Duel: society's bitter rivalry played out on the Downs

In 1865 Henry Chaplin outbid the Marquess of Hastings for the yearling Hermit, but their rivalry extended beyond the sales ring – a year earlier Hastings had scandalised society by marrying Lady Florence Paget despite her being engaged to Chaplin. While Chaplin set about backing Hermit for the Derby to win a huge fortune, Hastings did the opposite, laying the horse to such a degree that he would be left bankrupt. In this extract from his new book Duel, Paul Mathieu recounts the colt’s Derby victory and its far-reaching consequences

Even in Newmarket, where Hermit was trained by George Bloss under the supervision of Henry Chaplin’s racing manager James Machell, opinion was that the town housed other Derby entrants with stronger claims. Prejudice hardened against the colt when he sidestepped the 2,000 Guineas to wait for Epsom. Horses were expected to run hard and often in those days: from the last of his six runs as a two-year-old to the day of the Derby, Hermit would have been ‘missing’ for over 220 days.

None of this concerned Chaplin or Machell. Hermit was training well, and the result of the 2,000 Guineas had given Hermit’s Derby chance a significant boost. The Newmarket Classic had been won by the Duke of Beaufort’s Vauban, trained by John Day at Danebury. Hermit and Vauban had raced against each other twice as two-year-olds – and Hermit had won each time. Furthermore, one of Machell’s own horses, Knight Of The Garter, finished a close second to Vauban in the Guineas. Home gallops showed Hermit was 10lb or more superior to Knight Of The Garter.