The Sun.
London, England, 1867-01-17 00:00:00

Death of the Marquis" of Exeter, K.G.

We regret to announce the death of the Marquis
.of Exeter. A telegraphic message was received in
town on Wednesday morning announcing that the
much respected nobleman expired at 1 a.m., at
Burghley House, his princely seat near Stamford.
For some months past the deceased marquis had
been labouring under a malady which from the first
precluded all hope of recovery.
The following admirable memoir is taken from
" Baily's Monthly Magazine of Sports, &c.," of
August, 18G0, from the pen of one of our best sport-
ing writers -*•—•
The Marquis of Exeter, who, in addition to that title,
enjoys the dignities of Earl of Exeter and Baron Burghley,
was born on July 2, 1793, and succeeded his father on his
decease on May 1, 1804. lie received his education at
Eton, from whence he was transferred to St. John's Col-
lege, Cambridge, whore his great ancestor, William Cecil,
ugh Treasurer and Prime Minister to Queen Elizabeth,
was inducted into a university life. St. John's has evtr
since been the college of the Burghley family ; and every
year, in pursuance of a time honoured custom, one of the
s,,nior fellows proceeds to Burghley to preach a sermon on '
one of the Sundays in the month of June.

" In order to trace the racing career of the noble marquis,
and the success of those blue and white stripes on which
the fielders have for years built thoir hopes, wo must ask
our readers to accompany us as far back as 1816, when we
find his lordship, then a minor, winning a plate at Stamford
with Woodpecker, by Asparagus; and at which meeting a
.£5O plate had bee' given regularly for some years by his
trustees.

" To dismiss so enthusiastic and veteran a sportsman as
the marquis with a few brief commonplace phrases of lau-
dation would be unjust; and if we prolong our memoir
beyond the limits we have assigned to others the circum-
stances of the case must plead as our excuse. Possessed of
a colossal fortune, arising from estates in Northampton-
shire, Lincolnshire, and Rutlaudshire, and deriving also a
considerable income from house property in the metropolis,
which has, however, been recently sold for the purpose of
widening the Strand and Wellington-street, and a 10 years'
minority putting him into the possession of a very large
sum of ready money, his lordship embarked on the Turf in
a style that befitted so mighty a seignior. His first purchase,
which was made in order to promote the prosperity of Stam-
ford Rae,es,was Captain Candid; for whom he gave Mr. Watt
800 gs., at the recommendation of Lord. Frederick Bentinck
and sent him to bo trained by Richard Prince. There were
giants then in the land, both as rogaids men and hOrses,
for those were the days when the Dukes of York, Grafton,
Rutland, and Portland gave their sanction to the sport
with their presence and their teams ; when Handicaps and
Nurseries were unknown ; and when we saw such animals
come out as Whalebone, Waxy, Whisker, Salim, Rubens,
and Orville, with such jockeys as Clift, Jackson, Chifney,
Araull, and Buckle on their backs. Tu be great at that
time was something like a distinction ; and, aided by his
resources, which enabled him to purchase the best blood
in the market, he soon showed himself able to cope with
the best of his rivals; and the blue and white stripes of
Burghley were as dangerous as the Cadland blue or the
Grafton scarlet. Although he did not give the fabulous
prices for yearlings which we see paid in the present day,
be still liked to have the best blood in the market; so it
was not surprising that in the fifth year of his career he
should have been delighted to see Jem Robinson carry off
the Oaks for him with Augusta. Seven summers after-
wards Dockeray, on the famous Green Mantle, renewed
the triumph ; and his third main Conolly threw for him
with Galata in 1832. These were tho only great Epsom
races that he can boast of, for, strange to say, from some
cause or another, which is hardly worth itliihng into, Epsom
was an unlucky course for him; while, on the contrary,
Ascot and Goodwood were exactly the reverse.

