Sport: Mud Horse

There is one man in England today who is less ambitious than formerly, and he is Edward George Villiers Stanley, 17th Earl of Derby, winner of the 145th Derby -by grace of the three-year-old “mud horse,” Sansovino, and

Jockey T. Weston. For years Lord Derby has let it be known that he cherished two ambitions: 1) to be Premier; 2) to win the Derby. With the first he has not yet finished; with the second “his cares are now all ended.” The day was wet and forbidding. Great crowds of hundreds of thousands of people found their way to Epsom Downs. But pretty frocks and dashing sport clothes, so important to Derby Days, were all wrapped up in raincoats, and the only splash of color was that supplied by the gypsies. As the field of 27 faced the barrier, the good-natured crowd “downed umbrellas” in order that all might see the getaway. “They’re off!” shouted thousands of voices, but one by one the horses returned behind the barrier; Jockey Donoghue’s mount, Defiance, had “broken.” The second “They’re off!” proved correct. Lord Astor’s St. Germans and Lord Derby’s Sansovino led with Hurstwood, Bright Night and Tom Pinch. Down the spongy, muddy track squelched the horses, the pouring rain dashing into their faces. Little by little Sansovino and St. Germans drew away from the rest. When the field plodded around the dreaded Tattenham corner it was clear that Sansovino was the winner and some few seconds later he carried the black-and-white colors of Lord Derby to victory by a lead of six lengths over Lord Astor’s St. Germans. Tremendous cheers greeted the victory—cheers for the horses and for the jockey and in particular for Lord Derby, popular sportsman. King George, whose horse Resinato was ridden by the U. S. jockey Archibald, was present with the Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke of York, Viscount Lascelles (husband of Princess Mary), Queen Marie of Rumania and the Infanta Beatrice of Spain. He called Lord Derby to his presence and warmly congratulated him. The stakes, which amount to about $50,000, were handed over by the Earl to Sansovino’s trainer, the Hon. George Lambton, brother of the Earl of Durham. Lord Derby no doubt contented himself with the bookies, whose odds of 9 to 2 were “not too dusty”. The Calcutta Sweepstake (lottery on the Derby), most famed British sweepstake, amounted to about £70,000 for the first prize and was won by one Captain Burman, a real estate agent at Kenya Colony. The Derby (a race of about 1½ miles) was instituted by the twelfth Earl of Derby in 1780 and has been run regularly ever since, at first on the last Thursday in May or the first Thursday in June, but since 1838 on Wednesdays. The stakes were first fixed in 1890 when a minimum of £5,000 was set each year with the number of entries; all entry receipts, after deduction for second and third prizes, go to the owner of the winner.

In 1787, the race was won by the twelfth Earl’s horse, Sir Peter Teazle. King Edward won the race three times. The late Duke of Westminster’s horse, Bend Or, won it four times. American victors: Pierre Lorillard with Iroquois in 1881; William C. Whitney with Volodyovski in 1901 ; Richard Croker with Orby in 1907; H. B. Duryea with Durbar III in 1914.