Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-08-25
GATES's MOST DARING COUP.
Won cloce to a Million On Royal
Flush at British Racing Meet.

Won CIoce to a Million On Royal
Flush at British Racing Meet.
In the death of John W. Gates
there has passed away the last, the
most picturesque and spectacular of
plungers on the American turf. He
was unique in that with him the
wagering of vast sums on the races
was but one of the incidents Of his
days work-perhaps the least. There
was Wall street in the mornings and
until 3 o'clock, the race course In the
later afternoon. whist or faro in the
evenings-all of them entered into
with a zest and buoyancy that might
indicate that in none was the pur-
pose anything other than recreation.
Other plungers on the turf there
were who at times equaled in volume
the speculation INDUCED in by Mr..
Gates, but with them betting was
their whole existence. There was
"Plpnger" Walton, for example, who
made Of wagering a business; there
Mike" Dwyer, who had his whole
being in horses and in racing; there
was Riley Grammar, whose passion
for gambling was so great that he fire.
quently had no bank account, carrying
about with him fortunes in cash that
he might always be ready for haz-
ard, and there was "Pittsburg Phil, y
who organized a corps Of assistants
and through them endeavored to re-
duce horseracing to an exact science.
These men were widely different In
manner, II not in purpose, from Gates
With them racing-and the betting
end in particular-was their sole aim.
Their fortunes were wholly tied up In
1t or dependent upon 1t. His business
was apart from the turf, though he
brought up to his transactions on the
turf the same shrewd judgment that
had made him successful elsewhere.
In the fortunes which he won and
lost, and then regained, 1t would be
most difficult If not impossible to bal
dlCt up ScCllOIl VI dllu
loss account which dealt with racing.
His most daring and equally his
most successful coup upon the turf
was made in England. He, with John
A. Drake, in 1890, planned an inva-
sion of the English turf. They took
over a stable Of American horses,
with Enoch Wishard for trainer and
Lester Reiff and Johnny Reiff for
jockeys. All their stable hands, too,
exercise boys and rubbers, were
American. Wishard at one time had
been the partner Of John ]. McCaff-
erty, and sprang into fame both as a
trainer and a manipulation when the
firm won nearly 100000 over the
victory of Queenie Trowbridge at the
new Monmouth Park course in 1890.
Compared with Wishard, a deaf
mute would be riot Of conversation
and confidence. Wishard would talk
on anything in the world except
horses he could talk well on al
most any subject. He had and still
has in his home in Flatbush a library
that attests good taste in literature,
but you would search in vain for any
book therein relating to the horse.
The only subject on which Wishard
was not posted was the theater, and
that was because he could not be up
until midnight and astir again with
the dawn. The Reiff boys lived with
him, and grew up as he wished they
should. They were perfect horsemen,
but extremely reticent.
No better combination for the car
ryifg out of coup could have been
assembled. Wishard was to train and
plan and Gates and Drake were to see
that the plans, II successful, were
In
autumn Of 1899 that their horses
might be acclimated for the campaign
of 1900. While they were awaiting
the coming Of the season Wishard
was not satisfied with the condition Of
his horses or with some Of the weights
assigned. He decided to buy fair
handicap horse and take chances on
improving him. He was not interfer-
ed with, and purchased the Irish
bred horse Royal Flush. then six
years old, by Fayo out Of Flush. He
was sound, and had been campaigned
with some success by his previous
owner.
1t was decided to point him for the
famous Stewards Cup, which was to
be run at Goodwood on July 81 and
into which he previously had been
pitchforked at seven stone thirteen
pounds, or III pounds. In the same
race was Americus, owned by Rich
ard Croker. Americus had raced with
distinguished success in this country
as Rey del Carreres and had been
purchased by Mr.. Croker from
Lucky" Baldwin. Americus was the
fayorite. A week or so before the
race Gates sent a substantial commits
sion on Americas. Gates later said
the commission was in the nature or
a hedge. His critics said it was a
rigging" of the market. There Is
now no reason to doubt that Gates
was truthful in his statement, but also
that his act had the natural result or
raising the price on Royal Flush for,
although the horse ran In the name
and colors of ]. A. Drake, 1t was
known that Gates, If not an actual
partner, was in possession or every
fact that Drake knew.
The Stewards Cup, though only
over the six-furlong distance, was at
that time, and for many years before,
one of, the big betting races in Eng
land. Future books Of practically as
founding value were made on It..
Commissions running into the thous-
ands of pounds were accepted: Gates
organized the preliminaries to the
coup with rare skill in guarding
against premature disclosure that
had made him famous in Wall street.
On the Tuesday before the running OF
the race he had commissioners at a
certain hour present wagers on Royal
Flush in every bookmaker's estab-
lishment, not only in every big city
in England. but also in Belgium,
where, perhaps, there is as much
te-post betting done as there is In
England itself. These wagers were
put down simultaneously-the bulk
of them in London and in Antwerp.
They cut the price Of Royal Flush
from sc to to II to 2, with the
money averaging trifle better than
25 to l.
The bookmakers, though they all
felt the commission to be tremen-
dous one, were anxious to accommo-
date Mr. Gates, and accepted what
was offered. Few bookmakers can