Victorian Books, Turf Celebrities I Have Known: Lord Ribblesdale

On the disposal of his stud, as before mentioned, he left Newmarket, and soon after came to train with me in 1855. He was a most enthusiastic admirer and a well-wisher of the sport, but, not being rich, raced with the view of increasing his income, and always in the most honourable way. I bought Centurion for him, which led to other purchases in Grayling and St. Giles, yearlings, all by Womersley, a young stallion, at York races. I bought the first named at Sir Tatton Sykes's sale at York for 100 guineas in August, and soon found, after breaking him, that he could run. On telling his lordship so, he said, "go and buy all the rest of the Womersleys that Sir Tatton has not sold and would like to dispose of." I immediately wrote to Sir Tatton to say if he had any colts returned from York unsold, if he would let me know, I would come and look at them. With his usual courtesy and business-hke habits, he replied immediately, saying, "I have some and shall be pleased to show them to you." Consequently I fixed the time that I M'ould be there, but unfortunately before I left home I received a telegram from his lordship to say, "William, don't go to Sledmere now, for I really have not the money to spare for the purchase of blood-stock." At this unwelcome news I was vexed, and wrote in replj', I was sorry to read the contents of his telegram, but I would go and see them for myself, having arranged to do so with Sir Tatton, who was always so exceedingly kind to me that I did not like to disappoint him. On arriving at Sledmere, I was shown the horses running loose in a paddock and was asked 60 guineas for each of the five, or I could take my choice of either one or more of them at that sum. I said I would take two, and then added, *'Now, sir," addressing the worthy old baronet, " what do you want for the other three little ones?" "Sixty guineas each," was his reply, and added, "I am sure they will not hurt you at that price," and at that sum I bought them for myself, and said," I suppose. Sir Tatton, you won't want a cheque for a little while? " to which he, in his generous way, replied, "You can send me one whenever you like, as I am in no hurry for it." Lord Ribblesdale, it seems, was destined to have these horses, through the nobleness of his nature; for though T bought them entirely for myself and intended to keep them, when he saw them in the stables three weeks after, looking very rough in their coats, he said," William, I don't like them much, but as you would not have bought them except for me, I will take them, so put the five to my account." How few noblemen, or, indeed, any one else, would have taken five horses simply as a matter of honour, which, in fairness, he was not compelled to do; nor, indeed, was he ever asked to have them, but here, as in other cases, honour, like virtue, brings its own reward; for at the time, though unknown to either of us, these animals were worth more thousands than he gave hundreds for them, but they might have turned out good for nothing, and it was this his lordship feared more than any chance he thought he might have of enriching himself with the bargain. Strangely enough, three of them turned out to be winners, and one of them, St. Giles, was about the second-best horse of his year.

The sale of the Glee colt and some of his doings are curious enough to be recorded, therefore I will briefly relate them. At the end of December, or soon after the first of January, I offered him to his lordship for 400 guineas, which price included the sum I gave for bim the previous September, and the money he had cost in the way of expenses since. But Lord Eibblesdale did not like him at all, and to speak the truth, he was not a very taking horse, although the price asked was not an extravagant one for one so well bred, still he would not have him. Only a couple of weeks after I tried him and found that he had speed, so on his lordship's next visit (the week before Salisbury races) I told him how fortunate I was in his not havint? boucrht the Glee colt. He asked why. "Because I have tried him since, and found him a good horse," I replied. "Then,"said his lordship, "I must have him; what is his price? " I said, "Two thousand guineas." He answered, "I have not the money to spare just now, or I would give it to you in a minute," but on my agreeing to take one thousand pounds and half his winnings, he bought him. The horse ran in both the two-year-old races at Salisbury, which he won easily, and his lordship won a good stake on him, but at a bad price. Steel laid him the first bet that was made on it, five monkeys to four against him, and finished by taking his lordship's 7 to 4 in hundreds that he would not win. Such, like many others, was his infatuation to bet with Steel, that he took about one-third less odds than he could have got from twenty other men in the ring, just as good as the "Leviathan better" himself. Flushed with success, and having funds in hand with which to play, his lordship speculated largely afterwards at Northampton by backing Happy Land (the lately named Glee colt) for the Althorpe Park Stakes and St. Giles for the Northamptonshire Stakes. Over the latter he won a large stake and stood to win a still greater one, £20,000, on the double event, which will give some idea of the extent to which his lordship indulged in betting. As it turned out, he lost nothing, but was rather to the good, though he ought to have won both races, which would most likely have made him a winner of over £30,000 on the week. Fordham lost the race entirely through his not getting off with the rest of the horses, which from various quarters called forth much angry feeling and adverse criticism on the style in which "George" rode him. This censure was not, in my opinion, more severe than he deserved, for it was proved afterwards the horse was much better than Eurydice at the weights. Happy Land won the Criterion, beating nineteen other horses in the race, carrying more weight than any of them, and finished the season by winning a match in a canter against Heroine, giving her 8 lbs. Telegram, to whom he gave 3 lbs. and a 10 lbs. beating in the Criterion, met Eurydice at Newmarket in the Spring, gave her 7 lbs. and a 7 lbs. beating, or, in other words, making her 27 lbs. worse than Happy Land, that she beat at Northampton at 9 lbs. only.

