CANTERBURY DOINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1904, 18 May 1888, Page 24

CANTERBURY DOINGS.

By "RATA." One of the longest strings of horses trained at Riccarton is that of Mr P. Butler, and on Friday afternoon I looked over the nags "at home." The stable is a wooden rectangular building — i.e., it forms a square — containing 15 boxes. On entering the yard — or square — the harness room and boys' quarters are on the immediate right, and beyond that the structure is confined to horse-boxes and storage purposes, the trainer's house being situated outside the main entrance and away from the stable. I found Mr Butler engaged driving a hard bargain with a shrewd-looking vendor of provender. " Been to stable, yet ?" I inquired, seeing the husbandman shaking up his sorry steed and exhibiting evident signs of departure. " No ; but I'm just going," he replied, and forthwith we passed into the yard. v This is a mare you haven't seen yet, I think," remarked my conductor on opening the first box. The occupant was Repose, a three-year-old filly by Apremont from Hammock, and consequently an own sister to Sommeil. She has been running about in a paddocK for some time, having contracted an ailment in the knee of the near fore leg, something of a singularity in one of Apremont's stock. Still the ailment is not of a hereditary order, nor will it affect her periodically after its disappearance, being merely a kind of abscess. In poiut of conformation she is a nice mare, showing fine shoulders, a well rounded middle-piece, and powerful quarters, while her temper is apparently better than that of some of her sire's progeny ; yet this is a fault, that a stranger cannot adequately gauge in a racehorse in stables, as some of the quietest of animals in their boxes are stubborn and intractable on the training track and racecourse. Northcote, a three-year-old by Bundoora— Miss Sykes is another that has been inactive for some time. Ido not know much of Bundoora, but I hardly think Northcote represents his best get, and I fancy Mr Webb has a pair of similar fraternity that will prove better than Northcote has hitherto done. 'Artillery, when stripped, in his box, is a good-looking racer from the nose to the tail, exhibiting plenty of power in every essential part, without a bit of lumber in his frame, and I should think his trainer has experienced some bad luck with him. A horse of bis conformation ought to be a brilliant performer, and perhaps we have not seen the best of him yet, provided ~his legs remain sound. He appears to me to look better now than when he ran in the Dunedia Cup, and perhaps he was not quite eoulour de rose on that occasion. Faugh-a-ballagh occupied the next box I entered, and he appears to be a good stamp of chaser, up tb a lot of weight, but he certainly engenders an impression of slowness, and J should think jumping rather than speed is his forte. That is, of course, the primary essential in steeplecbasing over -tracks representing a stiff hunting country, but when 'chasing' is reduced to the level of hurdle racing, horses of Faugh-a-ballagh's type are heavily handicapped, and that steeplechasing is so reduced whenever such reduction, is in conformity with rule is evident. The matter has prompted agitation' frequently, but the source of the decline of Bteeplechasing is yet undiscovered. That it has degenerated, however, is beyond doubt, and apparently more formidable obstacles and more daring cross-country riders can now be found in Victoria than in any other part of the world. I was next introduced to Adulation, a shapely enough filly, though a bit U»ggy; she resembles La Rose greatly in some points, and unfortunately exhibits a very similar temperament, a fault that has lost her more than one stake daring the season. Indeed, this characteristic in racehorses fully counterbalances the advantages accruing from sound legs. Badtempered racers can never be relied upon, and inordinate expense may be incurred and money lost on such animals after reducing an event < to a certainty on confirmed private trial, Temper is the most tantalising ailment

