The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-26 00:00:00

upon their backs to keep them from bursting into
open rebellion. At one time it seemed as if it were
on the point of raining—more or less, .r deed, it
had been threatening all day—and a cp ver
°F ron-
sation ran through the assembly. A aingle shower
might revolutionise the conditions of the race. But
this was not to be, The firm leg and the hard
hoof are indispensable—the " brazen hoof," as it
would have been in Homer's time, when there are
good reasons for believing that horses were not shod
at all. Shortly before 3 o'clock, at the sound of the
bell, the whole of the starters advanced to the front
of the Grand Stand for their preliminary center ; bat
the public lingered so affectionately on the racecourse
that the jockeys had time to walk nearly to Totten-
ham-corner before they had a clear path back again.
Among the first to pass the Grand Stand at racing
speed was Historian, who had excited so favourable
an opinion in the paddock. A horse and rider not
in costume accompanied him, and it was understood
that this was Catch-ems Alive, a stable companion,

ridden by young Day, with the evident object of
encouraging Historian's very best paces. The other
. . _

horses followed in quick succession, and the last two
to pass the Grand Stand were the favourite, General
Peel, and Lord Glasgow's other horse, Strafford,
which seemed to have lingered a little that they

might have the field to themselves. The favourite's
bounding action and the extent of ground covered
in his stride confirmed the opinions entertained by

his warmest friends, and the ringing cheers which

greeted him showed that he had the full sympathy

of the moneyed interests. The btarting point is now
the quarter to which all eyes are turned, and, as
_ _

usual, a long interval elapses before the starter can
make the welcome declaration that they are "away."

Some artists were noticed endeavouring to turn this

period to good account. One gentleman, who had
selected a cab as his basis of operations, was unfor-

tunate enough to make his preparations on rather
too complete a scale, for the floor of the vehicle gave
way at the critical moment. On the other hand, a
very good instantaneous photograph of " the Start"
was obtained by Mr. Herbert Watkins. Other
operations not of so legitimate a character were
eoing forward at the same time, met, of course,
by counter operations on the part of the police ;
_ . .

and it was understood that the number of pick

pockets captured this year bore its due proportion
to the largely increased number of spectators. As
soon as the members of the force made a capture
the delinquent was conveyed to a retired corner,
where one of the black caravans stood in readiness
to receive him, and, as this filled with tolerable
rapidity, it was driven away, and relays of offenders
were thus forwarded to town.
After three or four false starts the horses, 30 in
all, were duly arranged, and the ringing of the bell
announced to the public, who had once or twice
before been excited by false alarms, that the race
was fairly on ; but it was when the horses rounded
Tattenham-corner that the spectators began to ma-
derstand the magnificent character of the finish they
were about to witness. Ordinarily, the horses have
by that time dropped nearly into a string, having
a few knots in it, but still a string. There is a glit-
tering rise and fall beyond the hedge at that point,
which affords a means of gauging pace and distance.
On this occasion the horses seemed to roll round the
corner in a bundle, and to spin down the hill like so
many coloured balls. The pace already tremendous
increased at every moment, and it was not till the
horses were fairly abreast of the line of Stands that
it could be said to which group victory was likely
to incline. Even then there was a little see-sawing,
and the excitement and clamour became oppressive.
Suddenly it was perceived that a horse which had
❑ot been seen in the paddock, though it earned fa-
vourable notice in the canter past, but which was
not clearly identified then, being by many mis-
taken for Birch Broom, was rapidly passing all the
others, and gaining even upon the favourite. This
was a tall horse with striking action of its fore legs,
and a face prominently marked with white; in other
words, Blair Athol. Still it seemed that General
Peel could win easily if he liked ; his long swing-
ing stride had cemed him past everything else, and
a single effort seemed all that was necessary to re-
tain his place. His jockey gave an uneasy glance I
over his shoulder ; he had done and was doing
his best, but Blair Athol, longer in the limb,
and with strength better preserved, shot past him
after a momentary struggle, an easy winner by two
lengths. Mr. Merry's Scottish Chief made a good
third ; the others had nearly all pulled in. Even
up to the last moment the public faith in the qua-
lities of Birch Broom was so strong, the colours of
his rider being very similar to those of the winner,
that it was not till the telegraph spoke that
uncertainty on the point was removed. In
point of speed the race was most remarkable. As
taken by " Benson's Chronograph," the time which
it occupied was 2 min. 44 sec., being 8 2-10th sec.
less than was taken to traverse the same course in
1863, and 11 sec. less than in 1862. These races
have only been timed for the last 10 or 12 years,
and in the year when Blink Bonny, the dam of
Blair Athol, achieved her victory, she traversed the
course in 2 min. 45 sec., the shortest time of which
any record then existed. Hers remained the most
rapid performance until 1861, when the Derby was
won by Kettledrum in 2 min. 43 sec. It will be
seen that there is only the difference of a second
between Blair Athol's performance and that of the
fastest horse ever known upon the Epsom course.
Immediately that the race had concluded persons
began to remember the brilliant pedigree of which
the winner could boast. Foaled by Blink Bonny,
the wiener of the Derby six or seven years ego, and
in the same week of the Oaks likewise, his sire
Stockwell, though prevented from succeeding on
the course at Epsom, had won the St. Leger, and
also carried off the 2,000 Guineas.

