CANTERBURY DOINGS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2201, 7 May 1896, Page 33

CANTERBURY DOINGS.

By M. Quad.

May 4. Marino has been shipped north to fulfil his engagements at the Bgmonfc meeting. Dorrett, vrho accompanied the horse .will ride him.

Ohaiusliot was on board the lonic, which left Lyttelton on Saturday for England. T. Clark accompanies the horse. Mr H, Lunn superintended the horse's embarkation.

A lot of horses are seen out with the Christchurch hounds, evidently with the objeot of qualifying for Hunt Clab events at future winter meetings. Fire King made his first appearance as a hunter on Saturday, and although he occasionally jumped decently, he gave Mr Aynsley a nasty spill at a ditch and bank. Several others also c*nie to grief at the same obstacle. Neither Fire King nor his rider were seriously injured.

I mentioned in my notes some weeks ago that Fire King was to bs tiied over the small sticks. The Betrayer horse is acquitting himself really well for a beginner ; indeed, he jumps the big hurdles as though he was not altogether a novice at the game.

The whole of Mr P.,Butler"s: horses were offered for gale atTattersall's on Saturday. The attendance of sporting men was fairly large; but" the prices offurcd were not by any means as good aa might perhaps have been expected. Liberator was the first one led in, and the old battler looks in great health, and was aa lively aa a two-year-old. Bids came quickly until 150gs, waa reached, when the Betrayer gelding, was knocked down to Mr J. Oram. Ido not think Liberator was sold, as he was taken back to his old quarters. Anyway, 150gs does not represent the horse's value, especially just now, when crosscountry meetings will shortly be in full swing. Au Revoir, or, as his owner preferred to call him, "the Frenchman," only elicited one bid of 60gs, at' which figure he was sold to Mr J. Meikle. There is little probability of Au Revoir standing- another preparation, but he should maks a good stud horse. He not only has good looks to recommend him, but his performances on the turf over all distances are sufficient to stamp him aa likely to make a successful stallion. Medicus was purchased by Mr F. Holmes, and he was a decidedly cheap gelding at 36gs Perhaps Medicus may follow in the footsteps of Rangiatea and pick up a selling race for hia new owner. If he does Free Holmes may not have to pay quite so much to retain him aa when Rangiatea won. Salvo waa purchased by Mr G. Murray-Aynsley at42Jgs. This horse has been running very well of late, and aB he is coming into form should soon return his purchase money. Salvo, in my opinion, was a great bargain. He is thoroughly sound, and was certainly worth a great deal more. Padlock, by Chainshot, was knocked down to Mr J. Meikle at 25gs. Cannonball, another Chainshot, was also purchased by the same gentleman for 30gs» Venom, also by Chainshot, became the property of Mr G. Murray-Aynsley at 17gs. This gelding is in the rough, as after emasculation he was turned out. Venom is a great big, loosely-built ouatomer, and if he stands, should develop into a useful sort. I know he was fairly smart as a two-year-old, but going amiss he waa turned out. In connection with the above sale, Mr Pyne, the auctioneer, was asked if any nomination fees were due on account of any of Mr Butler's horses. The reply was in the affirmative. I merely mention the fact, as it is one of those points on which buyers should satisfy themselves before purchasing, otherwise they may find themselves liable for nomination fees. At the same time % do not desire to blame either Mr Butler, or the auctioneer, as it is well known that two-thirds of the nominations are received without the fees, especially when j made by such a well-known ownor aa Mr P. Butler. The annual meeting of the shareholders of the Canterbury Metropolitan Plump ton Park Afigocia-

tion was held at the Empire Hotel on Tuesday. There was a fair attendance of shareholders. Tha balance sheet showed a surplus of receipts ov"er expenditure of £95 16*3 3d. The retiring directors were all re-elected, and Mr F. Beverley was chosen chairman. The pecretary, Mr J. L. Carl, and the auditor, Mr C. Martin, were re-elected.

