NEW ZEALAND GRAND NATIONAL MEETING.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 9813, 24 August 1897, Page 2

NEW ZEALAND GRAND NATIONAL MEETING.

"Weekly Press and Referee."

ON THE LAWN AND IN THB

PADDOCK.

[BY Sl-KUTATOR.)

-"he twenty-second anniversary of the New Ze.il.tnd Grand National Meeting, celebrated on Thursday and Saturday last at Riccarton, long styled, and justly so, the racing headquarters of this colony, has certainly to be numbered with the moat successful of corresponding gatherings held under the auspices of the Canterbury Jockey Club. And, indeed, there is no g_Jnsayi-g the fact that the sport has so continued to increase in favour, and to meet with such genuine encouragement and patronage at the hands of the general community—the horse-owning public in particular—that the meeting of the past two seasons, at least, would favourably compare with " National " meetings held in our sister colonies. Why "should they not ? In the matter of attendances, larger crowds have, of course, been assembled at Flemington and Caulßcld, but no racing reunions of the kind south of the line could be found whereat the interests of sportsmen generally are better conserved. The mixed bill of fare is one. that has taken immensely. The Grand National Steeplechase Handicap and Grand National Hurdle Handicap, other open hnrdle nnd steeplechasing events, hona fiile hunters' contests, over hurdles, over country, and on the flat ; the bracelet, and heavy and medium -weight flat races, all help to make the meeting deservedly what it is— extremely popular, and, we aresure, now that the meeting of 1897 is a memory of the past, that most; people who were fortunate enough to witnt-ss it, and who can enjoy good allround racing, will carry with them the most pleafnv able recollections of the year when Levanter and Umslnpogaas accounted for the big double. There was certainly a very large and representative assemblage, though there were numerous notable absentees, as is'invariably the case. There are always thoee who are obliged to calculate their fileasurc by the cost thereof, and some perorce rauat remain away, but most city people who could contrive to get to Riccarton did so, and Canterbury sent a very large proportion of the visitors on both days to meet those from other provinces. No doubt a great factor in tho success of the National Meetings has been the hunting events, and if the \m\ae of the people can be judged aright, long'will hunting, steeplechasing and racing pro-per remain to tell the tale to posterity how the people revere the pastimes of their forefathers. Their offerings in this respect indicate too well what their sympathies and aspirations are. Weeks, yes, months before the time for the decision of our National meeting, the sporting world anticipates with delight the approach of the carnival, and _rymptosns of its coming are seen on every band. Visitors continue to follow each other hy train and by steamer, and as the -tables at headquarters fill, so do the hotels and houses of accommodation iv the city aud snhnrbs, while residents prepare to receive their friends from more or less distant parts. Strange faces are met in the streets, and BSmerous familiar ones too, all cordially •welcome—members of the House of Representatives, men of well-known commercial Standing from different parts of the colony, the squatocracy, hunting enthusiasts, more or less prominent horse owners, trainers, jockeys, bookmakers, and friends of sport generally, and, in the train of all, the usual force of hangers on congregate as the time draws near. If it takes all classes to make a world it certainly takes a variety of folk to make up an average racing assembly. Some only have the- desire or the means to attend a few of the leading meetings of the year, others contrive to be present at all gatherings of note, and a section have a peripatetic existence, so to speak- and travel about, getting _ro.t-.one town to another, finding the wherewithal goodness knows how, missing very few meetings indeed, and under only very exceptional circumstances a Grand National at Riccarton. Young people aa well as old frequently save their earnings for that festive occasion, with many the meeting of the year. I confess that it is the meeting of the year that I should prefer to witness, if I had to make a selection from the annual calendar. With the prospect of witnessing such good sport as has been provided in the past at Riccarton, it is Bmall wonder that the city of Christchurch and suburbs is periodicafly crowded with visitors in its upper and lower compartments; some to live in lavish comfort, others willing to put up with very ordinary faro and soiree inconvenience for the week rather than have to stay away. The scores of people that we see at the races,' bat seldom see anywhere else, are only-after all subjects for passicg wonder as to Where they come from. Many are, of coarse, known to us, but in such a concourse some perforce must come and go •unseen. The list of visitors was probably a "record one for Grand National week. The trains conveyed more people to the course than was the case last year, and the roads beinjrrin exceptionally fine condition—thanks to a long spell of fine weather—the traffic along the main avenue from the city was fronrething to behold, the five mile drive to and from the course being not the least pleasurable part of the outing to many. The old coaching days, it not quite numbered, certainly appear to be on the decline, the private four-in-hands that were regularly the objects of attraction on the road have been superseded by lighter turnoats, bob nowhere, however, within the colony, or colonies, for a matter of that, is there; to be found a larger variety or better horsed" lot of vehicles than can be seen on the road, and at the scene of operations, -whk_K wo reach as some hundreds of passenger- from the train are making their way tram the railway platform to the main gate behind the grandstands, or dispersing to other parts of the racecourse grounds.

