76 FAMOUS KACING MEN. 



four-and-twenty hours, in order that Gully might get 10,000 to 1,000 

 about him for the St. Leger, which he obtained. At the same time 

 he laid Mr. Crockford 10,000 that Mameluke beat ten different horses, 

 and 10,000 that he beat nine, and by a rare stroke of ill luck for 

 Gully, Matilda, the winner of the St. Leger, was in both lots ! It 

 was a terrible upset for his hopes, that great Doncaster race of 

 1827. It was boldly 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 half- 

 trained and half-broken brutes, two of which had gaiters on, were 

 sent to the post with instructions to their jockeys never to go when 

 Mameluke was in action. In accordance with their orders (so the 

 story goes) they resisted every attempt to get off 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 unlucky moment 

 when Chifney (Mameluke's jockey) was turning his horse's head round 

 and Matilda was seventy 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 would still have won; but 

 on Tommy's refusing to do so, Chifney had to take Mameluke round 

 his horses, thereby losing four lengths, which, when he went after 

 Matilda, he was unable to make up, and in the run home was beaten 

 l)y just 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 Mr. Gully 

 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 a 71b. pull in the weights. But John Scott, 

 Matilda's trainer, would not hear of it, telling Mr. Petre that he 

 had won a 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. Theobald, 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. Theobald 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 with- 

 out 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 

 futm-e discomfiture of his country upon the turf. 



