BICYCLE AND HORSE MATCH FOR £50.

Globe, Volume V, Issue 523, 21 February 1876, Page 3

BICYCLE AND HORSE MATCH FOR £SO.

At Lillie Bridge, on December 13th, a moat interesting trial of speed took place between David Stanton, of Hornsey, the well-known bicyclist, and Happy Jack, a sturdy grey, well-known in the trotting world. In consequence of the snow and bad weather of late, neither the bicyclist nor the horse have had favourable time for training. During the late bad weather the path and trotting track at L'llie Bridge has been kept free from snow, but, though in very level condition, it was rather holding from the wet to what it was when Keen and Stanton ran in their fast race a month ago. Happy Jack is a rough-looking, wall-eyed horse, standing 15 hands 1 inch, with wonderful shoulders and loins, rather goose-rumped, but with great straddle of the hind legs, and considering that this veteran will never see fourteen years again, his performance only shows what careful handling when young may do for horses when compared with the cripples we see on the turf long before they are even aged. Stanton’s forte, daubtless, is staying; but he has done such good time even at ten miles, which is considered in these days a short distance for a bicycle, that the public rather fancied him. There was a very good attendance, several ladies being in the reserved enclosure, and a more orderly attendant in the public ground has rarely been seen near London when anything in the shape of horsefiest was competing. The start was fixed for three p.m., and soon after Stanton had a spin round, and Happy Jack, with a jockey in Irish green, also had a breather. The bicyclist ran on the regular running-path, while the horse trotted on the trotting-track which has been made outside, and in consequence of its bigger circuit—nearly 100 yards in a mile —the horse had one lap and a third start of Stanton. In the first mile Stanton gained rapidly, and had closed up almost with the horse, and in the second mile he got level, and then for two miles or more the old horse held his own, and what he lost at the corners he picked up in the straight. When they had got about half-way Stanton had got fifty yards in front, but still he was all but this a lap behind, and the horse was going well. The odds now rose 2 to 1 on Happy Jack, without takers, as, bar accidents, Stanton was not going fast enough to pick up thirty yards in a lap. The jockey, who is an American, and well up to his business, rode with admirable skill, and on two occasions, for a few yard* only in the whole distance, did his horse break, when he was pulled down again a mofnenr. Gradually Stanton got further ahead, but the pace was too fast, and Happy Jack was fully 300 yards in front at the finish. The old horse seemed rather distressed at the* finish, but when it is considered that two weeks ago he was working in a cart, his performance of ten miles fairly trotted in 34min. 35see. is a performance that will put ninety-nine horses out of a hundred in the shade *