1960-04-01 — Page 9

THE CHINA MAIL, FRIDAY, APRIL 1, 1060.

FIRST OF A SERIES ON MEN WHO MAKE AND LOSE FORTUNES ON RACING

Page. B

FOUR JUNIOR SOFTBALL

MASTER-MINDS OF THE RING KNOCKOUT MATCHES

...........

The FORTUNES of the Turf are made and lost in Tatter- salls' Ring, the racecourse enclosure where the leading bookmakers congregate.

In the centre are the men with the boards-on which the odds against the runners are marked up in chalk- betting mostly in cash.

Leaning on the rails which divide Members' stand (to which access is only by voucher) are to be found the

makers.

}

"Tatts" from the normally obtained big credit" book-

f

#

This area represents the heart of the racing jungle, with its laws of survival almost as precarious as those of nature and its peculiar code of honour and ethics.

How they smashed the

man who made £250,000

By CLIVE GRAHAM

The name was Hannam, Charlie Hannam, from Harrogate in Yorkshire. On the racecourses in Britain, though, he was known to all and sundry as "Old England"--one of the greatest, and certainly one of the straightest, bettors of the twentieth century.

He set the pace in betting from Edwardian days and kept well on it until old age eventually caught up with him in the 1930's.

The belting was 1 - 10 on each of the two. Hibbert, eager

Then those super-alert mental processes, whose deductions were derived partly from experience, for Hannum's business, offered partly from infultion, and that the fractionaily-better 21 - 20, astonishingly quick ready- reckoner brain, begon 10 claudy.

Hooked

រដូវ

He was caught and booked for the last timo nat long be- Second fore the start of the World War.

This man had made more than £250,000 and

And, say old-timers, he watched the running of the race, hauds rigid on his bino- culars until he put them down in a matter-of-fact way as his "hunch" bet came past the post a winner. Not a mUITBUC from him during the race, nor any sign of clation as he walk- ed off the stand.

the charge of contravening the rules of racing by betling for a jockey.

Hannam admitted freely that he had had thrust at him, from a jockey, the sum of £1,000 and had agreed to bet this amount.

Guilty of the breach In the regulations, he was banned from ful! the racecourse. When the facts became known, the ban was lifted before the year whe nut.

I was primarily for his con- duel, not for his dress, that he achieved his reputation ort the racecourse. After the warning-off incident he was never known to speak to a trainer or a Jockey in public, at any rate

Secret

again,

What was his secret of success as a punter this Yorkshireman who started as a railway clerk and set out on his racing career as an outside-ring bookmaker?

own dice but was still cheated -- with "Bet-a'Million" Gates and his American cronies, be struck two bets for £1,000 aplece.

The first; he would never enter n casino, although a visitor to Monte Carlo during the winter.

Dess

R

bals

THIS WEEKEND

By OLLY VAS

The end-of-the-season Junior Knockout matches invariably produce more than their fair share of surprise results and unexpected thrills and this week's games should provide spectators with some entertaining softball.

The memory of two exciting Finals two years ago, between the Junior Cheyennes and the Austers and the University and SCAA ladies still lingers on and in this year's competition we have already had an upset, when the Giants trounced the Pandas 13-1.

There are four elimination making the most Belding errors matches on the programate this will have to admit defeat. The wock.

deelston could go elther way but I pick the New Asians to win

In the first, to be played of this one, tomorrow at 2.00 DM the Cheyennes come up against the Ladles KO Anal between v AL 11.30 a.m. there is the Austers, and this will be fol lowed at 3.30

and The Toreron p.nl by

tho Matadors, the Cardinals and Stardusts game. league competition, and ladies' Honours were evenly divided in these two wagers could be The servicemen from Santin matches being what they are decided in his favour.

aro this

wooden Season's Ho awed his fantastic and spoonials. They

these days it is difficult to mako did not

I any sort of pre-match forecast punter to

gister a single victory in the although on shrewdess in Beuring out the recently concluded league. This Matadors must get the nod.

past form odds, about horses coupled for being the caso frequent

win тигровек.

To round of the day, ut 2.00 Asia versus Indians Pm. the winner of the New gume will play the winner of the Cards versus Stardusts or as the ex- pression goor "the earlier win. hers will be engaged in double headers over the weekend."

they cannot be He would go up to the book-expected to put too much of a

fight The second: he would never maker and ask for the price of who should easily get through against the Cheyennes the Arst three favourites, or to the next round. maybe us many as four or Ave. (Rarely did bet on only one horse in a race.)

wear spectacles.

Lonely

that I came to study this lonely, It was only in his later years

strange, but distinctive @gure as he stood apart from other specta fors, but never very far away from the rails-bookmakers Tattersalis' Ring.

In

The bookmaker might reply "2-1 A, 3-1 B. 4——-1°C." Hau-

nam would calculate the odds three horses would win. correctly a 1-3 that one of these

Insight

lie

to have

Неге his insight into the As the runners for each race bookies' psychology helped him were announced, out from his to strike a favourable bet. pocket would come a magnifying knew that they loved ginss (such as as postage-stamp the odds lald on. collectors use). With its aid, he would short-sightedly peer his card before betting, perhaps £10,000 or £20,000 on the next

race. on X*

in thousands. Hannam took it. ·

"£21,000 to £20,000 Hibbert Instructed his penciller,

"No." interrupted Hunnam, "on the other one," watching Hibbert's mouth drop open wide from chagrin und vexation.