We were just in time. The paddock was bung thronged, and the hunters to compete in the first event were being led or ridden round that enclosure. As familiar faces of hunting devotees, men and women, all intent upon the business on hand, came into view, we could quickly fortell that the assemblnge would be one of the most representative of bunting interests, for were we not early confronted with a trio of masters of hounds in Mr A. Lyon, Christchurch, Mr G. B. Starkey, Amberley, add Mr C A. Loughmm, of Hawke's Bay, the last-named bwng represented in the race by Puketoi, who had won a hunter's race at the Hawke's Bay Meeting. Mr Cottle rode, but neither that gentleman nor Mr EC. A. Russell, who had his gelding Tamairanga down from the same quarter, had any say in the finish ; •nor, indeed, had the other -tawke's Bay representative, Coastguard (ridden by Mr R. Barley) for the simple reason that they were quite outpaced by the pair of Ashburton geldings. Kuku and Dundee. Kuku ia a lengthy, low set and powerfully made son of s»*f__m Warbeck TI., owned by Mr 3. C. N. Grigg, (who we were pleased to see present) ; Xniit-ee, an upstamVing if very leggy bay, owned by Mr George. None oi the other ■aompetitors hod a chance, the useful but cross-grained South Canterbury gelding, Armstrong, absolutely refusing to leave the post, while Powder Monkey, in the hands of Mr O. Bradley, quite failed to ran up to the expectations of her connections and the mlifio, who mado her a favourite. St. W-oolHffeao feW, gw'mg Mr Gilchrist a -a&stv abakiisg, bat not before being beaten o&, tine TVcmedu.. owned Rosly _, -who rt_a into tit—d pht-e, being ths best of the others. Kttku waa nddon by Mr B. Wjm--WiU.&*a-_ and Dundee hy Air Nelson McKae, and they appear to be a fairly useful pair of geldings. Mr Grigg received many congratulations ~sxm hie success with Kuku, and it should be pointed out that that gentleman has had sone very good representatives in horses he has previously brooght from Longbeach to re-present him, notably Gillie, Matariki, and Vagabond. Mr N. Mcßae is a son erf Mr R. E. Mcßae, who was present, ■nd who, it will be remembered, vtsited us with Whalebone a season or two back, and for many years, when in partnership with Mr W. Nicholson, had some of the best known 'chasers in the colony, Rustic, Butcher Boy, Medora and GafceUe, to wit. Walking round tbe Sddoctc we came across " Mr G. \\ illiams," r Banks, the owner of Umslopogaas, whom wo were so soon to congratulate upon the aucoess of his smart gelding in the Maiden Hurdle Handicap. Mr Banks has not had a great deal of rack with his horses, and '«Slops"—as the son of Puritan is often referred to—ran well, but with a lot. of ill. fortune, a season or two back. He had been raced a few times over hurdles hat was probably never turned out in such superb condition since he has been at the JVmMeiatLej-A «a_, mo-mara-. ha lamped:

