The Express.
London, England, 1861-02-08 00:00:00

SPORTING•

THE SPRING HANDICAPS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE EXPRESS.
Slll,—The four principal handicaps decided in
the springing rendered complete by the publication of the ac-
ceptances for the Northamptonshire Stakes ; and their com-
pilers have been so far complimented that they cannot com-
plain, although there is a considerable falling off apparent
in the Chester Cup, when only 45 per cent. of the number
entered are left in, the average for the past seven years
being nearly 60 per taut. Still as a handicap it is more
successful than the Northamptonshire event, only 47 (not
40 per cent.) accepting out of 124 operated upon by Mr.
Johnson ; and the falling off must be attributed in a great
measure to the enhanced popularity of the City
and Suburban Handicap, for which 65 pr Gent.,
by far the largest entry it ever before obtained , say
aye "—a result that must be peculierly gratifying to the
"Admiral," who never had fair play at Epsom Spring until
last year, owing to the two heeding* being decidedon
one day. Thanks to the change the Metropolitan is as-
suming a position it so richly merits, and it is not far behind
the Cheater Cup, as out of 107 entries, 70 per cent. accept,
and we shall douldless have speculators coming out upon it
in something like their old " form." The weeding out of
so many candidates entered in the four events has of course
removed many cases of discrepancy ; but one or two of the
most glaring still remain, even among the old horses, the
following ooniprking those instances where the discrepan-
cies among them amount to a matter of 41b. or more :
North. City. Met. C. Cup.
et lb st lh st lb st lb
Ambush, & yre
Ibuleffreela Mei 7 U 6
0
Lamm, 4 tie
Edmund Ka" 6 yrs
first Lisa 4 8 0 7 2
11164.4 a, 4 yrs — 7 11 7 4
ladosirlsos. 4yn 7 4 6lt 6 4
Mao-at-Am% 6 yrs 7 8 7 0
Precise, 4 yes — 7 2 6 5
Rattlebase, 4 yrs 8 0 71 3 8 0
Satellite, 6 yes
ilehlam, 5 yrs 8 8 8 0
South Australia. 4 yes — 7 2 6 6
Umpire. 4 yes — 8 8 7 8
Weatherboued, 4 yea — 8 6 7 10
It must be born. In mind the Northamptonshire and Metro- I
politan scales have each been raised 41b, and the City and
Suburban 21b, which will render their minimum weights so
much higher than that of the Chester Cup ; nevertheless,
Bridegroom, Edmund Kean, Industrious, Precise, Satellite,
South Australian, and Umpire look bound to prefer the
Chester Cup tourney, and if they appear in either of the
others we cannot but presume that they will not be " wanted"
on the Rhoodee. Ambush, First Lord, Fitz-Avon, and
Weetherbound, are not 40 much worse treated in the City
and Suburban than elsewhere as appears on piper, for they
are all well known to prefer a short course to a long
one ; but it certainly appears at first sight Mr. Top-
ham is more lenient with the old horses than his
rivals, as Rattlebone supplies the only instance of one of
them accepting when asked to carry so much as 41b more at
Cheater than at Northampton or Epsom. However, to
negative this idea, there is the remarkable fact of the thilee-
year-okh being treated more leniently by Mr. Topham in all
Wee instances Aims a discrepancy occurs with the jure-
nties, of which the meat glaring are the following
st lb st lb st lb at lb
Helium, 3 yes
Black Sultan, 3 yrs
Ring of Kent, S yrs 7 0 7 2 6 6
Rapture, 3MI
Sycophant, 3 yes
% aneourer, 3 yrs
Thus Bridegroom is not much better off at Cheater, com-
pared with Northampton, than Vancouver, for although
the old hone concedes slb more in one case than the other,
he is more likely to beat a 3-yr-old at even weights on the
Ind of April than the 9th of May, owing to the great im-
provement that must take place in a young horse duriog that
Interval in the spring of the year. From this it will be
seen that, supposing &ahem, King of Kent, Rapture,
Sycophant, and Vancouver to be backed in earnest for the
Chester Cup, all the old horses above mentioned would be
almost tempted to direct their attention to the other events,
the present Chester favourite, Man-at-Anne, being much
more likely to wit the Northamptonshire Stakes if his
owner would only run him for it—which is not probable,
however. In fact, the idea generally entertained that Mr.
Topham has "favoured" the older horses particularly, ham
a very rotten foundation now the acceptances for the four
handicaps are put together; soil there is only one con-
clusion to be arrived at—that he has, when disagreeing with
his contemporaries, erred in being too lenient with
horses of all ages, supposing lie is in error.
I o addition to the one-and-twenty discrepancies above-
mentioned, which could be easily detected by the tyro,
there are as many among the 3-yr-olds that appear to Imes
an equal chance in all the events they accept for ; but as
regards the terms on which they meet the old horses, the
following should all prefer the City and Suburban or Chester
Cup :
st lb et lb st lb st lb
Atropia, 8 pars — 6 2 0 2
Bendel& 3 pas 6 2 II I 6 $
Bravo, tyre
=,;arria.
3 pm—
-611 6 7
6 11
Dads* 3ps 7 9 6
-6
Baum low Sys — 1 e 13
Jacinths, II yes
Jingling JeMM. Bre — 5 11
Mantrap, eye — 6 11
Irsysrbssr. 3 Yrs
Nallidloy, ayes
AMA 3 733 _ au
Sriszes. —
&13 0 0 613
lobisses 11l pre all slt 5 7
=D1911914 es by
6 10
!
1144-4—er to erAlboas, 3 Ins 613 I 511 IS
6 ....7
Softens. 6 8 6 4
Wild Dayrfo sett, eyes 613 5 11
Wombat, 3 yes 6 0 1 6 13 5 7
Your readers will beet understand why the preference
should be given to the events named, when they see the
revised conditions for the queen's Plates published in the
last Calendar, which not only allows a thrim.yeareild to he