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| Accession number | 912L : 2090/4 |
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OUR GENTLEMEN RIDERS . No. VII .- " BILL . " Throughout the British Army , and among a host of friends and intimates all over the British Domi nions , is the subject of this notice familiar as " Bill , " while to everybody else is he popularly known as " Lord William . " Lord W. Beresford comes of a thorough sporting stock . The family traditions are English History , while their dare - devil feats are too well known to need repetition here . In their own family the Beresfords have furnished many an instance of what the model British soldier and sportsman should be . Lord William inherited his racing tastes , with various other characteristics of the family , in a very full measure . He went to Eton in 1858 , and continued there till 1863 , during which period he was twice flogged for attending Ascot Races , and was , besides , very prominent in other scrapes and troubles , due to an extraordinary exuberance of animal spirits . He commenced to ride publicly almost as soon as he joined the Army , being gazetted to the 9th Lancers . En passant , it may be observed that Lord William , though only a Subaltern at the time he left his Regiment for staff employ , there is little doubt did much towards establishing the high sporting tone for which the hard - riding 9th are now famous . He has for distinguished service in Zululand been decorated with the Victoria Cross , and for his services in Afghanistan and elsewhere , he has received Brevet rank . On the Turf , Lord William has established a reputation both at Home and Abroad . At the outset of his career he won several good Steeple chases both in England and Ireland ; and at the Connyngham Hunt Meeting in 1874 he won the Beresford Sweepstakes , 31 miles over a country , against his two brothers , Lord Charles , R. N. , late of the Admiralty , and Lord Marcus , late of the 7th Hussars , and at present starter to the Jockey Club . The race had a peculiar in terest . The riders each carried II st . 7 lbs . Lord William won by a neck from Lord Marcus , Lord Charles only being 1 lengths off . It was a tremendous race . At the last fence but one from home the three brothers were in the air together . He won the Subalterns ' Challenge Cup in the 9th Lancers the first two years after he joined . Among some of the best horses he owned in England . before coming out to India were Fenian , an Irish gelding by Cruisk , with which he won some twelve Steeplechases . He also owned Chilblain , Dilatory , Night Walker , and Sea Gull - all of which won good chases for him . His Indian racing career began at Dehra in 1875 , when he rode Clarion for General Smith ( Smith of Asia , as he was called ) . The horse was trained by Colonel , afterwards Sir Her bert , Macpherson . The animal bolted off the course in the Maiden Chase on the first day , and long odds were laid against him for the Grand Annual on the second day , when Lord William , holding him straight , won a splendid race from a strong field . Among his other achievements Lord William has won every Grand Military Chase in India he has started for : while he has ridden in every big Steeplechase and Hurdle Race on this side of India at different times , including the Ballygunge Cup and the Grand Annual Hurdle Chase Race in Calcutta . He has , however , never ridden on the Lucknow Course . On the occasion of the Prince of Wales ' visit to India , at the Calcutta Races , in January 1876 , Lord William won the Corinthian Purse for Captain Davison , 16th Lancers , on Dadynong . He also rode in the Ballygunj Chases the same month , and at Dehra , in October of the same year , he won the Grand Annual on Mr. Edwardes's Red Eagle , and on the last day of the meeting the Doon Chase on the famous Arab galloway Commodore , belonging to Captain Maunsell , then of the 13th Hussars . At Umballa , in November following , Lord Wil liam had the mount on Blackbird in the Grand Annual . Blackbird came up from the Madras side with a great reputation . He had been purchased for Rs . 8,000 to win all the chases in Upper India . On the present occasion he only secured third place . Even his after - performances retrieve his character . Lord William was , how ever , recouped in some measure for his disappoint ment , for he won the Sirhind Cup on Raven and the Ladies ' Plate on Fireman at this meeting . failed to Most of the success and éclat that attended the Imperial Assemblage Race meeting at Delhi was due to Lord William's unobtrusive assistance , though he took no active part in the racing . At Dehra , in October 1877 , Lord William appeared for the first time as an owner , -though I am open to correction on this point , when his horses Fire Tail , Lucifer , and Oliver Twist ran at the meeting ; Mr. Chisholme of his Regiment winning the two chases on Lucifer for him . The Umballa meeting of November 1877 is one well remembered in the annals of the Indian Turf , and proved disastrous to very many . Lord Wil liam ran two or three of his own horses at this meeting with indifferent success . It was at this meeting in the historical Grand Annual that Lord W. Beresford rode Chang , Mr. Frank Johnson's second string , while that brilliant and venture some horseman steered Royal . This race was won by Major Humfrey's Exeter , who sold for Rs . 