The Sun.
London, England, 1851-05-12 00:00:00

SPORTING NOTES.

No. LI.
OUR CO \TTRIBUTION TO THE GREAT NATIONAL
EXHIBITION ON THE DOWNS OF EPSOM; A KEY
TO THE MYSTERIES OF THE SEVENTY-SECOND
DERBY.

" Some there are, that by due steps aspire
To lay their hands on that golden key,
That ope's the palace of futurity :
To such my errand is."
MILTON'S Mask of COWLS.
" Now hear me speak, with a prophetic spirit :
For even the breath of what I mean to speak
Shall blow each dust, each straw, each little rub,
Out of the path which shall directly lead
Thy foot to Fortune's Temple ; therefore mark !"
SHAKSPERE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
Sin,—More than two years have elapsed since I published,
in the columns if The Sun, my first remarks on the Derby of
this present memorable year; yet, during the whole of that
time, I have remained true to my original selection—The
Prime Minister, Newminster, Storm, and Lamartine—but,alas, that such things should be, the "understandings" of
Storm and Newminster, the former in particular, have proved
the fact that
" Legs are not steel, and steel is bent ;
Legs are not rock, and rock is rent ;"
by giving way to such an extent, that Storm may be set
down as a certain non-starter; and though in all probability
Newminster may be screwed sip to the sticking point, yet,
what with labouring under the imputation of unsoundness,
and being short of work, I cannot at the present reckoning
advise any of my sporting clients to stand on him Bolus for
the " great go" of Wednesday vszek. Lamartine of late I
have heard but little about; but with respect to that cele-
biate.d son of Melbourne, The Prime Minister, the last one
left me of my original Derby team for the present year, I
have heard the last day or two much more than I wished
about him ; in fact that he, like unto the other three, was by
no manner of means up to the mark, had gone amiss, &c.,
&c., which was demonstrated too surely yesterday, and again
this morning, by the repeated offers of his opponents to lay
20, and, in some instances, 25 and 33 to 1 against him. Thus
have the four animals, constituting my Derby team, after
having risen in the betting to the short prices, respectively,
of 9 to 2, 12 to 1, 20 to 1, and 25 to 1, one by one, fallen off
" from their high estate," and,
"Having touched the highest point of all their greatness,
From that full meridian of their glory
They haste now to their setting. They have fallen
Like a bright exhalation in the evening,
To be seen and heard of no more."
At least, this seems to be the conclusion one must come to
with respect to their Derby chances : however, the Minister
not having gone, like his former companion at the top of the
betting, Grecian,slick out of the market, it is "on the cards" that
he may have a chance left yet ; but, at any rate, the public
cannot complain of my selection, as hundreds to one, within
the last ten months, were obtainable about the Minister, and
fifties about each of the others, giving good hedging. But
let me change this theme (it grows too sad for backers'
nerves), and turn to a consideration of those animals'
chances that are sound and fit at all points. The
field, I should say, would range between twenty-
one and twenty-five, to be selected from the
following : Hernandez, Constellation, Heartbreaker,
The Marlborough Buck, Glenhawk, Bonnie Dundee, Midas,
Tragedian, Ariosto (d.), The Prime Minister, The Ban,
Teddington, Theseus, Ipsus (d.), Guy Mannering (d.),
Telescope, (v. d.), Hippolytus, Louis Napoleon,Newminster,
Mountain Deer, Hungerford (d.), The Black Doctor, Lamar-
tine (d.), colt by Tearaway (d.), Gholab Singh, colt by
Epirus, Enterprise (d.), Azeth, Neasham, England's Glory,
and Buckhound. 1 shall begin the analyzation by extract-
ing that division of the field which I denominate the worth-
, less lot, under which head the following may be classed :
Tragedian, Ariosto, Ipsus, Guy Mannering, Louis Na-
poleon, Ilungerford, colts by Tearaway and Epirus,
Gholab Singh, Azeth, Neasham, and Buckhound, This leaves
me seventeen animals to select the winner from,_ three of
whom—The Prime Minister, Newminster, and Lamartine,
are reported not to ho "up to the mark ;" thus reducing
the number to fourteen whose chances now require a
careful examination at my hands to discover—
" Whom thsuncontroll'd decrees of fate
To victory necessitate."
Sir Joseph Hawley, lucky man, is the proprietor of two
rattling favourites—Teddington and The Ban. The former, as
being the premier in the market, demands my first considera-
tion ; he is by Orlando, out of Miss Twickenham, has ap-
peared in public six times, and as a winner thrice; his per-
formances are anything ut first-rate; he made his debut
in the Second Spring Meeting at Newmarket last year in the
race for the 10 soya. stakes, where, having lost start, he was
no-where to Coticula and Citadel, the first and second. His
next appearance was at Epsom, where he ran a fair third to
the Marlborough Buck and Buckhound, beating a large field
including Heartbreaker and Glenhawk. At the Newmarket
July meeting, in the race for the Chesterfield Stakes, he, for
the first time, shines as a victor, just managing to beat
Ariosto on the post by a neck Turtle third ; Phlegra
beaten off! At Goodwood, for the Eglinton Stakes, he ran
a bad third to Phlegra and Buckhound!! And afterwards
won the Molecomb Stakes, giving 51bs to Hippolytus, and
beating him by a head ! This closed his performances last year.
In the present season he has run but once, for a 200 sove.Stakes
