The Sun.
London, England, 1864-06-07 00:00:00

The Great Prize of Paris.

The race for the Great Prize of Paris bids fair to rival
the Derby in interest, and especially if it be remembered
that the interest of a Derby-day is not confined to the ex•
plaits of the unfree. As 3et the great French race is in its
infancy. It was run last year for the first time, but
although it is still of tender age—although many English
men and women who rejoice in the spectacle of our Epsom
games have never even heard of it, the institution has at
once asserted its pre-eminence, and has come to be re-
garded as one of the chief attractions of the racing year.
How could it be otherwise, considering the splendour of the
prize and the charms of the racecourse ? There is no such
prize offered on any known field. What the winner of the
, Derby carries off is not in the strict sense a prize ; it is a
sweepstakes. A certain sum of money is subscribed by the
owner of every horse entered for the race, and to that sum
there is nothing added. In the great French race the win-
ner carries off not only the stakes which have been sub-
scribed by 126 horses (which, by the way, is about half the
number of entries for the Derby), but also a work of art
offered by the Emperor, and £4,000 in money offered by the
city of Paris and five railway companies. The contention
for this magnificent prize takes place on the finest course in
the world, within easy distance of the most pleasant of all
cities. Suppose a beautiful racecourse, arranged with the
rare skill that Frenchmen show in administration, stir-
rounded with fine scenery, honoured as Ascot is by the pre-
sence of the Court, and situated, as it were, in llolland-
park, not far from the heart of London—what could be
more perfect ? if the French have envied us the enthu-
siasm of the Derby-day, they may now boast that they
have established near their metropolis an equestrian festival
which, as far as the mere framework goes, worthily rivals
our own. It say; something for the great race that there
were no less than 126 entries for it—but surely it is dis-
appointing that of thf se only five ran. Of the original
entries by far the greater number were of English
horses; of the few that ran only one belonged to an Eng-
lish stable. If English horses were scarce, English visitors
were plenty, and seemed to have the most business on their
hands all about the course, Especially upon them devolved
the business of cheering the Emperor and Empress. They
crowded about the box in which Napoleon 111. stood con-
spicuous, and cheered him in a manner from which the
French themselves held aloof. When the ladies in lovely
toilettes heard a commotion in the neighbourhood of the
Imperial box, and turned to their lords for an explanation
of the excitement to which they began to feel attracted, these
lords turned round with imperturbable coolness to explain
that it was only these foolish Anglais who were making a
noisa about the Emperor, Noise or no noise, they crowded
about his box, and gazed with English pertinacity on the
Imperial pair. With some of the English, indeed, the
sight of the Emperor seemed to eclipse that of the race.
One English dame we heard quarrelling with her spouse
because, in order to seo the Emperor, he would not throw
away the chances of a g.od place from which he could see
the grand contest of the day.
Although the race for the Great Prize of Paris is so im-
portant, the manner of the festival in honour of it and the
accessories have no resemblance to those of the Derby.
Some Englishmen may be disposed to think that all the
drunken orgies of lipsom are less to be reprehended than
the Sabbath-breaking at the Bois de Boulogne; and we
have therefore a word or two to say as to the day selected
by our French friends for their greatest racing event. That
the English disapprove the selection of such a day, and that
the leading authorities on their turf should remonstrate
with those of the French turf, is most natural. The Count
Dena as head of the society which presides at Long-
champs, wrote last year to Admiral Rous a long
letter to explain how Sunday came to be selected for
the raoe, and how no other day would suit.
The fact is that the Parisian does not as yet care enough
about the finest race to sacrifice his business for it, and it is
only upon the day of rest that he can be coaxed into giving
to the slant the patronage of his presence. Any one who
went to the Bois de Boulogne on Saturday last might con-
vince himself of this. On a lovely day, within an easy walk
of Paris, there was some very pretty racing, the Fmperor
being there to see it. His subjects who came to see it with
him were amazingly few. Such a sight so near to London
would draw out half its population ; they would not miss it
for the world. The society which has got up the races gives
itself a fine name, which in this connection is not without
significance. We have our Jockey Club to institute races,
a society of gentlemen who no doubt do much good to our
breed of horses, but whose first and professed object is to
enjoy the sport. Our neighbours have their " Societe
d'Encouragernent pour l'Amelioration des Races de Che-
vaux en France ;" they place in their most characteristic
manner on the farefront of their title to public support the
theoretic or the practical object which horse racing may be
supposed to subserve. They announce themselves not as
providers of pleasure, but as patriots seeking the welfare of
their country, and they are doubtless sincere in this profes-
sion. Also, when the city of Paris and the railway compa-
nies give their support to the society with the long name,
and offer a prize of £l,OOO for a single race, the object evi-
dently is not to furnish the Parisians with three minutes of
,uperb excitement once a year, but to lead them thoroughly
to interest themselves in a great national event. If pleasure
were the chief object of their search, then we might expect
tue society to yield to our views and change the day. When
pleasure is offered to the people and they refuse it, they
have only themselves to blame. But seeing that the main
object of the society is to compel the French to interest
themselves in horses, they are justified in forgetting us en •
tirelyand in adapting their arrangements to ihe convenience
of the greatest number of their own countrymen. Crowds
of Englishmen will go to the race whatever be the day
selnted, and English horses will ruu.

