CANTERBURY DOINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 1851, 17 August 1893, Page 30

CANTERBURY DOINGS.

By Rata. There is no gainsaying the fact that tho National and Hunt Club meetings were great successes both regarding attendance and racing. I should say that the attendance on National day was very little short of that seen at Riccarton on a New Zealand Cup afternoon. Of the horses who had been really spun out and jumped afc Riccarton, I had no doubt whatever that Norton was the best, but he most certainly ran across a " snag "in Waterbury. Weight completely killed Norton. I viewed the race from the top turn, and he was done at the sod wall there, and all the elbow grease, steel, and whalebone Billy Clark could give him could hardly keep him within reasonable distance of Waterbury. On entering the straight Hope seemed to know it very well too. Ido not think that a handicapper ought to award any horse in the New Zsaland Grand National more than 12.7. Should the owners of horses lower down in the list grumble at the lightness of the impost awarded the top weight when>eighted at 12 7, they ought not to A good many people seemed to think just after the National was decided that Victrix would have won had she stood up, but my first impression of her seems to be pretty correct. On first eight she appeared to me too narrow to follow and too much on the leg for the rattling J good 'chaser reputation made her. Gondolier went about as well as he did in some of his jumping exercise at Riccarton, and though Gooseman says he jumps very well at homp, he has never apparently been exercised over fences like those we have here. He may improve, though, with practice. He is a wonderfully fast horse in the jumping class. Empire. I fancy, disappointed his connections, and my impression is that his near fore fetlock wants some attending to. Despised is not up to ordinary National class, and I imagine that his win in the Final Hurdle Race was a bit of luck. , Rebel was a non-starter in the National for the reason that Jack Poole could not ride him. Jack is not himself at all ; he has been very unwell lately. Butler won the Bracelet with Master Royal, and though he has not succeeded well enough over obstacles yet to please his owner, I think he will make a good jumper in the future. Mr Holmes was very unlucky with Clarence at the meeting, and that horse's leg ailment must have affected him in his jumping ; he is a beautiful jumper as a rule. Mr Murray-Aynsley, however, tells me there is nothing particularly wrong with him, and he knows right enough. In the big Hurdle Race on Saturday Mr D. Rutherford was just as unfortunate as he was in ' the National, Kulnine finishing second. Liberator, who won the race, has lately been trained at Russley, and considering that Mat. "Goodgerhas only had him in hand for jumping practice a couple of months he performed uncommonly well. He was a fast horse on the flat, and he can be little short of a natural jumperj umper I think. Paddy M'Grath won a couple of races with The Idler, and that was a cheap horse certainly. Paddy made a good deal there, and he seems to be just as good a trainer as he is a rider. I watched Mr Powell's starting on various occasions during both National and Hunt Club days, and I have no hesitation in saying he is the best starter I have ever seen. He knows his busiueßs well, and he has got proper control over the jockeys On Saturday it is generally thought that the Mutiny-Kapua stable thought they had a " snip," and that Kapua was the pea. Kapua was -the pea too for that mattter, but though well ridden he could hot get nearer than third to Liberator and Kulnine. M'Taggart tells me Unity is only a hack, but hacks of that description are valuable, and I trust M'Taggart gets a few more of them when he settles down in Palmerston North. He trains well, and he can ride a good race. Harry Piper has been training away at Ken-_ tucky for some time past in view of the stallion trot at the show grounds, and there is no doubt Harry thought he would win that race, but he didn't. Then Kentucky was started in the last race of the day, but having disappointed the, stable in the stallion trot he was not backed by his connections, or anybody; else, and the consequence was he won easily with not one ticket on the machine. The trotting meeting at the show grounds on Saturday was a great success. I think there Was a bigger crowd there than I have yet seen at a trotting meeting in Canterbury, and undoubtedly the trotting was good. At the National and Hunt Club meetings Magpie found his level ; he is too slow for firstclass horses. , „ . Jimmy Walls is in the hospital, but I hear to-night (Monday) that he is progressing very favourably.