well and never gave his opponents a chance. Notwithstanding the favour in which Mr Sefton's pair, Quiltiri and Arquebus, were held, Umslopogaas was made favourite. Quiltiri twisted a plate and did not show to advantage, while F. Holmes on Arquebus broke a stirrup leather and, consequently, rode at a great disadvantage. Quiltiri looked just a trifle big, and short of work, Arquebus, on the other hand to have done plenty. Of the others Maxim's son, Misstire, aeenied on the big side and short of schooling work. Fireworks appeared very tit to the eye,.and had a lot of supporters. Monte Carlo looked very well, but neither he nor any of the others were much fancied. Indeed, the runner up, Kaitai, who was a 50 to 1 chance, performed so well by comparison with all the unplaced division that they were at once voted a poor lot. Subsequent form, however, showed that there waa at least fair merit in Kaitara running, though he quite surprised his owner and connections. Had he been in the hunters' races, he would bave won a stake, but after his Maiden Hurdle running and the way he finished, people were suggesting that he ought to have been in the National Hurdles, as he appeared to run it out like a good stayer. It might be pointed out that Kaitai is the property of Mr G. L. Rutherford, whose brothers, Duncan and W. O. each had a representative in the same race. All three were present, as also were Messrs Andrew and E. S. Rutherford, the latter from Picton ; and, by the way, the second generation was well represented, this very noticeably when the saddling of the Maiden candidates was going on. 1 should not wonder were both Agent-General and Jib to turn out viseful hurdlers.

The Maiden over, the way was cleared for the event of the meeting, the New Zealand Grand National Steeplechase, valued at 650 soys, and the scratching board denoted that but one of the candidates had dropped out. This was Highlander, who was purchased by the Squire of Leslie Hills to carry the "black, white sash," that Norton Ahua, Kulnine and Co. had carried successfully at previous Grand National meetings. It was a great disappointment to Mr Rutherford and to his many friends, who had come prepared to invest on Highlander's chauce, to find that he had had to be withdrawn at the eleventh hour in consequence of lameness, which showed itself the afternoon after hia last gallop. It came as a surprise to his owner, and also to his trainer, Mr H. Lunn, who has prepared, and also ridden, previous winners, and was quietly confident of Highlander making a respectable showagainst all comers, that he should, after standing up to his work to the last day, have to be withdrawn. For ourselves we reflected having taken a small wager over night, for the sake of the long odds chiefly, and to indulge in an outside fancy that, for once in a way, it would have been better to have waited. Then we sauntered round to see the Bixteen whose numbers had been hoisted on the board, and the first to whioh our attention wm directed was Mutiny, the dual winner in 1895 and 1896, surrounded by numerous admirers, and certainly looking very pink, so well indeed that after such a levee it was not a matter for wonder that Mr Douglas's fine gelding, who was to be ridden by his old pilot, Hope, retained his place as favourite. Amongst some Hawke's Bay visitors who cast more than one glance at the chief hope of that province we noticed Mr T. R. Moore, of Waimarama (who has owned some good horses in recent years); Mr T. H. Lowry (owner of St. Conon), -who essayed to win the Steeplechase with Gondolier a few years ago; Mr H. A. Russell, son of Captain Russell, who was conspicuous by his absence. Mr W. Douglas, Mutiny's owner, seldom misses a " National" Meeting, but this time his son, John, filled the vacancy caused by the father's absence. Another Te Mahanga-bred one in Dummy, who last year won the Grand National Hurdle Handicap, came in for a deal of notice, and—were it not that he looked short of a gallop or two, and his hind legs, unlike those of Mutiny, were somewhat bowed as th© result of feeling his fences — there was no fault to find with the way in which he was turned out. His connections were apparently very confident indeed of him succeeding. More than one sportsman came all the way from Taranaki to see this horse and yet another Te Mahanga-bred one in The Friar, run for the stake, and a majority of those from the West Coast of the North Island who were partial to Dummy's chance expressed the same opinion that The Friar, rough-looking and unkempt as he appeared, was the worst horse Dummy would have to beat. The respective owners, Mr F.Watson and Mr Monte Mills, have been visiting owners before, but there was yet another owner from 'tother side of Mount Egmont, in Mr J. Goodson, whose hunter, Bradshaw, was in the field. The brothers Shove, owners of Booties, Mr Newton King, Mr Richard Cock, Mr J. B. Connett and Mr C. Enderby were amongst friends of sport from Taranaki, the Messrs Shove with a representative in Ulysses, engaged in a minor event. Tally-ho and Morag, the former looking very nice and the latter somewhat rough, came in for some attention, Morag more on account of his towering height than for any other reason. Mr Richardson was not present to see the giant start, but Mr J. Blake, the owner of Tally-ho, was. It is quite twenty-five years since " Jack " Blake used to race horses at "tlie front," as the.-Hawera-Waihi district district waa then known, and when Grand Nationals were only dreams of the future. A. Elli-gham, who lode Chemist to victory in the year 1889, trained Morag, but was not over sanguine about the big half-brother to

