New-York tribune., 1902-06-08

r5a was uassionately fond of horses and or rae
t,z During his last Illness he talked of moth
Ing hut horses in his sleep. nor did he care TO
- any one near him in the closing days of his
zee bp+ Jack Ratford his favorite groom. As
ore IF his contemporaries wrote of him: 'It was
.r horses horses with him. by night and by day.
- -be very last" King William " added to
the non7p Of the royal attendance at the Ascot
,soes in spite Of the fact Of his having a big
s+one thrown at him at one Of the meetings.
r1,,een Victoria did better than her uncle Will
gsr7 in adding to the magnifcence of the royal
rrocession TO the course. and il is said that
King Edward VII knowing how fond his sub
sects are Of the ornamental and decorative feat
,rse of ROYALTY is determined that when he
risi+s Ascot next week with the foreign princes
and prfncesses who have come over to England
n attend his coronation the spectacle shall
surnass ANYTHING Of the kind that has ever been
seen before II will be a unique scene in so far
that nowhere else in the Old World does the
sovereien attend any races in state or endow
E meeting with the glamour and ponlp Of an Off
rial pageant
The connection Of royalty with Ascot is very
nd indeed. 1t is on record that King Charles II
and also his niece. Queen Anne. attended races
there while il is historical fact that Fred
Yrick Prince Of Wales. father Of King George
Ill flung bottle at the winning horse as it
the noTnSNdTQ SlISlCH mao pdCheO
another horse But fortunately the bottle fell
short His brother, William, Duke of Cumber-
land popularly known as The Butcher" ow-
ing 10 tie savagery which he displayed at the
hattie Of CuIloden. took the Ascot races under
his special patronage. got them into regular
shape and started the racecourse in its mod
prn form. Another step was made when King
George III gave plate in 1885. TO be run for
gt Ascot and from that time forth royalty has
been in the hah bit of going regularly to Ascot for
the races. Indeed King George " never missed
meeting there, not even after his memora-
lie conflict with the Jockey Club in 1892. which
led him 10 retire from the turf until after his
succession 10 the throne nearly thirty years
later. During that period he never seen
on any racecourse except that of Ascot. ez-
planning his presence there with the remark
that surely man could go on racecourse
which was practically part of his fathers park
King Georges trouble with the Jockey Club
arose in connection with a charge of one Of his
horses having been pulled al Newmarket, and
as the accusation wes proved to the satsfac-
ton Of the stewards of the Jockey Club they
Issued decree warning off the turf for life not
oEiy his jockey, but likewise his trainer, which
he naturally regarded as a reflection upon him
self. The so-caIled warning off Newmarket
Heath" is the most terrible punishment that
ran be imposed upon any man, matter what
his social status. For it is sufficient TO bar him
from every racecourse throughout the civilized
world 10 condemn him TO the ostracism of his
equals and to the contempt of his interiors
and TO brand him with infamy that every
one who has any sporting blood in his veins or
any sense OF honor regards as worse than
death.
Ki1g Edwards connection with the turf has
been characterized by such unfortunate cpl
la hat 1,-bc ,sor
Of his granduncIe A little over thirty years
have elapsed since he registered his colors and
achieved his earliest successes on the turf. The
first in which the royal colors were seen
since the days of King George " at mill
tary steeplechase organized by Edwards own
regiment, The 10th Hussars. and which took
place a. Down Barns. near Hays. his horse,
Champion, ridden by Captain Bulkeley. being
badly beaten by Lord Valentia's wellington
This defeat seemed TO discourage the Prince.
and none Of his horses were seen on the turf
again until 1877, when they were again defeated
al Newmarket.
The first victory for the royal coors took place
at Sandowne Park in 1882. when the Princes
steeplechaser Fairplay. ridden by Lord AnnaIy,
heat Lord Capelrs Shabbington by neck in
the over the sticks meeting OF the Household
Brigade. After that there were more defeats,
end it was not until 1891 that the Prince man
G&eG DF PLUCK ana persistence. 10 overcome Ile
81 luck that had until then pursued his stables.
Since then success has attended his efforts. He
has twice the Derby. besides a number of
other important events and his racing able,
NOW managed by Lord Marcus Beresford. has
won the reputation Of being among the fore
most IN the Old World.
King Edward is the only monarch now living
who maintains a racing stable, and who takes
an active interest in the turf. For although
Emperor William registered his racing colors
last January he has not yet entered horses for
any Of the leading races either in Germany or
abroad. It is however, reported that young King
Alfonso. with the approval of his mother. is
about to start a racing stable at Madrid, with
The object Of encoura ging horseracing and in the
nope Of its eventually taking the place Of bull
hghting as the national and popular sport Of
spain Of course. there are plenty of minor
royalties who actively connected with the
turf The Italian Duke of Aosta. the Austrian
Arcnduke Otto. Prince Segfried of Bavaria.
duke Adolphus Of Mecklenburg- -Schwerin.
Prince Frederick Leopold of Prussia and the
haiserins brother. Duke Ernest Gunther. of
SchiesNlg- -Holstein. every one of them keeps
racing studs. and the Prince of Wales has now a
1ew horses in training, while his brother, the
late Duke Of Clarence, not only owned several
Eteeplechasers, but likewise rode them himself
10 victory following in this respect the example
Of King Richard H. who. while heir apparent
set his steed against animal owned by the
Earl Of Arundel! both horses being ridden by
their owners. and the Prince being ignominious-
~ defeated by the peer.
King Richard was by no means the only old
time English monarch who was fond Of racing.
For Henry VIII maintained racing stable: so.
too, cid his daughter. the Virgin Queen Eliza
beth. while King James 1 was passionately fond
or Newmarket but declined TO pay the Jockeys
Rhom ne engaged To ride his horses more than