"But Newmarket has over been the great theatre of his
operations, and here he carried on his racing establishment
on a scale which has never since been equalled, although
Lord Stamford may be said to be approaching it. Beside
his own residence, Foley House, and adjoining his stables,
an extensive covered riding school was erected, which
served the purpose of a tan gallop for exercising his horses
in the winter, when the ground was so hard that they
could not go on the Heath. And such was the care he took
of the number of lads employed about the stables that a
schoolmaster was especially engaged for them, in order
that they might receive an education suitable to their sphere
in life, and be protected from the temptations which
assailed them in the town. With so great a stud his en-
gagements were extensive, and, barring those of Lord
George Bentiuck, they have seldom been exceeded in the
Calendar. Not a Produce Stake, a Sweepstakes at New-
market, Epsom, Ascot, and Goodwood, escaped him, and
latterly he got as far as S tockbridge. Marson was his first
trainer, and remained with him many years ; but a dis-
agreement relative to a Derby horse led to his resignation,
and he was succeeded by Harlock, whose ability cannot be
better adve. tised than by the hundreds of races, great and
small, which he pulled off for him, sometimes under cir-
cumstances of the most disadvantageous nature.
" His breeding establishment was at Wothorpo, near
Burghley, and his chief sire WAS Sultan; and as the win-
nings of his stock in one year (1832) amounted to upwards
of £20,000, it may be guessed how valuable he Was to him.
He chiefly bred for stoutness, and the Racing Calendar will
show the extent of his success. When handicaps came
more into vogue, and the best horses began to be run as two
year olds, le increased his stud, and followed in the wake
of Lord George Bentinck. But a too long perseverance in
the same strain led, as might be expected, to disastrous re-
sults. The blue and white stripes were more often seen in
the rear than in the van, and the account in Burlington-
street was of a very different complexion. Still, on the
side-board of Burghley—one of the most magnificent of
the palaces of English nobles, and on a par with Chats-
worth, Trentham, Bolvoir, and Eton—may be seen a
matchless collection of prizes which have sorely taxed the
goldsmith's art, and will ever remain records of the fleet-
ness of his racers. Among the more memorable races he
has won we may mention the Two Thousand two years in
succession, won in 1829 and 1830 with Patron and Augus-
tus, and again in 1852 with Stockwell, with whom he sub-
sequently won the Doncaster St. Leger. And wo well
recollect the feeling of pride and pleasure that pervaded
his countenance as he walked by the side of his chestnut
hero into the enclosure. And although ho does not mix
so familiarly with his jockeys as some of his class, still we
have reason to believe Norman did not forget the ride or
the encomiums he bestowed upon him. Hydrangea pulled
him through the Goodwood Stakes in 1847, as did his
high bred yearling Glenlivet through the Leamington
Stakes, when he broke down the well-known Iletman Pia-
toff. The Goodwood Cup was one of the great objects of
his ambition, but hitherto it has defied him, although be
ran second for it to Priam with Beirem. The Ascot Cup
of 1833 Galata earned for him, after losing the Port at
Newmarket; and the glory of the victory was not a little
heightened by her beating the then wonder of the age,
Lucetta, in the presence of the Sovereign and the Court.
Here also Stockwell and Teddington ran that terrific race
for the Emperor's Vase, which will never bo forgotten by
those who witnessed it, and which many good judges affect
to believe now should have gone to Burghley had Stockwell
not overpullod Norman in the middle of the race, which
enabled Job Marson to beat him by a head at the post.
In matching, which was his chief amusement, he was a
great proficient, and Newmarket oven not; recalls to mind
those heavy betting encounters between Oakley Celia.
Four times did that pair meet on the T.Y.C., and on :/3
first occasion, at 71b., the mare beat the horse half a length,
and the marquis triumphed over the admiral. But the
latter, nothing daunted at his defeat, ran again at even
weights over the same course, and found the 71b. off
him turned the balance in his favour. And in the follow-
ing year, when they ran twice again, the horse giving
61b. in one instance and 81b. in the other, the result
was the Same, proving the mare must either have gone off
or the horse gone on improving. Still these temporary
defeats had nothing to do with his general success, which
was, on an average, as good as could be expected, particu-
larly when it is considered he ran no horses but those he
bred. One rule of his lordship, and which made him such
a favourite with all classes, was, that if his horse were
well, and could get one leg before the other, he ran him,
taking all the chances of war. By so doing he frequently
won races which he could never have dreamed of doing ;
and either by an accident happening to a favourite,
or a wrong run race, or a slow pace, he has defeated horses
immeasurably better than his own, and proved himself the
fielders' best friend. Indeed, for the last 20 years the blue
and white stripes have been the rainbow of the bookmakers,
who, while he has anything running, still think there is a
hope for them. As a breeder of shorthorns the Marquis of
Exeter has been quite as successful as with race horses,
and for years no Smithfield list was published that did not
contain his name as a medallist. In 1855, being under the
necessity of constructing a branch railroad from the Great
Northern Railway to Essondine, at an outlay of upwards of
£70,000, he thought it prudent to give up his stud, which
he offered in one lump, as Lord G. Bentinck and Col. Peel
had done before him, for £lO,OOO, the purchaser taking on
himself the responsibility of all future forfeits and present
engagements. The offer, however, was made in vain, al-
though, had it been accepted, it would have been a cheap
one, for as in the Bentinck there was a Leger wiener in it,
and the purchaser by Stockwell alone would have had the
rest for nothing. This horse, but for an attack of lampas,
which came on between the T wo Thousand and the Derby,
and an accident in running for the race, would have won
him that prize which ho so much deserved ; but his disap-
pointment was atoned for by the St. Leger, which he
carried away in a canter, the little Daniel looking like a
pigmy beside him. All endeavours, then, to dispose of
them by private contract having failed, recourse was had
in October, 1855, to the eloquence and hammer of Mr.
Richard Tattersall. With the exception of the auction of
the Hampton Court stud on the death of William IV., and
the recent disposal of Lord Londesborough's magnificent
collection of the late Lord Londesborough's horses and
mares, no sale ever excited so much interest in this horse-
loving island as that of the Burghley menage. But al-
ttuough the materiel was so good to work upon, the reserve
prices were so high that only four brood mares, two
yearlings, and 10 foals were dispersed of. The crack year-