Roscius. I hardly fancy that Mr A'Deane anticipated a win with his game little mare Flirt, who was quite out-classed. It ia a long time since "Tommy" Hodson first piloted Perfume to victory over the Ellerslie steeplechase country, then one of the most trying steeplechase coarses in the colony. And looking at the old-time favourite horseman, as he superintended the saddling of Perform, one could hardly believe that nearly twenty years have winged their night since" the memorable occasion when the then light-weight (?st 21bs) was put up with over five stone of dead weight, and rode Perfume to victory for the second time amidst the greatest enthusiasm. Yet such is the case. Perform, how ever, does not appear at his best, though a very good stamp of horse. Other Aucklanders find more favour. Mr J. Rae's Kitigswood, a somewhat lean-looking, longbacked son of Ingomar, whose-jumping had so captivated some ot the punters and pleased moat people that he was made a better favourite than his stable companion, who, I understand, is the joint property of a well-known commercial traveller, "who races under the iu>m de course of Mr Archibald arid Rae himself. Though the public fancied the lighter-weighted one of the pair, Rae made no secret of the fact that he expected to beat him with Levanter, and he told mc that, though Levanter was usually a slow and most careful fencer, especially at gorse, he had never put a foot wrong with him in all his schooling and racing over fences ; and he looked to his mount to jump the big obstacles quite as fast towards the end of the long journey as anything else in the race. The amount of racing Levanter had done this season, too, was another thing that Rae looked to, and a jockey was never more hopeful of success when he left the paddock, nor could horse look fitter. The son of Captivator is not a big horse by any means. Mutiny wonld weigh the heavier of the pair. Why he did not have a better following on the day one cannot pretend to say, but it was a matter of remark that, while there were three Auckland horses running, conspicuous visitors from that part could not be found in numbers. Mr James Martin, who has an interest in one fancied New Zealand Cup candidate, and Mr D. McLeod, who owns Sabretache, were amongst the few horse-owners present from the far north. Amongst Wellingtonian visitors whose faces are familiar, but who are not in the ownership list, we noticed Captain Falkner, of Torpedo fame, Mr Allan McGuire, Mr Wilkie and Mr H. K. Bethune, and they, like the majority of visitors, were not inclined to give the solitary representative of the province, Dromedary, a show. The owner of the mare, Mr Walter Armstrong, of the Wairarapa, used to be a regular visitor, and had a firmly rooted opinion that Dromedary—undersized and unlike a Grand National candidate though she is—could, with a light impost, not only negotiate the country cleverly but stay the journey well. He was not present to see how nearly his opinion came to realization. His little mare stripped, as waa predicted in my last budget, fitter than I hud ever seen her before, but there were only two horses engaged that carried less money, and these were Te Kooti, who was very lame, and Flirt. Dundonald was ridden by Mr H. G. Pitt, his owner, who annually has a decent representative or two at *" National" time, and he looks a good sort, though trying to win a Grand National with Duntroon's son is perhaps classing him rather high. Nat appeared fresh enough but not thoroughly seasoned, and the other Dunedin representative, Ulster, did not look up to Grand National form. Mr W. H. Middle ton, her owner, was present, and amongst prominent Otago owners and friends of sport were the erstwhile owners of Gipsy Grand and Occident, Messrs Stephenson and Hazlett, Mr Charles Bird (who never misses a meeting at Riccarton), Mr Sinclair Thomson, Mr J. P. Reid, breeder of Skirmisher, and the master of the Eldevslie stud, where Gipsy Grand and Stepniak are located. More than one of these gentlemen might have been heard deploring the fact that Otago never seemed to produce anything up to the required standard of excellence for such a contest, and the defection of Highlander, already referred to, left Riccarton with but a solitary representative in Mr C. G. Dalgety's Gillie, runner-up to Mutiny laat year. Gillie looked well, but one of his legs was encased in a bandage,' and his friends had almost deserted him on account of his infirmities. Still thc field, taken all round, was a creditable ohe, perhaps the beat that has gone out for the race, the story which is told elsewhere. Had Dummy had an uninterrupted preparation he might perhaps—l think would —have outstayed the bestof the opposition, and Mutiny, despite his weight, would probably have beaten Levanter had he been raced into form in public as Levanter was. As the race was run, I fancy Dromedary, but for the accident which befel her when racing Mutiny home, would have caught the eye of the judge first. What The Friar, or Tally-ho, or others that made mistakes in the race might have succeeded in doing it is hard to say, but both Hope and Rae fancied The Friai*'s chance when he came to grief more than their own. Dromedary, when racing well up second round the back, struck a bank heavily, thereby losing a great deal of ground, and actually had worse luck than any of those that stood up all through. I feel constrained to say, remembering she has been over the country before, I should hesitate before backing-any one of the placed horsea against her if they were to meet again over the same country, and I am sure that she would not be allowed to go out aso*o 1 chance. Far be it from mc to detract from the merits of the winner, a horse I am pleased to say I kept on my side all through. He won and won meritoriously, and Rae, his trainer and rider, deserves all the credit attached to so important an achievement, one I feel sure he will look upon, after over twenty years experience as a horseman, as the triumph of his life, giving in his wins on Agent, Chandler, Alavic, Falcon, Orangeman, Levanter, and other horses over the Ellerslie country, and other of his -successful effortß between the flags. Hope, who rode Mutiny, can console himself with the recollection of past successes and the fact that three wins and two seconds in five years is a unique record. He, as usual, rode a good finish. Before concluding my reference to the race, I would just point out that a drop of the good old Musket blood courses through the veins of the winner, his danSteel All being by the horse that has given us the best of our stayers. The defunct Captivator was his sire.

