The Sun.
London, England, 1855-09-22 00:00:00

RIFLEMAN AND THE ST. LEGER.

We extract the following letter and remarks from
Bell's Life :
Sir,—Some most erroneous and incorrect statements
having appeared in your columns on Sunday last re-
specting myself and those who had the management of
Rifleman for the St. Leger, I must request your inser-
tion of the following explanations in answer to them.
Before, however, I proceed with my statement, I must
inform you that I had not the management of Rifleman,
although I made some suggestions which were not
adopted ; therefore I am not responsible for the conduct
of those in charge of the horse. Rifleman did not go three
rattling gallops either on Monday morning or on Tues-
day morning, as I was out with him, and he started at
the Red House, and only went half speed, and pulled up
at the bottom of the hill. The Clementina colt and Sauce-
box, with Flatman on him, went round the course a much
better pace. You state that "the Squire" says he fell lame
in his feet, and so he did, although you seem to doubt it
—thanks for the compliment ! Mr. Spooner can testify
that the horse has a rheumatic infirmity in his feet, and
had it for a considerable time after the Derby until
nearly Goodwood, and is subject to it, but under his
skilful directions the horse was brought to the post
sound to all appearance, and I suppose you have not the
assurance to question Mr. Spooner's veracity. You
mention that the trainers generally thought he had been
"hurried in his work, or that some narcotic had been
given to him." The horse was watched night and day
for the last fortnight by confidential persons, and was
never left for a moment to the tender mercies of the
Ring ; and they are only surmises. Soon after the St.
Leger was run a person in charge of Rifleman told Mrs.
Osbaldeston that the horse had broken down, but on
Mr. Spooner examining him he found it was incorrect ;
but he was lame, and he said be could not form a cor-
rect opinion until the next morning. On the following
morning the horse was much better, and was sent off in
his van to the station to go by the nine o'clock train,
but after waiting three-quarters of an hour, we were told
he could not go until two o'clock. Mrs. Osbaldeston, on
hearing this, requested Mr. Spooner to go and bring
him back to his stable, which he did, and Mrs. Osbal-
desten and Mr. Spooner walked him out in the paddock
during the races, and she said he was just in the same
state as at York, and she ordered him to be prepared for
the Don Stakes. At half-past six o'clock on Friday
morning Mr. Spooner, myself, Flatman, and Warrener
took Rifleman out on the course, but as soon as he
walked up the road he went like a cripple, and so
he did when he trotted, and Flatman expressed
his astonishment at our fancying he could possibly
run on that day. After walking and trotting
him for an hour he improved, and the boy cantered him,
and so did Flatman, who said he went nearly as well as
ever. We all then walked home together, and on our
way Flatman said he would not run Rifleman on any
account were he his horse ; and Mr. Spooner said there
was some risk, and, as ho had a good many other en-
gagements, he would not run him if he was his property ;
and I was of the same opinion, and so was Warrener.
On our return we made our report to Mrs. Osbaldeston,
who said he should run whether he broke down or not.
He ran, and won, which proved that her judgment was
better than all ours, and that "the grey mare was the
better horse." Your raking up the disgraceful proceed-
ings on the Friday last year, when a set of ruffians as-
saulted John Scott and libelled Lord Derby, is most in-
judicious, and not a similar case to ours—Rifleman was
lame after the St. Leger, and in the morning he won the
Don Stakes, too ; and did not run on that day against
Saucebox. Ivan beat Acrobat for the St. Leger very
easily, and Acrobat beat Ivan for the Doncaster Stakes,
but was not lame on either day. When a gentleman has
a great favourite for a race and he don't win, there are
always a set of disreputable scoundrels who declare it to
be a robbery on the owner's part, and no doubt it would
be so if they had one. Mrs. Osbaldeston refused 8,0001.
for Rifleman two days before the St. Leger, and a gen-
tleman and friend of mine told me that a party would
give us 5,0001. if we would not start him. His defeat
must be attributable to two causes—either that he felt
the infirmity in his feet, the ground being like iron, or
that the pace was so bad for the St. Leger. When he
beat Fandango at York the ground was heavy, and the
same distance was done in five seconds less than the St.
Leger, the pace being so much better, and so it was for
the Don Stakes. After the Doncaster Stakes Mr. Parr
offered to give Rifleman 41b with Saucebox, St. Leger
' Course, to come off on the next day or on Monday
last ; but as Rifleman is engaged next week at New-
market we did not accept the challenge ; but if he is in
the same humour now, I've no doubt he can be accom-
modated for 1,0001. during the Second October or
Houghton Meeting.—Yours, &c.,

GEORGE OSBALDESTON.