in the Newmarket. Craven Meeting, ss nen carrying Bst 121 b
to the Oat 21b of the game little Midas, he beat the latter in
a common canter, as he ought to do, if Sir Joseph expects to
see his portrait figuring in the gallery of Derby winners. It
is said he has beaten Aphrodite in a trial; on the strength
of which he was made first favourite for the Epsom event;
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Ban, may possibly turn out to be THE horse of the stable on
the day ; for it is well known the sums that have been in-
vested on him of late had been in large amounts, and put on
by parties who are not often on the wrong scent. I, how-
ever, think that he is not equal to the task of pullin through
Job Ma .
Both The Ban and Teddington run, I believe ; r-
son rides the best on the day ; and Pearl, it is said,
will have the other mount. Lord Enfield's bay; colt
Hernandez, by Pantaloon, out of Black Bess, as second fa-
vourite, commands my next attention. This is one of the
soundest, and, ill mistake not, about the best of the favou-
rites. He made his first appearance at Liverpool in the
July Meeting, when he beat Harpsichord and Nondescript
easily, for a Post Produce Sweepstakes. At Goodwood, car-
rying Bst 71b, was beaten a head by Phlegra, Bst 11b, for
the Ham Stakes : Bonnie Dundee, Bst 71b, a head behind
Hernandez • The Ban, Bst 101 b; Coticula, Bst 71b; and two
or three others beaten off ! At the Newmarket F. 0. M., he
won the Triennial Stakes by a length, beating Merry Peal,
Payment, Phlegra, Midas, The Ban, Catalpa, and seven
others ; and, at the Houghton Meeting, after running a dead
heat with Ariosto and Heartbreaker for the Glasgow Stakes,
was beaten half a length by them in the deciding heat. This
closed his performances last year. This year, in the New-
market Craven Meeting, he won the Tuesday's Riddles-
worth, carrying Bst 71b, from Hookem Snivvy, Bst 41b, in
the easiest manner imaginable; and, afterwards dis-
tinguished himself by winning the 2,000 Gui-
nea Stakes very cleverly, beating Mountain Deer,
Glenhawk, and seven others not placed. He is " by the
hand of nature marked, quoted, and signed, to do a deed of
note," and will, most assuredly, be first, second, or third, per-
chance the WINNER in the eventful • struggle oaths 21st instant.
He will be ridden by Nat; consequently will have the
benefit of all that artistic jockeyship can accomplish towards
obtaining a glorious triumph for his owner and backers! It
is reported that Buckhound, tooled by Kitchener, will render
what assistance he can in making the running, &c., for Her-
nandez. Mr. J. Clarke's Marlborough Buck, called half-
bred, by Venison, dam by Defence, is a superior animal, and
may realise my prediction concerning him of the 31st of
January last, that he "is quite capable, I imagine, of repeating
on a pinch the Hotspur dose of 1849 ; consequently taking
liberties with him is a remarkably dangerous movement." He
has only appeared in public once—last year at Epsom--
when he won the Woodcote Stakes, beating Buckhound, Ted-
dington, Glenhawk, Heartbreaker, and eight others. He has,
it is said, satisfied his friends ; but there is one thing concerning
him that does not look very rosy for his supporters—two or
three of the " talent" have been administering pepper ad libi-
tum for some time past at odds varying from 12 to 16 to 1.
His jockey's name I have not been able to ascertain. Lord
Eglinton intends, I believe, starting a couple—Bonnie
Dundee and .Hippolytus; the former with Marlow up, and
the latter with Sharp or Lye. Bonnie Dundee, however, is
evidently the horse intended ; he is by Lanercost, out of Blue
Bonnet, and has been out but once— for the Ham Stakes last
year, when he was beaten a head for second. place by .Her..
nandez ! The latter being beaten a head by the winner,
Phlegra, who received six pounds of the second and third,
which just turned the scale in her, favour. Phlegra was in her
best form throughout the whole of that meeting at Good-
wood. 1 anticipate seeing the tartan in the third lace, at least,
if not any nearer, always providing that Bonnie Dundee is
up to the mark on the important occasion. Mr. H. Hill's
Mountain Deer, by Touchstone, out of Mountain Sylph's
dam, notwithstanding the assistance he will receive from that
talented jockey Alfred Day, will find his master again, as he
did before, in Hernandez. Tom Dawson's hopes are centred
in Constellation, by Lanercost, out of Moonbeam, the property
of Mr. Meiklam, of whom it is asserted that he has improved
wonderfully in his form since he ran The Ban and Croupier
such a close race for the Municipal Stakes, at Doncaster, last
September ; I cannot fancy him, however, and think his
winning a iorlorn hope; be will be ridden by Sim Temple-
man. Mr. Iliggins'e chesnut colt Theseus, by Minotaur, out
of New Year's Day, by Jerry, was out four times last season,
winning thrice, but in no one instance beating a horse of any
account; he is much fancied at Newmarket, and great
things are expected of him—much more, in my opinion,
than he can accomplish. Sam Rogers will have the mount.
Heartbreaker, by Don John, out of Dilbar, is well bred, and
probably will run very forward. I have not heard who the
mount has been entrusted to, but should aay it would be
Frank Butler.
Mr. Wintringham's England/6 Glory, by Clarion or Emi-
lius, out of Pun ie Bird, will, in all probability, be ridden by
Wintringham ; and, from his performances in public and
private, if in good work, will be a -claugeroll3 outsider.