The Prince drove down from town with Colonel Kingscote in attendance. Captain Rivers Bulkeley and that popular old sportsman, Major Chaine, were the stewards, while Mr. Smith-Dorrien, whose name as a general is so intimately connected with the War, was the most courteous of secretaries. The idol of the hour after the Prince was Captain Rivers Bulkeley, as being the first to wear the famous Royal purple and gold braided jacket with gold and black cap. He must have felt a very proud man, but unfortunately like Humpty Dumpty he had a great fall. At the brook Champion, the Prince’s horse, came to grief, he and the favourite Vent Piece fell together, the riders remounting, and in at the finish. Champion managed to regain so much ground that hopes were raised once more of a Royal victory, but in the last half-mile he showed distinct signs of having taken too much out of himself at the brook, so was overtaken by Wellington, who won for Lord Valentia by ten lengths. Champion second, Punkah third.
It was a great day. I wonder how many good men and true who were there would be able to answer the roll-call to-day?
There were a number of well-known people there besides the Prince of Wales: Lord Westmorland (the handsome Frank) and Lady Westmorland, the Earl of Cork, the Earl of Rosebery, Lord Fitzgerald, Lord Carrington, Lord Clonmell, Lord Charles Ker, Sir George Wombwell, Colonel and Mrs. Owen Williams, and many others.
When the 9th Lancers were at Aldershot, a good deal of mild racing was the order of the day. On one occasion, when Lord William was tooling his coach on to the course, in his endeavours to avoid a runaway carriage and pair, behind which sat a screaming and frightened lady, he managed to upset the coach without seriously damaging any of the occupants. The late Lord Kinnoull, who was on the coach, described it to me. He said he never saw anything so splendid as the way Lord William handled the ribbons. The road was narrow, on the left was a bank with roughly put up rails on top, while speeding towards them on the right-hand side of the road was the runaway carriage. The coachman had lost all control, yet my informant declared if the clatter of the galloping hoofs and the screaming lady had not frightened the horses in the coach, all might have been well. As it was, there was an alarming cracking noise from the wooden railings on the left, a great lurch, and the coach turned over. After this it was difficult to say exactly what did happen, except that there was a general mix up, and the poor lady in her runaway carriage continued her career down the road. It was characteristic of Lord William that he was more concerned about the fate of the screaming lady than with his own predicament.
So far Lord William had only been a winning owner. His first appearance as a winning rider was across the Long Valley at Aldershot. I give the race card.
9th Lancers’ Steeplechase
Aldershot, April 27th, 1872
The Subalterns’ Cup, added to a sweepstake of 2 sovereigns each with 10 added. Three miles.
| Lord Wm. Beresford’s | Star-gazer, b.g., 10st. | Owner. |
| Mr. Wheeler’s | Frolic, ch.m., 11st. | Captain Williams. |
| Mr. Moore (St. Leger) | Portfire, 11st. | Owner. |
| Mr. Butson’s | The Finnigan, 11st. | Captain Grissell. |
| Hon. E. P. Willoughby’s | Lowthorpe, br.g., 12st. | Owner. |
| Hon. E. P. Willoughby’s | Irish Kate, 11st. 7lb. | Captain Palairet. |
Star-gazer won, which was a creditable performance, being his second race that day, and taking into consideration that he fell in the first. The earlier race he had taken part in was the Regimental Cup, which was won by Captain Willoughby on his good horse Langar. He won many races for his owner, who always rode him, including a great point-to-point at York, when the Duke of Clarence was present. Captain Willoughby was of great repute in the 9th on account of his performances in the pig-skin as a steeplechase rider and polo player; also Major McCalmont, a great judge of a horse. He once bought what he thought a likely looking animal out of a thrashing-machine for £45, which turned out a brilliant and valuable steeplechaser. The present-day General, D. M. G. Campbell, was also in the regiment at that time; he has been wounded twice in the present war, and is still out there at the time of writing, with what remains of those who were present at Mons.