The Sun.
London, England, 1858-10-11 00:00:00

SPORTING NOTES.

THE CESAREWITCH.
NEWMARKET, OCT. 10.
A prospect of a dreary week is presented. Whilst
I write rain is falling heavily, the air is cold, and
the wind, sharp and boisterous, renders one per-
fectly dismal by its moaning sound. The town is
filled with horses, but the "special" which arrived
this afternoon did not bring so many visitors as had
been anticipated. By to-morrow, however, every
lodging will be occupied. The waifs and strays of
information which I have picked up in my wander-
ings abroad are scarcely worth placing before the
reader. Prioress took sweating exercise yesterday,
and this morning was indulged with a gentle canter.
She seems filled out, and could not be recognised
as the mean, ragged-looking animal that arrived
from America nearly three years ago. She gallops
light and free, and is much fancied. Malacca takes
long steady gallops, and the touts are unanimous
in their declaration of his ability to stay. If
English Rose does not go well in the market, she
goes well enough on the exercise ground. Nothing
at Newmarket gallops better.
About 35 runners may appear at the starting
post for the Cesarewitch, the betting on which has
not been of that extended character to prove remu-
nerative to bookmakers, many of whom will, I
understand, be unable to get more than half round,
and, consequently, stand to lose large stakes on the
leading favorites. This I attribute principally to
the good quality of the handicap, owners not liking
to take a fair price about their horses owing to the
impartiality with which the weights have been
distributed. The " lions" of the market since the
commencement of the betting have been Prioress,
Roman Candle, Malacca, Happy Land, English
Rose, and Underhand, and within the last two
days a new favorite has made his appearance in the
shape of the feather-weighted Beacon, reported to
have beaten Beadsman at 211b5., a rumour which
sounds far too good to be true. His former owner,
who disposed of him to Sir Joseph Hawley for £5O
at the recent Goodwood meeting, is not, as may be
supposed, in the best of humours at this demonstra-
tion, as the horse was " all to pieces" when he had
him, and he could never train him properly. That
Beacon can stay there is little doubt, as he won the
Feather Plate last year, beating Pavilion and a
large field. Still his form has been so very
mediocre that I doubt the sudden improvement
which has been made in him since he has been
under the management of the clever baronet, and,
under any circumstances, I think it will be next to
an impossibility to get a boy strong enough to ride
him at the weight.
Prioress is the only animal that has firmly re-
tained her position in the betting since the very
commencement of operations, and she is now so
steadily supported that her claims are worthy of
the first consideration. Winning over this ground
as she did twice last year, and " cantering in" alone
for the Great Yorkshire Handicap at the past
Doncaster meeting, no doubts can exist respecting
her ability to get over this severe course, a fact in
itself sufficient to give her the preference
over many of the other favourites, whose stay-
ing qualities still remain unproved. Of course
at the time of my writing it is not known whether
the match between her and Beadsman (to be run on
the Monday) will take place ; but I do know that
Mr. Ten Broeck is most anxious to meet the Derby
winner, and there will be no " shirking" on his
side. Should they meet, and the American prove
victorious, they will take 5 to 1 about the mare, and
with Fordham up I fully anticipate seeing her num-
ber hoisted at the judge's chair.
Roman Candle has been very unsteady in the
betting, but at the time of writing he is again at
the head of the poll. His supporters say that he
was not half trained at Liverpool, owing to a rheu-
matic affection, which prevented " Isaac " from
giving him proper work, and that at Goodwood he
was also far from up to the mark. All the world
knows how he met with his accident at Goodwood
And did not run at York. Recently, they say, there
has been plenty of rain at Northleach, and the
horse will be brought to ithe post in much better
condition than on any former occasion. Perhaps
he may be brought in a " fitter" state to the post,
but I doubt his being made better, and possibly
they may find that he runs better with a little flesh
on his ribs.

Malacca belongs to a party who invariably stand
to win tremendous stakes on their horses when they
think they have a chance, and it is reported that
they have trained this Cchnbridgeshire winner so
highly that they are confident of landing about
£40,000 with him. Still, I cannot overlook the
fact that in the Cesarewitch of 1856 he dropped off
before reaching " the bushes," and that Vengeance
was overhauling him at every stride when he fairly
ran away with the Cambridgeshire. His after
performance at Liverpool, when he ran second to
the Maid of Derwent for the Autumn Cup, looked-
more like staying, but the quality of the rear divi-
sion was so indifferent that I do not place much ere
dit in that form. Since then he has chiefly run in
Wales or on the borders in very indifferent campany,
and although once or twice at the head of the bet-
ting, has never won a race since his Cambridgeshire
success. On his recent public form he would,
therefore, have no chance ; but I presume his late
running must not be looked at too closely, or they
would not have entrusted him with so much money
on the present occasion. Nevertheless, in his best
form, I cannot place sufficient faith in him to select
him for my winner, although they have engaged
the lucky jockey, Snowden, who now carries every-
thing before him.

In the opinion of the public Happy Land is no
stayer, and his running at Northampton, in the
Two Thousand Guineas, and the Derby, would con-
vey that impression. The style in which he won
the Goodwood Derby, beating Compromise, Ethio-
pian, Grand Secret, andothers, is the race on which
his friends build their expectation ; but he was
afterwards beaten so easily by Saunterer, at
Brighton, that the performance does not look so
good as at first would appear. The " stable" have
backed him ; but, we understand, they have not
tried him, and regard his Goodwood running as the
criterion of his merit. I expect to see him run
well as far as the bushes, and then drop into the
rear rank.

The English Rose is a mystery. She has been
kept expressly for this race, has won all her trials
with Argosy; the owner, trainer, and friends have
all backed her; Challoner is engaged to ride, and
yet the mare becomes a worse favourite. Those
who go by the market say she is a " dead 'tin," but
all her own party stand her for a good stake, and
have backed her up to the present time. I expect
to see her at 5 to 1 at the post and amongst the
leading horses, or at a long price and "nowhere."
Zouave won the French Cesarewitch on Sunday
last, in a canter, beating all the French " cracks,"
although, from his previous running at Baden
Baden and Chantilly, the stable did not place any
confidence in him. In his races at Goodwood he
bolted twice, but ran a first-class horse in the
Stewards' Cup, when he did run straight. The
present open course will suit him, and there is no
li outsider, I think, more worthy of confidence.
Underhand cannot rank as a first-class horse, and,
although I do not agree altogether with the New-
market people who call him " a pig of a horse,"
I cannot consider his chance first-rate whenever he
meets a fair three-year-old at racing weights.
Physician, who was "in force" on Friday, is now
scarcely so firm, and the running of Kelpie and
Antiquary, who were behind him at York, does not
add to the character of his performance there. Still
his Chester Cup form would place him in the front
rank if he should ]lave
recovered the form he pos-
sessed in the spring.
According to her Liverpool running Julia must
be with Roman Candle at the finish, as she meets
him on better terms, 'and the three-year-old has
the most room for improvement. Her party think
it as good a thing as El Hakim was last year, and
I expect to see her at a " shortish" price at the post,
but doubt her being good enough to win.
Janet has been recently introduced into the bet-
ting, but I understand she has not been in any long
work, and I doubt whether she is properly prepared
for a race like thin. If well, her light vccigl;t might
her to the front.
Poodle is too old and too slow for me; and Belle-