It will, I think, have been clear to the readers all through these chapters how very generous Lord William was to all who worked with or for him; also indeed to many with absolutely no claim on his large and kindly heart. Huggins, his trainer, was another recipient of his open-handed generosity. At Newmarket he was a favourite amongst the residents and Lord William had a great liking for him, but I doubt if it is generally known that over and above other fees and charges Lord William allowed him 10 per cent on all stakes won. This would mean a comfortable income if the stable was lucky. A glance at the value of the stakes won between 1896 and 1900 will prove this.
| Year. | No. of wins. | Value. |
| 1896 | 12 | £5,186 |
| 1897 | 13 | 7,867 |
| 1898 | 16 | 8,029 |
| 1899 | 69 | 42,736½ |
| 1900 | 48 | 24,522 |
| —– | ———— | |
| Total | 158 | £88,340½ |
In giving the above I am leaning heavily on the safe side, as there were some wins of which I do not know the value, so cannot count them in the total.
Lord William was still hoping to win the Derby, and believed at last he was “going to do the trick” in 1901, for in 1900 he leased from Lady Meux, a two year old horse named Volodyovski for his racing career. For the comfort of my readers I may here state that owing to the horse’s name being such a mouthful, and the difficulty experienced by many in pronouncing it at all, he soon became known as Voly, which will answer my purpose very well. This horse won five races out of the last six he ran for Lord William, namely the Windsor Castle Stakes, Rous Memorial at Goodwood, Newmarket Stud Produce Stakes, Rous Memorial at Newmarket, other winners besides Caiman being Jolly Tar and Jiffy II.
It will be remembered it was Diamond Jubilee that prevented Lord William heading the list of winners in 1900, and Flying Fox in 1899. But as the following shows it was a near thing.
1899, Duke of Westminster, 1st £43,965—Lord William 2nd £42,736½. 1900, Prince of Wales 1st £29,585—Lord William 2nd £24,585.
Race meetings of all sorts and kinds attracted Lord William, whether running horses of his own or not; he was present at Liverpool when the Prince of Wales won with Ambush II, and his own horse Easter Ogue ran seventh. The scene outside the weighing-room door as His Royal Highness awaited the return of his winning horse baffles description; it was difficult to keep a clear space for Anthony to dismount; all were so anxious to congratulate the Prince. One of the earliest to express his pleasure and to congratulate him was the subject of these memories, and it so happened that the camera man managed to squeeze into the small space and photograph the King as he met the horse, just as he left Lord William.
Always when flat racing was over Lord William turned his attention to chasing, which he had liked from his earliest days. I remember standing with him once in a crowd at a big “jump” meeting, and saying to him, “I suppose you have always been too occupied to make a study of the faces round you at one of these meetings?” He replied, “No indeed, I have not been too occupied, but I do not like to look, sometimes a race means so much to a man.” I remarked I thought a certain friend standing near us, and owner of the favourite, was looking rather pale and anxious, but he said, “Oh he’s all right, an old hand at the game,” nevertheless when the favourite was over the last fence I heard a big sigh and when the cheering began after the horse had won by nearly a length the owner collapsed. I wonder what would have happened if he had lost? Lord William told me afterwards that if he had not won that race he would have been absolutely ruined. The faces of a crowd on a racecourse, especially at a “jump” meeting, is an interesting study and instructive.
It is painful to watch the restless hands and nervous twitchings of those to whom it means “up” or “down.” Some of course go who delight in a fair race when the horses are not ridden to death, that is to say never again able to meet such a supreme moment; people who have nothing of any consequence in any of the races, or who, like the late James Lowther, seldom or never bet at all. Then again there are the curiously constituted folk who flock round the most dangerous jumps, presumably, to witness any accident that may occur; some people revel in seeing accidents. One man I have known now for many years, has never to my knowledge, been moved to mirth unless someone has hurt themselves, then he indulges in a waistcoat contortion which answers for laughter, his mouth spreads slowly across his face, but his eyes take no part in his merriment.
Some of the accounts that appeared in the papers from time to time relating to Lord William’s achievements were very funny. The Sporting Times some years ago referred to this in one of their issues I am told, as follows: “Does Lord William Beresford read the Hornet? Probably not, but if he does he must be surprised to find that he is the third son of John, fourth Marquis of Waterloo. Why not also first cousin of Viscount Vauxhall, and distantly related to the Countess of Charing Cross?”