The Sun.
London, England, 1863-06-01 00:00:00

SPORTING NOTES.

The great attraction yesterday at Paris was the Grand
Prix de Paris, which, during the past week, has created as
much interest in racing circles in England as upon the
Continent, from the fact of several Derby " cracks" having
gone over to run for this great prize, the richest ever con-
tended for on the Turf. The stake itself was 40 sovs each,
24 ft, or 20 only if declared, to which the sum of £4,000
(10(1,000 francs) was added by the Railway Companies and
Municipal Authorities of the City of Paris, in addition to
" objets d'art," presented by, respectively, the Emperor and
Empress, the former of whom never loses an opportunity of
extending his patronage, with Augustian liberality, towards
the encouragement and improvement of horse racing and
breeding in France. Nothing c uld exceed the beauty of
the scene of the Champs Elysees and on the Bois de
Boulogne. The weather was warm, but shortly after the
commencement of sport a smart shower fell. The Emperor
and Empress was present, and seemed delighted with the
enthusiasm of the English division, who, headed by me,
Jackson, gave them a hearty volley of British cheers.
Several of our large bookmakers and leading sportsmen
were on the ground. The Grand Prize was won in
a canter by The Ranger, who, running through his
horses in the last half mile, finished a length in front
of La Toucques, who was two lengths in advance of
Saccharometer ; Donnybrook fourth; and Lord Clif-
den, who ran a beaten horse all the way, a bad fifth.
Fordham, who was present, told every one that The
Ranger would win, backed the horse himself, and then in-
quired what would be thought of the Derby and his riding.
Mr. Jackson lost about £BOO on the result, and betted
£1,300 to £2OO three times overnight at the Grand Hotel
against The Ranger.
The easy defeat of Lord Clifden will have the effect of
knocking him out of the Leger betting—but those who
take liberties with him will regret it before the day of the
race, as with rest he will go to the post a greatly improved
horse.
The Ascot meeting commences to-morrow, and will be
honoured with the presence of the Prince and Princess of
Wales (who will occupy Frogmore during the meeting).
The whole series of scands have been thoroughly cleansed
and painted, and Captain Seymour, Mr. Skinner, Mr.
Oades, and Mr. Manning having personally super-
intended the arrangements, the recent alterations
cannot fail to meet with public approval. The new
hotel and stabling is open under the management' of
Mr. Partridge, late of the Great Western Hotel,
Reading, and the whole of the beds, boxes, and stalls have
been engaged for some time past. A great many horses
have already arrived there, including T. Taylor's string
from Newmarket, a list of which, together with others ex-
pected, will be found elsewhere. The course is very hard,
but a large and brilliant meeting may confidently be ex-
pected. There are eight races set for to-morrow, the prin-
cipal one being the Ascot Stakes. The field will be made
up of the following :—Belman, Investment or The Knave,
Rubicon, Captain Crow, Knutsford, Brother to Rapid
Rhone, Stanton, Romanoff, and Sea Nymph. If any de
rnonstration should be made in favour of one of Mr.
Merry's, INVESTMENT or THE KNAVE, I shall stand him
alone. In their absence I shall trust to CAPTAIN Cuow to
pull me through. The Prince of Wales's Stakes—a sup-
plement to the Derby—is just the kind of race that was
wanted on the first day, as it confirmed or destroyed the
truth of performances in the Derby, which it was desirous
should be ascertained. Lord Clifden is not likely to run,
or we should have had an interesting race between him,
Blue Mantle, and King of the Vale, my preference being
for Blue Mantle. The Queen's Stand Plate, which
first brought Buckstone into notice, if all the man
in the street says is correct, will likewise bring out
another crack of Mr. Merry's, yclept The Scottish Chief,
about whom many Derby books have been taken, and his
formidable antagonists will be Gillie and Argonaut. The
Royal Hunt Cup, on Wednesday, is one of the prettie •t
races run on the turf. With such an entry, an analysis of
merit is quite out of the question ; and I will select the fol-
lowing to beat the field, Lord Burleigh, Pilot, Queen of
Spain, Tolurno, Birdhill, Polynesia, The Knave, Alchy-
mist, Catch 'em Alive, and Bohemia. The Ascot Derby
has Automaton, Blue Mantle, Queen Bertha, and Onesan•
der in it, but all will depend upon the nature of the penalties
incurred in the Prince of Wales. The rich Coronation Stakes
will not bring many to the post in the face of Lady
and Cerintha, both of which can get am to in flying co ours.
Augusta
The Cup Day will be honoured by the pre!eTai: will
Prince and Princess of Wales, and though the:any
will
not be attended by the grand pageant whicha
J to
dlnimenhseeryalds
the visit of the Queen to Ascot, it will d
the éclat of the proceedings, and render the days red letter
the grand
one in the annals of the Turf.
n formed of it some
event of the day will, howeveeri,jahvTaarbdeel realise the expecta-
tions that might with
few weeks since, from the extent of the entries, which
reached the imposing number of 28.
These include all Vie
best horses of the day,
except Asteroid, acsetarbineer, Caller
Ou, Tim Whiftlor, The Marquis, uk se Stradella,
Hurricane, and Lord Clifden, are
Anonyms,
among those engaged. John Scott has effected a wonder-
ful improvement on the form of the Marquis since he was
so easily defeated by Stradella, and if I trust him and Tim
Whiffler to carry me through, I think I shall have named
the winner, but I give The Marquis the decided preference.
Most of the other events to be decided, depend in a great
measure on previous running,