Bell's Life in Sydney and Sporting Reviewer (NSW : 1845 - 1860), Saturday 14 April 1855, page 1


I THE ENGLISH TXTK.F. . -..

Tho racing season of 1054-which'comprised 185 race meetings at 165 'places, iii Knghuid and Scotland-came to an cud at last, at Wolver-hampton, last 'Tuesday, only to ,re-opon agnin, nt Lincoln, in about two.months' tiroo^-¿Tho chesntlts hare-had quite tho bost'of it, as Virago has been beaten but onco^but of eleven' starts, and Rataplan' (who is agnnj in - Mr-Thellussonjs

hands) has1 won eighteen races (nino of thenj.' Queen's ; Plates) out of : twenty-nino starts.^

Steeplcrchasing, now that its military supporters

are'nearly nll'nwav, is at "an utter stand-still.' j

The struggle at Wolverhampton, which Peter'

won.'was a'very good one; but there aro noil more, as. yet, set down for.this month.:

: At Tattersalls tho Derby betting goes on very quiotly.'and.speculation is varied at times by the apparition ' of an invalided sporting hero from tho banks of tho Alma or tho Tchernaya. : Somo Saw speculators seem to regret now that they did

not close with General Clmrritties' oiler to take

£1000 oven that Sebastopol "was taken before Christmas-day." A' biennial " race, called tho Alma - Stakes, has just been-'established Tat Chester, to celebrate tho bravery of the 23rd Fusiliers, wlin*. wore for a longiStimo .quartered

there. ? Tho blood-stock sales at iitho corner," are rare' at this season, hut Ileapy, of: I -ivbrpool-Cup memory, is tb he sold there nextMonday, along with five blood-mares (including Sacrifico, hall-, sister .to. Virago), and four vbry high-bred, Touchstone foals. The "winnings of -John

I Scott's stable, which havo. been .officially declared,

comprise ¿£30,900, divided among fifteen masters,; and of . which Lord Derby claims £15,300.; This is the second season running that his Lord-ship has won thc largest amount in stakes; but Inst year he won only £13,300. Baron Roths-child' has, it is said, offered something under £3000'for thc- Derby colt, Wild Dayrell, 'which has been refused. Wo are glad to hear that, though Lord Exeter's string is absent, thorb nre more horses in training at Newmarket than havo been seen there for somo years past, and that some, additions. aro expected. Racing men, however, nro moro " men of straw " now, ns a body, to what they were during tho late war, which was positively a benefit to Newmarket, by keeping tho great owners of race-horses from wandering off to tho Continent all tho summer. At ? present, owing ; to tho- absence of Lord Kxetcr's name in tho -Two-year-old Races, Ruff s "Winter Guido " lins only a scanty Newmarket list for 1855, and the whole number of matches on-tho tapis both there and elsewhere, is only fifteen. Ono of them at Newmarket,: between tho Duke of Bedford and Earl of Glasgow, is for £1000 h f a-sidc, and is to bc run three years in succession. The Duke has six nomina-tions, und the Earl five, living out of seven. The 2000 guineas promises well, a* Bonnie Morn, Dirk Hattcraik, St Hubert, Claret, and Lord of tho Isles, aro all in it. Virago hus only one en-gagement, viz., against Acrobat, &c, on The Port.-Illustrated London A'ttvs, December

9th.