The Betting Ring. 49 



travelling carriage, with two livery servants in tne 

 rumble. 



Mr. Gully, although he did great execution at the 

 Corner in Andover's year, might be styled a mere fancy 

 bettor subsequently, and as a judge of racing and the 

 points of a horse combined, he had scarcely a peer 

 among his own or the younger generation of turfites. 

 His fame at the Corner was at its zenith about the year 

 1830, when he was a betting partner with Ridsdale. 

 Rumour averred that they won 35,ooo/. on Margrave 

 for the St. Leger, and 5O,ooo/. on St. Giles for the 

 Derby ; and it was in consequence of a dispute as to 

 the Margrave winnings, which is rather too com- 

 plicated for explanation here, that the Siamese link 

 between them was so abruptly dissolved. Their joint 

 books also showed a balance of 8o,ooo/., if Red Rover 

 could only have brought Priam to grief for the Derby. 

 There was a joke, too, soon after this time, that Mr. 

 Gully and his friend Justice descended on to Chel- 

 tenham, and so completely cleaned out the local Ring 

 there, that the two did not even think it worth while 

 stopping for the second race-day. One of the lesser 

 lights was found wandering moodily about the Ring 

 on that day, and remarked to a sympathizer that he 

 was " looking for the few half-crowns which that 

 Gully and Justice had condescended to leave." Lord 

 George Bentinck was allowed to be the cleverest 

 man that the Turf ever had, but the loss of 27,ooo/. in 

 one year was the crucible in which he learnt his ex- 

 perience. Strictly speaking, he was a very fancy 

 bettor ; and he would do what hardly a man alive 

 dared do make a book to any amount, and back 

 horses as well. 



The Ring par excellence might, in 1856, consist of 

 some four hundred persons, of whom about a hundred 

 were looked upon as emphatically " safe men," and 

 nearly half of the twenty score belonged to the " Man- 

 chester Division," who congregate under the Bush, or 



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