The history of Lily Langtry's Merman and that race was actually a bit different than in this episode. Merman was one of the finest racehorses in Colonial Australian racing history that raced in Europe. On 13 October 1897, Merman produced one of his finest performances to win the Cesarewitch Stakes at Newmarket. Starting at the odds of 100/7, Merman topped a field of 23 runners in what at that time was a rare international field of American, French and English representatives. The win made owner Mrs. Langtry wealthy as it was noted that she punted to win £40,000. However, elation turned into despair for Mrs. Langtry as her estranged husband committed suicide a couple of days after the event.