BACKED THE WRONG HORSE

NZ Truth, Issue 1108, 24 February 1927, Page 5

BACKED THE WRONG HORSE

Twiner Jac^fl^otnhe Finishes

' • (From" "NiZ.-.'.TfAithls" Special Dunedin Represeiitative.) , ' r Horse trainers back the wro rig horse at times. Jack McCombe, :» well-known m Christchurch as a trainer, came a regular thud at «'* V>

Dunedin.; THE racei was the McCombe-^Samson stakes for £15 (disputes stakes,, by the way). But 'instead of the green sward, with the whips cracking and crowds cheering, the contestants chose the" Magistrate's Court for their test and McCombe" finished •'; a bad second. - '- ' ■''-''^■'■•■■''••: ■:::■•' ' v Weights'""oif' evidence-.was:,agairist hirri J °, .. ,• „ ' 'vi^»„„ij,v„; i,ont and made him look a. comparative nacK. Instructed nby Lawyer'/jThbmas,- of Christchurch, Solicitor Hanlon gave it a pop^on^ behalf I^wyer.B.S. Irwin took up the runRl?f r fa^. SOn 'w ;" o «U«^-'+^'iw-ii rlM^e:tes^eB a agood^: *^*^ 1 5;' —^ >i"b^" ■^lll":5S5 >A JSSJffr<SS wlthhlmand„he_decided to retire from the tracks. ..-. With this object,in view he came Ito Dunedin for the' local Jockey v •■■ Club's 1925 summer meeting- and rput four horses up for sale through J. Samson and Co., auctioneers. - They were passed m, but subsequentIy Samson bought The Cheat and Lava for £450. McCombe- receiving his Cheque the same day; The whole bone of contention arose from a trivial matter that might easily have been settled out of Court, but for McCombe's suggestion that Samson was •'putting one across him." .-';'■• . .... .1 1 j «u«j He held that he had approached Samson In theJiirdcage at Wingatul and had offered him the gear , belonging to each horse at ifclo a sot-'. •''"■'. '„-,- These consisted of four. rugs,, saddies and, bridles and head collars (£3O In all) and he understood that this agreement had been settled. - He had^received- a. cheque for thehorses, which left'him with a credit Of £30. 1 • , _.. _-..■ _'■'•'.■ v"' i Birdcage Incident - . .->■ -.■ —' ■- .. , "*:i:';'-. In February he; returned to Dunedin for the Grip meeting. He purchased some statuary at Samson's amounting to £27 55., after which he went into Samson and said: "Can we get fixed up for the stuff I have just bought? You can take it "off what you^owe me." Sarrison said he did not owe him anything, but that he owed him (Samson)' £12 55., being the difference be*.tween £15.Xwhioh was the price for ■'ff e'''Se97%o*C^ to^SSr^Ttte'offlc?" / fate/dateJie wrote Samson stating that if he would cancel his purchase of the art goods he would accept the gear back, as he "purchased the goods^n the .belief that Samson owed, him £30. /Samson refused, so he promptly sent' j him a bin :, ■•/-''■ / ;'•••"',., McCombe detailed the- birdcage incident. After The Cheat won he said toy.Samson:. You ought to make that cheque £50, not £30," but Samson merely laughed and walked on. '•; ■■ . Cross-examined by Lawyer Irwin, McCombe denied having asked Samson for anything out of the stake after The Cheat had won ' ' Lawyer Irwin: Was your- memory good at that time?— Yes. Well, your memory was so good that you thought you had sold Enare and not The "Cheat ?—I > thought he " had bought Enare .and Lava. , What were you' asking for Enare?— £275. .-'., • ; ."', ...•; „ ' r?*fTto y-p -'" ing f °r The Cheatr—-£250. ;; f Well, there is; a-difference of £25 m the price and yet you thought you had pold Enare?r—l understood he had fought Enare. '

_'■';! If Ware (Samson's trainer) says he' hea^d you offer the whole gear for £15, that; w,ould. not be true?—No, Ware was snot there when I spoke to Samson, , If Chapman and Haig. (saddlers) say that the; gear' was ; not worth £15, would that be .true?—-yhe.' gear was m good order when I sold it. \a/oii *u„ ca j^i Q„ +„ „,u«,v, :+ „,-, - Well, the sadaler to whom t was ... .': -■■,'.. , . taken, says it was, beyond repair. \ Would you agree with that?— No. :; dyrli •.«raines McGregor, assistant to Mcr5 ombe( gaid he was m the birdcage after The Cheat had won. He heard McCombe say to Samson:"You've got a cheap horse now. -Tou ought to make fAat cheque £50, not £30." Lawyer Irwin: Are you sure Samson heard what McCombe said?— Yes, Samson turned round. But you can't be certain Samson heard what was said. You can only be certain that McCombe said sonietW^to him?— Well, he turned round. I dldn t want the gear said Samson m evidence, but McCombe told me he ™s getting right out of the game and asked me to. take the stuff. The^ price mentioned was £15. | I told him I-would get Ware,.to have a look at It. „ „ ' I saw McCombe. again m February, 1926.. He had bought sonic statuary through my fifrii and came to me and said I owed him some money." A dispute arose over the amount, McCombe concluding by saying: "You can keep the stuff."- Later he received an. account from McCombe. , "Deliberate Lies" . _ In a reference to the birdcage incident| Samson- said that after The Cheat had won McCombe said to him: "You ought to give me art extra £50 out of the stake." . "X was asked the same thing m Christchurch when Tuki won just after 1 i l£Lcl bought hini."! He never heard McCombe mention anything about an increase of £30 to £50. Lawyer Hanlon: Then you remember McCombe mentioning . £50?— Yes; he said to me: "It's up to you to give me, an extra £50 out of the stake." Don i t you think it more likely he said you ought to make the cheque £50 instead of £30?-No, I say Mc«"*nf the tiuth.—No, that was never bttm LU meThen they are both telling de-' liberate lies?— Yes. /„.'.. __. 'r , . . Silvester G. Ware, horse.trainer, residing at Wingatui, said he "was with Samson>when McCombe said: '"You can have the gear for £15." Samson toid hirii to have a loolcat it. Lawyer Irwin: • Was anything' said about so much^per set?-^-No. ', • : - r%-j t. o,n x- j* Did you hear £30 mentioned? — pj 0i ' -'■..' .- r' .. , .:.■■, :, ''••.•■ „-, ' Ware, detailed that one saddle, was m bad condition when the gear was bought. The other saddle was not 'used. The boys said it chafed their 1- , „, , J The bridles were too heavy for raciTi E- He thounght £15 good value for them, although he would riot have paid that , him 3 cj f •.. - ■..-'..' '../., v nnfk. If he had thought it a deal for £30 he would not have considered it. . -*■* this stage the magistrate terminated the. proceedings arid nbnsuited McCombe, holding that Samson's story was corroborated and that McCombe had failed to substantiate his argument sufficiently, < '