NOTES.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Volume X, Issue 480, 5 October 1899, Page 17

NOTES.

Acceptances for the first day’s races of the Auckland Trotting Club’s Spring Meeting are due on Friday next. Mr Enight’s handicaps for the first day’s races of the Auckland Trotting Club’s Spring Meeting ought to provide some very fair racing. Joe Patchen changed hands last months. His new owner, Mr E. Mills, gave 20,000 dollars for him. Heisenbuttle was very daring in hie “ ringing - in.” He did not take very much trouble about changing the name. Jewess to Lass did not re quire very much thinking about. In his certificate, when he sold “Lass ” at Buckland’s, Heisenbuttle said that the mare had never won a race, and that she was known by no other name. As a matter of fact Jewess won a couple of races at Hawke’s Bay last year. The Spring Meeting of the Otahuhu Trotting Club has been fixed to take place on November 25 and 29. An attractive programme has been forwarded to the New Zealand Trotting Association for approval. The members of the A.T.O. committee were— Messrs C. Bailey, D. Harford, James Hunter, W. Adams, and A. Murchie. Mr A. E. Rhodes was elected in the place of Mr Murchie, who has left Auckland, and the other gentleman named were re-elected. The privileges in connection with the Spring Meeting of the Auckland Trotting Club will be sold on Friday next by Messrs Ohurton and Co., at their rooms in Queen Street. Potter’s Paddock meetings are increasing in popularity, and, in view of the good attendance expected, competition for the various rights should be very spirited. The Otahuhu'Trotting Club held a meeting to deal with the alleged “ nnging-in ” case. After due deliberation, it was decided to disqualify for life John Heisenbuttle, alias J. H. Smith, and the black mare Jewess, alias Lass. Lass, it will be remembered, ran second in the Maiden Handicap and third in the Trial Handicap at the meeting of the Otahuhu Club last February. The'balance-sheet of the Auckland Trotting Club presented at the annual meeting on Monday showed that the receipts for the year had amounted to £3060 6s, and that the club had a credit balance of £BO5. The revenue from the fotalisatoa was £ll6O, from the gates £309 10s, and from the sale of privileges £427 6s 6d. The club paid stakes to the amount of £2225, and the salaries totalled £203. A big match between John R. Gentry, Searchlight, and Joe Patchen took place in August at Rochester, New York. The race was for a purse of 3,000 dollars, best two out of three mile heats. In the first heat John R. Gentry beat Searchlight by a neck in 2.3| after a grand finish. In the second heat Searchlight broke badly, and gave the others a big start. At the end John R. Gentry won from Joe Patchen by half a length in 2.3£. It was a great go all the wav. By winning two heats straight John R. Gentry won the purse. Both horse and driver came in for a tremendous reception. After the race H. Brown, the owner of Searchlight, said he was not satisfied with the result of the race, and offered to back his horse for 10,000 dollars against John R. Gentry.

Through the courtesy of Mr Lockhart, the secretary of the Otahuhu Trotting Club, I have seen all the evidence upon which the stewards disqualified the man Heisenbuttle and the mare Jewess, and after reading it I can only say that in sending man and mare up for life the stewards did their duty. Heismbuttle had the mare on lease, and not only did he ring her in at the Otahuhu meeting, but he sold her immediately afterwards at Buckland’s Saleyards. At the present time the police are looking for Heisenbuttle alias Smith on a charge of horse-stealing. Geo. Cox, of Kakaramea, Taranaki, in reply to the Otahuhu Trotting Club’s enquiries in the Jewess case said that John Heisenbuttel, of Hawera, leased Jewess and Red Fine from him in March, 1898, for racing purposes. He heard from Mr Spratt in June that he had heard of Jewess in Auckland. He came to Auckland and found that the mare had been sold by a man named Smith —whom be had not the least doubt is Heisenbuttel —in Buckland’s yards after having been “ rung in ” as Lass at the Otahuhu Trotting Club Summer Meeting. The horse Red Pine he had not yet found. In connection with the Heisenbuttle —Jewess case there is strong evidence that two other men who were present at the Otahuhu meeting were well acquainted with Jewess alias Lass. Corrigan was present at the meeting, and was, witnesses say, well qualified to know the mare, while Murfitt, who was also present, was training her for some months, and had her in his own stables ! How they satisfied their consciences is a thing “no feller can understand.” From the evidence I have seen it is clear as daylight that Murfitt trained the mare as Jewess, and he trained her for Heisenbuttle as Heisenbuttle, but he conveniently forgot all about the pair when he met them as Lass and Smith at the Otahuhu meeting. I wonder would they have said anything had “Lass” won a race at Otahuhu. In his evidence on the Jewess case, Mr Cox said that Heisenbuttle and himself were working on the same farm in the Patea district. J. R. Corrigan and Murfitt also knew him (Smith) by the name of Heisenbuttel. He travelled a horse for E. Murfitt in the Patea district last season. Cox said he leased Jewess and a chestnut gelding to Heisenbuttel to train on half shares for the Hawke’s Bay meeting in March, 1898, and he was to return to them at the end of March. Jewess was in Murfitt’s stable on 12th February last. Jewess, Cox said, trotted in his (Cox’s) name at the H B.T.C. meeting on June 27, 1898, and won the Maiden Trot, 2 miles, in 6.15, and distanced the others; also the Final Stakes, of one mile, in 2.57|, by a bare nose. The annual meeting of the Auckland Trotting Club was held at the club’s offices in Durham Street on Monday, when Mr W. Adams presided in the absence of the President. The secretary, Mr O. F. Mark, read the report of the committee which was of a very satisfactory nature. Among the suggestions for the future, the committee desired to make a strong recommendation to their successors for the introduction of Sires’ Produce races, making a modest start and increasing the value of the races gradually. It was suggested that a race for two and three-year olds should be included in the Summer piogramme of this year, and that sires produce events for two-year-olds be arranged for now, to take place in 1900, 1901, and 1902, the stakes for the respective years being £75, £llO, and £l5O. Such a move is worthy of much commendation, and the institution of such races must lead to the improvement of the class of horses competing in Auckland. In connection with the Heisenbuttel case, Robt. Millen, of Pakuranga, in his evidenco before the stewards of the Otahuhu Club stated that he was the present owner of Jewess. She was sold in Buckland’s sale yard on 24th February for the sum of £27 10s. Mr Wm. Turner being the purchaser. Some time after the Auckland Trotting Club meeting, held in April, he bought the mare from Mr Turner for the sum of £2l. The reason he gave for selling her was that she had not trotted up to the private form she had shown him, and he was sick of her. He did not believe that Mr Turner knew she was a ring in, and when he (Millen) bought the mare he never dreamt of anything being wrong. He heard there was something wrong about the mare half an hour after he had paid for her. Mr Mark told him she was supposed to be a mare from Taranaki, and that he had wired to Taranaki, but the mare was supposed to be still in Taranaki. Mr Spratt asked him to keep the mare as she belonged to Mr Geo. Cox, a nephew of hie at Taranaki. In June last Mr Geo. Cox identified the mare at his place as Jewess, and wanted to take possession, but he objected. To prevent a law suit, Messrs Buckland and -Son, Mr Turner, and himself agreed to pay Mr Cox £l5 to settle the matter, which sum Mr Cox agreed to take. The sum was made up as follows : —Mr Turner £6, Mr Buckland £5, and himself £4.