"THE BLUE RIBAND OF THE TURF.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3211, 10 June 1909, Page 8

"THE BLUE RIBAND OF THE TURF.

Not many colonials probably know how the Derby earned the appellation, "the blue riband of the turf." The story is ancient, but it can be perused even at this stage with a deal of interest, for two great men, Lord Beaconsfield and Lord George Bentinck, were involved. Ths story is as follows:—"At the Goodwood meeting of 1846, when Lord George was at (he zenith of his fame as a turfite", the sporting world was astounded to hear that he had parted with the whole of his racing stud, at an almost nominal price. He disposed, in fact, at a word, "lhe let, Payne,' said he to ueorge Payne, at Goodwood, 'from Bay Midrileton to Little Kitchener' (his 'featherweight' jockey), 'for £10.000? Yes or no?' 'I will give £3OO till breakfast time tomorrow to consider the matter, Bentinck,' replied George Payne. Give me till then, and I will say yes or no.' 'With pleasure, my dear fellow,'said this lordship, with nonchalant acquiescence, apparently not giving the matter a second thought, till reminded of the circumstances by Payne handing hitr. a cheque for £3OO over his muffin, refusing the offer with aa much .noncbalence as it was made, and returning to his paper without further comment. Then Mr Moatyn, seeing the negotiation concluded, said very quietly, from the lower end of the table lifting his eyes for an intsant from his letters: 'l'll take the lot, Bentinck, at £lO-,000; and will give you a cheque before you go to tho course.' 'lf you please,' replied Lord George, and the bargain was concluded. Lord Beaconsfield, in his biography of Lord George Bentinck, thus refers to thi i sudden ani startling abandonment of his favourite sport: —,' The world "has hardly done justice to the great sacrifice which he made on this occasion to a high sense of duty. He had not only parted with the finest racing stud in England, but he parted with it at a moment when his propsects were never so brilliant, and he knew this well. He could scarcely have quitted the turf that day without a pang. He had bpcome the lord paramount of that strange world so difficult to sway, and which requires for its government both a stern resolve and a courtly breeding.' Among the stud thus abruptly and strangely disposed of was Surplice, the winner of the Derby and St. Leger of 1848! It was a cruel instance of the irony of fate that, after waiting and striving so long to crown hia achievements on the turf with the highest honour which the 'sport of kings' lhas to bestow, he should thus, at the last moment, in a fit of petulance, apparently, have thrown away, so to speak, the horse that would have enrolled his name on that immortal scroll of victors. How keenly he felt the blow when the triumph of Surplice came may be gathered from the following striking passage in Lord Beaconsfield's biography:—'A few days before—it was the day after the Derby, May 25, 1848—the writer met Lord George Bentinck in the library of the House of Commons. He was standing before the bookshelves, with a volume in has hand, and his countenance was greatly disturbed. His resolutions in favour of the colonial interests, after all his labours, had been negatived by the committee on the 22nd and on the 24th; his horse, Surplice, whom he had parted with among the reßtof his stud, solely that he might peruse, without distraction, his labours on behalf of the great interests of the country, nad won the paramount and Olympic stake, to gain which had (been the object of his life. He had nothing to console him, and nothing to sustain him, except his pride. Even that deserted him before a i heart, which he knew at least could / yield him sympathy. He gave a sort of superb groan. 'All my life I have been trying for this, and for I what have I sacrificed it!' he mur- | mured. It was in vain to Offer solace. 'You do not know what the Derby is,' he moaned out. 'Yes, I do; it is the blue riband of the turf.' " Exceptional value m Winter Millinery, smart now-shaped toques trimmed with velvet; fur, and wing; in all colours at 21a and 25s each. Large i shapes in silks, velvets, felts, and j straws; in every imaginable shade' | beautifully trimmed, from 19a Gd. I The small tweed iiafc eo muck in favour i for wet weather, may be obtained i'a any 'colour, with a, pretty whig at the side, !8s 6dV K©r smart new millinery, see the display ub Mrs Mathewsori's, iiambton ' Quay, Wellington.—Adv±.