The excitement of the big race over, and with more leisure to look rouud in the succeeding intervals between the events, we met numerous friends and friends of sport, amongst them more hunting enthusiasts than ever. It was not until the big race was decided that I came across Mr F. Brittain, who owned the first New Zealand Grand National Steeplechase winner in Royalty, Mr G. Williams, who owned Fakir, and soon afterwards Mr L. Markey, who a year later won the prize with that great fencer Mousetrap. Indeed,therewetepresent,l soonfonud, quite a, number oi owners of previous winners —Mr P. Butler, who by the aid of Agent thrice annexed the race ; Mr Murray Hobbs, who with his brother Campbell owned Moody, the hero oi 1885 ; Mr H. Lunn, who owned Canard, the horse that carried the biggest weight to victory ; Mr G. Rhodes, owner of Freeman, and, as previously mentioned, Mr Duncan Rutherford ; whose colours were carried to the front by Ah _a. The -ranks of owners of jumpers, if thinned in the South Island, continue to increase in other parts, and so long as the interest in hunting is maintained, there need be no fear for the future of our GranNational meetings. Members of tbe Christchurch Hunt Club were in strong force. Messrs A. E. G. Rhodes, H. J. Beswick, G. McClure, T. Bassett, C. Palairet, L. O. Mathias, J. D. Hall, H. A. Knight, C. Dalgetty, C. N. and E. M. Turrell, T. L. and W. B. Cowlishaw, G. Gould, B. L. Lane, W. Buckley, H. Cotterill and J. Overton were amongst those who came under notice. Amongst the visitors from Ashburton and South Canterbury were Messrs J. C. N. Grigg, A. L., T. H. and J. M. Barker, Stitt, J. C Thierens, R. H. and G. A. Rhodes, W. St. Lindsay, J. Mundell, Priest, Guinness, Elworthy, Gordon P. Wood (the energetic secretary of the South Canterbury J.C), B. R. Macdonald, O. Thomson, Gunn, Murray, and the brothers Friedlander. From North Otago were noticed Messrs H. and C. Tesohemaker, Park, Glasson, O. R. Wise (owner of Ilex, and a great friend of coursing), J. Cnrran, French, Garrick, Turnbull, J. Fitzgerald, C. Kennedy, F. Simmons, J. F. Reid—most of these well-known as racing officials in their respective districts, but more or less identified with hunting as well. From North Canterbury came Messrs G. H. Helmore, Boss, Allan, Wilder, Mark Scott, Dampier-Crossley, Robinson, Buaoh, A. S. Clack-on. H. C. i. B_ile__ _=_,

