England -- Social life and customs; Gambling -- Great Britain
This action, which excited the most lively interest in the _Sporting
World_, arose out of the late Derby race at Epsom, in which a horse
belonging to the plaintiff, called Running Rein, had come in first. It
was alleged, however, that this horse had not been truly described,
that he was not of the age which qualified him to run for the Derby,
and that he ought not, therefore, to be deemed the winner of the race.
Colonel Peel, the owner of Orlando, the second horse, had claimed the
stakes, on the ground that Running Rein was not the horse represented;
and Mr Wood, the owner of Running Rein, brought this action against the
Colonel.
Mr Cockburn, who conducted the plaintiff’s case, gave the pedigree of
Running Rein, and his whole history. Among other things, Mr Cockburn
mentioned that, in October 1843, Running Rein won a race at Newmarket;
that he was objected to on the score of age, but, eventually, the
stewards had decided in his favour. The horse was, originally, the
property of Mr Goodman; and, Mr Cockburn said, it was because suspicion
attached to some transactions of Goodman, and because certain parties
had betted heavily against Running Rein, that opposition was raised
against Mr Wood receiving the stakes. He made a severe attack on Lord
George Bentinck, who, he asserted, was the real party in the cause.
Witnesses for the plaintiff described the horse at various periods of
its career: it was of a bay colour, with black legs, and a little white
on the forehead; its heels were cracked, and in 1842 it broke the skin
on one leg, which left a scar. George Hitchcock, a breaker of colts,
employed to break Running Rein in October 1842, was cross-examined to
this effect:
“I know George Dockeray, the trainer. I never said to him, ‘Damn it,
this colt has been broken before; here is the mark of the pad on his
back.’ I showed him the mark, but I never said those words, or any
words to that effect. I don’t know why I showed him the mark. It was
not big enough for the mark of a pad, and it was not the place for the
saddle to make it. I told Lord George Bentinck the same. The mark of
the pad never wears out. I recollect being asked, in the presence of Mr
Smith, what had I there? and I recollect answering, a four years’ old.
I have not the slightest doubt of it. Mr Smith struck me for it. I did
not say afterwards that I had forgotten all about the horse whipping,
and that the marks of the pad had worn out. I never said, either, that
somebody had behaved very well to me.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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