St Leger Stakes

“ In the following year the same stake had twelve 729 subscribers and ten starters, and was won by Mr Sotheron’s Bourbon. It was not, however, until the succeeding year, 1778, that it was named the St Leger, in compliment to the founder, at the suggestion of the marquis of Rockingham. The stakes were increased in 1832 to 50 sovs. each, and the weights have been raised from time to time to keep pace with modern requirements. The Doncaster Cup, a weight for age race for three-year-olds and upwards, was established in 1801. ”

“ With his penalty he was beaten next day by Solution in the Metropolitan. Then came triumphs in the Eclipse Stakes at Caulfield, the Caulfield Cup, with a fourteen-pound penalty, the Victoria Derby, the Melbourne Cup, the St. Helier Stakes at Caulfield in February, the St. Leger at Flemington, and the Loch Plate, two miles, beating Dividend. Then he was checked in this triumphal progress. Dividend took down his number in the Champion, and again in the Cumberland Stakes at Randwick. Meanwhile, however, Poseidon had won what was practically a bloodless victory in the A.J.C. St. Leger. ”

“ Leger, and the following season L’Abbesse de Jouarre, a daughter of Trappist, was the heroine of the ladies’ race. Other great winners by Hermit, and their descendants again, have been almost legion. There was Timothy, winner of the Ascot Cup and Alexandra Plate in 1888; Gay Hermit the Royal Hunt Cup in 1887; and Peter ditto seven years before; St. Helena, second in the Oaks to Lonely, and winner of the Coronation Stakes at Ascot; Philosophy, winner of the Great Whitsuntide Plate at Manchester, and many other valuable races ”

“ Leger Stakes, the Chester Cup, the City and Suburban Handicap, or the Royal Hunt Cup at Ascot, tens of thousands will assemble between the classes and the masses, each person seemingly more interested than the [Pg 194] other. Some are on the scene from pure love of sport, others from their desire to bet, and when a race is decided, especially one of the great handicaps which give rise to so much betting, tens, nay, hundreds of thousands of pounds will have been lost and won, the sum total being of course made up by a vast number of small and many large transactions. ”

“ The race has in its course fallen to many other distinguished members of the Peerage, the latest recipient of the prize being the Duke of Portland, who in 1890 landed the stakes by the aid of Semolina. Upon three occasions the triple event of One Thousand, Oaks, and St. Leger has been secured by the prowess of the same animal—Formosa, Hannah, and Apology, 1868, 1871, and 1874 respectively, Maidment and John Osborne being jockeys who were credited with the triple ride. ”

“ Winners of the Randwick Derby. St. Leger. Champagne Stakes Winners. Zattenden Wins the St. Leger and Sydney Cup. Western District Performers. First Sporting Calendar. Earliest Stud Book. In the preceding chapters we have given, not perhaps a detailed report of racing affairs in the colony, but a fairly full history up to the establishment of the Australian Jockey Club’s first Spring Meeting at Homebush in 1842.
As a matter of course much racing has been passed over. ”

“ Leger—a prophecy that was speedily shown to be erroneous—and the race is now seldom won by a horse trained in the northern stables, the latest Yorkshire-trained winner, if I am not mistaken, being Apology.
Large amounts of money usually change hands over the race for the St. Leger, the horse-loving Yorkshiremen being fond of making a bet; many sums of considerable amount are risked by persons who habitually speculate on the race. ”

“ The story of "Jerry's victory" has been often told in turf circles and sporting journals. I shall, however, give it here in few words, as an example of racing fraud which unfortunately has, over and over again, proved successful. Jerry, the winner of the St. Leger of 1824, was the property of a Mr. Gascoigne, a well-known sportsman of his day; and the horse, ridden by Benjamin Smith, a famous jockey of his era, beat twenty-two competitors in the great struggle for the Blue Ribbon of the North. ”