We subjoin a more technical account of the day's
sport.

WEDNESDAY.

The Epsom Town Plate of 50 Boys (handicap), for all ag,ee.

Winners extra. One mile.
Mr Whittaker's Pixie, 3 yrs, sst 71b ....(J. Grimshaw) 1
Lord Uxbridge's Vabalathus, 3 yrs, 6st 121 b.... (Sayers) 2
Count Batthyany's Nucleus, 3 yrs, Sit 41b .. (J Smith) 3
Mr Rochester's Alea, 3 yrs, Sat 71b (Baker) 4
Mr Hodgman's Humphrey, 5 yrs, Set 71b (Perry) 5
Mr Cox's Merry Bird, 4 yrs, 7st 71b (Cox) 6
Betting-5 to 4 agst Pixie, and sto 2 agst Vabalathus.

The favourite, in company with Vabalathus, made the
running, followed by Alea and Nucleus into the straight,
where the latter took the second place, but dropped back at
the distance, leaving the issue with the two leaders. Pixie
held his own to the end, and won easily by a length and a
half ; a bad third, Alea fourth, beaten off.
The 85thDerbyStakes of 50 soya oath, hft, for threo-yr-olds;
colts, Bst 101 b; and fillies, Bat 51b; second to receive 100
soya out of the stakes. Mile and a half, to be run on the
new course, 234 subs.
W. PAnson's Blair Athol, by Stockwell—Blink Bonny
Lord Glastrow's General Peel (Snowden) 1
. (Aldcroft) 2
Mr Merry's Scottish Chief (J. Adams) 3
Captain s Knight of Snowdon(F. Adams) 4
3irßoweAte. Cowpeßaragah
r'
(Ashmall) 0
Mr T. Valentine's Hollyfox (T. French) 0
Lord Glasgow's Strafford ........... (Doyle) 0
Mr J. Day's Master Richard ................
(Deacon) 0
Captain Christie's Warrior ............ (J. Griroshaw) 0
Mr W. Hudson s Cathedral ................ (Whiteley) 0
Mr Eastwood's Surat ....................... . (Buck) 0
Mr W. G. Craven's planet (Morgan) 0
Mr Ten Broeck's Paris
Mr H. Hill's Copenhagen
...... (S. Rogers) 0
Mr a. Hill's Ackworth ...................... (Judd) 0
Mr E. Brayley's Outlaw .................... (Cowley) 0
Mr Cartwright's Ely ............ . ........ (Custance) 0
Lord Westmoreland's Signalman (S. Adams) 0
Lord Westmoreland's Birch Broom (J. (,oater) 0
Mr W. Stewart's Major .......... - Grirashaw)
Captain White's Cambuscan (J. Mann) 0
Sir J. Hawley's Washington (Wells) 0
Mr Naylor's Appenine
Mr Naylor's Coastguard.. (Challoner) 0
Mr Savile's Privateer
Sir F. Johnstone's Historian
Mr Cathcart's Prince Arthur
Mr T. Robinson's Dormouse (W. Boyce) 0
Mr H9dgman's Valiant (Perry) 0
Mr J. B. Starky's Iziak Walton (H. Sopp) 0
Betting—t 9 to 2 agst Scottish Chief, sto 1 agst General
Peel, 15 to 2 agst Birch Broom, 7 to 1 agst Cambuscan,
100 to S agst Paris, 100 to 7 agst Blair Athol, 20 to 1 each
agst Coastguard and Ely, 28 to 1 agst Valiant, 30 to 1 agst
Baragah, 33 to 1 agst Ackworth, 40 to 1 agst Strafford, 50
to 1 each agst Historian and Prince Arthur, and 1,000 to
15 each agst Copenhagen and Hollyfox.
In consequence of the extreme reluctance exhibited by
Washington, Master Richard, and Copenhagen, to face the
flag, coupled with tha breaking
away of Valiant, Blair
"101, Hollyfox, Historian, Cathedral, and one or two
others, the start was delayed to within a few minutes of 4
o'clock, when Mr, M'George was enabled to despatch them
on most favourable terms, Warrior, in the centre of the
course, being the first in motion, followed by Valiant,
Signalman, General Peel next the rails, with Ely, Birch
Broom, Scottish Chief, and Baragah lying next, the next
division being beaded by Historian, Paris, Blair Athol, and