One of the great betting coups of all time - fuelled by innovation and secrecy
In the build-up to Saturday's St Leger, David Ashforth on a remarkable renewal
A single wooden wheel stands in the Jockey Club Rooms in Newmarket, long detached from the strange vehicle which, in 1836, aroused great curiosity on its maiden voyage from Goodwood to Doncaster.
The vehicle was invented by Lord George Bentinck, who hoped to make a fortune from it, not by selling his novel creation but by using it to transport two racehorses, Elis and The Drummer. Bentinck was a prodigious gambler and his objective was not merely to win the St Leger with Elis but simultaneously to land an enormous betting coup. The 'horse van' was vital to the coup's successful execution.
Bentinck, who owned Elis in association with Lord Lichfield, recruited a Mr Herring, a coachbuilder based in Covent Garden, to construct a purpose-built horsebox, the first to take racehorses to race meetings.
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