“ Clarehaven was jubilant; Starkey feared nothing; they had next year's Derby in their hands. It had been just after this last victory that Tony had affirmed his only ambition in life to be the Derby. At Ascot, still running unnamed, the filly won the Coventry Stakes; half an hour afterward Moonbeam took the Ascot Stakes by five lengths, and two days later, starting as an odds on favorite, he won the Gold Cup without being extended; finally on the same day the Midsummer Night colt won the New Stakes and was named Full Moon, for certainly the fortunes of Clare seemed in their complement. ”

“ These are races on which plenty of speculation takes place, so that the loss of the "great" handicaps is not of much moment, there being so many other outlets for the gambling instinct of the nation, which was never so strong as it now is. The races for the Ascot Stakes and the Goodwood Stakes do not give rise to betting of any consequence till the days set for their decision; nor does speculation, as of old, begin on the Portland Plate, decided at Doncaster, till the names of the runners are known. ”

“ One can never forget that year, perhaps the most sensational in the history of the turf, when Hermit won the Derby. Whilst this great colt was making romance and story, there was a beautiful mare, Achievement, who was gripping the hearts of everyone interested in the sport of horse racing. She had not had a career of uninterrupted success. And this fact, in a mare, in no way alienates the affection of the people. On the contrary, sympathy flows out to the defeated filly. During the autumn, in the Doncaster St. Leger, she and the Derby winner were destined to meet. ”

“ Every Yorkshire owner of horses, on any pretensions to a large scale, is anxious to win the Leger, the greatest race in the North.
Tearaway was practically an unknown quantity and Picton decided she should not run in public before September. With some fillies this would have been a risky policy to pursue, but Tearaway was so quiet and docile that there was no fear of her being frightened by a crowd, no matter how large, or by any amount of noise. The trainer agreed with this plan: Blackett was quite as anxious to win a Leger as his master. ”

“ The Futurity Stakes, the richest event of the year—on one occasion it reached a value of $67,675—is for two-year-olds, and is run at Sheepshead Bay in the autumn. The institution of races, either absolutely or practically at weight-for-age, and over long courses, has engaged much attention. The Coney Island Jockey Club has the leading three-year-old stake in the Lawrence Realization, over 1 mile 5 furlongs, with an average value of about $30,000. ”

“ A great stroke was made in 1836 when Lord George won the St. Leger with Elis, it was the first time a horse was conveyed in a van from his training-stable to a race-course.
A specially-constructed vehicle was made and caused consternation among old trainers when they found out the secret of the horse's mode of travelling. Elis was fresh for the race, his advent had been kept a secret, and Lord George won a large sum, one bet being £12,000 to £1,000.
The sensational duel between Lord George and Squire Osbaldeston has passed into the history of racing. ”

“ The breeder of the winner receives 250 sovereigns.
The Spring Stakes, a weight-for-age event, 11⁄2 miles, involving 2,500 sovereigns, is another important race of this day, as well as the Epsom Handicap, 1 mile, of 3,000 sovereigns. A considerable amount of ante-post wagering in connection with this race and the Metropolitan is indulged in prior to the meeting. The second day’s programme includes the latter race, a handicap worth 6,000 sovereigns to the winner plus a sweepstake of 30 sovereigns for starters, the distance of which is one mile and five furlongs. ”

“ Taking a rough average, thirteen horses made up the field for the "Sellinger," and as the public form of the year is pretty well exposed by the middle of September, many more competitors could scarcely be expected.
Glancing over the roll of victories as recorded in "Ruff," and other "guides," we see that Lord A. Hamilton, one of the most successful of the earlier aspirants for St. Leger honours, won the [Pg 107] race in three successive years with Paragon, Spadille, and Young Flora, and again, after a lapse of three years, with Tartar, and on each occasion Mangle was "up." Mr. ”

“ The reason why such practices are resorted to is not because the stake which can be won is a valuable one, as the total amount of the Cesarewitch Stakes seldom reaches £2,000, but because the race in question affords a medium of wagering on such a gigantic scale that horses entered for the contest may, with caution, be backed to win even as much as £100,000. ”

