CANTERBURY CHAT

NZ Truth, Issue 569, 13 May 1916, Page 10

CANTERBURY CHAT

(By "The Looker-On.")

With the exception of Crib, the jumpers at Ashburton were a very scrubby lot. Bon was lame at the end of ihe Ashburton meeting, and it will bo some time before ho will bo seen out again. Bandy showed himself to' be. a fairly useful horae last week by whining two races and running second his third time out. Bollshiro was made the medium of some solid betting, both on and off the course, last week. He ran two fair races, but they were not good enough to get first place. The Downshire gelding, is only moderate, i Bonsign does much better when trained at home by her owner than when worked from a stable at headquarters. Punters who have been nibbling at Forwola should wait until he is more seasoned. . In his last live starts Oxenhop© has had a different rider every times Who win be tried ncxi? Chrysotle did a great gallop two days before she landed the' Ashburton Cup, and on the strongth of it was solidly backed by those m the know. The St.

Ambrose — Rosella mare has finished racing and will g-o to the stud next season. Her owner-' has -not - decided where he will send her. ' ' Martius ran two sterling races at Ashburton and richly, deserved the .win the second time out , He doesn't like the mud. . - . „ y Snub has finished racing for this season.-- Next season he should be a useful stake. getter. Don Francisco absolutely refused to extend himself m the Ashburton Cup. Finboy is not too good In his bellows, but he can muster up a fair amount of 6peed, ;.■-!.."■' ■--■■»■ ■ Yes Is big enough to jump country and being a bold galloper he might turn out to be pretty useful it put to tne jumping business. ; . . One rider m the last race of the Ashburton meeting gave a lot of trouble. He was exceedingly fortunate that the starter was In a good humor and did not report him . to the stewards, or" he might ha.ye been ordered to 1 stand down for the remainder of the- season; Bomb, the three-year-old gelding by Charlemagne 11., from that good* mare Tikitere, is improving fast, and will let the judge know that he is about very shortly. | Glen Helen does not look as if she will ever be m the same class as her brother, Nightwatch.

Behold, younj* Lawyer Allan Hogg, Tho champion of the bottom dog, A man whose mind is sharp and keen As any lawyer's J have' seen. In Wnnganul people my, When Allan passes by their way, "There goes a man of intellect," And to our mind they're uuite correct

Bryce the rider of Gelen Helen m the Lagmhor Plate got caught m the tapes at the start and was nearly strangled. Quite a few people were waiting to have a punt on To Anau at the Ashburton fixture, but Mason did not send the ObHgado — Kltlroa ally down to tho meeting. Derby Day always races well when big ui»<i well. He was much too ftvt to see out a atrongly-run three-quarters of a mile last week, and fairly collapsed before reaching the distance post. The racing will do him no .harm. Aerial was looking well when he went out to contest the Fair field Welter, but he never looked like a winner, and finished last. His owner would not start him on tho second day. Hap Dha could not go the pace sot In tho early ainges of the two woltera !he contested. On each occasion he was I galloping great guns over the finishing stages. In the Ashburjon Cup, Campbell kept Oxenhope m behind the leaders, ami waited until heads were turned for j homo boforo UNkirtß- a quetition. The [ chestnut gilding responded gamely enough, but never looked like petting better than third place. In tho Autumn Handicap, on the second dny, Humphries took the ObligaUo gelding up to the

leaders and forced the pace on the outside of Margerene and Martius. Once heads were turned for home the chestnut shut up like a knife and finished last. Peronilla was fairly and squarely beaten m both her starts. On each occasion she was firsc out and went for her life on the rails, but. failed over the last furlong /both times and finished second. Twelfth Night was backed to win the Grove Farm Handicap as if he could not lose. He never flattered his backers at any stage of the race, and finished second last. Briar Patch did not run as well as expected. ifargerihe won the Gros'e Farm Handicap very comfortably, and, on account of her showing, was solidly supported for the Autumn Handicap on the second days. She was asked to go at too .solid a pace over the first part, and so failed to see the mile out. When Chrysitis won the Ashburton j Cup, she ran the last eight furlongs better than 1.59. Not bad for an old peg leg such as she is. Speedometer is galloping well, ana With ordinary luck is s\ire to earn more stake money m the near future. Obsono did riot look ready at Ashburton. If the Autumn Handicap had been nine furlongs instead of eight, Chrysotis might have landed a double at the meeting instead of one' first and a third. Pyjama was not taken to Ashburton. This gelding has not been too well for some time. Art is to make the trip to Wanganul, but his owner does not Intend to take him on to Auckland. M. Hobbs will leave for Melbourne next week. Corrie is the best of his own lot, and she is very backward. -, Peg has a lot to learn, before she will be much good as a hurdler. Marc Antony has been on the easy list since he won the Great Autumn Handicap. There -has been talk of taking the black colt over to try and win the Melbourne Cup. Just hot air, that is all. Tannhauser pulled up sound after running In the Autumn Handicap at Ashburton. He was a long way back. Kilmeny has been entered for the steeplechases at the Dunedin meeting. The old hurdler has not had an experience over the big fences yet, but he is the type to do well at tho game. Obsono, a Stewards' Handicap winner, and Chupdlc, one-time winner of tho Easter, were the two outsiders m the Wakanui Handicap. Daylight BUI made the lot opposed to him m the Second Hurdle Handicap look very poor jumpers, for he gained many lengths at every obstacle, and would have walked home If he had been the "Bill" of old. As it was, he just struggled home a bad second to the very moderate Cast Iron. It looks as if the game grey has lost his punch. He is to make the Wariganui trip and have another try to win the big steeplechase. His chance is not fancied, by writer. San Sebastian does not gallop too consistently, Mr. H. R. Knight only bought Comely on the eye of the Ashburton meeting, where she won the Morcton Handicap and returned him £80 of her purchase money. Hap Dha has been entered for the hurdle races at the Dunedin winter meeting.