Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1896-09-03
HIS TELEPATHIC TIP.

Telegram for you, sir. ?"
It was the morning of the Derby day,
and had just looked into the office be-
fore starting for EPSON. / was at the
time on the staff Of The Sporting Cou-
rier, and, besides giving what is known
in the sporting world as midday
finals, y usually did the home meet
ings.
The message surprised me, for it ran
Don Pero is bound to win -Dixey. Y
read it again and again. Don Pero
was a rank outsider and had been look
ed upon by everybody as not having the
slightest chance of place. For con-
frmation one had only to look at the
--latest London betting" to find that the
horse stood at so to /.
Yet Dixey, the trainer, had never be-
fore misled me, and / could not help
feeling that there must be something
in it.
/ had previously decided that would
give as my final selections the first and
second favorites and good outsider for
third place. But this telegram upset all
my calculations, and yet felt that l
could not altogether ignore it
sat down at my desk and wrote out
my copy. 1t ran as follows:
'There is no denying the fact that
the favorite is in excellent condition,
but think that he will be beaten by a
horse whose qualifications have hitherto
been completely overlooked. l have no
hesitation in placing the first three
horses in this order: (1) Don Pero, (2)
Windemere, 49, Nervine "
l was just thinking about starting
when the chief sent for me-
"What does this mean. Mr.. Good
man?' he said, as entered the room.
This evidently referred to my MS,
which he held in his hand
Are you referring to my Derby tip,
sir?'' 1 asked.
But it's so to l chancep'
81 can't help that, - replied, rather
haughtily perhaps, "but am assured
that he is bound to win.
Assured By whom, pray?''
information is obtained from a strictly
private source. I'll alter the wording of
the paragraph, if you like, but I should
prefer that it goes in as it is"
Il have no wish to interfere in your
department, replied the chief. LET it
stand, if you are sweet upon it. If it
comes off, it will be all right If not,
well, we shall be the laughing stock of
everybody, from the Jockey club down
T. The youngest Newmarket tout. I"
II did not think that it was worth
while having an argument abeut the
matter, so took an opportunity of clos
ing the interview and took a cab to
Waterloo When / reached the course,
made the best of my way to the pad
dock in the hope Of seeing Dixey and
having a talk with him before racing
began, but he was nowhere to be seen.
l soon found that some of my col
leagues wanted to have chat with me,
for The Sporting Courier, with my final
in, had created quite a sensation.
Jimmy Berners of The Starter was
very forcible in his language and said
some nasty things about my inability to
provide the racing world with informa-
tion that was Of any value.
In my anxiety / endeavored again to
find Dixey, for felt that he must know
something that was not common knowl-
edge.
Though looked everywhere for him,
could not see him. He was evidently
keeping himself out Of the way
Then the horrible thought rushed
through my mind that the telegram was
a hoax, and 1 felt a cold perspiration
break out all over me. AS matter of
fact | did not care brass farthing
which horse won, for / make a rule
never to bet. but knew that my repu-
tation as "a tipster was at stake.
Itwas i'll no particularly happy frame
of mind that l made my way to the
press box.
My entrance gave the cue for burst
Of hilarity, and my reception was ex-
ceedingly warm. They chaffed me un-
mercifully about my unfortunate tip,
but took it all in good part, while in
wardly vowing that / would fire off
some Of my suppressed anger upon
Dixey if his precocious outsider finished
where everybody expected him to finish
last
There is no need for me to enter into
any lengthy description of the event,
but it is just necessary to mention one
or two facts about the most sensational
Derby on record, and one that will
never be forgotten by those who had
the good fortune to witness it.
I nervously looked around for Don
Pero. Yes, he was there all right, but
what an i'll favored looking animal com
p.red with the others His jockey, too,
as merely stable lad, but thought
that / detected a gleam of confidence in
his eye and look of fixed determina-
tion upon his boyish face
Now they'r off, is the cry. No, it
is false start. The favorite has broken
away. His supporters standing around
me are quivering with excitement, and
many of them give vent to audible
groans
The horses face the starter once more,
and in another minute we see the white
flag fall and know that they have been
dispatched OH their fateful journey.
In the first part of the race they seem
to be all together, but as they near Tat
tenham corner the favorite begins to
steel ahead. look for Don Pero-he is
nearly last. The corner j. turned with
Windermere well in front.
'The favorite winsp' ''The favorite
romps homel" is the cry on all hands.
Purify
And Enrich