The Sun.
London, England, 1855-05-24 00:00:00

THE DERBY DAY.

The all-important event of the summer meeting on
Epsom Downs is unquestionably the race for the Derby.
Not to have seen this celebrated contest is, to the Lon-
doners generally an omission of a serious duty that few
would choose to acknowledge ; many, indeed, make it a
point to attend every year ; there are thousands of per-
sons who have never missed a Derby since they were
able to enjoy the pleasures of the day, and these are not
of the class of persons known under the comprehensive
designation of ';sporting men," but steady citizens,
fathers of families who never ventured a shilling on a
race, but who hold it essential to the maintenance of our
ancient institutions that they should show themseives at
the Derby in garments adapted to the severity of the sum
mer weather. The glory of Epsom has, however, been
-
palpably dimmed since the railroad has been 'opened. The
scenes that formerly afforded ampleemployment for the de-
scriptive pen are rarely now to be witnessed on the road ;
~the dashing four-in-hands, the stylish barouches, and open
carriages; the stage-coaches crammed. inside and out; thd
laden vins and omnibuses rolling'lll` One continuous
stream between Kennington-gatetand.Epaom ; the stop-;
pages, collisions, and breaks•down that once formed the
incidents of a trip to The Derby, have given place 'to a
more orderly and systematic state of things. The great
majority of visitors now avail themselves of the facility
afforded by the railway to reach Epsom in half -an hour
without trouble or annoyance, and the few vehicles still
seen upon the road are mostly those of country residents
of ,persons travelling in their gsvn-carriages.
The Derby of 1855, althbugh- favoured by fine
weather, his not been an improvement on its predeces-
sors either in the number or the respectability of its
visitors. The railway carried down full freights from an
early hour in the morning with the utmost regularity.
and the racing amateurs mustered in undiminished
strength in the Grand Stand and the Enclosure, but the
general attendance was by no means so large as we have
seen it on former occasions. There was a visible defici-
ency too in the muster of private carriages on the hill,
and the attendance of ladies on the Grand Stand was
rather limited.

There can be no doubt that the war and its depressing
influences have had their effect upon the Epsom meeting,
and that the spirit which, under more propitious circum-
stances animated the multitudes who covered the Downs,
had lost much of its jollity.
Throughout the morning, and until after the great
race, the sky was cloudy, and the air cold ; but as the
afternoon wore on, the sun broke forth, and a lovely
evening crowned the close of the day's amusement.
Taken in a sporting point of view, this has been a
most interesting Derby, owing to the uncertainty that
prevailed in the best informed quarters respecting the
result, or rather from the confidence with which different
parties maintained the superiority of their respective
horses. After various ups and downs in the scale of
public estimation, the competition on the morning of the
race lay almost entirely between Wild Dayrell and Lord
of the Isles—the former having the advantage in the
betting.
The first race on the card—for the Carew Stakes—did
not create any interest ; only two started ; the eager
multitudes being wholly intent upon the great event of
the day, for which twelve went to the Post. Wild Day-
rell, who is a large and powerful horse, had abundance
of admirers, and his backers felt perfectly satisfied with
his appearance and style of going ; kingstown appeared
to be in the full bloom of condition ; and both Fiatterar
and Lord of the Isles rose in favour with the best judges
as they cantered past the Grand Stand. Soon after three
o'clock the starter's flag was dropped, and the dozen
for the Derby went away at the "first offer" with an
excellent start. A full description of the race will be
found below.

The return• home in the evening was effected with ex-
treme regularity and expedition by the railway. We
thought, as we beheld the immense masses of people
conveyed along the line without the slightest confu-
sion, and with probably less inconvenience than many
ladies experienced at her Majesty's Drawing-room,
that some of our officials in the East, might, with
advantage, have taken a lesson from the manage-
ment of the rail Way. Had the transit been in the hands
of Government authorities, .either the engine would
have broken down, or come to a dead stand from the
want of coat or water, or the train would have been
sent to Brighton instead of to. Epsom—or something
would have gone wrong, so that half the passengers
would have most probably been left to enjoy themselves
for the night on Banstead Downs.
The business of the meeting wag, as usual, most effi-
ciently conducted. The order and promptitude with
which the course was cleared testified not only to the
excellence of the police arrangements, under Superin.
tendent Hughes and Inspectors Beckerton and Langley,
but also to the .propriety of conduct which characterised
the vast masses of spectators. Messrs. C. Martin and
Fuller Andrews did good service at the Grand Stand en-
closure, and the commissariat department was most sa-
tisfactorily supplied by Messrs. Jaquet and Woodruffe.
'The Carew Stakes of 5 soya each, with 30 added ; two-
yr-olds, Est 31b ; three, Bst 61b ; four, 9st 71b ; five
and upwards, 9st 121 b ; mares allowed 51b, and geld-
ings 31b. New T.Y.C., three-quarters of a mile. 4
subs.