3,210 in a 5,000 rupee lottery , Royal sold for 2,610 , Sweep for 1,500 , and Chang for Rs . 1,050 . The present decade can only regard such a lottery as a fairy tale . Both Chang and Royal refused , and were not even placed . At the Calcutta meet ing in 1877-78 he rode his own and other horses , but without success . He started Nardoo for the Viceroy's Cup , for which he was made favourite , but the horse was not even placed . At the Ballygunj meeting which followed , Lord William was riding Prodigal in the Happy Boy Cup , and got a nasty fall . At the Dehra meeting in November 1878 he won the Rajpore Chase on his horse Telegram , and the Grand Annual on Stanley , who had won the Great Chase at the Delhi Imperial Assemblage . The horse had since then become the property of Mr. George Allen of the Pioneer , for whom he won some good steeplechases , and then was purchased by Lord William and shortly after broke his neck at Dum - Dum . At the Calcutta meeting in 1878-79 , Lord William won the Alipore Race with Telegram , but was de feated in the Grand Annual by his old rival Exeter , ridden by that other fine horseman , Captain Hum frey , and won a match with his pony Sylph against Pink . At Ballygunj he ran second to Blue Bonnet on Telegram , and on the second day won the Calcutta Cup on Telegram . Lord William thence went on to the wildse of Dacca with Telegram , with whom he appropriated two chases . Telegram then went on to Lucknow , where he was twice defeated . At Meerut , in October 1879 , he won three pony races with Pot Boy and Gazelle , ridden by Harry Ryder , who , at this period , was training and riding for him . Lord William rode Telegram in the Grand Annual here ; but only got second to Hector belonging to the 8th Hussars . In December of 1879 Allahabad held a race meeting , which proved a great function under the excellent management of Captain , now Colonel , Butlin . One of the incidents of this meeting was the defeat of Lord William's mount Pomponius Ego by Daintily in the Polo Race , and its out come a match between these two ponies over a quarter mile , for which Lord William backed his representative in large sums all round . The two ponies made a dead heat the first time , and , according to the strict law of matches , all bets were at once off , but in those days evidently few were thoroughly conversant with Racing Rules , so the tie was run off again , with the result that Daintily won by the least bit . Another feature of this meeting was the splen did race provided in the Allahabad Chase between Telegram , ridden by his noble owner , and Politician , steered by Dignum , Politician finally winning by the least bit . Lord William had no success at the intervening up - country meetings , till Dehra , in October 1880 , where Ashantee , Gazelle and Pompey each won a race . At Umballa following Ryder secured three or four events for him with Oliver Twist and Gazelle . Lord William then paid Lahore a visit in November 1880 , when he won the chases with Kate Coventry and Pompey , and two other events with Leilce and Pot Boy . At Dum - Dum Kate Coventry secured both the Grand Annual and Handicap Chases . Then at Calcutta he had in different luck on the first two days of the Meeting . On the third day his horses Exeter and Oliver Twist finished first and second in the Hastings Plate Hurdle Race , being ridden by the two . brothers , the Hon'ble C. and J. Fitz - William . He also appropriated the Turnbull Cup with his Arab Leilee . At the Ballygunj Chases in January 1881 he won the Cup with Kate Coventry , the Trial Chase with Lawyer , and ran third for the Open Chase with Exeter . In March following , at Umballa , he won the Grand Military with Oliver Twist , and got third on Telephone in the 9th Lancers Subalterns ' Chase . At Dehra , in October 1881 , he won various races with Fleur - de - lis , Kate Coventry , Probably , Blarney , and Oliver Twist . Kate Coventry was beaten by Advance in the Handicap Chase at a difference of 30 lbs . in favour of the latter . Lord William also won some races at Um balla the same month . About this time he re ceived a powerful accession to his stable in the Australian horse Camballo , with which , in the Calcutta season of 1881-82 , he won the Viceroy's , the Burdwan , and the Merchants ' Cups . He also won the Monsoon Welter with Alien . At Ballygunj , the same season , he won the Cup and the Open Chase with Kate Coventry and Advance . At Dacca , Lucknow , and Umballa in the same spring he won races with Camballo , Alien , Kate Co ventry , and Fariz ; and in the following autumn at Dehra , Umballa and Sonepore he had fair success with his stable . At Calcutta in 1882-83 he only won one race , with Mooltan , and a match with Premier . In Umballa , in February 1883 , Mr. Jenner of his Regiment won the 9th Lancers Regimental Cup Chase for him on Oliver Twist . ( To be Continued . ) OUR GENTLEMEN RIDERS . No. VIII.