In my notes last week I mentioned that a winner of a trot at Goraldine was supposed to be a ringer." The Canterbury Trottiug Club baa since been making inquiries. The alleged ringer ' is supposed to be Moody, who won th» Farewell Trot after beiug badly beaten in two previous ovent3, paying a dividend of £23 3a. Moody is supposed to be identical with Sultan. When Moody won a protest was entered ou the ground of wrongful entry and inconsistent performances, but was dismissed. The trotting authorities are makiijg every effort to put down ringing in," and in this particular case Mr RUttray informs me that he haa not much doubt aa to the final result.

The progeny of the brood mare Rebecca have been fairly successful of late. During the past weak or so three of her produce have won — via,. Review (by St. George) at Nelson, Esau (by Artil. lery) at Oamaru, and Camel (by Son-of-a-Gun) at Rangiora. All three were bred by Mr Busck at Rangioivi. That gentleman informs me that Rebecca is now in foal to Boulanger. Those behind Freeborn fancy the horse has a good chance in the Egmont Hurdles. I hear that Rossall is a fairly good thing -for the Egmont Handicap Steeplechase. When Marinoleft hare he was very well&nd he. may pick up a race before he returns. I should fancy that a short distance event will suit him better than a long journey. It is reported that old Prime Warden has finished hia racing career. No more brilliant horse has parhaps raced here than the son of Apremot>t~Mißß Kate, but, like Merrte England and many others, he was kept at it long after hia brilliancy had departed. With the departure of Prime Warden to the paddock, I cannot but compliment his trainer on the condition in- which the horse bids adieu to the turf. I wonder how many could have kept Prime Warden so sound, considering the' great amount of work he has done. The lost time I saw him his legs were as clean as the day he was foaled, and,,although ifc is a -well-known fact that Apremont tratumitted good legs to nearly all of hie progeny, it must not be forgotten that given this in Mr M. Hobbs deserves every credit for the mannsr in which not only Prime Warden but nearly the whole of his charges are kept on their legs. St. Swithin, the sire of Zola, ha? not sired any*, thing of note. He had not many chances, certainly, very few good maTes visiting him. He was travelling in the Oxford distriot for some time, and, so far as I can ascertain, he has not left any stock of. much account.

