The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-19 00:00:00

DONCASTER RACES.

ADDITIONAL PARTICULARS.

A clay of extreme bustle and excitement has at
length come to a close, and we are now only re-
minded of one of the most eventful St. Legers on re-
cord by the rattle of departing carriages, and the
anxious, care-worn countenances of those who, a few
hours back, were buoyant with hope and expectation.
What the " settling" will do towards restoring their
serenity remains to be seen. But to retrace our steps,
and begin with the beginning. We have already
mentioned that Colonel Anson has called upon the
Stewards to direct an inspection of Foigh-a-bal-
lagh's mouth previous to starting, with a' view
to determine his age • accordingly, under the
authority of the new rule, an appointment was made
for eight o'clock this morning, and Mr. Lord and
Mr. Axe, two respectable veterinary surgeons of
Doncaster, were selected to make the examination.
At the time fixed the parties interested met at the
Salutation, and every facility having been afforded by
Mr. Irwin and his trainer, the horse was put to the
required test, and, without hesitation on the part of
either of the examiners, was pronounced to be only
three years old. We should state, in conclusion of
this portion of our subject, that the reason given by
Colonel Anson for adopthig this proceeding is, that
as Mr. Forth had " trained and started a four-year
old colt for the Derby, and a four-year old
filly for the Oaks, without knowing that they
were four years old, he might possibly make a similar
mistake for the St. Leger ;" we have reason to be-
lieve, too, that for any race in which Colonel Anson
and Mr. Forth may have horses engaged, the Colonel
intends to pursue the same course. Meantime, the
demonstrations of a "grand day" had developed them-
selves in the most decisive and satisfactory manner;
the morning, although lowering, was fine, and the
night mail-trains having brought a large accession of
company, the place was early . astir ; as the day ad-
vanced, fresh streams poured in from all quarters of
the compass, insomuch that, by eleven, o'clock, the
streets were almost impassable, and the stately car-
riages and six alone were wanting to carry_ us back
to the best days of Doncaster. \The betting-
room, the centre of attraction, from ten o'clock
until one was crowded, but amidst the Babel-like
noise and confusion that prevailed, so indefinite was
the state of the market from the desperate attempts
of some to " get out," and of others to make bad
" worse," that it was equally difficult to discover in
what direction " the ring" was to be found, or, when
found, to obtain a correct knowledge of what was
going on. By dint of squeezing and perseverance,
however, we did contrive to make out that several
even bets were laid between the favourite and the
field, but that they continued on precisely the same
terms as on Monday night, the field on the general
betting having a shade the best of it. Foig-a-bal-
lagh sprung to 4 to 1, and The Princess to 5 to 1, both
with strong parties. The feeling towards Red
Deer was less favourable, 6 to 1 and
in some quarters half a point more
having been laid against him; Lightning was at 5 to
1, and no others were mentioned. About one o'clock
the mob inside and out dispersed, and the race-course
became the rendezvous. To describe the scene there,
would be to repeat an oft-told tale, and would be weari-
some to the reader ; we will,-therefore, dispense with
a spun-out preliminary, and content ourselves :with
stating generally, that the Grand Stand and its in-
closure, roof, balcony, and every nook and corner per-
taining to it, were crowded tftuffocation ; the Club
and Stewards' Stands, intheir'ineWlec capa3ities were
n( t less fully occupied, and die course, in all other
spects, displayed equally tangible proofs of
the almost_ unrivalled attractions ,of Doncaster,
and of an inherent devotion to the sport.
llf circumstances permitted it, we should in