NOTES ON RACING.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 178, 22 April 1908, Page 4

NOTES ON RACING.

, [bt .'TELEGRAPH. —SPKCiAI, COHTIESrOS'DENT.] - ' CHristehurchj April 21. ■ : As an appetiser for the geed things that were to como later-en in tho day a meeting betweon Armlet aiid Flitaway -over ■ a five ifurlcng couraa was quite satisfactory,. It is. ,tfuo that the last-named. was iii. receipt of, 81b. from Yaldhurst's rfepresbntativo,. but. she won so readily that it is probable, sho is tlio . better .filly of tho two. . .

Pleasing thoiugh .it was to see-Zimmerman cany - tho sfceiKiror of 9st. 31b. to victory in the' Great Autumri.Haridiciip,' the raco itself was a .plugging sort of an affair all through. In tho : first place, a-vory moderate pace was set, your correspondent . timing..' tlio -'firstquarter to' bo run in 23 1-os'cc., half a'ir.il© in sGsec.','i six furlongs in lmin. 23 3-ssec./ and ;the mile in lmin. 49 1-osec; • Under tho circumstances,' Jones, did quito right to lot Zimmerman stride cloco up to the leaders a? tho back stretch jwas entered," arid albeit his iniount was subsequently tv/ico interfered with j'first .near the nnlo post, and .'again whilst-'rounding .tlio top turn, it Was, largely owing to his good horsemanship.that the.fav.orfritg pulled his 'badkors throiigh. . Many good judges are of opinion \tliat'.had Sifen6r> toon haiidlod'- with anything like tho. sanie ii's.; was- Ziminerman ,their .rcspec T tivo'positions as'tho' winning post was'iiisaed would.'have been reversed. 80. tliis- as' it may, 'Mouiitahf. King's half-brother ..'.was, .so. t-o.'speak,' all over-the placo,.and apparently ran his race in'a series of spurts with intervals 'of ■ slackened speetl in beWeeh.- AH things considered, he did. right, well .to run his doughty opponent to'a head. -' 1 .

, Foniaio' Franchise's bonny daughter Gjvendolina was,, imfortunately, , not in a position .to do herself , justice, her; near foro fetlock, having been, badly-jarred as she was getting through ono of her final gallops last- week. Sho was distinctly;sore,'and her connections,' 'who had previously looked upon the race as something in the naturo of a good thing for. hcr,_ oiily, started her on tlio off chadice thatduring tlio heat of > f tho battle .she might be able to forget her troubles.

: Ev<£n those who were hoard to express' tlio opinion ! that Golden'Slippor's performance in the Champagne Stakes was, in view of Fleetfoot's breakdown, no great achievement, have now joined' the : ranks of this beautiful filly's' ardent admirers. ;In the Sixteenth Challenge; • Stakes < sho,, simply played with All Red and Gleiiculloch, and again .scored ; without, ever,- being .'asked to fully extend herself. . How. good she .really, isvwc must, wait until next'spring to. learn, but oil present appearances, seeing that she Can both begin quickly and stay, stich of next season's classic events as her owner may 'allow.'heir,-to take jjart in are, practi--caliy 'at her .mercy. This looks, the ,more certain when it is borno in mind'that Multiform's gets -almost invariably..'.do better ; in their second season on the turf than in their first. Sportsmen throughout tile Dominion will hope that the news of -her brilliant victory this afternoon may have done something towards cheering up her owner, whoso condition, though happily not quite so serious as was at first thought, is still far'from being what.his',.friends could wish.