Lord Marcus Beresford (1848-1922), the son of the 4th Marquess of Waterford, fell in with the Prince of Wales’s set and, like many titled sons, owned horses – his Chimney Sweep and Jackal were second in the Grand National. He rode in races, and in 1877 took part in one of the craziest races seen at Sandown, a three-mile chase that took half an hour. He was riding the 30/100 favourite, Roundhead. Little Fawn fell at the first fence, and was remounted by another jockey – as was allowed then. Roundhead refused and slipped under a rail into a ditch. He and Early Dawn repeatedly refused. Eventually they both got over, by which time Little Fawn was not far behind, but she refused at the same fence. After she got over, the saddle slipped, and the rider eventually fell off. Another five minutes passed when Roundhead jumped into the brook and gave Lord Marcus a cold bath. He remounted, caught Early Dawn a mile out, whereupon they twice refused in company, but entered the final straight side by side. Roundhead did not attempt to rise at the last hurdle, “and was pretty well baked”, but Early Dawn had even less energy left, and Roundhead won by a length.
Later he was a starter, and in the 1890s he made his name by buying La Fleche for Baron de Hirsch for a record 5,500 guineas. She went on to win almost £35,000. He became the Prince of Wales’s racing manager and arranged for his racehorses to be switched to Richard Marsh, whereupon they won the Derby twice in the next eight years with Persimmon and Diamond Jubilee. When the Prince became King Edward VII in 1901 Beresford kept the job – more properly, as an Extra Equerry and also Manager of the Thoroughbred Stud. Another Derby winner, Minoru, came along in 1909. After Edward died Lord Marcus and Marsh continued in their roles under George V until Marcus’s death in 1922, 48 years after he first put Marsh up to ride one of his horses in a humble hurdle race.
A regular attender at Sandown, it was to be expected that a Marcus Beresford Plate would be inaugurated in April 1924. It stayed in the programme, which was for many years the mixed “Whitbread” meeting, until 28 April 1990. After that it succumbed to the sponsorship of Lansbury Hotels.
There are quite a few Beresford stories. Anotheer concerns an incident when he was dining with members of the Bibury Club at Stockbridge’s premier hotel some hooligans threw a bottle of some extremely smelly substance into the room and tried to rob the diners in the confusion. One version of the story says Beresford was among those that fought them off. Another says that the roughs picked some pockets and got away with some money. The diners were pointed towards the culprit, but after “Lord Marcus Beresford beat him dreadful” they discovered he was an innocent bystander. The gentlemen, extremely apologetic, gave him £5 for his trouble. Making his way home, he was set upon by the hooligans, who relieved him of his fiver.
Sources include:
A Trainer to Two Kings (Richard Marsh)
Men and Horses I Have Known (George Lambton)
Bell’s Life, 8 December 1877