TALES OF THE TURF,

Observer, Volume 7, Issue 348, 8 August 1885, Page 10

TALES OF THE TURF,

(Written cor Observer and Free Lance.) By Eed Rover. It was a terrible upset for Gully's hopes, that great Doncaster race of 1827. It was boklly stated at the time that the backer of Matilda had ; got at' the starter, who, by the way, was subsequently discharged, and that to help him in his iniquitous design to stop Mameluke, whose temper was not the sweetest in the world, half a dozen halftrained and half-broken brutes, two of which had gaiters on, were sent to the post, with instructions to their jockies never to go when Mameluke was in action. In accordance with their orders (so the story goes) they resisted every attempt to get away when Mameluke was in front, and at last the Derby winner became so fretful and fractious that he would scarcely go near the flag. Seizing an i unlucky moment when Chifney (Mameluke's jockey) was turning his horse's head round, and Matilda was several yards ahead, the starter dropped his flag and despatched them ; yet, so great was Mameluke's speed, that, though left far in the rear at the start, he made his way through all his horses, till he had only four out of the twenty-six in front of him, at the Red House, and had Tommy Nicholson pulled on one side for him, | as Chifney asked him to do, Gully's horse 1 would still have won. Chifney had to go around all his horses, thereby losing four lengths, which, when he went after Matilda, he was unable to make up, and he was beaten !by half-a-length. Mr Petre, the owner of Matilda, won about £15,000 ; Gully lost about thrice that amount. But the first man at the rooms, and the last to leave— never thinking of going-, indeed, till every claim had been satisfied— was Mr Gully. So convinced was he of the superiority of Mameluke over Matilda, and that his defeat was owing to foul play, that he challenged Mr Petre for a match on the Friday, offering him 7 lbs. pull in the weights. But John Scott, Matilda's trainer, would not hear of it, tellingMr Petre that he had won the St. Leger by a fluke, and advising him in strong terms to let well alone. Two years later, in the autumn of 1829, Mr Gully sold Mameluke to Mr Theobold, of Stockwell, but almost immediately repented of what he had done, and tried all"in his power to get the horse back, placing before Mr Theobold a signed cheque, and telling him to fill it up for any sum in reason. But ' old leather-breeches ' was as immovable as an attorney, although Mr Gully pleaded hard that his wife wanted the horse, and was much vexed at his having sold him without her consent. 'Then you must make up your tiff without the horse,' was the reply, ' for no money will induce me to part with him ;' and for some time Mameluke was the chief ornament of the stud at Stockwell, until he was sold to an American breeder and shipped across the Atlantic — like Diomed —to aid in bringing about the future discomfiture of his country upon the turf. After this, Gully became a confederate of the illfated ' Bobby ' Ridsdale, a man of the Mellish and Mytton type, the gallant-hearted generous owner of Merton, where at one time he kept a hundred of blood stock, besides hunters *and farm horses, with Little Red Rover, of whom he had first the half, and then the whole. Gully ran second to Priam for the Derby. Thus, step by step did he mount the ladder of his ambition, and having purchased Upper Hare Park from that lover of athletic sports, the late Lord Rivers, who refused, out of respect for Gully's character, to take anything for the stock and implements upon it, our hero removed to Newmar ket. As yet, although Mr Gully was one of

the heaviest bettors on the lurf, he had won very few of the great races, and was obliged to content himself with the distinction of having run second for the Derby and St. Leger ; his perseverance and knowledge, however, shortly met with its reward, inasmuch as he Jwon the Derby in 1832 with his confederate's horse, St. Giles, and the St. Leger the same year with his own—Margrave. Gully's fame at the ' corner ' was now at its zenith. Whilst he and Mr Ridsdale were betting partners, rumour averred that they won £60,000 between them by backing St. Giles for the Derby, and £100,000 on Margrave, for the St. Leger, and it was in consequence of a dispute about the Margrave's winnings that the Siamese link between them was abruptly severed. Their joint books also showed a balance of £80,000, contingent on Little Red Rover bringing Priam to grief for the Derby. There was a joke going the rounds after this time, that Mr Gully and his friend, Justice, descended upon Cheltenham, and so completely cleaned out the local betting ring that the two did not think it worth while stopping for the second race day. One of the small ' books ' was found wandering moodily about the ring on the next day, and remarked to a sympathiser, ' that he was looking for tlie few half-crowns that Gully and Justice had condescended to leave.' It was in this year, too, that Mr Gully was returned to the first Reform Parliament, as member for Pontefract. Gully's history is extraordinary. Having become rich he embarked in a great coal speculation, which answered beyond his hopes, and his shares soon yielded immense profits. His wife, who was a coarse, vulgar woman, in the meantime died; and he afterwards married the daughter of an inn-keeper, who proved as ladylike as the other bad ' been the reverse. At the Reform dissolution he was pressed to come forward as a candidate for Pontrefract, but after some hesitation he declined. When Parliament was about to be dissolved he was again invited to stand for Pontefract by a numerous deputation. He finally accepted. Lord Mexborough withdrew, and he was elected without opposition. In person he was tall and finely formed, full of strength and grace, with delicate hands and feet, his face coarse, with a bad expression; his head set well on his shoulders, and remarkably graceful and even dignified in his actions and manners ; totally without education, he had strong sense, discretion, and reserve. When fortune smiled the most kindly on him he never exceeded the bounds of modesty, or forgot the respect due to himself, and he gradually separated himself from the rabble of bettors and blackguards of whom he was once the most conspicuous. His position as member of Parliament was more anomalous than ever, for an M.P. is a great man, though there appears to be no reason why the suffrages of: the ' blackguards ' of Pontefract should have placed Gully in different social relations towards us from those in which we mutually stood before. 'Approbation from Sir Herbert Stanley was praise indeed,' and there must have been something distinguished and attractive about the ex-prize-fighter to have won for him so much commendation from the bitter pen of Charles Greville.

(To be continued.)