Colonel Thornton's br. m. Louisa, by Pegasus,
6 years old, 9 st. 6 lb. Mrs. Thornton 1
Mr. Bloomfield's ch. m. Allegro, by Pegasus,
6 years old, 13 st. 6 lb. Francis Buckle 2
The pleasures of victory were greatly marred by an incident
which occurred in the course of the afternoon, and that was the
horse-whipping of Colonel Thornton by Mr. Flint, who had never
received payment of the stakes lost by the lady in her first match.
Law proceedings ensued, but these need not be detailed here; there
can be no doubt Flint was rather ill-used throughout, and that Mrs.
Colonel Thornton's views were entirely mercenary. And who was the
lady who thus made herself so notorious? Orton, in the work already
referred to, says she was not the wife but only the _chère amie_ of
Colonel Thornton, her real name being Alicia Meynell, the daughter of
a respectable watchmaker of the city of Norwich, and was then about
twenty-two years of age, very handsome, and of fascinating manners,
with fair complexion, light hair, and blue eyes. Captain Flint was a
well-known sportsman of those days, and well known as the author of "A
Treatise on the Management of the Horse." He died from an over-dose of
prussic acid, which he was in the habit of taking in order to relieve
the attacks of asthma from which he often suffered.
Next in interest to the great match between Hambletonian and Diamond,
a giant struggle of modern times may be referred to. It took place on
the Knavesmire at the York Spring Meeting, May 13th, 1851; the names of
the two horses which gave renown to the match were Flying Dutchman and
Voltigeur, and there are many alive who looked on at the race, and talk
of it as the one sight of their lives.
The following description, written immediately after its occurrence,
will afford readers all necessary information: "And now we have arrived
at the race of the meeting--if not indeed of the century. As we have
no means of measuring the properties of race-horses--at least none
that are put into effect worthy of acceptance as authority on point
of speed--we must take it for granted that the Flying Dutchman and
Voltigeur are about the best horses that the modern turf has seen.
Upon this conventional estimate, the contest, the issue of which is
about to be disposed of, created more interest than any match between
horses within my memory. The weighing had been adjusted to a grain; and
thus the runners were set down: Match for £1,000, half forfeit, two
miles over the whole course; Lord Eglinton's The Flying Dutchman, by
Bay Middleton out of Barbelle, 5 yrs., 8 st. 8½ lb.; Lord Zetland's
Voltigeur, by Voltaire out of Martha Lynn. The pair were at even
betting almost from the period when the race was publicly announced
up to the day on which it was run, and as they went to the post. When
the flag fell, Voltigeur went off with the running at the top of his
pace, taking a lead of at least three lengths, and making very severe
play, the heavy state of the ground being taken into account. In this
way they rounded the last turn, when Marlow, the rider of the Dutchman,
called upon his horse with a request very pointedly urged. As they
passed the stand it was stride for stride, and a struggle of desperate
effort. It was too much, however, for the young one--he tired the
sooner, and the Flying Dutchman passed the winning-chair first by a
short length. Both horses showed marks of the keenness of the contest."
After winning the match, Lord Eglinton announced that his career on the
turf had ceased.
It would not be difficult to fill a few pages of this work with
accounts of several other matches of more or less interest, but those
already given are sufficient to give the reader a fair idea of that
description of racing, which, except in particular instances, is not of
great interest. One other match, however, is worth referring to--the
match between Lady Elizabeth and Julius, both in their day horses
of celebrity. The death of Julius, whose career was terminated by a
friendly bullet, was the means of directing public attention to the
feats and failures of that excellent horse.
The sporting papers of the day contained the following obituary
paragraph: "The son of St. Albans and Julie was bred at Her Majesty's
stud at Hampton Court, and became the property of the late Duke of
Newcastle, in whose colours in 1866 he won a couple of races as a
two-year-old. The following year he won several races, but was defeated
in the celebrated match with Lady Elizabeth, the latter (then a
two-year-old), in receipt of 9 lb., only winning by a short head. The
match was for 1,000 sovs., run over the Bretby Stakes Course, Fordham
riding the victress, and Daley Julius. The Duke of Newcastle's colt
ran third to Achievement and Hermit for the Doncaster St. Leger, but
perhaps his most notable performance was winning the Cesarewitch in
the same season with 8 st. on his back--an impost that had not been
carried first past the post in the race since Faugh-a-Ballagh's victory
in 1844. In 1868 the Duke of Newcastle's colt beat both his St. Leger
conquerors. Hermit went down before him in the Newmarket Biennial
Stakes in the Craven Meeting, and the pair were subsequently matched
for 1,000 sovs. over the Two Middle Miles. The event came off at the
first Spring gathering, and Julius (8 st. 10 lb.), in the hands of
Daley, beat his opponent by a couple of lengths, Hermit's weight being
8 st. 9 lb. The Beaufort Cup (about two miles and a half) at Bath he
won by fifteen lengths from Achievement, the latter presenting him with
6 lb., Gomera and Goodwood finishing behind the pair. Julius afterwards
won the Warwick Cup, but in the Doncaster Cup he met his conqueror in
Mandrake, who defeated him by a length. The son of St. Albans did not
run afterwards, and was relegated to the stud."
In taking leave of the subject this much may be said, that matches
were the means of evincing men's love of the sport for its own sake.
There was a stake of money in risk, of course--it is the fashion--but
some years ago, in the days of Lord Glasgow, George Payne, and "the
Admiral," matches were not so much ventures in gambling as tests to
find out the better horse. Speaking generally, matches are not popular
with the general body of race-goers, who delight more in those contests
which are competed for by a crowd of horses, and where fair odds can be
had about any particular animal. Laying odds on or taking even money
is unpalatable work to the great majority of those who attend race
meetings, and, moreover, in few instances--not ten times in twelve--do
we see the real merit of a race-horse when it runs in a match. Very
often the jockeys have a private understanding with each other that
they will only race for a given portion of the distance, and often
enough the struggle is won by the finesse of the rider, and the victory
won or the defeat sustained has no bearing on the merits of the horse.