We willingly afford Mr. Osbaldeston the opportunity
of explaining (?) to the public the cause of Rifleman's
defeat for the St. Leger, notwithstanding the " hard
knocks" he deals upon us for expressing our belief that
everything was not "square and above-board." " The
Squire's" communication, however, fails to convince us
to the contrary, and our opinion is fully borne out by
Rifleman's performance on the last day of the meeting
when ho looked and ran a very different horse to what
he did when brought out to start for the St. Leger—in
fact, we repeat, that amongst trainers and experienced
Judges the prevailing belief was that he had had " some-
thing" which appeared to have taken all the life out of
him. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the betting
invariably " a tale unfolds" when everything is not as it
should be with a great favourite for an important race
like the Leger ; and on this occasion, as we remarked
last week, so "fishy" did Rifleman become at the last,
that we have n'o hesitation in asserting that much
greater odds might have been obtained all over the Ring
than the price at which the horse was returned in our
report. We impute no bad,rnotives to anybody, and are
willing to believe that the utmost vigilance and care
were adopted to guard against accident and "nobbling,"
but neither " The Squire," nor anybody else will ever
satisfy us that Rifleman ought to have been beaten
"on his merits" for the St. Leger, especially after
his performance two days afterwards; and that
Mr. Osbaldeston entertains the same opinion, the
offer to make a match for 1,0001. with Saucebox,
who beat him, sufficiently proves. With reference
to the horse's infirmity, we shall only remark that it
appears unaccountably strange that, whilst it appeared
to leave him altogether after exercising, and in no way
affected his running on Friday, it should seize him on
Wednesday during running, at the very moment when,
as his clever jockey remarked, victory was within his
grasp. The hardness of the ground, and the badness of
the pace are the excuses adduced, but they are very
" lame" ones, especially as the horse had taken his
work upon the former for several days without showing
the slighest symptoms of au attack of the " rheumatic
infirmity in his feet," to which, according to "The
Squire," he is constantly liable. During the week we
have received a great many communications upon the
subject of Rifleman's defeat for the St. Leger, but have
only room for the following :
A horse that had won two steeplechases was purchased
some time since for the purpose of running for another,
the gentleman making the purchase imagining that he
could not be beaten. A hundred pounds was sent to
London to back Lima for the event. The race was to
have been run at one o'clock. At ten in the morning of
the day of the race the new owner of the horse went
to the stable to remove him, but, upon receiving the
strongest assurance that the horse would be perfectly
safe where he was, the gentleman was induced to per.
mit him to remain for the few intervening hours. On pro-
ceeding to the stable at 12 o'clock, the horse was dis-
covered to be not only lathering and sweating, but show-
ing a peculiar action of the lips and mouth. The pur-
chaser--a man of great experience in horses, thousands
having passed through his hands—at once felt that the
horse bad been "done ;" and, on reaching the course, 20
to 1 was offered against him ! When Rifleman passed
from his stable to the inclosure, be not only lathered be-
tween the thighs, but was quite damp both before and
behind the saddle, and, strange to say, the action of the
lips and mouth were precisely similar to those above de-
scribed with reference to the horse that had been "done."
The party to whom allusion has been made as the pur-
chaser of the steeple chaser at once remarked, pointing
to Rifleman, "that horse is uneasy in his stomach."
When Rifleman pulled up after his race, on Friday, he
was perfectly fresh and dry, but, before his race on Wed-
nesday, he was in a perfect sweat. If he sweated on
coming-out of his stable on Wednesday, why did he not
d 6 the same on Friday ? The general opinion is that the
horse was not "fit" on the day of the St. Leger ; but
why he was not so will, perhaps, ever remain a secret.
ssAt York, and, I understand, at all other places, " The
Squire" declared that Rifleman could not be beaten, and
he has frequently said the same with reference to other
horses in his possession ; but can the oldest man upon
the Turf ever remember that a horse of his won after such
declarations had been made ? The farce of offering to
give four pounds to Rifleman is a mere "invention of
the enemies ;" but if Mr. Parr thinks Saucebox four
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goodness to explain pounds better thanlin Rhioflwemitanh,
been beaten a dozen times by horses:to whom Rifleman
could give stones ?