G. W. Gray, D. Dixon, A. -f. Hay, E. Mulcock, R. VV. Mathias, R. Blunden, F. H. Courage, W. Thomson, G. B. Starkey (Master of the Brackenfield Hounds), L. H. Lane, P. T. Barker, S. Coleman, and T. McNaught. And the Bays district sent a fairly large contingent of visitors to the scene, amongst others being Messrs E. E. Lclievre, H. Piper, K. Hay, Hugh and J. Buchanan, O. Bradley, and H. G. Holmes. From the Ellesmere district were Messrs W. G. Lunn, F. Jackson, Geo. Rhodes, F. C. Perry, and others. Mr M. Walker, the one-time owner of Liberator, Mr Fricker, starter ot the Greymouth Jockey Club, represented the West Coast of the South Island; and from Nelson was noticed young Mr Fred. Redwood, who at Papanui* a day or two previously distinguished himself at the Pigeon Match, and Mr Gaukrodger, who, as far back as the sixties, was clerk of the course to the old Nelson Jockey Club. It would be impossible to make mention of all the visitors, and many old-time race-goers and men more or less prominent in the sporting world may have been missed in the crowd. We must not, however, neglect to note that the senior member for Christchurch, Mr Chas. Lewis, was amongst those who were to be seen " on the lawn and in the paddock," and the prominent figure of another M.H.R. in Mr J. Cathcart Wason, a steward of the C. J.C, was to be seen, while other law makers were the native member, Mr Hone Heke (who is a regular visitor) and Mr Frazer, member for one of the Lakes districts.

And now the minor races of the first day must be briefly referred to. Crocus, the winner of the Tally-ho Plate, owed her victory chiefly to the riding of Mr N. Mcßae, and being a straight goer and good fencer, also partly to the mishaps that befel several of her opponents. Indeed, the result was another exemplification of the saying " the race is not always to the swift nor the victory to the strong, but time and chance happeneth to all," for Rainbow, while winning, ran off at the last fence and Boneen at the first of the stand double ; Jorrocks over-jumped and came down, and Dnnraven and Longfellow also made mistakes. The Ladies' Bracelet was easily won by Mrs T. H. Dowry's Capon Rouge, Mrs H. Knight's Nicholas tilling the same position he did last year, the more-fancied Coleheck quite failing to stay though showing plenty of pace, while the Aucklander, Dentist, who was favourite, ran most disappointingly. Violence was made a very pronounced favourite in the Enfield Steeplechase, and, though some lengths behind Armstrong, Rawai and Coastguard at the last fence— where Armstrong ran off—she came striding home in nice style. With the exception of the winner and Armstrong the field was one of hunters, Armstrong being a useful but very unreliable and unsound gelding. A baker's dozen went out for the Winter Handicap, Golden Plover and Maremma, both looking well, being the favourites. The field ran in close order throughout, Wedlock being the actual last turning for the straight and the greatest outsider in the race, but he came well all down the running and, wearing down Vandyke and Maremma at the Finish, landed the stake cleverly, and each of his few supporters received the substantial dividend of. £62 14s 6d. Golden Plover did not get a clear run, but probably the best horse at the weights won. Chaos and Monte Carlo were the only New Zealand Cup candidates in the race, and they did not show up at all well, though Monte Carlo finished fourth. Mrs Alan Scott's Warrior was the most fancied of the Hunt Club Ladies Bracelet horses, but Miss Cowlishaw's Walrus was always handy to the favourite, and the pair, drawing away from their field, the latter won cleverly with a little to spare. On the second day, which was the very antipodes of Thursday, a cold sou-west wind blowing, and the ground somewhat moistened after rain, it was fit and proper that Sou-westers son Boreas should be early to the fore ; and that gelding without much exertion cut down the Ashburton representative, Double Event, and Manaw.inui at the finish of the opening event, the August Handicap, in which he was installed first favourite. Then the North Island visiting hunters Coastguard, Puketoi and Rambler finished in the places, after a capital race, for the much coveted Hunt Club Cup, Armstrong having run off twice, and Justice, who was going really well aud looking likely to win, coming to grief. Rawai, penalised through having to carry a professional rider, having the big weight of 13st lib up, finished fourth. Mr R. E. Harley rode the winner, who made better time than any horse has previously done in the race, and Mr Loughnan, who is a most enthusiastic sportsman, was up on Puketoi, and also rode a good finish, and, but for coming on the inside, the result might have been much more exciting. As it was, it was a splendid race, for old Rambler played a strong hand in the triangular battle. The first and second are sons of good old Opawa. After this came the piece de resistance of the second day, the New Zealand Grand National Hurdle Handicap, for which the fine field of fourteen were stripped and sent to the post punctual to time, Tally-ho, (having, it is said, got cast in her box overnight) Quiltiri and Dentist being the withdrawals. Social Pest certainly looked very well, and Levanter went to the post not bearing the slightest signs of having come iv contact with the Grand National fences; and there were many who fancied he had a chance in the race, and he actually came third in public favour. Umslopogaas, who won the Maiden Race in such good style, was the favourite, with Ilex next in demand, while Golden Plover and Voltigeur ran each other close for fourth position in the automaton recorder. After these five horses anything would have paid over a £10 dividend. Ilex certainly bore a seasoned appearance, and Voltigeur who was raced in hind shin boots, though showing the marks of hie accident of a fortnight previously, appeared to have shaken off all soreness. Jewel stripped very pink, and the only one that really looked quite out-classed was the little Hawke's Bay mare Flirt. Missfire and Monte Carlo each appeared all the better for the racing they had done on*the first day, while Fireworks also stripped well: The story of the race is told elsewhere. There was some little scrambling at the outset of the race in. the rush for places to the first hurdle, which waa rather narrow for a big field, and Fire-

