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ENGLISH BETTING MEN AND WAYS Prize Fighter Gully an Enormous Bettor How the 350000 Leather Case Was Recovered The famous turf dictator Lord George Bentinck was a big gambler on horses and he backed Gaper for the Dsrby to win him the enormous sum of 750000 but the winner turned up in Cotherstone CotherstoneA A prize fighter named John Gully born and bred in very humble circumstances was so successful in his turf operations bookmaking and backing horses that he became M P for Pontefract and owned Derby winners and collieries His horse Margrave won the St Leger and 400000 in bets for him He had a very big gamble on the race He won another fortune of 250000 when his partners horse St Giles carried off the Derby When his own horses Pyrrhus the First and Andover wou the Bpsom classic he on both occasions netted a very large sum of money He was one of the most con ¬ sistent plungers ever known on the turf He was married twice and had twentyfour children Sir Robert Peel said of him He was the only member who literally fought his way into parliament parliamentAlthough Although enormous sums have been won by plung ¬ ing owners upon such big betting handicaps as the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire and other impor ¬ tant races of a similar description it is probable that the heaviest gambling has taken place over the Derby On the Monday following the success of Mr Merrys Thormanby the lucky owner spread on his drawingroom table no less a sum than 500 000 his winnings in checks gold and notes for his wife to inspect On the occasion that Count Lagranges French horse Gladiateur won his noble owner drew the nice sum of 350000 from the bookmakers and very nearly repeated the dose when his champion a few months later romped away with the St Leger LegerAn An historic turf plunger was Sir Joseph Hawley whose horses Teddlngton Beadsman Musjid and Blue Gown won four Derbys On three of these he bet very heavily and had the satisfaction of draw ¬ ing an enormous sum in bets In Blue Gowns race he was popularly supposed to have gambled on his other representative Green Sleeves In any case it was reported he gave Wells the rider of Blue Gown the entire stakes amounting to 15000 15000Admiral Admiral Harcourt the owner of Bllingtou the Derby winner of 1850 and his friends plunged on their horse to win them several fortunes but the animal went lame not long before the race and they gave up their money as lost However he recov ¬ ered and his connections luckily won the large sum they had backed their representative for On settling day one of them drew 150000 in bets as his share of the spoil and this he packed in an old hat box which he tied up with string and put on the rack of the compartment in which he traveled to his north ¬ ern home Changing trains at Derby he forgot his valuable luggage and it traveled about from pillar to post for a fortnight ere he recovered it Strange to relate the string had not been untied He was shrewd enough not to mention that the battered old leathern case contained 350000 or he might never have seen his property again
