The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1909-07-12
D ROURkE GIVES
HIS VERSION
Makes Affidavit That He Had
No Money Up on Hilo
Races.

1neTe are always two sides to q
question and it seems only fair that
John @ Rourke should have a chance
to have his say after the load of in
vective that has been discharged all
over the place by those who visited
the Hilo race meeting
| Mr.. o 'Rourke is quoted correctly in
| the following statement and it is pub
Hshed IN order that the public can
draw its own conclusions after having
had both sides of the question pre.
scented.
John O'Rourke made the following
statement to the Advertiser represen,
| tative before the latter left Hilo:
Had it not been for the Ill advised
action of the Judges in not allowing
Jockey Maluna to fill his engagements
OF the day, the trouble in the Mer-
chants Stakes might have been avoid
ed. Malnna was ruled off for pulling
Weber in the first race on Monday in
which race declared to win with his
stable companion Adriana Lecouvreur. !.
There was no other boy in sight and i
| mad to put up Vineente, a stableman |
We1ghlng l40 pounds, on Major Collier I
IN the stake race. The race was RIM
IN 2:ls and Vincente rode Major Col I
ier tor dear life. The latter should +
nave earned l21 pounds and I am will i
ing to wager that Weber will beat
bfugheHl s horse at the same weights
4
every time. Major Collier had a hard 4
race IN the Hawaiian bred mile on the
hrst day and the ride Vincente with
d4o pounds up gave him pretty near {.
the horse. And they say that
Major Collier was pulled.
II tried hard to get competent
Jockey to ride Major Collier in his en-
gagements on Monday and offered Me-
Auiiffe 500 bonus beside the regular J
rec to ride the horse in the Merchants
stakes and in the six furlongs for Ha-
waiian-breds. I selected him because
knew that he was one of the best !
ooys at the track and would take care
II the horse. One of my jockeys was
jan and another was suffering from i
broken eoliarbone. For some reason
dcAullffe refused my offer and I had | q
o put up whoever / could get. Ir
don t think that the Judges in 7
ended to work an intentional hardship a
m anyone in ordering the stake race v
e,run They simply didn' t know the
ules OF racing and were up against t
man who knows them from begin I
ing to end and did not hesitate to ~
invoke them for his own protection. In
Both | and Mr.. Brughelli told the ]
Judges that the meeting was being con- 5
iucted under the rules of the Califor- 4
ia Jockey Club and they cannot Q
lenv il.
The talk about Banonica being pull !,
ID IN the race for the Merchants, &
stakes is childish and foolish. The .
mare was IN no shape to start and was :
MY started to make the race possible !,
'nder the conditions governing it. The
tatement that [ backed Weber to :
vim this race is barefaeed lie and :
made out Of the whole cloth for / :
Ildn have bet on this race and can .
rove it. To substantiate these state .
nents, You are at liberty to make use 7
I the following affidavit: y
John 'Rourke being duly sworn 9
leposes and says. that he had no It
money on any horse that ran in the
Merchants stake race That he never q q
uthoflzed any one to bet for him or
n his behalf on any of the horses a
hat ran in said race That he had V.
70 object in having any of the horses 81
n said race pulled or held back. for
ne reason he had charge and owned
II of the horses that ran in said race.
hat Banonica, through the fall she :,
ad on Saturday, July 8, 1909, dis u
bled herself, and that a certificate W
Eas given by DR.. Elliot, stating that VI
ne was IN no fit condition to run. n,
ut on account of the fact that three r.
orses must start in the said Mer-
1ants stake race, and to make it pos fe
bic that he (the said John O'Rourke) on
ofain the purse, were the reasons she fr
banonlca) was started in the afore- nj
nd race. That after the said race ia
3 took the said Banonica to the dr.
idges stand and had the Judges look
her condition. John O'Rourke. Sub 90
ribbed and sworn to before me this III
h day of July, A. D. 1909 w. II. mf
GERS. Notary Public, Fourth Judicial
rcuit, T. Fl. tn,
u would ike to say word with ma
gard to my stable. Mr. Brughelli eri
Id Mr.. Colin MeLennan gave me their en-,