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LITTLE HERO RING-IN

Like so many clubs racing about the turn of the Century, the Plumpton Park Trotting Club had an involvement with a ring-in case. This concerned the horse, Little Hero, after he had raced and won under the the name ov Maxim at a meeting of the Sheffield Sports Club in the autumn of 1899. The Plumpton Park committee became involved after Little Hero had raced at one of their meetings in 1900.

The first time the Little Hero case was mentioned in the Minute Book was after a committee meeting held on November 21, 1899. It was decided to wait until the secretary of the Sheffield Sports Club became available to provide information.

In March, 1900, it was recorded that a letter had been received from the Malvern Sports Committee saying that action had been taken in the Little Hero case, but the actual penalty imposed was not recorded. Apparently Little Hero raced and won at a Plumpton Park meeting as the minutes of a meeting of the committee held on April 5, 1900 said: "Resolved that a letter be written to Mr J Ward informing him that as the horse Little Hero, has been disqualified by the Trotting Association, the club will pay out the stake in the Midland Handicap to the second horse."

This was by no means the end of the club's involvement in the case. On April 12, 1900, Mr Ward, a farmer of Swannanoa, was interviewed by the committee. He said Little Hero had raced in his name at the Cust Sports Club's meeting the previous September, and he had finished third at Ohoka. Mr Ward said he had never heard of the man S Stewart, who had been disqualified after Little Hero had raced under the name of Maxim at Sheffield. He could not say whether Little Hero had raced in his name or that of another person at Greymouth. Mr Ward told of how he had ordered a third party to uplift the stakes won by Little Hero at Greymouth, but this had not been possible as the funds involved had been impounded.

On April 19, 1900, Mr Sheppard, secretary of the Sheffield Sports Club, told the committee that the sports committee had made every endeavour to find out the true identification of the horse, which had raced as Maxim. They were satisified that Maxim and Little Hero were the same horse. The person named Stewart refused to meet the Sheffield committee. Messrs Leecham, G rutherford, jun., and I Cresswell, who saw the horse, Little Hero, when he raced at Plumpton Park , said he was identical with Maxim.

The Sheffield committee was of the opinion that Mr S Stewart was acting on behalf of someone else in the affair. The Plumpton Park committee decided to ask Mr Rutherford to forward the description of ther horse, Maxim, as recorded by him at Sheffield the previous April. Mr Rutherford's reply was that he had mislaid the description of Maxim was received by the Plumpton Park committee on May 17, after which it was decided that as the horse had been disqualified at Sheffield, the horse, Little Hero, should not be placed in the Midland Handicap run at Plumpton Park.

Credit: Canterbury Park TC: Ring-In