Bensed

had "Old England" that the £1,000 which he held in his pocket from the jockey the spending had emanated

from Hibbert's money to go with It by suc-

Batchel. cessfully battling his own wits, experience and know-how against the shrewdest epposition. in Tattersails' King.

Came the sad day, towards the end of a long losing run. A five-horse race at a 'Midland meeting. Hannam bat ddds on four of the five, coupled (four bets for the price of one) to the tune of £20,000.

It was a strange race to watch. Seme of the jockeys appeared to lack energy, others could have

been accused of a deficiency in Their sense of timing.

It could have been coincidence

this

result, victory for the long-priced outsider. "Old Eng land" may have thought other- wise, but he never stated his opinion in such terms.

by

This race was followed another long-priced result in a two-year-old handicap. Hannam again lost heavily and could reasonably have been expected to be Irate.

Courteous

Instead, he lipped his bowler- hat courteously to the group of rails bookmakera. "Gentlemen, you have been a little bit too clever for me. Thank you for the leason, I'm not too rure, though, when I shall have fie pleasure of seeing you again."

with that the debonair. straight-backed, Immaculate- ly-dressed old man look his leave, never to appear on FREECOUUUED again during the years which remained to him. He died in Derby week 1947,

ged 70.

On his molor-car drive back to Yorkshire he would undoubtedly bavo recalled an almost-parallel trap which had been baited for him on this same racecoursV some 25 years previously.

It happened outside the weighing - room, betwein races. A jackey sought him out, and drew him discreetly to one side. "Later today, Me Hannam. I ride X in a race. There will be only one other starter."

Decision

Sad the jockey: "Would you please put this on my mount for me?" allpping him a light wad of ten £100 notes.

"Certainly. Thank you, my boy." replied Hannam.

When the material race came up for decision, Hannam walted until the horses had gone down to the stort before ho strolled into the betting arena. Charles Hibbert, the high-gambling Mid- Iands bookmaker of the epoch, saw him coming.

Chess News

by LEONARD BARDEN

Solution No. 67941 1 Q×B ch. Betions

· Lungen KZENIE TONI

Four D. Jones BY MADDOCKS

"KREP QUIET NOW, OR THAT RED IDIOT WILL TÜRN KOUND.

FERDINAND

NANCY

Banned

Hibbert by contrast,

almost

exploded from anger. In revenge. through influential contacts with the stewards, he caused Hannam to be brought up before them on

PROF. OOG

PROF OOd

MIND READER

BRICK BRADFORD

OUR SHUTTLE SHIP TO READY, BRICKI WEL LEAVE FOR

TITAN!

IM READY!

MIND READER

GADIE, DR.EASTLAND TOLD ME THIS SWIP COULDN'T BE SPOTTER

ON RADAR!

Three-fold. He was simde minded and obstinate student of racing form; a quick calculator of

odds; and something of a psychologist so far as book- mokers were concerned,

Obstinale? I suppose one of

the most-so characters that have ever trod the racecourse enclosures.

Years ago, after being caught or £37,000 in a crooked dice- game he insisted on using his

ai

The loss of £1,000, while no more than

a mere peek at his pocket, would have been an in-

tolerable blow to his pride.

he

He nover lost either bet. But

could never

for collect, death, by traditional rules asso- claled with belting, cancels all transactions. Obviously it could not be until Hannam's death that

LET THEM COME LET 'EM ALL COME I'M READY FOR THEM

LOWER AWAY! EASY JONES, QUIETLY

DOES IT

THATS TRUE, BRICK! ITS MADE JOF A METAL FROM

TITAN AND SATURN THAT ADSOROS RADIO BIGNALS?

By Mik

By Ernie Bushmiller

I WANT YOU TO

READ HIS MIND

BUSHMILLE

I SEE! IT DOESN'T REFLECT THE ULTRA- HIGH FREQUENCY:

WAVES OF THE SCANNING DEAM!

By Paul Norris

YOU CAN, SEB How PRACTICABLE THIS VITAL 16 IN AAY BUSINESS! WELL BE LANDING MOON!,

Upset possible

An upset is not entirely out of the question In the scoond match for he Stardusta can play good soft- ball, given a tow runs lead, However, the heavier hilting of the Cards should be enough to ensure them victory.

On Sunday at 10.00 a.m. New Asin College play the Indians. He would therefore, make This will, I am sure, turn out to them a tempting offer of £9.000 be a free-swinging match with £4,000, which would outfielders being kept on their almost invariably be accepted. toes, for bath sides do not have that this tight defences. Here, the team

to win

Hannam was aware wager showed Ave per cent ip his advantage. (He once struck a bel of £32,000 to win £2,000 on two co-favourites, only to see both beaten by a rank outsider.) In my next article, I will compare the methods used by "Old England" with those of another great figure-expert "Scotch" "Johnny Marr.

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