totalizator was installed and bookmakers were charged 10 guineas to operate on the grounds. A Melbourne bookmaker, Joe "Leviathan" Thompson, refused to pay this charge, and sued the lessees for being refused admission. Thompson won the case, tried by Mr. Justice Boucaut. The Council had the right, by Act of Parliament, to specify in the lease under what conditions persons could be admitted, but had failed to do so, and this was the point that brought Blackler and Ferry undone. The Council promptly issued an amended lease contract. In April 1874 Blackler left by the steamship Nubia for England, where he purchased the noted stallions Countryman, Winterlake, and Sir Edmund, and the brood mare Bridal Wreath, the foundation of his Fulham Stud. The horses were accompanied by Bill Sheppard, who served as their groom, and was to have a long and respected career as trainer in South Australia. He made another trip in 1876 and brought back a dozen fine brood mares, among them Instep, whose progeny won practically every major race in Australia. Countryman, sire of 1882 Melbourne Cup winner The Assyrian, died in September 1882 while still young, and Winterlake had to be destroyed after a serious accident, two serious blows to his ambitions. Sir Edmund, sire of many champion jumpers, was only a yearling when he was brought out. Blackler sold him as a two-year-old to Gabriel Bennett, who passed him on to Ferry, and later did stud duty for H. B. Hughes at Booyoolee Station, near Gladstone. With the death of Countryman, Blackler looked around for a replacement and settled on Eli Jellett's Richmond, paying for the stallion 1,000 or 1,200 guineas, and the pick of his first batch of foals. This proved a good purchase, and reinforced Blackler's reputation as a judge of horseflesh, as Richmond 's progeny included some 60 winners. In 1889 Blackler purchased Thunderbolt at auction for 230 guineas, which horse proved to be the sire of another batch of champions. In August 1878 Blackler became licensee of the Globe Hotel, for years a popular meeting-place in Rundle Street for the racing fraternity. A year later, at his instigation, an Adelaide Tattersalls Club was formed, with H. Cohen appointed secretary, and he provided rooms at "The Globe" for their activities, open 7–11pm. In September 1879 he transferred his licence to the hotel to J. H. Aldridge. His first yearling sale at the