- " BILL . " - Continued . Lord William put in an appearance at the Meerut Kadir Cup Races in April 1883 , and , though he rode his horses Premier , Oliver Twist , and Hassan Abdul in three of the events , and though getting places , he failed to score a win . He opened the season of 1883 in September at Dehra , when he won the Maiden Chase on Mute , and Acteon helped him to appropriate the Gimcrack Stakes . It was in this month that Lord William imported the English horses Reputation and Little Charlie , and it was while being acclimatized at Poona that the former broke down and never went to the post , and Lord William never had a show for the 2,000 guineas laid out on him . Little Charlie also never did any good , and never recouped his purchase - money , having turned roarer . At Meerut , in October , he won the Maiden Chase on the yellow horse Jack , and then going on to Umballa he won the Grand Military Chase on Johnnie from a large field . On the second day , Lord William's horse Jack was made a hot favourite for the Grand Annual ; but falling , Captain MacDougall secured the race for Colonel Le Marchant on Grey Frair . Lord William took up a large string in November to Lahore , and had a fair amount of success . Thence he went on to Hyderabad , where he had hoped to see Reputation and Little Charlie make their debut on the Indian Turf ; but the horses could not start , and Lord William had to be satisfied with the poor show his Arab horse Pretender made in two or three races . In the season of 1883-84 the Durbungha Con federacy first came into existence , and were represented by Pretender Diamond , Father Prout , and other horses ; but neither the Confederacy's nor Lord William's horses did any good at the meeting , nor at any of the 1884 spring fixtures up country . In the Autumn of 1884 his horse Diamond won the Grand Annual at Lucknow ; Terrible Billy , Black Water , Yaboo , Actaon , Zephyr and Pretender appropriated most of the events at Dehra ; at Um balla Jack won the Grand Annual ; and at Meerut Prospero won two hurdle races , Zephyr two other events , and Yaboo Mr. M. P. Gaspar's Purse . At Ajmere Yaboo , Prospero , and Zephyr , each won a race . The Calcutta season of 1884-85 was some what disastrous to Lord William . At Ballygunj , in January 1885 , he had no success . It was at the second Calcutta Meeting , in January 1885 , that Jack , ridden by Lord William in the Consolation Hurdle Race , fell at the first hurdle in front of the Stand , giving his rider a very bad fall , from which he was long laid After this incident influence was brought up . to bear upon him , not only in India , but in high quarters at Home , to entirely abjure riding in jump races ; and Lord William has never since , with one exception , appeared in the saddle at his favourite pastime . Lord William was for the first time represented in the Civil Service Cup Race at Lucknow in February 1885 with Regis , who finished third behind Aylmah . Regis was later sold at an auction in Bombay , and brought on to the Turf again , and is now running as Kildare . In March 1885 we find the stable at Meerut , where Mr. Reid , of the K. O.'s Borderers , won the Grand Annual for Lord William on Prospero . The stable also won the Arab and Country - bred Handicap with Dyna mite , which was one of the greatest flukes in Turf history . In the Autumn of 1885 he won two Chases with Prospero at Lucknow , three Chases with him at Umballa and a Hurdle Race at Meerut , while Dynamite and Tim hiffler each won a race at Umballa . Dunn . In Calcutta , in December 1885 , Lord William won the Colonial's and the Viceroy's Cup with the Eng lish horse Metal , ridden by his Newmarket lad He ran a string of others at this meeting , but without success . Fortune dealt out favours and buffets in a strange mixture to him this season . At Ballygunj his horse Tim Whiffler came down in the Ballygunj Cup Race , giv ing his rider , Captain Leonard Gordon , a very bad fall ; Prospero then fell in the Suburban Cup ; while Tim Whiffler , ridden by Green , after one fall won the Handicap Chase on the second day . In June 1886 , at Simla , Lord William won a few races with Vagabond and his English pony Little Nell . Then in Meerut , in October , he ap propriated the Merchants ' Purse and the St. Leger with Prospero and Tim Whiffler , respectively . Then going on to Lucknow he won the Stewards ' Purse with his English horse Fitz William , and the Pony Derby with Little Nell . From Lucknow the stable sent some representatives to Hyder abad , where they won the St. Leger with Fitz William , and the Hyderabad Gold Cup with Lanercost . In Calcutta , in 1886-87 , Euchd and Lanerco being in Lord William's stable , the former won th Gunny Meah's Cup , and the latter The Dert and The Martin Stakes . Lord William alsd Metal and Fitz William for the Viceroy's Cup , 20 |
