CANTERBURY CHAT

NZ Truth, Issue 725, 10 May 1919, Page 7

CANTERBURY CHAT

(By ""Walmangu.") Racing at Timaru on .Thursday and Friday of next week. North Otago on the 22nd and 23rd. Koesian is to be blistered and given a good spell. The two-year-old Stetepholm, who burst a iheel, just prior to the Great . Easter meeting, will not be taken m hand again till next season. R. King:, upon whom fortune has not grinned this season, has King of the Valley back m work. The chestnut it will be remembered went wrong m the near foTeleg just before the Autumn meeting. W. Hibberd is getting Hands Off and Braid ready for the Timaru fixture. So far this season Braid has been a rank failure, but Hibberd seems to have her better now than ever before this season. She ran a fair race when she finished just behind the placed hors.es m the Templeton Handicap, woh'by Kilbrogan at Easter. Bon Spec will not sport silk again this season, an. item that the "Tommies" will not regret very much ' as they generally know when he wins. ; R. Emerson has his trio, Sapper, Fabisco and Moorabbe all looking well. They are to race at Timaru next week. From now on the Cutts' Bros, will be a pretty ,busy pair as they have no less than nineteen horse's to attend to, Sir George Clifford does not bother much about the winter meetings and his trainers will be busy with the rising two-year-olds. Already two batches have ' arrived at Riccarton. W. McDonald has put m a lot of time" and given much attention to Immense, but so far the chestnut has failed to reward his trainer with a win. There is no doubt Immense' has pace, but he may take a long time to come right. Wardancer may be taken to the Dunedin meeting to race during the show week. . One would have expected, now that the jumping season is on the horizon, to see all sorts, shapes and sized horses being tried over fences, but it is not so at Riccarton, and beginners to the game are few and far between. In two-year-old races this season Sir George Clifford has scored well. He opened the season by winning the Dunedin Stakes with Royal Stag, who, after racing at Wellington and the New Zealand Cup meetings was spelled. Mac Duf f' won at Auckland and shortly afterward was relegated to the paddock. Then Miss Mimic, Steepholm, Acquittal and Nightraider were taken m hand, and with the exception of Steepholm, who only started once and ran second to his stable-mate, all have got on the winning list. To prepare six . youngsters and practically win, with the loti says something for the training of .the ...Cutts'. .Brothers. Art, easily m the top flight of our hurdlers, looks . better for • the racing he. had at the Easter meeting, and- if the handicappei^s are not too severe on the little gelding, 'he should have something to say when the big events come up . f or decisionV* Bondage will most likely be sent to heir -owner's, place to be spelled, during, the winter.. ' : With Karo only pottering about, Gloaming injured through a fall at

Wellington, and Indus sold, R. X Mason has only Rossini, Valencia and a couple of rising two-year-olds to seriously bother with, i Though Heathercote won a race at Auckland, the chestnut has not fulfilled expectations. The South Canterbury fixtures are always such enjoyable gatherings that a big crowd may be expected to make the trip to Timaru next week. ■Glancing at the entries for tho steeplechases at Timaru, it looks as though. "Vascular will have to practice tumbling to get beaten. Tirau, who won at Ayondale last week, is amongst those entered for cross-country events at the Dunedin meeting. It is a long way from Avondale to Dunedin, but if the horse is good enough, the stakes are well worth making the trip for. ' J. B. Pearson will take Wrestler and Vascular to the Timaru meeting. Wrestler can go very fast, but was hitherto far from genuine. However, since coming into Pearson's possession he has been gelded and may be more genuine m future. Mirza scored a couple of very easy wins at the Riverton meeting and is expected to prove a useful sort. Naupata had not been m work long when 'he raced at Riccarton last month, and he should be a much better horse when next stripped. If started m the Maiden march at South Canterbury, Sir Fanciful should dawdle Home m front. Subterfuge and Fyjamay both of whom have paid their way this seaspn, are being got ready by J. MeCoombe for approaching meetings m the south. . One good point about the winter meetings Is that you don't lose money by backing horses with kids up, as the races are run under welter conditions. When Is the word "hack" going to be deleted from hurdle races? Why Gloaming, Sasanof and Desert Gold could run m hack hurdle races and nobody would call either of them a -hack.