CANTERBURY DOINGS.

Otago Witness, Volume 11, Issue 2159, 11 July 1895, Page 31

CANTERBURY DOINGS.

By Rata.

P. Butler arrived from the North Inland with Liberator on Saturday, and in the afternoon I -went up to have a look over his team*- in their boxes I never visited Herberton previously, but it is amongst the prettiest and most serviceable establishments of the kind in the neishbourhoo 1. It is situated on the Yaldhurst road, just above the plantation known to frequenters of Riccarton at race times as Ford's. The house, a jpodein one-storey square building, containing, I should say, seven or eight rooms, stands back off tbe road .a considerable distance, and is arrived at a 7a 7 foil wing a broa-*ish carriage drive running ong the eastern side of a well-kept lawn tastefully ornamented with flower beds of various - shapes and desiKns. Passing the house, the visitor find-< himself amongst the stable buildings, the chief of which is the enclosed stable erected by Butl-r immediately after he purchased the Herbert.>n propnrty. It stands c-ast an I west, wi'h a sliding door ateachend, and is built exac ly after the plan of Derret's stable— that is, it contains four roomy boxes on each side of a wide passage running up the centre, together with a harness . room and a feed room facing each other on each Bide of the pa- sage midway between the two end entrances of the building. The hay-and-corn loft I* immediately above the boxes, running from BioV to side of the structure ; and the architectural d-sign of the stable is much in favour with trainers here at piesent Beyond the enclosed ftable there ire several open boxei at Herberton •2 a less imposing character, but good boxes

nevertheless. There are 10 acres of land attached to the place, strongly fenced out into several small paddocks. The pre-eminpnt foature in connec'ion with a racing stable, however, is the quality of the horses therein routaitied ; and in regard to Herder-ton, Butler has sufficient spaca and appliances to quattera dozeu of the best, h -rs^s that ever wore a bridle. He ba^ not a dozan of that kind at present certainly, but he his some useful cattle. Venom was the first horse of the team I saw. He occupied one of the outside open boxo3 on Saturday, and he has grown considerably since I la-t saw him. He is a big horse, and one that ought to win a race during the forthc iminfjt-eason — perhaps in the auturnu. My opinion it, however. Hut he will make a real go>d jumping hoi'oc. S ill he may run well on the (lit. Tnough a rising three-year-nM. ha is uot anything like matured yet. He i* a Chain-hot, and lam one of those who firmly believe that Chainshot will prove a good sire. _ "" I Roseguard is at Herberton, but she is turned out and runs about in a paddock during the day when the weather is not too inclement. I f tncy she is in foal, but she being io a paddock away from the st. ibles I did not see her. The lenuinder of Bulter's hor es are all in work and located iv the end' sod stable Padlo'k was the first I .saw cf those b-in^ woiked, ani lie is in splendid winter fot'le lif is a bay hoise, a bit on the'- leg, ami rather lengthy in the bark, but he moves well on the tr eks, and a good many people at Riccarton have a gre it opinion of him. He ia engaged in the New Zealand Cup. aud is handicapped at 6 12, and there is no doubt; he will be backed about here. Gannon Ball, however, handicapped in the New Zealand Onp at 6 0, in a horse I like better. He is ag- od-looking, onipac lybuilt nag that will race well in November should he train on. One does not kuow how these young hor6eß may stay, though. Au Revoir is Butler's third New Zealand Cup candidate, and he has been woiked a bit of late~. Butler thinks he will istind, and he may be right too It was run oured come time ago that a tvs- , per.sqrj li .atn-nl harl go .c bad with him, but he certiinl> does not sh w it now. II ■ weal lime on hi- nna fore Irg. Bu'le'i allowed inn to exarhine that limb minutely on Saturday, anil, th ugh I am neces arily a Ion? remove from an accomplished "vet." in r spect of ailments and disorders in horses, I f *ncy there is not much wrong at present with Au Revoir'a near fore suspensory ligament. The lump on the elbow of the same leg is certainly a most uucommon thing in a racehorse, and to the ordinary observer it looks like wanting the application of a knife. But er, however, assures me it his been done thiough hitting. An exceptional horse will hit in that way. Little L idy Lear is as pretty a filly in point of make as one need look upon, but she has not ra< ed well bo far, and her size pr«.c*udes the probability of her being up to much we-ght. H>r conform ition ia so perfect, however, that I hardly think we have seen the veiy ttst of her. • Regarding Miss Mad^e 1 am confident she has never raced an well in public as she Cm do. hhe is a iilly that no reliance whatever can be put in up to the present. She is very fast, but she won't try a yard when a pinch comes. Butler, however, may bring her a bit to her b arings when he knocks some of timber-topping business into her. Mrrdicus, who was added to the list recently, looks none the worse 'or the operation, and as he is undoubtedly speedy he is worth watching in the spring. OVI Liberator his burst bio )d-vepsel notwithstanding, looks none the worse f r his trip up north, and I should say he is now worth every penny of the money his present owner gave for him. He is one of a sort that some of th» m will have to reckon with about National t-ra*, at anyrate. Butler thinks hi »*iil not be affected a bit by the blood-vessel bur- ting business. We have h»d a deluge of rain ever since Wednesday, and there is nothing doing at all. Roads, course, and pid-loi-ks about the neighbourhood have been flooded galore during the weak. There was a little bit of jumping in the very eirly part of the week, and the chief feature of that was the Fcnoolmg of Lunn's grey hunter one mornint?. He did not jump well at all, but he galloped well aft-rwards, and there is the making of a good -hunter ia him. Ch^ilte Stratford is now located at Riccarton with the trainer* Dave Mitchell and Sh«»nsby, and he intends to school L u-d of Misi ule for hurdle racing, 'ihat horse can jump fairly well, too, and may p y all right at that g>ime. Fatrchtld is on off--r to a Maniqtoto breeder, and this borse ought to bean acquisition to the district : should he go down. He is a big, poweiful horse tbat should suit farmers.