Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-04

brute, and that his purpose in stop
ping on the way to the post is just TO
survey the situation and takes a look
at things.
1.-The biggest bundle that Weller ever
took down during his turf career-and
he's annexed some whopping chunks
was when David Garrick, at 20 to l,
beat the odds on Ethelbert in a great
long distance race. His take-down that
day was so close to the six figure thing
that the layers might just as well have
paid him off that way and've been done
with 1t.
"Well, David Garrick did the halt
thing two or three times on the to the
post parade that day and there wasn't
any kicking him out of his halts until
he got ready to trudge ahead again.
either Weller put that alongside of
some previous observations he had
made on horses being successful after
doing the pull up thing in that way,
and now the bug has a firmer hold on
him than Humming Bird Tyler's fond
ness for a Dutch book-when somebody
else is making it.
Gideon's Overweight Dope
"No less a sage of the turf than Dave
Gideon has the bug that the horse that
picks up a piece of accidental over
weight in race is one to be looked
out for and played if the dope gives
him any kind of chance in the world.
I won't say that Gideon can show you
how this has sifted out in actual prac-
tice during a period extending over 2O6
years, for he isn't quite that old, al
though it is commonly said that he
remembers the races won by Eagle, the
great Virginia thoroughbred, shortly
after the war of 1912. But Mr.. Gideon
can take you back a long time on that
overweight dope and show how it has
copped the change in a remarkable
number of instances.
There's some sound sense back of
this bug at that, for the horse that
picks up the piece of overweight gets
his ride by Jockey who's been unable
to get down to the carded weight, and
when an owner is willing that his horse
shall take up some additional pounds
in order to permit certain boy to
ride, the inference is reasonable
enough that the owner knows that he's
got a pretty good horse that day.
Chicago O'Brien, the heap big
whanger, who plays 'em all on the limb,
taking as bad as / to third if he thinks
it's in has got the superstition that If
his horse kicks another horse at the
post it's all over and there's no chance.
John w. Gates Has Bug
John w. Gates bug is that a jockey
who wears a diamond finger ring While
riding can't get a horse home in front.
This is a bug based upon an experience.
lone day. several years ago, Mr.. Cat tes
backed a horse ridden by that master
horseman-for little while, when he
was behaving-Grover Cleveland Fuller
He bet $25, 900 on this mount of Fuller's
and stood to win $125,OOO II the boy
brought the horse home.
Fuller wore a big solitaire diamond
ring that day. The horse was a hard
headed brute and needed to be re-
strained under wraps for the final sprint
to the tape that was his characteristic.
Fuller followed instructions and took
the horse up, under forty wraps, as they
say, Immediately after the start. But
the tightly wrapped reins pressed the
diamond ring into the flesh of the
Jockeys third finger, causing him eX-
cruciating pain. Not only that, but
Fuller was worried lest the wrapped
reins would warp the ring out of shape
he might lose the rock. So he was
unable to do himself justice.
Is Afraid of Diamond Rings
"In order to stop the pain and to flag
the chance he thought he had of losing
his hunk of ice he loosened the wraps
and gave the horse his head at the be-
ginning of the back stretch. The result
was that the horse that should have
been saved for the finish shot his bolt
before the top of the stretch was
reached and was disgracefully beaten
at the end.
when asked why he hadn't obeyed
instructions and saved the horse, Fuller
told about the way the ring hurt him
and of his fear that the rock might drop
out of it's setting, and the story reached
the ears of Mr.. Gates. Ever since then
he's taken particular pains to find out
whether a jockey carrying his coin is
wearing a ring to the post or not.
Hes fond of Jockey Walter Miller,
and often plays his mounts, but never
when he ascertains that the boy is
wearing his hazel-nut diamond ring. Is
Miller wearing the fool thing today?' 1
heard him ask one of his betting COM
missioners one afternoon not long ago.
1.-THE commissioner hustled out to the
paddock to take an observation of Miller
as the jockey weighed in. He returned
to Mr.. Gates with the information that
Miller wasn't sporting his rock that aft
ernoon, and Mr.. Gates got down a
boulder bet on Millers mount in the
next race. Miller's horse finished bad
fourth.
But that hasn't changed Mr.. Gates
idea with respect to the Jockeys ring
dope. He probably argued it out in his
mind Miller's horse would have finished
last in the field of fourteen If the boy
had been wearing his rock"