THE MELBOURNE CUP.

Evening Star, Issue 2839, 25 March 1872, Page 2

THE MELBOURNE CUP.

■ SOMETHIN© LIKE A RACE. The following is the Aryan's description of this great race : Nothing attracted less attention than the grey •Saladin, who, in spite of his splendid condition, was considered to. be out of the hunt because of the .weight he had to carry. At the start, Lapdog, who evidently went to make the running for Mermaid, pei formed his mission satisfactorily, and led the field a p’ etty dance for over a mile and a half. At the back of the course, Saladin stumbled and nearly came to grief, and something galloped on to Mermaid, and cut her rather severely, the grey losing half a dozen lengths by his mishap, but he was with his liorses at the abbatoirs,. and at the turn, where Hamiet (who up to this point ran a good colt) cut it, the Arab and Flying Dutchman came through, Mermaid joining issue, but the weight told on the latter, and the finish was left to the other two, the brown having the bust of it, as it appeared to us, at the post, which we thought he reached a good head in advance of Saladin. The judge, however, thought differently and pronounced it a dead heat to the no small amazement of 999 persons out of every 1 000. As the Dutchman pulled up very lame, it was thought that the grey would have no difficulty in landing the stakes, in the run-on; and before and after Flying Scud had cleverly won the Half-mile Plate, odds were freely laid on Saladin, but Lang, finding that the lameness only arose from a prick from a nail, adopted measures which enabled him to bring out the horse comparatively sound, the public greeting both horses with loud cheers as they appeared in the straight. The second contest was even more exciting than the first, for, after. galloping together for nearly two miles, a determined struggle took place between 'the two, the grey this time seemingly having the best of it, and most people thought he had won, but Mr Rowe again decided that they had run a dead heat. As the Dutchman did not betray such symptoms of lameness as he did after his previous effort, the talent thought it good enough to lay 5 and 6 to 4 on him for the third heat. After the usual half-hour’s grace had been allowed, the ; two gluttons once more made their appearance, the ex- > itement by this time having risen to fever heat. , After a break away, Mr Watson despatched them on their journey, the grey leading by a length until they got into the straight. From this point not a length separated them until they, approached the sheds, when Saladin improved the pace, and was a clear length in front before they rounded the turn for home. His opponent, however, very resolutely. came again, and cries of “The Dutchman,” followed by shouts of “ Saladin," filled the air as they rushed into the straight.; but the grey had most left iu him, and though Flying Dutchman ran as honest'y and gamely as horse could run, and young Day tried his best, the Arab was more than a match for him, and won cleverly by nearly half a length, amid the uproarious cheers of the spectators, with whom the winner appeared to be a most popular favorite. 1 hus the well-kept “moral” was upset, after three contests certainly unparalleled in the annals of the Australian turf; and though we were delighted to see so good a sportsman as Mr Crook triumphant, we capnot help expressing a jbe lief that his horse was beaten on the first occasion. 1 Greater gamciiess was never displayed by any. two horses that ever stripped.