view raw text
FORTUNES FROM SMALL INVESTMENTS How Lucky Few Have Profited from Picking the Winner of Cesaxewitch and Cambridgeshire A peculiar but easily understood fascination lias always attached itself to the difficult task of trying to find the winners of the two great backend handicaps at Newmarket The outlay win or lose need only be small and the reward if it comes ones way out of all proportions to the original stake involved To win a fortune by the risk of a pound or two is an agreeable achievement likely to forcibly appeal to most of us and though future event speculation is nothing like what it once was there are many small punters who still lay them ¬ selves out each season to find the Double It has been done in the past by the lucky few and many have been within an ace of bringing it off Hope as we all know springs eternal in the hu ¬ man breast and a lot of us undeterred and un ¬ dismayed by many failures still try to find the winners of the Cesarewitch and Cambridgeshire in our bet This article will relate some remarkable and authentic instances of this popular form of speculation speculationBoth Both races were established in 1830 but it was not until about ten years had passed that they be ¬ came the medium of heavy wagering before the day In 1849 the entries for the long distance event numbered sixtysix and those for the shorter race 102 To pick the two winners from this formidabls array of entries was a labor worthy of Hercules and yet it was accomplished by one adventurous and enterprising backer at least This was an Irsh gentleman named Morris He had for years been keenly interested in turf affairs but was not over wellendowed with this worlds goods and an occasional victory in a minor race at The Curragli was for a long time the summit of his sporting ambition Before the appearance of the entries for the two great autumn events at Newmarket he had been given from a reliable source a tip for Raby for the Cambridgeshire This colt belong ¬ ing to Mr Meiklam was by The Doctor Modesty and in 1849 was three years old Satisfied as to the strengtli of his information as to Uabys merits Mr Morris decided to couple with that animal an ¬ other threeyearold Legerdemain the property of Lord Stanley for the Cesarewitch 50000 TO 25 ON DOUBLE EVENT EVENTHe He was offered 50000 to 23 on the double pvent and accepted the bet during the Doncaster races Itaby was given eighty pounds by the handi capper and Legerdemain a daughter of Pantaloon Decoy seventyseven pounds The last named started at 10 to 1 for the Cesarewitch and ridden by one Hiett won by a length from Raby with the Oaks winner Lady Kvelyn third Rabys bold show gave him an undeniable chance for the Hough ton event and Mr Morris boldly refused all sorts of tempting offers to hedge his wager Mr Meik lam s colt starting at G to 1 won the Cambridge ¬ shire from Captain Arclidales Rhesus and Mr Fowlers Ribaldry and Mr Morris was the lucky winner of 50000 He invested the money advan ¬ tageously doubled it in two or three years and in 1854 won the St Leger with a colt of his owu breeding Knight of St George GeorgeA A wellknown publican in 1S5S was less for ¬ tunate The brotheriniaw of a popular trainer this Boniface was frequently put in the know Of a good thing and somehow or other he dis ¬ covered that Rocket three years 84 pounds was much expected to win the Cesarewitch An old and experienced tout to whom he had rendered some service told him that he had seen a Friaf of Sir Joseph Hawleys horses in which gallop a dark colt Beacon by name had revealed considerable merit Beacon was in the Cambridgeshire with 63 pounds only and was to be prepared for the pee Our sporting publican took 23000 to 23 JRocket and Beacon and felt on good terms with himself when Custance then a lightweight got Mr Lamberts horse home first by the narrow margin of a head It was a case of drinks all round on the night of the Cesarewitcli and the worthy host had another fiver on Beacon at So to 1 the following morning Beacon started at 40 to 1 and it was only by a length that the sou of Flatcatcher failed to beat another outsider Mr afterwards Sir Richard Buttons filly Eurydice It was excellent picking but it did not quite eomu off and the portly publican was a highly dis ¬ appointed man manLUCKY LUCKY HUNCH ON LECTURES The notorious F Swindell was partial to this ikind of turf speculation and used to relate a good story in reference thereto He had a fairly useful ifilly named Prosperine engaged in the Cesarcwitch of 1806 and the daughter of Marsyas promised to start a good favorite as indeed she ultimately did A few days before the race he got Sam Hib berd the jockey to ride her a twomile gallop and when the latter pulled up Swindell asked Sam liow the filly had carried him Oh pretty fair was the latters reply But she aint gong to win no Cesarewitch What makes you say that inquired the owner a little disconcerted Cos the race is a good thing Mister for the one Im lagoin to ride the jockey explained but there I aint agoin to lecture you about it The significant emphasis Hibberd put on the Word lecture reminded Fred Swindell that a colt called Lecturer was in the race with 87 pounds He backed the latter at once to win him 3000 and took a bet of 7500 to 50 abput Lecturer for the Cesarewitch and Actoea for the sister race He stood to win about 30000 over his own filly Prosperine but when the Cesarewitch was run the latter could only finish third and Lecturer won by a half length from Baron Rothschilds Lotario A fortnight later the Cambridgeshire was run and Swindell was again in luck Actoea the property of S Thellusson won from Lord Westmorelands Thalia and Mr Palmers gelding Caithness i The conductor of a bus plying between Caiuden Town and Charing Cross brought off the double in 1S77 when Hilarious won the Cesarewitch and i Jongleur the Cambridgeshire He received the tip If or these in the most mysterious way Proceeding to his yard early one morning he picked up a icopy of Bells Life dated the previous day and penciled on the margin of the front pagu were these two names The entries for tin two races had i then appeared indeed the weights were almost jdue He got a friend of his to put him on 10 ihis entire savings at 300 to 1 and miracle of jmiraclcs both horses won That bus conductor jwise in his generati9n never made another bet He went in for building in a small way selecting jTooting as a likely district and when he died a few years ago he was the owner of much house property there and at Balhaiu and was a wealthy man London Sporting Life