The grand peculiarity of the race to au Englishman,
however, arises cut of its vicinity to Paris. It is just be-
yond the Bois de Boulogne, on the old duelling ground of
Longchamps, with St. Cloud a little further to the south.
We miss here the fine smooth turf of our English Downs,
and find ourselves on ordinary grass land ; but the view
is lovely, and all the arrangements of the course are perfect.
Belted wi h trees, the course, with all its gentle undula-
tions, can be seen from the enclosure in every part, except
where for about five seconds in the longer races a clump of
trees hides the view. The distances, too, are so arranged
that spectators have the pleasure of witnessing in most cases
the start as well as the finish. The race begins but a few
yards to the right of the enclosure, goes past the stand,
then describes a circle greater or lesser or of middle size,
and finally goes past the Stand again to the post. Every
body can see the whole with ease ; no pushing, no strain-
ing, no rushing about. Then there is nothing like the ex•
citement of luncheon on the hill at Epsom. If anybody
wishes for refreshment, there are ice, lemonade, claret, and
every kind of patis sera provided for French tastes, and
great fleets of tumblers containing sherries and grogs, with
piles of sandwiches, for what are supposed to be the correct
tastes of Englishmen and Anelomaniacs• But the orgies of
luncheon are beyond the desires of a people who breakfast
between 11 and 12. who can walk if they choose from their
homes to tho racecourse, and walk back again with little
fatigue. The presence of the Court added to the brilliancy
and the stately quiet of the scene. Never on any race-
course have we seen such wonderful decorum. Ac a small
proof of it we venture to state an inoredible fact. Is it pos-
sible to believe that the everlasting and inevitable dog
was not to bo found on the racecourse at Longchamps ?
That necessary attendant of our races, where he flies
with frantic terror along the course, amid the yells of
an admiring populace—was utterly extinguished and
put out of sight by the civil power. It is a very old saying
of a very old Frenchman that we in England take our
pleasure sadly. But on one who has been accustomed to
the uproarious jollity of a Derby-day, and to hear all the
chaff that flies on the road to Epsom, the idea begins to
dawn that oven our French neighbours can be stiff, staid,
and even trusty in their pleasures. On the road to Long-
champs the nearest approach to a joke which we saN, was
one which was not intended. All along the way men were
engaged in watering the roads with force pumps, a kind of
enormous squirt attached to piping that runs upon wheels.
All along the road men were exercising those heavy squirts
in every direction for the purpose of allaying the dust, and
it was only by great attention and skill that they could avoid
covering the passengers with spray. Suddenly a splendid
equipage might be seen in the Bois de Boulogne, throwing
all else into the shade, the ladies whom it contained in the
gayest dresses, the coachman beautifully powdered, the
horses with high action, sleek and glittering. Nothing in
the whole order of the universe could be more correct, more
stately, more exalted above the accidents and infirmities of
mundane existence. Behold, as we are admiring at a
humble distance this faultless equipage, Jacques Bonhomme
directs right upon the coachman's left ear his ,enormous
Squirt, nearly knocks him off his box, and covers with un-
kindly spray the fair denizens of the carriage, Well, we
do not eromplain. Life is full of compromises and compensa-
tions. If in the Paris race we miss the jollity of a Detby-
day, and sigh for some little outbreak of humour, we are
perhaps paid for our loss by the comfort of the journey, its
caltuness, its easiaess, its ladylike decorum.
The recent struggle for the Derby, which ended in the
victory of Blair Athol, detracted to some extent from the
interest of the French race. There were few persons who
did not believe that the Derby mintier's superiority over
all colts of the same age was firmly established, and if he
really were the horse which he seemed to be, then there
could be little doubt as to the issue of the French race, pro-
vided it ware fairly run. No great hopes were entertained
of his chief antagonist, who had, nevertheless, proved her-
self the best filly of her year, and, indeed, the running of
this animal, and not only of her, but also of other horses
belonging to the Comte de Lagrange, as Hospodar, Stra-
ddle, and Jarnicoton, bad provoked so much criticism that
many who expected to see Fille de l' Air beaten were much
helped to that thought by their wishes. The performances
of this mire have been, to say the least of it, unsatisfactory
She had during the spring lost the Two Thousand Guineas,
for which she was first favourite, and she also lost the cor-
responding race in France. Yet immediately afterwards
she won the French Oaks, or, as they call it, the Prize of
Diana, with ridiculous ease, and but a few days back she
won our own Oaks without any trouble. On the occasion
of the last named victory our neighbours across the Chan-
nel were przzled to understand what could be the meaning
of the demonstration against the winner, and the question
was asked,---" Is this the result of the Commercial Treaty,
that these English cannot brook the success of a French
horse ?" Our centineetal friends have Sinn then been