Mr. Harrison's King of Truinps, 6 yrs, 9st 121 b
(Cartwright) 1
Lord Anglesey'sLambswool, 8 yrs, Bst lib (H. Goater) 2
No betting. Won easily by two lengths.
The Derby Stakes of 50 sous each, h ft, for three-yr-olds ;
colts, Bst 71b ; fillies, Bst 21b. The owner of the second
horse to receive'loo sovs out of the stakes. New
course. One mile and a half. 191 subs:
Mr. F. L. Popham's Wild Dayrell, Bat 71b

(R. Sherwood) 1
Mr. H. Hill's Kingstown, Bst 71b (A. Day) 2
Mr. Merry's Lord of the Isles, Bst 71b (Aldcroft) 3
Mr. J. Adkins's Flatterer, Bst 71b ' (Bartholomew) 4
Mr:J. Henderson's Rylstone, Bst 714 (3-. Oates) 0
Mr. Norton's Courtenay, Bst 71b (J. Prince) 0
Lord Anglesey's Strood, 71b (EL Goater) 0
Mr. W. Gairett's Little Brownie, Bst 71b (J. Marson) 0
Mr. W. Smith's The Cave Adullam, Bst 41b...(Collins) 0
Lord Eglinton's Dirk Hatteraick, Bst 71b Marlow) 0
Lord Eglinton's Coroebus, 8-t 71b (Waddington) 0
Mr. J. Osborne's Lord Alfred, Bst 71b ...(J. Osborne) 0

De Ciare was struck out May 22, at 9.30 a.m., and
Paros May 23, at 12.30 p.m.
BETTING AT STARTING.

5 to 4 agst Wild Dayrell, 7 to 4 agst Lord of the Isles,
12 to 1 agst Dirk Hatteraick, 12 to 1 agst Kingstown,
20 to 1 agst Flatterer, 30 to 1 agst Rylstone, 50 to 1
agst the Cave Adullarn, 1,000 to 15 a,szst Lord Alfred,
1,000 to 10 each agst Strood and Little Brownie. .
THE RACE. •
_ _

After taking their preparatory canter along the straight
they returned to the paddock, and were in due time
called to the post by Mr. Hibburd, the starter. The din
of tongues in the betting incloSure was gradually hushed,
and a feverish anxiety everywhere prevailed. At the
very first attempt the start was admirably effected, and
the sudden burst of commingling shouts, "They're off !”
was felt like an electric thrill by thousands of palpitat-
ing hearts.
Flatterer jumped off with the lead, but had scarcely
proceeded a hundred yards when Lord of the Isles went
to the front, with Lord Alfred, Strood, 'Flatterer, Wiiri
Dayrell, Kingstown, Cave Adullam, and Little Brownie
clustering up; Dirk Hatteraick, Bylstone, and Courtenay
lying off. At the Mile Post, Kingstown obtained the
lead, Wild Dayrell going on second, Lord of the Isles third,
Lord Alfred fourth, and The Flatterer next. These posi-
tions were held to the distance, where Lord Alfred
dropped back to the beaten horses, and in the next mo-
ment Wild Dayrell deprived Kingstown of the lead, and
gallopped honaman easy winner by a length ; the second
beating the third by a head ; bad fourth. Corcebus and
Courtenay were the next two. The others quite beaten
off.—Nett amount of the stakes, 4,925 sovs.
The Great Exhibition Plate of 100 sovs (Handicap), for
all ages; the winner of any race, except matches, after
the weights were published, 51b extra. One mile and

a quarter.
Mr. Newman's Tom Burke, 3 yrs, sst 61b (Fordham) 1
Mr. Morris's Eulogist, 5 yrs, 7st 41b (Basham) 2
Mr. Sparrow's Master Slender, 6 yrs, 6st 41b (T. Cliff) 3
Mr. Deunett's Spider, 5 yrs, Est 41b (Roe) 4
Betting-5 to 4 agst Master Slender, 6to 4 asst Eulo-
gist, 4to 1 agst Tom Burke. Won by a length and a
half, the second beating the third by a neck, bad fourth.
The Epsom Cup of 100 sovs, added to a Sweepstakes of
10 sovs each, h ft; for three-yr-olds, 7st; four, Bst 71b;
five and upwards, 9st ; mares allowed 51b, and geld-
ings 31b. Any horse having run in the Derby without
being placed allowed 31b. Derby coarse. 15 subs.
. _

Mr. Thelluson's Rataplan 5 yrs, 9st (J. Prince) 1
Lord Anglesey's The Nabob, 6 yrs, 9st (H. Goatet) 2
Lord Derby's Acrobat, 4 yrs, Bst 71b...(Ternpleman) 3
Lord W. Powlett's Hermit, 4 yrs, Bst 7113 (S. Rogers) 4
Betting-6 to 4on Rataplan, 3to 1 agst Hermit, sto
1 agst any other. Won easily by a length. Same distance
between the second and third. Very bad fourth.
The. Epsom Town Plate (Handicap) of 50 sovs, for all

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