THE MELBOURNE CUP DAY.

Evening Star, Volume IX, Issue 2738, 25 November 1871, Page 2

THE MELBOURNE CUP DAY.

Given a public holiday, and a generally prosperous community, a great prize to bo run for on the racecourse, aud a numerous field to compete for it, a grey English sky, and a pleasantly cool sea-breeze, and the net result is an enormous concourse of people, and general enj lyment. Forty thousand men and women and children gathered from all ranks of society, and collected from all parts of the country, assembled together on the 9th inst., at Flemington to see the Cup run for :aud the race, and what took place before it, are thus described by the A i -MELBOURNE CL*l*. A sweepstakes of 20 sovs. each, 10 ft., or 5 if declared, with 300 sovs. added. The second horse to receive 60 sovs., aud the third to save his stake. Two miles. Mr T. Tait’s b hj The Pearl, 5 yrs (by New Warrior), 7at. Nib. (including 31b. extra) (Cavanagh) l Mr J. Thompson’s b m Romula, 4 yrs, 7st 101b. (Wilson, jun.) 2 Mr J. J. Miller’s c c Irish King, 3 yrs, Gst. (Haughey) 3 Betting—3 to 1 agst Romula, 5 to 1 each agst Lapdog and Oleolite, 7 to 1 each agst Little Dick aud Saladin, 10 to 1 agst Pyrrhus, 18 to 1 agst By long; 25 to 1 agst Valeo* tine and Bar belle, 100 to 1 and 2 agst The Pearl. After one break-away, Mr Watson drop id his flag to a good start, the horses coniine down the straight well together, with Bai° belle and Saladin leading by about half a length on the inside, Tije PearJ, T-h® Baron/ and ArUina, head and head, iu the centre, the others, all together, close behind. Going round the first turn, The Monk and Lord of Lynne dame down, and Glencoe staggered over them. Barbcllc held the lead as they

sailed along the river side, with Saladin close at her heels, the Pearl, Pyrrhus, and The Baron immediately behind. Opposite Oio bridge, Mr Lee’s mare gave way, and the grey horse carried on the running a length in advance of the others; Chcolifce, Little Dick, and Eonmla running sixth, seventh, and eighth ; the rest all close up. 'they kept so until they got half a mile from home, when The Baron, Barhelle, and Pyrrhus tell baek, and The Peaid closed on the leader, Boraula and Irish King following m his wake, with Little Dick on the latter s quarters. At the distance Saladin hung out signals of distress, and K omnia ran up to .the Pearl and brought him to the whip, to winch he answered gamely, and beat her in the inn home by two lengths. Irish King came up very fast at the last and passed Saladin on the post by half a neck for third place, a length behind Eomula. Little Dick was close up fifth and Mermaid sixth, then Pyrrhus, Cleolitc, and The Baron came in in that order. Time om. .‘l9s. A protest was entered against the winner but dismissed. Quite a rush took place to have a look at Lapdog, and when it was scon that -avage had the mount, E< mnla, with young Wilson up, became the rage. Of Mr Tail’s pair, The Pearl was hardly noticed, the yellow and black on Pyrrhus indicating how the wind lay, Arumadid not look wed in her coat, and we liked not the short step of hind legs. Glencoe, Kimblefoot, and The Foam were saddled without much notice bein« taken of them, the old chesnut looking as tit as a fiddle. The bell was at last rung for the horses to leave, and the hill at this time presented such a sight as we never saw before at Flemington ; from one end to the other it was one mass of human beings swaying to and fro with excitement. The hum of many voices, and the exclamations of pleasure as any particular favorite made his appearance, the joke and the laugh of thousands as the universal dog ran up the course or any unlucky wight lost Ids seat on the rather perpendicular bank over the paddock, were something to he&r <mcl to sec. Although the fiat was also crowded to excess, the police had no trouble in clearing the course, and as Lottery, Hamlet and Miss Jessie weie the only absentees out of the 2(5 on the card, 23 horses faced Mr Watson’s flag. Lapdog decreased in estimation at the last, and Eomula became the favorite at S to 1 Cleolite was next in demand at 5 to 1, and the same price was accepted about Lapdog, Saladin having a deal of support at S to 1. Little Dick left the paddock very firm at 7 to 1, and these were the only horses backed for money. Pyrrhus was friendless at 10 to 1 ; and the last bet we heard made was 900 to 9 against The Pearl. 1,000 to 10, 300 to 5, and 100’s to 1 were freely offered against him. Little time was lost in the preliminary most of the horses cantering past the stand atja very slow pace only, So far as could be discerned the start was an excellent one, there being only one break away, and the horses came down the straight well together, with Barhelle, Pearl, Saladin, Baron, and Amnia forming the front rank, there being a cluster of a dozen immediately behind them. As they got round the first turn, the Monk and Lord of Lynne fell, and nearly b c ght down Glencoe and one or two others. Saladin thin ran into second position, and took che lead opposite the old stand, and kept it to the last turn, when the Pearl, Eomula, Little Dick, and Irish King got nearer to him. At the distance, Mr Tail’s horse get alongside, when condition told. Both wore at the whip, but the grey Arab failed when wanted, and Eomula coming up outside, also gave him the go-by, and she and the Pearl raced home together, the Pearl at last winning easily by a couple of lengths. Irish King Kingcime up very fast at the finish, and just nicked the third situation by half a neck from Saladin, The winmv was hailed with considerable amount of chemug. The defeat of the favourite made at the last moment, after the public were led to pin their fath on Lapdog, was a sort of consolation. A protest was entered against the winner, however owing, it was alleged, to his jockey having struck Eomula over the head with bis whip. A deal of evidence was gone into, and when the board announced that the protest was dismissed, the hill again resoundeu with cheers of satisfaction. With the exception of Mr Dodd, in Sydney, a wellknown follower of Mr Tait’s stable, who backed the horse to win 13000 shortly after his winning at Eandwick, and who since fried to hedge, but could not, there a few winners on the result, and no oue was more surprised than Mr Tail himself. Pyrrhus was the horse of the stable, ns The Pearl was supposed to have gone off the last week mving to a slight cold he caught. This is the third Cup Mr Tait has won, having car. ried it off with The Barb in 1860 ami with Glencoe in 1868.