“ To non-racing people such a statement will doubtless require explanation. All handicaps are more or less a "game of weights," and that may be more particularly affirmed of the Cesarewitch. In such races as the Derby and St. Leger, the horses which contest the prize run on uniform terms, the weights of all being equal, mares being allowed a deduction; but in the Cesarewitch, Cambridgeshire, and similar contests, the horses are all "handicapped," in other words they are allotted to be ridden at weights which will represent their merits, or supposed merits ”

“ Croft, the trainer of the horse, was exceedingly confident of the ability of Jerry to win the St. Leger, and did not keep his opinion a secret; but, whilst the animal was being wound up for the occasion and was known to be doing all that was required of him on his training ground, pleasing both the owner and his friends by the style in which he did his morning gallops, he was [Pg 250] apparently an undoubted victim of the "legs," who never tired of betting the odds against his chance of winning the race. ”

“ The above copy of the rubric shows what the movements made to reform the Derby Stakes have resulted in—namely, the ensuring of a fixed sum to the owner of the winner, as also a gratuity to the breeder of the victorious horse, [Pg 139] but no increased allowance is to be given to the animal which comes in second; the third horse, however, will now get £200 instead of £150. The "proprietors of the race" will probably never require to afflict their souls by putting their hands in their pockets, but to change the old time condition at all must have sadly disturbed their serenity. ”

“ The remaining races are well contested, and many a good horse extends himself ere the Criterion Stakes, the last race on the programme, are won; but, curious to relate, one feels more interested in the people nowadays than in the horses. ”

“ On account of the Art Treasures Exhibition there were four days' races in 1857. During the race for the "Exhibition Stakes" a serious accident occurred. Josephine, one of the competing horses, fell at the back of the course, through catching her leg against the rails, and her boy-rider, Johnson, fell under her. Upon the filly rising from the ground, the jockey was conveyed to the grand stand, where it was seen that his collar-bone was broken. In the races of 1861, a wild, unmanageable horse, named North Lancashire, ran on the rails, and threw over his rider. ”

“ The Epsom course, on which the Derby has been run since its origin in 1780, is by no means a good one, in consequence of the abrupt turn at Tattenham Corner; and the severe descent after this turn is made is also held to be a disadvantage, though a really good horse should be able to act on ascents, descents and level ground with equal relative facility. In many respects the St Leger, run at Doncaster about the middle of September, is a better test, as here colts and fillies meet when both are presumably able to do themselves the fullest justice. ”

“ In fact there were few sporting frauds on the Diamond Fields but Saul Gideon had a finger in the pie. He probably only just could tell the difference between a dray-horse and a racer, but he was satisfied he was clever enough to hold his own and win money at racing, and perhaps with reason, for success such as he coveted requires rather a knowledge of men than of horses. The Claimholders’ Club was crowded with men who were talking about the races, and Mr Gideon had not to wait long before they began to discuss the event in which he was interested, the Diggers’ Stakes. ”

“ Truly the sport of racing is the sport of kings, and no less of a huge majority of the people.
Bernard Hallam and Valentine Braund acknowledged its charm. There was nothing quite like it anywhere, one of the racing sights of the world, different from Epsom on Derby Day, Doncaster on Leger Day, or glorious Goodwood, unique in its way; no such gathering can be seen in any other country.
The attention of thousands of people was riveted on the horses ”

“ St. Giles in 1832 was the first of six Derby winners which he trained, the others being Mundig in 1835, Attila in 1842, Cotherstone in 1843 (who also won the Two Thousand Guineas) , Daniel O'Rourke (who unexpectedly beat Stockwell in 1852) , and West Australian in 1853, the first horse that ever won the three great events—the Two Thousand Guineas, the Derby, and the St. Leger. He also trained eight winners of the Oaks. ”

“ The Oatlands Stakes was transferred to Newmarket from Ascot, after a memorable race, when a hundred thousand pounds changed hands; and we read that the Turf was a barren and dreary prospect—for the losers. ‘Horses are daily thrown out of training, jockeys are going into mourning, grooms are becoming [202] E.O. merchants, and strappers are going on the highway.’”
In the Quarterly Review for 1834, a description is given of gambling at races, as it then was. ”