The Sun.
London, England, 1851-01-31 00:00:00

SAN, LONDO N,

SPORTING NOTES.
No. V.
ANALYSIS OF TEE SEVENTY-SECOND

DERBY.
(Concluded from No. IV.)

4‘ The TURF'S mine oyster,
Which I with judgment will open."
SHAKSPEZE (slightly altered).

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SlR,—Seventy-one years have elapsed since the first
Derby Stakes at Epsom, with 36 subs., wore won by Sir
Charles Bunbury's Diomed in very clever style, beating
a field of eight. No very great improvement, either in
the number of subscribers or starters took place until
1825, when the former amounted to 58, and Lord Jersey's
Middleton (sire of Bay Middleton, and grandsire of The
Flying Dutchman), ridden by Robinson, beat a field of
17 ; from this time the position of the Derby
was determined, it became the first racing stake
in the universe. In 1827, a considerable ad-
vance in the number of subscribers took place, they
suddenly rose to 89, and for four successive years (Ma-
meluke's, Cadland's, Frederick's, and Priam's) remained
at that identical figure; from this period the number of
subs. gradually increased, until in 1842 (Attila's year)
they amounted to 180; however, in the two following
years they fell off considerably, and in the Merry Mo-
narch's year (1845) had decreased to 137, probably
owing to the shaking " the ring" bad had two or three
years before. From this date the Turf has been in as
blooming a condition as a full-blown rose, notwithstand-
ing the dampers that have occasionally been thrown over
it by several wretched settling days, as is testified by the
number of nominations in Pyrrhus the First's and suc-
ceeding years, standing recorded as foliows:—_

Subs. Starters.
1846. Pyrrhus the First 193 27
1847. Cossack lBB 32
1848. Surplice
1849. The Flying Dutchman
1850. Voltigeur 204 24

The nominations for the present year show a slight
falling off from the last three years, but as they are
considerably above the average, and amount to 195,
there can be nothing to complain of, more especially as
the quility generally seems to me to be a little superior
to that produced last year. Out of the 195 animals en-
gaged six are dead, viz.: —Mr, Lacey's Aristippus,
Mr. T. Parr's Brother to Van Diemen, Mr. Herbert's
colt by Sir Hercules out of Factory Girl, Mr. Jenkin's
colt by Touchstone out of Miss Slick, Colonel Anson's
Potent, and Mr. Johnstone's colt by Charles XII. out of
Morsel. Forty-eight are out of training,
chief, colt by Touchstone, out of Ellipsis, Galileo,
Vagabond, Hibernian, colt by Simoom out of Lady
Caroline, Edward of York, Seaman, Robert de
Vallious, Molossus, colt by Plenipotentiary out of
Amitna, De la Rue, colt by Don John out of Miss Whip,
Black Douglas, Lord Nelson, Hexham, Beningborougb,
colt by Veni-en out of Hsitoe, The Gambler, War-
mate, colt by Bay Middleton dam by Bizaree, colt by St.
Martin out of Bess, Sailor, Boyne, colt by Cardinal Puff
or Hawk's-eye, Scandal, Stafford, Mungo, Duster,
Gamester, Philanthropist, The Serpentine, colt by Sir
Hercule s out of Miss Touchet, CElus, colt by
Epirus out of Emerald, Chatsworth, Presto, Bat-
terer, Bastinado, Sawdon, Georgey, The Partridge,
Rifle, Convalescent, Norton, Scapulary, Scrope, and
XX. Mr. Watts' Nitrocis colt is sold and gone abroad.
Out of the remaining 140 nominations I have ascertained
that eighty are not intended tor the "great go" on the
Surrey Downs; this leaves the following sixty from which
to pick the field and winner, viz ;—*Coarus, Lightfoot,
Hernandez, *Banterer, *Abd'erhaman, *Sir Felix, Con-
stellation, Juggernaut, *Hookem-Snivey, *colt by Jerry,
*colt by Dulcimer, Aaron Smith, Brother to Drakelow,
The Marlborough Buck, *Harpsichord, Oleander, *Pri-
mitius, Bonnie Dundee, Midas, 800, Ariosto, Thick.
thorn, The Prime Minister, *The Confessor, Balsamo,
Teddington, *The Knight of the Garter, Lady Geral-
dine colt, *Spread Eagle, *Miss Lett), colt, *The Tout,
Theseus, *fonts, *Boabdil, Grecian, *Entre-nous, *Moo-
bray, • Mooltan, Hyppolytus, *Louis Napoleon, *colt
by Tearaway out of Eathmines' dam, Newminater, colt
by Touchstone out of Mountain Sylph, The Black Doc-
tor, The Black Sea, Runnymede, Lsmartine, colt by
Tearaway, dam by Alcaston, Brother to Chanticleer,
Storm, *Croupier, *Gholab Sit'gh, *colt by Epirus out
of Enterprise, *Azetb, Serus, Napauk, England's Glory,
*New Forest Buck, *Goliah, and Buckhound.
Those marked with an asterisk form a strong division
numerically, if not in quality, and are those that I least
expect to see at Epsom, many of them being horses
that I could gain no accurate information about as to
whether they were intended for the Derby or not.
Having deducted those whose appearance at Epsom is
the most dubious, it leaves me a batch of thirty-three,
whose pretensions I will now proceed to analyse, class-
ing them in their respective lots or stables.
H. WADLOW'S LOT •

contains my standard of excellence for the present year,
besides Osceola, Active, and Aaron Smith, all of whom
are pounds—l had almost written stones—inferior to
Mr. fialford's br c The Prime Minister, by Melbourne,
out of Pantslonade by Pantaloon. This rattling half
brother of Sir Tattoo Sykes will, I think, accomplish
what the baronet failed in, as he will be tooled by
a steady first-rate jockey, not by such an
one as Bill Scott—clever though he was—for
there is not a regular turfite living but knows that had
be not been drunk, and all but stopped at starting to
launch an anathema at the starter's head, no earthly
power could have prevented him from winning; the
Minister, however, I take it, will do all honour to the
Melbourne blood. He made his debut at Warwick, where
he won the Castle Park Slakes (not half prepared, re-
minding me of Surplice's green appearance at Goodwood
in the race for the Ham Stakes), cleverly by a length,
carrying Bst 71b, beating Catalpa, Bst 91b, and five others.
He afterwards ran for the Clearwell Stakes at Newmar-
ket, which he won in a canter by two lengths, carrying
Bst 101 b, and beating Confidence, Bst 51b, Turtle, Bst
111 b, Midas, Bst 71b, and five others. These are his
only performances in public—they speak for themselves.
The first was over a course a few yards short of seven
furlongs, and the last over the T.Y.C. (5 fur. 130 yds.)
on the Flat. et Newmarket. At the present writing, be
is doing first-rate work, is sound on his pins, looks well,
and if he continues improving as the season advances at
the rate he does just now, WILL Tan THE DERBY