works and Levanter fared the worst, while Voltigeur also got shut out. Umslopogaas was one of the first to get going, and making a fine leap over the first hurdle landed well in front of tha opposition, and was out by himself passing the stand. It was Dummy's race over again. But while last year's winner led from end to end the field were always close in his wake ; in Urnslopogaas's case not one of his opponents even canie within striking distance, and everything seemed hopelessly beaten a very long way from home. The winner was easing up passing the post, and there is no doubt he could have set up a time record had he been allowed to stride along the whole way. Both Fireworks and Voltigeur might have beeu closer had they got well away. R. Kingan, the rider and trainer, who has been for a long time out of luck, was the recipient of many congratulations on the smiles of fortune he has been receiving. Aud so was his owner, Mr Banks, who generously remarked that he thought his late trainer, T. Clarke, was also entitled to a good deal of the praise for the time he had bestowed and attention he gave to the horse while in his, Clarke's, hands.

The presence of Mutiny in the Beaufort Steeplechase lent additional interest to the race ; despite his crushing burden he was the choice of the bulk of backers. The unexpected that so often happens occurred early in the race for the Beaufort Steeplechase by .becoming tv grief of Mutiny. Pulling very hard he was running last coming to the post and rails, and not seeing the fence he took off at the same time as the two horses immediately preceding him. Mutiny landed on the jump and rolled over, Hope being thrown clear, the hcrse also escaping unhurt. The fall was the first Mutiny has had in New Zealand, and the first when ridden by Hope. He came to grief more than once in Australia. Mishaps did _ot cud here, for Clarence came to earth at Cutts's; his rider, F. Holmes, however, stuck to the saddle, and rose with the horse. Another clever recovery was that of W. Higgins on Bradshaw, opposite the stand; both riders were cheered on returning to the paddock. The finish of the contest was left to The Friar and Violence, the Wellington Steeplechase winner outstaying the mare. Ktiku followed up his victory of the Thursday by appropriating very easily the Second Hunters' Hurdles. The acceptances for the Final Hurdle Race, for which there were twelve entrants, stopped short at half a dozen, Fireworks being installed favourite. He did not give his backers much cause for uneasiness, as he always had the best of the race, and with Quiltiri falling at the last fence, he was left to finish at his leisure. Besides Quiltiri, Jib fell, the riders of each escaping with a shaking. Odds were laid on Maremma for the Islington Handicap, and he won, but he had not much to spare from Sir Agnes. The Hunters' Plate proved an easy thing for Piccolo, a son of Flageolet and a mare known in the North Island as TeteWeka. Itwas Piccolo's first appearance, and he shaped very well, upsetting a strong favourite in Walrus, the Hunt Club Bracelet winner of the previous day. Thus came to a termination one of the most successful meetings held in the Canterbury Jockey Club's history, and one that will long be remembered by thoße who witnessed it.