CANTERBURY DOINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 956, 16 May 1889, Page 24

CANTERBURY DOINGS.

By RATA.

The eighth meeting of the Canterbury. Trotting Club.was held at the Show grounds on Saturday afternoon, and, as usual, the fixture was: admirably conducted, bat it is .evident that trotting requires innovation of some kind. There is too much sameness about it, and' too little is done for an improvement of the game, and the improvement of the class of horses that trotters represents, .. Mile .trots ought to. be introduced; as, I (Suggested previously, or mile heats ought to be introduced as a provincial writer suggested more recently; either of the two courses would be an improvement on present trotting, though at the same time I fancy that mile races would be better than trots run in mile heats; I do not belieVe in heats, though they " fetch' 'em " right enough on American courses ; they are " faked " in such & way that .they must t!o so, but it is very' apparent that racing is much more interesting now than when flat races were 1 run ia heats. •■.• Fancy the Derby /the lieger, the Cesarewitch, or the Cambridgeshire run in heats now-a*days, or any other important fiat race for that matter! The public would not stand to it; thepublic knows what racing is beyond racing in heats, and knowledge and usage are everything. Harking back to the Canterbury Trotting meeting, however, there was one real good race, the, three-mile saddle trot. My JDream, the limit; candidate, gradually . increased her .lead, and n&Jjilj-a circuit from home she looked like wiritmgi Waiti-a-While, -howevjer, who had- ran wcbqd in a baniess trofc previously, ,camfi,yp from scrattii' arid; won on the post by a length;

idhat'was the 'only "really' good' race ;6f"tha& afternoon, and I fancy that an introduction 'of ' ' mile trotting would be' beneficial , ; in so far v closejpnishe's are concerned; ;I faave^6pokVn" tp. - several secretaries about the iisatte'r,feut; they do " not appeat; to see' any' advaniagVin it; . I-as-certain, however, that it only wants iritrqduc.' i( tfan. The last 'race, was run in ttie dark almost; *; but I'do not think that' was 'any great fault oa the pait of the, executive. 1 These meetings ; held* at the show grounds are [Uncommonly 'well coo* '

ducted. ' ■ ' ; \ „ I , , I Butler has got a couple of. xtAtWdg god ' two-year-olds, and ' his , colt by v Nordjenfeld^^ ought to be a remarkably good one, thoagUJie ! may never eqaal Mr O'Brien's yearling by the same sire. '■ -i '[ •'' 'i i°r<i ; > "<•'' [Sheehan. won a cPiipfe of "iac^a 'at Asty™ barton with'Erin-go-Bragh.and'iHnat be/urta * remunerative plater we. have, few of them abmrt^ here. Sheenftn can place but, two. In' v Alcinous Sneenan has the making of a. good jumper; and whatever Mr Campbell may thinkj "i I jdo not think that he. had the. best',, of like ?> English sportsman that made; the,dea|-wjbth ninv' —the' price was £400— that gentleman "rider „ ought to be a judge at any rate.; s jSt. Clair, Sultan, andJßuby are likely; to, go „' tor Dunedin, and all three wilistrip in good con« ""J ditipn. St. Clair will go very near for the Birth* ■!':! ': day Handicap He has bad a lot of work s giyeo; , him recently, and his foot "appears tp stand all right on the soft going he. has had Jately. I ' fancy he is very fit: he looks it. Sultan, too, is (in good nick, and with all his weight he will ! have a big say in whatever race he gees for on the opening day. Ruby, though Mb recent "run.- ; ning does, nob augur it, ought to render, a good account of himself t I fancy au, experienced ', jockey could take more out of him than Mr "t" t W^eob's son can. He rides wjth plenty, of judg. , mpnt, but he appears fco me to lack sufficient , power in a finish, and that has a lot to dp with the result of a, race. 'Sheenan has, gqt , Premier, in work, now again, but he looks a bit dicky, though I do not' think that there is anyttiing "very , seriously j, Wjjong.with him. His off fore, leg .looks a 4 bjfc v bad just above the fetlock, and I clq not, think v thfcre is anything else very, much the; mat tor. with him, though his near knee is considerably enlarged. _'„ , , f) • „.. The jumping season is T in r immediate pros*. ; pective, and the Jumpers, are .being.sent along. , Of these,, besides Premier, Irish .King; & un« , doubtedly the' best, though- Mr Lunnjjjays he , , has gone, off a bit. That, may be. right,, too, he V hasbeen in work and kept at- nearly, concert pitch for al ong time. , They, saf Torrent ia, a better, horse over fences, but I do not.believa ifc. „ Irish King is certainly the- best, here by. a Jong way. He is a bit narrow, .and-, that is his. . only fault. Ivanhoe is now trained by Stewart, and a good stamp of horse he -looks ; he , has plenty of power and freedom, and it is a.aid .; that he is a good , jumper, though heiis, only, it , appears, credited with one hack hurdle ■ raoe under £25 over ,sticks,or, fences as yet. . He ought to [ show to advantage in. his present trainer's, ha^dij, and no .doubt' he, will do so. Gunpowder, at 'pne time trained py. Sheenan, I believe ia now . in Harry Thomson's stable, and notwithstanding . the fact~of perceptible lameness a few morning's , since he looks like a .good hunter and a horse likely to win over fences. . Charlie • brings out Louis of a, morning, and, though he , ran very badly at New. Brighton,, recently, : .l ■ fancy his form is not yet developed properly < over sticks. - ; ,■»,-,. , , Mr Butler pat in a first appearance at,. , Riocarton to-day (Wednesday) after his Ana-, tralian trip, and I believe thaUihere is, nothing seriously wrong ..with Manton..,- s ' . _•• Adulation .rjoked her back at .Ashburton, though she netted a double, and-she is in a very ' bad .way now. i Butler means tousling her as i soon, as, possible; and that doe's, jiot augur a triyial .ailment. Had she died some time ago > her. ownermight have been in pooket. >