lenlightened, and now we believe that, in spite of the stu-
pidities of some of the I'aris papers, which harp on the
;:venge o!,Watorlooachi
eveodsbnybFe
jlelealdoen3 roAfira, ahnodrsveabinreldy
imagine teat rub English
tZause it has fed on Fremeh
from English parents simply
corn and is owned by a French subject, :hey begin to un-
derstand that the anger of the English mob was diret;ted,
not against the success of a French horse, but against
the success of a horse whose previous performances
had been most unaccountable. The only other com-
petitor who was supposed to have something of a
chance was Bois Roussel, the winner of the French
Derby, in honour of whom MadeiLoiselle Isabelle,
the well-known flower girl at all the French races,
wore the colours of M. Delamarre. Bois Roussel
is a heavy-looking horse, from whom, although it was
supposed that he can stay well, not much was expected ;
and still less did his stable companion and half brother,
Vermont, excite great expectations. Vermont was known,
indeed, as the winner of the Prix de Printemps—a race run
on precisely the same course as that of the great race of
Sunday last, but that was his only known public perfor-
mance, and it was not regarded as sufficient to establish his
character. In point of fact it had so little established his
character, that his owner, 111. Delamarre, apparently did
not expect to win upon him, but put him into the race to
force the running and make a speed that ultimately would
tell in favour of Bob; Roussel when it would be time enough
for the latter to go forward and win.
Sunday was a magnificent day for the race, although so
warm that it added to the hardness of the ground. Al
Paris went out to see it and made a splendid show, although
we must add that as regards the number of individuals
and of equipages even Ascot, which is 25 miles from
London, far outvies Longchamps. A great concourse of
people assembled of all grades, in which what was most
conspicuous were the lovely dresses with the exquisitely
chosen colours of the French dames. Surely in no out-of-
door spectacle in the world could such a show present it-
self. That part of the ground immediately before the
Grand Stand which at Epsom is allotted to the betting men
is at Longchamps made a promenade for the ladies, and
there they sit in chairs right in front of the racecourse,
while the benches of the stand range down to the ground,
The sight was very gay and pretty, and especially in the
neighbourhood of the Imperial nor, but all round the course
bright crowds in light dresses assembled to gaze upon the
contest, which, more particularly since the reception Fills do
l'Air received at Epsom, has come to be regarded with
patriotic interest. Great was the excitement as to the issue
of the event when it was heard that Blair Athol had been
detained at Folkstone, and had arrived only the night
before. Frenchmen, when they heard of his deten-
tion, began to brighten up, and told each other confiden-
tially that the horse would not appear at all. Englishmen,
too, began to lose confidence in him, and it was not until his
arrival was reported that his position in public favour was
recovered. Then, and especially when he was said to have
cantered well on the racecourse, he rose in the betting, till
the odds of 2to 1 were ventured on him. In the same, and
indeed much greater proportion, Fills de l'Air declined in
public favour, so that when the time for the race came 3 to
1 was offered against her and no one would take it. When
she appeared on the course, however, she was greatly
cheered, not because those who cheered had any distinct
knowledge of her capabilities, but because their patriot zeal
led them to wish success to the French mare. On her
back alone the honour of France was supposed to rest, and
it was for her to vindicate France against perfidious Albion
represented by Blair Athol, Less notice was taken of
Bois Roussel and Vermont, and few indeed of those who
saw the race could tell the difference between the two
horses. Tho former is a dark bay horse with one white
fetlock; the latter a bright bay, with three white legs.
Bois Roussel is a stiff, sturdy, large made horse; Vermout
is light, airy, and of more striking action when gallopping.
His style of going, indeed, was so conspicuous that after
his preliminary canter he enlisted many supporters who
had previously not even recognised his existence. As for
Baronello, the only other horse that tan, he mightily pleased
the ladies, but he was not fated to bring any greater
success to the house of Rothschild than Breeze or Tomato
obtained at Epsom.

