Description:

Oil on canvas, 30” x 39 ¾” Signed, dated 1898, inscribed Newmarket Provenance: Property of Mrs. Dorothy Mason "The Epsom Derby of 1898 was thought to be a wide-open contest. Cyllene would have been a heavy favorite, but his owner, Charles Day Rose, had opted not to nominate his colt for the classics. There were 18 entries for the Derby that year, the largest number of starters in nearly two decades. Disraeli, the winner of the 2000 Guineas, became the favorite at 2-1, even amid concerns that he could not make the distance. The general mood was subdued throughout the grandstand, both on account of a heavy fog and the general lack of confidence that Disraeli could go the distance. While the punters and the bookmakers wrestled with their choices, the odds of several horses in the field remained at laughable heights. One outsider was being offered at 300-to-1, while Jeddah, having won only one race in his five prior outings, set unmoving at 100-to-1. As the horses made their way to the saddling paddock, the fog started to lift, and Jeddah’s owner, J. W. Larnach, a relatively new arrival to horse racing, was simply happy to be there and have a chance to win a classic. Though the bookmakers gave his horse no chance, Larnach decided to lay a modest wager on his longshot. With former champion Herbert “Otto” Madden in the saddle, Jeddah worked steadily from the back of the field and began to make his challenge about two furlongs out. As they came to the wire, the unthinkable happened — a 100-to-1 shot had just captured the most important race of the year. Lanarch and Jeddah were Derby winners. The Auckland Star summed up the sentiment of just about everyone except Larnach when it reported: “To see two horses, quoted at 100 to 1 when the flag went up, finish first and third was something we did not anticipate. Lucky Mr. Larnach! He has only been racing a couple of years, and has won the Derby at the first time of asking with the rankest outsider that ever finished first in the race for the blue riband, and, judging by its past career, one of the most unreliable beasts that ever looked through a bridle. The result was received with solemn silence by the vast crowd gathered on the Downs; not because Mr. Larnach is unpopular, but simply because everybody was dumbfounded.” It is assumed that the silence of the crowd did not sour the moment for Larnach. He had just captured the most prized race in the Sport of Kings and a purse of £5,450. It was also noted in an article in Country Life, written in January of this year, that the wager Larnach had placed on his unlikely Derby winner paid over £5,000. The article is titled: How a 100-1 bet on the 1898 Derby led to a £2.5m charity windfall in 2017. The article explains that Larnach took his winnings and built a beautiful home for himself known as Lanwades Hall. The grand estate near Newmarket was completed in 1907 and remained Larnach’s home until 1948. It is reported that King Edward occasionally stayed at Lanwades Hall during trips to Newmarket. The house was then given over to Animal Health Trust and remained its headquarters until 2017. The trust, needing to raise some money to continue its mission, sold the house that Jeddah built for £2.5 million in March. "

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November 19, 2017 2:00 PM EST
Lexington, KY, US

Cross Gate Gallery

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