Ormonde, a bay racehorse, with Fred Archer up, on Newmarket Heath; and Bendigo, a brown racehorse with Tom Cannon up, on Newmarket Heath

Ormonde was one of the best horses that ever raced. He won the English Triple Crown consisting of the 2,000 Guineas, the Derby and the St. Leger in 1886. Indeed he won all his sixteen races in the period 1885 to 1887. By Bend Or out of Lily Agnes, the horse was bred by the 1st Duke of Westminster in whose colors the jockey is shown here. The jockey Fred Archer was the finest rider of the day but killed himself in the autumn of 1886 so that in 1887 Ormonde was ridden in his races by Tom Cannon, the jockey seen on Bendigo in the companion picture. At stud Ormonde was generally not a great success but got in Orme, a first class horse who became an important stallion.

Bendigo was bred in 1880 by Mr. Long in Ireland. He was by Ben Battle out of Hasty Girl and was something of a genius as neither parent was at all likely to produce an outstanding horse. However, in a long career Bendigo proved to be just that for his later owner Mr. H.T. Barclay. His first show of ability came when he won the 1883 Cambridgeshire at Newmarket for Mr. Long, starting with odds at 50/1, and carrying only 6 stone 10 pounds (94 pounds). However, he progressed steadily to numerous later triumphs including the 1886 Eclipse Stakes, the first race in England to have been worth £10,000. In 1887 at Ascot he was third, beaten a neck and three lengths, behind Ormonde and his great rival Minting. Archer by then being dead, Tom Cannon rode Ormonde and Jack Watts was on Bendigo. At stud Bendigo had a daughter Black Cherry who was a fine broodmare.