MEETING THE " LEVIATHAN '' 



little function at the Ship when they went over to see 

 the race run. Talbot was not a very communicative 

 man, but Guesdon told us all to go over to Melbourne 

 and back Darebin. Only a few had a bet about the 

 horse straight out — the majority of us taking him in 

 doubles with various horses for the Melbourne Cup. 

 We certainly got a leg in by Darebin winning, but 

 it was the year that the outsider Zulu won the cup. 

 This horse might never have been started, as he 

 had been dead lame a few days before, but the lucky 

 drawer of Zulu in one of the mammoth sweeps 

 offered the owner a thousand pounds to nothing if he 

 would let Zulu take his chance. The owner was so 

 impressed with the fatalism which had led to Zulu 

 seeing the post that he backed him at thirty-three 

 and forty to one on the day. What luck ! 



A lot of us stayed behind in Hobart, and waited on 

 that fateful Saturday to see whether Darebin would win. 

 It was the usual atmosphere of expectancy, watching 

 every minute for the telegraph boy who should bring 

 the message. At last it came, and with it a telegram 

 to the Ship and another hotel that they should be open 

 house to the boys that evening. It was soon after 

 this that there came on the first race-meeting I had 

 seen in the "tight little island," as Tasmania is called. 

 The majority of the leading members of the ring in 

 Melbourne came over for the fortnight, for the Laun- 

 ceston meeting followed Hobart. There was great 

 excitement in the city of course, meeting the horses 

 ! at the station, and others which had come by water. 

 This was the first time I had ever met the late Joe 

 Thompson ; of course he was very much in evidence. 

 Barney Thompson, his brother, who, in this year of 

 1914 manages the business in Jermyn Street, was there 

 too and the present silver-haired Joe Marks, who bets 



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