CANTERBURY DOINGS

Bt Fbitz.

- 'S-fter the bustle and excitement attendant on the New Zealand Cup meeting matters are - now unusually quiet here, and news is very Scarce. / Owners and trainers are preparing 5y If ox meetings in other parts oi the colony, and {there will soon be an exodus for the north. '} pUhe Feildrng meeting will be the first toj reY"jrraire attention, and in a- few days H. Cutts " 'jWill. be leaving for that fixture in. charge of -'JOannie Chiel, Golden Vein, and Tessera. Later - -,<bn the Yaldhurst and Qhokebore teams will ' fbe off to Auckland, while the usual excursion • rto the West Coast by some of ouf trainers' will 1 j-tfurther reduce the strength oi the. horses in training locally. C The weights for the principal handicaps at )the Auckland meeting have come in for some , } Icriticism. The general impression here is that

,'Achilles, Cruoiform s and Martian, have all the % |faest of the argument in the Cup. Mahutonga ' »nd Melodeon appear to be too close up to the *• fcraoka, but the quality of those lower down is co poor that if the three top- weights were- to ->\ ;irop out Mahutonga and Melodeon would be as '^—^miob. fanpied as anything m the race. \' • Regarding the Auckland Railway Handicap, Machine Gun was picked out as well in at ,-" „1.0.0, the weight telegraphed 1 , but from' another j source, I hear his impost is 10.10, which is pnore reasonable in view of his recent performiinces. -f Though Mfr Stead did 1 not succeed in dispos- -, fog of Grand Rapids at auction last week -_ lie was Bold a few days later, and on Friday - p» was shipped to Melbourne. Though many

*emov«s from being a champion, he should '- jp«y his way in Australia. '- Mt J. Pettie, well known in trotting circles, v left ' for Melbourne on Saturday. He took , brith him two of his American-bred trotting knares— Lottie Derby and Ruby Wilkes, — )which he will try , to sell in Victoria. The mare Viva went by the same , Bteainer. Good nominations have been received for ?the Christchurch Racing Club's meeting, ".jwhioh will be held at Plurapion next month. - ?Ehe two-year-old events have filled particu- . larJy well. Miretta, -who was bought by Mr G. W. ; '*_lßmar't after winning the Seymour Handicap , *t the Canterbury Jockey Club's meeting, is

. Vtill an inmate of Xioi3gley*s stable. ".-. Quick&re changed' hands last week, being r ' puxchae-ed by the gentleman, well known „•_ %tl circles, who races under the „ - fesumed name of Mr J. Case. The Hotchki&s ' 'jilly now occupies a box at F. Holmes's eatahr" aishment. The New Zealand Metropolitan Trotting ', 'Club made a substantial profit over its recent • Weeting. I understand that the next improveSanenta to" lie undertaken at the course will - jSnclude the enlargement of the totalisator ac- ?~ Jcommodation. '. The trotting mare Wild Rose, well known on iocai tracks, has foalaci a filly to Rothschild. r , The following foalings are reported from Mr H. Friedlander's Kelburn Stud, Ashburton:—Sans Peur, by Soult— Forme, "a filly to Pilgrim's Progress; Corusa. by Medallion — Iris, a colt to Pilgrim's Progress; Romany Lass, by Gipsy Grand— lris, a filly to Fin- ',/ land ; Stepaway by Perkin Warbeck ll— Kate -'' - v Oreenaway, a filly to San Francisco; and Wai- - <£emata, "by Eiridspord — Aorere, a colt to San Francisco-.

The two-year-old Harvest, by Clanranald — ■v ferolden Vale, has been purchased by the local Jrainer M'Cracken, who intends to turn him " iut for a- few 'months. - Jacket the Grafton— Blue and Gold two- - fear-old, has been thrown out of work, and " koes to her owner's station at Stonyhurst. - ff!he filly is too small and weedy to be worth to ersevering with. D. Moraghafi has taken in hand a two-year-'~Y*d c ol * fe y Finland-Alumini, for Mr J. R. Mackenzie. , , „ 'iLee-Bnfield has quite recovered from the Injuries he received a.t Geraidine, and he is £i active work. - Clarke has got the Australian-bred twe-year-s>ld Eauivalent, by Grafton— -Equipoise, in foork. * She has not made the improvement that was expected while resting. ' Slow Tom will be taken to Auckland for the liumping races at tihe summer meeting, but ' aPhaetontis will not make the trip, f" Astrakan the two-year-old brother to - tPetrovna, is in active commission, but he is irery backward yet. ( W. Brown, the light-weight rider, was laid Kip in bed for several days last week, but he |#jnrow nearly well again.