The Sun.
London, England, 1868-05-28 00:00:00

THE PADDOCK.

outsiders
mobbing
snlarihibtordoeinenesuilggcw: Though
facnalis txt:
yet,
oswui s-rrv.
tioihitutezehk ngs:hnvti oashteal
that
Cock-of-the-Walk,
ilcohaeillsetroefnttrLoit:rocamcnssde
See-Saw,
eahi
ilesodrnwaei
ebsaTreelaivthndhes
detnaawstlfu3eot:eesiuensrt
lit:
such
show, permission having been given to saddle her at the
em
had excited but passing notice, a rush was made to that
part of the field where Sir Joseph Hawley'si trio,
Rosicrucian, Blue Gown, and Green Sleeve, made
their appearance. Sir Joseph's elected ono looked
a trifle too big and above himself ; an extremely hand-
some horse, but not with the business-like appearance of
Blue Gown, to whom the public persistently clung, despite
yesterday's declaration ; so much so, that his starting
price was 100 to 30, and at one time he threatened to
depose Lady Elizabeth. The next in good looks were
unquestionably Pace and the outsider Forest King, though
the former was hardly up to the mark as regarded fitness,
and the latter was taken exception to as being rather
short. Paul Jones's heavy shoulders did not look like
Derby form, and Speculum had a jaded, overworked
appearance not reassuring. Suffolk was probably in as
perfect bloom as anything there, and carried the
hopes of Newmarket on his back, but he was too eobby a
horse for the majority, with whom the mare, and nothing
but the mare, went down. She receded a couple of points
after her canter in the morning, when she did not please the
observers, who declared that she sweated a good deal, and
was very fidgetty. The demonstration, too, in favour of
Blue Gown, of course, had an effect on her, and 7 to 4
was easily obtainable. Still John Day was very sanguine,
and laughed the sceptics to scbrn. There were nothing
but smiling faces and " Hastings' bouquets" in the
i private stand, and her colours were everywhere.
Each year we have occasion to wonder at and
admire the way the course is cleared at Epsom : the
hopeless _task it at4rst-APPPars,--thell-tale-thiuebiii.
of a dozen constables coming suddenly from somewhere,
and advancing with hands joined down the course, before
which rock the mass breaks as a wave, with a great deal
of noise ; a succeeding line finding the force of the waters
much diminished, and so it goes on. The vast crowd
gradually melts away, a few privileged spectators remain
on the course to take stock of the horses as they emerge
from the paddock; they, in turn, yield to the gentle
pressure of the A Division, and soon a s ditary
horseman, Mr. Superintendent Walker, on his grey
charger, is master of the situation. Then comes the eager
straining of eyes towards the paddock gate, from which
emerges Rosicrucian, followed by. Blue Gown, Green
Sleeve, Pace, Speculum, Orion, and Samson ; then a ruck
of horses whipped in by Franchise; and then the gallops. The
Chester Cup *inner, some hundred lengths in advancl, tore
down the course, followed by Sir Joseph'ilo t and the others,
amid the usual favourable and adverse criticism ; Blue
Gown, Paul Jones, Forest King, and Suffolk commanding
most votes. What suffrages Pace might have obtained
were unrecorded. He had barely gone 200 yards when
he stumbled, nearly coming on his head, and it was at
once perceived he had broken down badly in the off fore
leg. Aldcroft immediately dismounted and led him into
the weighing enclosure, and of course he did not go to the
post. There was less than the usual delay there—it was
all occasioned by the favourite deslinineto go near her
horses—and when the flag fell the hopes of Danebury
fell with it. The great mare who was to astonish us
by walking in was really never in the race. She was
nearly last throughout, and when on coming through
the fnrzes Fordham was seen to call upon her without
any response, the hopes of her backers died away. Blue
Gown, who was always in front, drew away with
King Alfred, Baron Rothschild's second string, from
the distance, quitted him at the stand, and won very
cleverly by. half a length amid great cheering, for next
to the mare he was emphatically the horse of the public,
and the public had beaten such a good judge as Sir
Joseph Hawley. The running of the favourite is inex-
plicable ; she was said to be as fit as she could be, and no
excuse was made for her. The Marquis, we hear, wins a
little on the race, having hedged his money, and the
winner is about the worst horse the ring have ou
their books. Some idea may be formed of the extent
to which he has been trusted by the public when we
say that one large commission agent has laid 1280,000
against him ; if the second horse had won, the winnings of
the bookmakers would have been enormous. One thing
must be remarked. The Earl, the Marquis of Hastings's
second horse, who was scratched on Tuesday evening, beat
Blue Gown over the Rowley Mile in the Craven Meeting
1 by a neck. It is but fair to ask whether he could not
have repeated this performance.

