THE END OF "ROSEBERY" SMITH.

Auckland Star, Volume XXIII, Issue 117, 18 May 1892, Page 3

THE END OF "ROSEBERY" SMITH.

Our London correspondent writes :—The bankruptcy of Mr James Smith, of the Buxton Bon Marcho, reminds one that more than fifteen years ago this extremely astute gentleman retired from tho turf with a fortune of £60,000. Part of this money was made a.9 a ready-money bookmaker in Edinburgh and Boulogne, and parb by two of tho best-planned coups in turf history. When Hartington won the Cesarewitcb in 1862 Mr Smith landed a largo stake, and ever after^ke devoted his intelligence to securing this particular event. After many failures Mr Smith's day came. In 1876 an unnamed four year-old colt; by Speculum, out of Ladylike, slipped Admiral Rous's hawk-like aoae, and gob into the big autumn handicap at 7sb 51b. Mr Fred Swindells had, unfortunately, also a carefully-saved old 'un, reserved for this particular race, and ib carried 7st 31b. Smith and Swindells were mightily afraid of each other, but of nothing else in the race. Both planked down their money like men. Swindells tried Woodland collaterally to beab Rosebery, as the Ladylike colt was now named. In the result, however, Rosebery simply lost Swindell's horse, winning hands down by four lengths. Whab a soft thing the Cesarewitch wa3 for him the Cambridgeshire showed, as. with a stone more on his back Rosebery beab Hopbloom and thirty others by a neck. After winning thi3 unique double event, and about £40,000 in bets, Mr Smith ceased to follow the meeting?, and devoted himself chiefly to his Buxton shop. From time to time he had a share in certain horses, and seomed to rio well out of them. The last animal Mr Smith manipulated was Goldsceker, whom he sprang on the public as a four-year-old ab Doncaster, carrying oft'four races, including tha Portland Plate, without tho smallest difficulty. Nevertheless, Goldaeeker proved Mr Smith's ruin. Somehow, he and his partner and bis trainer got to loggerheads over ibs management, with theresulb that the horse won the City and Suburban nexb year, starting ab 4 to 1, and without a pennorth of stable money on. This exercise gallop disgusted the confederacy so thab they broke up. Since then, Mr Smith has had no luck, lie quarrelled with his manager at Buxton, and the Bon Marche went to the dogs. Then the old man began to lose money, betting just like the merest tyro. And go this veteran, whose name was till recently a, synonym for astuteness, and whose speculations were invariably fortunate, ends in the Bankruptcy Court. His iB indeed a strange, uncommon story.