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

THE PADDOCK.

j Though it was known that Lady Elizabeth would not
' show, permission having been given to saddle her at the
Warren, yet, with that exception.. and her stable com-
panion Cock-of-the-Walk, the re raining seventeen can-
didates went through their toilettes there. The system of
mobbing favourites is in full force now, and after such
outsiders as St. Ronan, Samson, See-Saw, and Viscount
bad excited but passing notice, a rush was made to that
part of the field where Sir Joseph Hawley's trio,
Rosicrucian, Blue Gown, and Green Sleeve, made
their appearance. Sir Joseph's elected one looked
a trifle too big and above himself ; an extremely hand-
some horse, but not with the business-like appearance of
Blue Go wn, to whom the public persistently clung, despite
yesterday's declaration ; so much so, that his starting
price was 100 to 30, alcl at one time he threatened to
depose Lady Elizabeth. The next in gemd 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 cobby 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 to 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 scorn. There were nothing
but smiling faces and "Hastings' bouquets" in the
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 at first appears, then the thin blue line
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 slitary
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 winner, some hundred lengths in advancr, tore
down the course, followed by Sir Joseph's lot and the others,
amid the usual favourable and adverse criticism ; Blue
Gown, Paul Jones, Forest King, and Suffolk commanding
a d
anhim fore
leg. once
off
into
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
the weighing enclosure, and of course he did not go to the
post. There was less than the usual delay there—it was
perceivedAicicroft h
immediately had
brokendismounted down
badly idn theed
all occasioned by the favourite declining to 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 isinex-
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 on
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 £BO,OOO
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
by a neck. It is but fair to ask whether be—Fould not
have repeated this performance.