a trainer has to deal with, more especially if the affected nag be tbe, property of another, and that other a man not particularly well up in the peculiarities of the thoroughbred. In a yearling by Albany — Zelica, Mr Butler has a ' promising colt in reserve for next season's two-year-old events. He is a ' strong - looking youngster, well ribbed up and evenly made, and his breeding is good enough for anything ; yet I i fancy he will be inferior >to Manton as a racer. That colt thoroughly wound up might prove the best of his year, next to Carbine, Sommeil's undoubted excellence notwithstanding. He is bigger than Sommeil, with conformation equally good, and a pedigree that cannot be surpassed in the colony. Perhaps Mr Goodman entertains a different opinion, however, with regard to relative merit. Titbit is a wiry kind of horse, and his trainer says it is impossible to put muscle on him. It appears, too, that he has always gone short in his stride, even when at his best, and this defect is attributed to bad feet. , Marlborough was the last of the team I saw, and though he is little and somewhat cobby, he is a very muscular animal, and looks above himself when thoroughly pink. He has been sold to a Wanganui buyer, out his trainer does not know who the actual purchaser is. Faugh-a-ballagh is going up to the Wanganui meeting, and Marlborough will accompany him. The, second meeting — the May meeting, it is called — held under the auspices of the Oanter- j bury Trotting Club was celebrated on Saturday afternoon at the Agricultural and Pastoral Association's new show > grounds. Consequent upon the season, doubtless, the fields were not so strong numerically as those of the initial fixture ; and unfortunately for the executive, the afternoon's- proceedings were associated with miserable weather. Regarding the arrangements generally, it is obvious that the control of this club is under the guidance of an able and energetic management-— a directorate, indeed, that is likely to exercise a very beneficial influence on the conduct of trotting in the colony. Trotting is a very long way behind racing in point of a procurable standard of excellence, bat the managerial department of the Canterbury Trotting Club is on a par with anything I have seen in New Zealand in point of administrative capacity; beyond, perhaps, the executive control of metropolitan club fixtures, and that wants a deal of rubbing out when stewards adhere to punctuality. Considerable improvement has been effected since the celebration of the first venture. A number board has been procured and an enclosure made in front of the Btand, while the judge's box has been placed opposite the enclosure ; that is, it has been removed some 20 yards farther up the course. Some 1500 people attended the first meeting held by the club; but on Saturday the attendance was reduced to about 500 — in consequence 1 , presumably, of adverse atmospheric conditions. The first part of the programme was run through in a drizzling rain, but this increased to a heavy downpour ere hostilities ceased. The card contained one harness event only, and it is evident that this class of race is- less popular than trotting under saddle. Why this should be is a matter that wants some explanation, and it is also difficult to see why better time should be effected under saddle than in harness. That better time can actually be made in harness tfian in saddle there is no doubt whatever, and an opposite demonstration is positive evidence of inferiority somewhere. Now, this inferiority must be a result of inordin-. ately heavy sulkies, bad driving, or insufficient training, and I fancy that slowness of time is in part an effect of each of these influences. Driving trotters wants a peculiarity of manipulation just as does riding racehorses, and the disparity of driving trotters and cab horses is equally marked as the difference of race riding and hack cantering. Many of the sulkies now used, too, can be very little lighter than would be light carts with the boxes removed ; at anyrate, they are much too heavy for racing purposes. It' seems to me, however, that the main source of, inferiority in trotters rests in indifferent training. They are merely worked into condition ; no attention is given to regulation of action, and this is a most important point in the education of a brilliant trotter. Brilliancy cannot be attained in a high-stepping animal; such horses ought fco be taught rapid recovery, and their action reduced to a long low stride through the instrumentality of toe weights. Then, again, the hind action of a tip-top trotter is in reality a canter, and this peculiarity of motion inculcates a kind of rolling action that militates somewhat against the use of the saddle, but augments pace by something like a furlong in the mile. The first event was decided prior to my arrival on the course, but it appears that Emily, a nice brown pony, disposed of her field most handsomely, and got home a long way in front of Blossom, her nearest opponent. She was also successful in the second race, the Handicap Pony Trot, and she is evidently a slippery mare of her inches. Brown Joe, a most singular nomenclature for a cream mare, was first off the mark, and she steadily increased her lead until the completion of the first two laps, when Emily, having passed the intervening competitors, rapidly overhauled her, and after a mile had been covered she was bang in front, which position she maintained throughout. The verdict might be variously estimated, but 20 lengths is near enough for all practical purposes, and perhaps that distance is not far wide of correct measurement. A sequence of such victories, however, is not particularly interesting from h spectacular point of view, and apparently judgment is frequently inadequate to obviate such processions. Yet at the opening meeting of tbis club some very excellent finishes were witnessed, and perhaps Harry Piper is a bit better at the game than Mr Rattray, who was the sole handicapper for Saturday's events. Blue Gown, who has beett trotting well on occasions recently, was to the fore in the Handicap Time Trot, beating Wanda, Gipsy, and Zilla. Gipsy was scratch candidate, and she was a very pronounced favourite on the totalisator. Over the first two two miles she trotted in good form, but I think I have seen her perform more ' brilliantly than she did during the re- ■ mainder of the journey. She is undoubtedly a j good mare, and it would be worth while seeing her pitted against Maniac. The Novel Trot brought out a field of eight, and of these Cobweb, one of the two limit horses, was made favourite on the machine, while Emily, who carried silk for the third time during the afternoon, was second in demand. Judy and Cobweb started simultaneously, but the former showed most. pace and speedily led by several lengths., It was soon evident, however, that the race lay j between Double Hill, Zilla, and Emily. On covering a couple of laps Double Hill and Zilla assumed command, and three-quarters of a mile farther on Emily ran into third place. Zilla was now trotting very evenly,- but Double Hill had got too far ahead for over-, hauling, and eventually won anyhow. Emily, was a bit too small for her opponent in this event. The next affair was a Handicap Trot (in harness), and it also resulted in a runaway victory, Jimmy, who was well supported on the totalisator, ultimately winning with ridiculous ease from Jenny, who only carried 10 tickets. The latter, too, appeared to be badly trained ; three laps from home she got up alongside of Jimmy, but broke so badly that she never afterwards bad a show, It now commenced to raja

very heavily, and the last race, a Handicap Trot over two miles, was » decided in a downpour. Frolicsome was .voted a good thing for this event, and on getting to, the front on covering a mile she rapidly increased her lead and passed the winning post the length of a street in front of Wait-a-while. May 16. That Riccarton and the vicinity will be fairly well represented at the forthcoming Dunedin meeting is. evident now that the acceptances have been published. Haka has been left in both the Birthday and Tradesmen's Handicaps, and apparently his owner intends sending him South. On the score of mere weight he has nothing to complain of. If he cannot win with the imposts awarded him he could not do so if lowered to the minimum. Still he appears badly treated in comparison with St. Clair, for instance, and I do not think he can defeat that horse at 61b. St. Clair (7st 91b), however, is -by no means •' chucked " in, and though he is given a decided winning chance, so also is Sultan (7st 31b), and the only southern candidate the Riccarton division appears ( to fear is Apropos. , On first glancing down the weights I too thought she was very, well in, but I have seen Enid, trained by Mr Mason, galloped .subsequently. She is a muscular black mare, with light corky action, and weighted at no more than 6st 121b. I think she will just about win from Apropos. She is also very well treated in the Tradesmen's Handicap, and carrying but 7st 21b she must prove dangerous. Tres Sec is a magnificent horse of his .class, and he ought to win the Hurdle Handicap with all his, weight. He is in rare fettle, and I feel certain he is considerably better than any other hurdle racer at present in training in the South Island.