His lordship had also at this time a horse (Dulcamara) which I believe Mr. Knowles gave to him when a three-year-old for half of his winnings. Perhaps there was scarcely ever a better or a more unfortunate horse than this. He was 7 lbs. better than St. Giles both before and after he won at Northhampton, and he ran twice only, and badly, as a two-year- old. The Metropolitan, like the Northamptonshire Stakes and the Chester Cup, was one of the heaviest betting races of the year, and looked like falling an easy prey to Dulcamara. He was backed for this race for a very large stake and started first favourite at a short price, but was disgracefully beaten, in fact his running looked too bad to be true. Poodle, the winner, was the next week lent to me to try Dulcamara with, to know if the race was right or wrong, and to guide us in our speculations in the Chester Cup, shortly to be run. The two horses were tried two-and-a-quarter miles at Woodyates at the same weights they ran at for the Metropolitan, and Dulcamara won by at least fifty yards, which showed us how easily he ought to have won at Epsom and what a capital chance he had for the Chester Cup. From this trial, and from what afterwards was known, there is no doubt had he been a stone better he would not have won the Metropolitan. This was clearly proved by his running in the Chester Cup, in the hands of another jockey, when he beat thirty out of. thirty-three, and was third to Leamington, over a round course not at all suited to his immense stride, and in the hands of a tiny boy. After this race he could never beat a man, as he became a rank roarer, and perhaps, even then, he might have been suffering from the latent malady, which may have prevented him being second, for I think no three-year-old could have beaten the winner (Leamington), a year older, with 6 st. 9 lbs. on his back, at that time of the year, still he showed such a marked difference in his running here and at Epsom, as well as in the trial after it, that it justified the course we adopted in taking off the jockey that rode him there.

I may here mention a curious fact that came under my own observation, one that I think will amuse the reader. His lordship was always a most abstemious liver, he ate but little and lived on the plainest of diet, drank no spirits and but little wine. One day at Woodyates his lordship did not feel very well, and enquired of me what wines I had, I said I had a little of most descriptions, and he chose a bottle of claret for his dinner, which on being opened he did not like. I told him that it was an expensive wine and hitherto had always been considered very good, and that it had been in my cellar for over five years. The last words supplied him with the reason why it was not good, it was too old, for claret, he said, should only be kept at the most two or three years! Some weeks after this had happened a Mr. Edward Elgee (commonly called "Ned" among his friends) was visiting me and I gave him a bottle of this claret and asked his opinion of it, and if he really thought the wine had gone off from any cause, and why it was not good. After well tasting it, he said, "I never drank a finer glass of claret in my life, it will be as good in ten or twelve years hence as it is now, wine of this character always improves by keeping." Such an opinion coming from an unbiassed connoisseur, satisfied me that his lordship was either not a good judge, or what is more likely, from his ill-health his palate was vitiated, and so incapable of distinguishing good wine from bad. On his (Lord Eibblesdale's) next visit, a few months later, he again asked for some claret with his dinner, and I supplied him with a bottle out of the same bin, and took the opportunity of teUing him that as he did not hke the last, I hoped and thought he would this, for I had but a few days ago heard it highly praised by one of the best judges of claret probably of the present day. The wine was uncorked, tasted and drunk with great gusto, when he said, '' William, this is really a dehcious wine, and I can echo your friend's sentiments, for I am not sure I ever tasted any finer, and it shows that the wine you last gave me from having been kept too long had gone ofT, I was sure of the fact the minute you told me you had had it by you for some years, claret, like champagne, should be always drunk early, and not kept for any length^of time.'* It was not, I feel sure from any desire to be thought a great connoisseur that made his lordship say this, but from a firm conviction that it was so.