich a dire
Whim that it is quite on the card the reporters will have
10 announce "no race." Seringo.patam and Breach of
Promise take the eye in the Duke of Edinburgh Cup, as
does also Lady lavender in the Prince of Wales's Plate,
with A&lOus in the Baron's Handicap, and Hue and
Cry in the Handi.mp Sweep.
It is impossible to dispose of the York bill of fare at a
sitting' one day's racing depending so much on the
preceding that three meals must be made out of it. And
heavy they will be, too, thirty-two items being in the
monster broadsheet lying before me, so that, with some
hundred and twenty lots of blood stock to be
sold during the three mornings, those who mean
to see and do everything will have little spare
time. It is to be feared that many of the
things advertised will have to go back, from a lack
of yearling purchasers this season ; and the best sale un-
doubtedly will be that of the Fairfield squire on Tuesday,
to make room for which the committee of the races have
seturned to the old style, commencing operations on Wed-
nesday instead of Tuesday. On the first day we have
every description of stake, the weight-for-age Zetland
that closes overnight being a sort of trial, after which
some three interesting juvenile spins, the same number
for three-year-olds, a handicap, a selling &flair, and a
four-year-old stake. The latter may come to nothing,
with only the roaring Sir Oliver and the lame Wroughton
in, as neither can fairly gallop the three-year-old Bien-
'dal course. A most exciting straggle is to be. expected
for this latter stake, a great deal depending upon
how St. Ronan (84 131 b), the Sawyer (bet 101 h), and
Bineskin (bet 131 b) perform as to what outsiders are
really _"in " the t. Leger. The trio are opposed by the
Herald (bet 61b), Clairon (fist 131 b), Harvester (get 51b),
Vale Royal (Set 101 b), Bosnerges (Set 61b), Viscount (Bst
Nab), and some fillies, not one of which can stay—a fail-
ing that all the above, except Blueskin, may be addicted
with more or less, or it would not be n to look
for the winner beyond Vale Royal. Yet t. Ronan
beat him in the Two Thousand, this presumed " piper"
laving run so well in the Derby that he is as worthy of
fionfidence as anything, those who couple Blueskin with
hie saintship being the moat likely to bathe mark. Half
of the " cracks" in the Yorkshire Oaks would prefer the
eourse were it two furlongs under instead of over the mile,
and I know of nothing more capable of the journey
than the Duke of Hamilton's and Mr. Pad-
wick's allies, which will probably be Leonie
and Athena. The pair have met many times, and
on the last occasion over a mile for the Nassau at Oood-
wood, when bionic, won by half a length, with 21be. the
beet of the weights. Subsequently Athena ran fourth in
the Chesterfield Cup with a good weight, thereby raining
doubts se to the correctness of the running, and as this
is a mile and a quarter spin, I shall give the preferenee to
Athena. The Old Produce is the remaining throe-year-
old count in the first day's list, and the lees said
about it the better, as it is a problem which is the worst
two-miler out of Mother Newham, Slanderer, Skedaddler,
Happy Thought, and Queen of Beauty—a quintet not
worth the value of the stake, unless the records sadly
belie their form. Vint on the list of two-year-old events
conies the ConvivialLwherein Lades (9st 31b), Vestminster
(9st 11b), Standard Bearer (Bst 71b), Acaster (9st), Minaret
(Set 131 b), Sea Breese ((Set 7M), and Agrippa (Bst 121 b) are
the champions of public form. They are not a brilliant
lot, and hence SUathnairn (Bst 101 b) need not be quite so
good as his brother to win, whilst if Archduke is a proper
investment at 33 to 1 for the Derby, be also must be re-
spected. But it is not improbable that Mr. Naylor will
trust to Sea Breeze, a promising colt by Carnival, that
ran second to Venetia at Reading, and then Strathnairn
will be worth plumping for. The latter and Standard
Bearer are also in the Juvenile Stakes, with another of
good private repute, the well-bred Fairminater ; and as
the Duke of Beaufort does not see York, they have only
to pull out Strathnairn for him to have an easy teak to
win, though not so easy an one as Belladrum in the Black
Duck Stakes, his opponents being so little known to fame
that Mr. Merry could probably win with the useful Crocus

. -
in his stead.
They are an indifferent lot in the Chesterfield Handicap,
and Vortigern being penalised! hardly know how to make
a choice, for Donaldbain, the Priest, and the Dean are all
in one swim," and Russian Bear, Beesie Dixon, and
Ainsley ID another ; and perhaps
di only one of the six may
te 'wanted, the probability being that that will prove the
winner. The Bear ran 3, at Stockton, or he would
look a capital thing ; still it is unfair to notice such a race
as that for the Stewards' Cup, the start, owing to a blunder
of the advance-flagman, being a most unsatisfactory one.
Could any cognizance be taken of the result the talent
would have to knock the Spy out of the market for the
Ebor Handicap, as the Sawyer he had such a difficulty in
beating on Thursday was "nowhere" to Mercury, who
eould not win with Get, say the Tabouret men. He has
now the highest three-year-old weight, let 51b, thanks to a
10Th penalty, and is quite out of the hunt, it being a sin-
gular fact that of the twenty left in a dozen have been in
public since the declarations were made on the 4th. Of
these, Three per Cent., Honesty, Ilium, Donaldbain,
the Makeshift colt, and Mae Osborne performed badly :
and nothing very startling was accomplished by the
Spy, Mandrake, Taraban, or Wild Briar, though they
did not incur ruinous penalties like Mercury and Strath-
conan. The latter is very fond of the Knavesmire, but
must be shut out with Pet 41b, which is 231 b more than
Taraban has on his back, and Mandrake (who was handi-
capped within 21b of the grey originally) had some trouble
to give him the odd 31b last F'riday. I cannot help think-
ing Taraban would be a capital investment did he only
run independently of the Spy, who is, however, evidently
carrying the stable confidence in preference to the old
rogue, to the delight of the Tabouret clique, as they con-
eider him held safe enough on the Goodwood running,
where it was evident Butler could licit rest the Melton pet
out. It is strange, nevertheless, that Mandrake should be at
a price like 100 to 15 while Tabouret is at 2 to 1, and
It can only be thought that he is merely a cover for the
larger outlay on the young one, for unless Taraban and
Fervacques are " d -ad," it does not seem feasible he can
give them the weight. Perhaps Dawson and Scott, as I
suggested many days ago, arc really going to have the
race left them to do as they please with, and then the trick
might be attempted with the low"-priced Mandrake; yet
it is to be hoped Fervacqucs will always be in the way,
with Buttercup. Did Ilium Inns up alive, too, the race
would not be so easily managed, for it is a moot point
whether Tabouret can give him 51b. At present, however,
there is nothing to make me regret having stood by the
latter from the first, and I shall probably have to plump
for him again, as in the Goodwood Stakes, when finally
disposing of the Ilbor on Wednesday.
It is impossible to properly treat the Great Yorkshire
Stakes until the Biennial is decided ; but I have no little
confidence in finding Strathconan "the pea" for the York
Cup.—l am, &c., METEOR.