THE RUNNING.

With little or no loss of time the toilets of the eighteen
competitors assembled in the paddock were completed,
Lady Elizabeth having gone through that performance at
Mr. Sherward's, " The Warren." They then paraded
past the Stand, and having reached the distance they
wheeled round and commenced their preliminary canter,
led by Paul Jones, Rosicrucian, Green Sleeve, and Blue
Gown, several lengths in advance of Lord Glasgow's colt,
Orion, Forest King, and the Baron's pair, a long way in
whose rear came Franchise, the Duke of Newcastle's two,
and Samson, each eliciting specialrcmarks as they sweptby.
Pace, on nearing the enclosure, faltered in his stride, and
immediately after Aldcroft was seen endeavouring to stop
him,when it became apparent that hehadbroken down, and
upon his dismounting and returning to the enclosure it
was found that the back tendons of his off fore-leg had
given way. This sensation, however, soon gave way to
the more important business on hand, the progress of the
others to the starting post, which having been reached,
Mr. M`George speedily got them in order, and, with
the exception of three or four failures occasioned by
Lady Elizabeth refusing to join her horses, he dispatched
them in excellent time and close company. When
fairly in their places the running was taken up by
Cap-à-Pie, having Orion on his left, the pair being fol-
lowed by Speculum, See-Saw, Blue Gown, Paul Jones,
Franchise, King Alfred, and Green Sleeve in a body, the
latter lying on the inside, pulling double. To these suc-
ceeded Suffolk, Rosicrucian, Forest King-, and Cock of
the Walk, heading the next division, in the rear of whom
were seen the colours of Sampson, Viscount, St. Ronan,
and Lady Elizabeth. In these positions they ran a
quarter of a mile, when Orion headed Colonel Pearson's
colt and assumed the command. Speculum, Blue Gown,
and his stable companion, Green Sleeve, at the same time
were seen gradually nearing the front, followed by Paul
Jones and St. Ronan, the latter having quitted his rearward
position, which was still occupied by Viscount, Samson, and
Lady Elizabeth ; the favourite at this early period of the
race appearing unable to act, and as they came through
the "bushes," Fordham, to the alarm of her backers, was
seen "hard upon her," but without mending her position,
and as they reached the mile-post she was hopelessly out
of the race, so far as any chance she now possessed. Orion
still held his prominent position in the van as they descended
the bill, Cap-h-Pie lying second, Blue Gown third, King
Alfred fourth, with Speculum, Franchise, Paul Jones,
Green Sleeve, and St. Ronan close in their track ; then
followed Rosicrucian, Suffolk, and See-Saw ; but
on rounding Tattenham Corner the lot closed up,
and ran in company into the straight, where
the two leaders were beaten and suddenly disappeared
from the van, the colours of Green Sleeve and Rosicrucian
at the same time fading away. The running, through
these withdrawals, was left with King Alfred on the
lower ground, having Blue Gown in the centre, on the
right of whom came Speculum, Paul Jones, See-Saw, St.
Ronan, and Suffolk. Franchise, who up to this point had
been running in a forward position, suddenly collapsed on
crossing the road, and immediately after Challoner was seen
to dismount, he having ascertained that she had broken her
leg badly. At the distance Paul Jones and See-Saw were
added to the beaten division, and the issue was now left with
the Baron's outsider, King Alfred, and Blue Gown, the
contest being watched with the most feverish excitement
by the thousands committed to the judge's fiat. Half-way
up the former appeared to have the best of it, when loud
shouts from the ring arose of " The Baron wins," which
were repeated from the hill-side and the stands, but
they had scarcely been raised when a counter-
cheer for Sir Joseph arose, and shortly afterwards Wells
hi King
was seen quietly creeping up, and, catching
Alfred (who stopped to nothing) at the stand, won a
inc race by half a length, very cleverly. Speculum
finished a bad third, St. Ronan fourth, Rosicrucian fifth,
Suffolk sixth, Orion seventh, Paul-Jones eighth, Green
Sleeve ninth. Then came, at wide intervals, Lord
Glasgow', w,o i
See Saw, Cap-it-Pie, and the favourite. A
long interval separated these from Forest King, who did
not pass the post. Viscount and Franchise walked in
;pith the crowd. Net value of the stakes, £6,876. The
time, as taken by Benson's chronograph, was 2 minutes
seconds.
The Prince of 'Wales, accompanied by the Crown Prince
of Denmark, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Teck, and
the Duke of Sutherland, arrived shortly after two o'clock,
and, after proceeding to the paddock, witnessed the race
from a private stand.

The Message?. du Midi states that a new disease
has appeared in the vine, and has fallen with great severity
on the vineyard of Château-Neuf, but confined to that part
of the country.