The horses got off at the first start, Vermont leading,
and Blair Athol biding his time behind. That Vermont
should lead was precisely what the public expected.
They regarded Bois Roussel as the better horse, and sup-
posed that it was the business of Vermont to make the
running for his stable companion. The conclusion which
was drawn from the position of the horses as they
passed the stand was that if either of M. Delarcarre's
horses was to win it would certainly be the hindmost. As
they went round the first turn by the mill, Vermout still
held the foremost place, but whereas hitherto Bois Roussel
had followed next, Baronello being third, the last of these
now for a time took the second place, Bois Roussel dropt
into the third place, while Fille de l'Air remained as from
the start, fourth, and Blair Athol last. Very much in this
order the race continued up the gently undulating distance
which may be called a hill, and the only point which need
be particularly specified is that Baronello soon gave way,
and lost all chance of coming again into the race. At the
top of the hill the pace, which had before been indifferent,
improved, and Fille de l'Air rushed to the front, she and
Vermont coming on by themselves down the hill, at the
bottom of which Blair Athol joined them. Ifere, for a
second or two, the anticipations which unlearned men would
have formed from the betting seemed about to be realised ,
inasmuch as the two favourites appeared to be going faster
than Vermont, who was nevertheless still leading. The
emotion excited by this advance was only transitory, as
Fille de l'Air was almost instantaneously disposed of, and
Chalioner'a pursuit of the leader wire, in less time than we
take to mention the fact, discovered to be futile. Nothing
daunted, however, he continued his efforts to the half dis•
tance, when perfidious Albion was fain to acknowledge
herself beaten, and Vermeer', who continued without fal-
tering the same magnificent action which had characterised
his running 'throughout, won easily at the last by two
lengths. Whether the extra three furlongs over and above
the Derby Course did or did not prove fatal to Blair Athol's
chance, we do not here attempt to decide; but the facts re-
main that at the Derb‘i distance he looked as like a winner
as anything could well be, and that when that distance was
overpassed he was practically disposed of.
It may be supposed that the result of the great race pro-
duces' considerable excitement. The crowd rushed to the
judge's chair to hear the name of the winner, but being too
excited in the belief that it was Bois Rousse], had no ears
for anything but their own responding shouts. They shouted,
waved their hats, turned to the Emperor, and cheered him
and Vermout in the name of France. The crush at this
point was tremendous, the roar of the huzzah rent the air,
end the Emperor bowed in acknowledgment of the glory of
victory. " C'est magnifique I c'est magnifique I" were the
only words heard on French lips for the rest of the day.
Ladies and gentlemen, as they accosted each other, all said
with',ut exception, " e'est magnifique I" Not content with
cheering, clapping their hands, and crying " magnifique,"
they hissed Blair Athol and Challoner who rode him with a
right good will. There was a perfect storm of hisses, tie°
meaning of which could not lee mistaken. It was of course
a bitter explosion of rage against England, which in the
moment of victory might well have been spared, even if
there was just cause for it. We have explained, however,
that the exciting cause of this demonstration was based in
error. Englishmen have no hostile feeling to French horses.
The ;Sporting Gazette of last Saturday made with admirable
point a quotation from Juvenal, which bears directly on
this question :

" Laueamus equum, facili cui plurima palms
Fervet, et exsultat rauco victoria circo;
Nobilis hie, guocungue venit de grarnine, cujus
Clara fuga aute atios et primus in aequore pulvis."

What matters it to us on what grass or hay the horse hag
fed f It is the venale pecus who are mentioned in the very
next line, and who contrive by innumerable arts to surround
and turn to doubtful uses the noble animal, that we have to
dread; and it is because the owner of Fille de l'Air, or souse
one in his employment, incurred the suspicion of being, it
may be without knowing it, connected with such a herd,
that the English resentment against the French mare was
aroused. If Eaglishmen have had a feeling against Fills de
l'Air they have no feeling whatever against such a horse as
Vormout, whose success on Sunday last may be accepted as
thoroughly deserved, since no better test of a horse's powers
can be devised than that it should make all the running in
a race, and from start to finish should never once be out-
paced. k ilia de l'Air was so unfortunate as not even
to obtain a place in the judge's list. She passed the chair
third, but her jockey neglected to weigh afterwards, and
consequently was, by racing law, distanced, so that the
honour and profit of third place were given to Bois Roussel.

Four races besides that for the Great Prize were run on
Sunday, and the last of these came off about 5 o'clock.
Then came the rush homewards—carriages, horses, an i foot
passengers in little order striving who should be first. Not-
withstanding the crowd of carriages, which, down the
Champs Elysees, formed about six unbroken streams ad.
vancing in parallel lines, the drive through the Bois de
Boulogne and along the Champs Elysees afforded a plea-
sant ending to a day of great interest. It was, at least, a
novelty for an Englishman to And himself, amid all the
heat and turmoil of a racecourse, and after a quiet journey
of searoe,y an hour, safe again at his own door.

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