I cannot truthfully say that I endorse all th» complimentary notices oeoasionally quoted from the American papers regarding the Mu*ket horse Artillery. I wish his enterprising owner every success with the horse both in America and in England, should he be sent to the letter place, but after carefully glancing.over the stock left by th» Musket— Ouida horse, I absolutely fail to see howArtillery can be classed with such as Maxini, Sir Modred, Cheviot, Ac. It seems to me that ths Musket craze stands a very good chance of beine considerably overdone. Surely it cannot be said that Derringer, for instance, is a good advertisement, either for Mu*ket or the colony, and tht time may come when British breeders will sincerely regret putting their high'-cl&Sti matrons t» animals who were ueilher racehorses nor goodlooking, simply because they were got by Musket. Artilleiy Was a raci-horse, certainly, and I am of opinion that his memory will be better remembered in tl« at character rather than as the equal of Maxim or Sir Modred. George Smith, the well-known Canterbury jockey, who has, since leaving Chokebore, been connected with Mr Murray-Ayaßley'a Masham stable, hati just left the latter establishment. I hear that Smith has accepted anengagament from 'Mr J. B. Reid. Mr Mason tells me that he has been busy during the last few weeks breaking in some of Mr Stead's youngsters. Amongst others may be man- - tioned Multiform, by Hotchkiss— Formo ; Beauty Sleep,' by Medallion— Siesta ; and Gold Med»lli«t, by Medallion— Corolla. All of them are taking kindly to their education, and under the veteran trainer's care I have no doubt that Mr Stead's record as the owner of classic winners will be considerably increased next spring. The old press stand has been moved to its future position over the scraping sheds; where it is intended to be solely for the use^f trainers. Although the stand will undoubtedly be useful to trainers, I must say it would be much more so if placed nearer the finishing post. Mr Q-. Murray-Aynsley's stable imwt be quite full, especially as Salvo and Venom have now joined it. Belligerent, who is by Artillery, has also joined' the Masham Lodge string. He is in the rough, having been turned out since being added to the list. Jewel, by Artillery —Trinket, is now in charge of Mr H. Lunn. Jewel is tobe tried over the small sticki. Jewel is fairly fast, and at one time gavi me the impression that she could stay. It will be recollected that she won the Bracelet at the National meeting. Shooting Star, full brother to Artilleur, has been emasculated. Mr Knight's horses, including Nicholas and Bftnetallist, have been taken to Racecourse Hill, where they will be wintered. Mr Cutls's yearlings have been receiving the rudiments of their education. Argon, by Medallion from Auray. purchased by Mr H. Lunn at Mr Stead's sale, is located at Racecourse Hill. Magazine will probably ba again tried at the illegitimate game. The Chainshot— Psyche filly owned by Sheenaa is being- led*. TeKooti has gone back to his old quarters at Little-River. Free Holmes has a fairly large string in commission; Try Hera full sitter is now in his charge. Bisley hut not been out for some dtys. ' ' Gillie' has been well treated in Wanganui. Hi has not been decided whether the horss in to b« taken up. If he doei go he will be ridden by Mk Aynßley, who, by the way, was thrown by Gillii last week after landing, the horse being unable to straighten himself after dropping into a mudhole. Mr Jardin has purchased Boston Girl for £21 103, and Eyg is now owned by Mr Kerr, the price paid for the latter being £47 si. It was'stated that the' trotter Three Cheers had been told previous to his win at North Canterbury. I understand that this is incorrect He is still in Edwards's stable. Of all the two-year-olds I have seen out, I hava most fancy for Epaulet, and I should' not be surprised if the Madallion— Dudu colb proved a re«lly good three-year-old. He is a fine animal, and ia built as though he would furnish into a weightcarrier. I prefer Epaulet to Bombshell, tho latter of whom I never particularly liksd. Ha always struck mo as looking somewhat effeminate, and although he has run remarkably well— and after all this is the best test, perhaps, of ability — I firmly believe that Epaulet will be found better than Bombshell as a three-year-old. There ia also another one. Uniform, at Mr Mason's stable, the property of Mr Stead, who is almost sure to make a name for himself as a three-year-old. Curassowy in the same stable, may prove better than any of the others, but he is one of those heavily-topped colts which may not come to hand early. If he is nearly so good as' he looks, however, I think he ia the best in Mr Mason's charge. Of the publiq performers in the -Yaldhurst stable I prefec Epaulet, Uniform, and Bombshell, ia that order, and, if a betting man, would take the Dudu colt against anything seen out for the 0. J.O. Derby. In addition, Epaulet's breeding seema to suggest a probability that he may stay better than the other two. Of course, there are several other youngsters in the north who may be good enough to lower the colours of locally-owned animals, and the same remark applies to the south. I have no fancy for Dauntless as a probable Derby winner, although he did win the Challenge Stake*, but prefer his stable companion, Defiance. Norma, the trotter, was offered for sale at Tattersall's, but was withdrawn at £21. In connection with the trotter Fiona, wha trotted in Hawke's Bay under the name of Olive, news has been reaeived here that the Hawkey Bay Trotting Club has disqualified Amos OleMb the nominator and rider of the mare, for Ufa*

Dating the progress of, tae North Canterbury meeting I entered into conversation with a wellknown owner, one of whose animate had just Come in after unsuccessfully contesting one of the events. Thjs gentleman was evidently very much annoyed at the manner in which his horse had been ridden, and declared his fixed impression that a jockey's ring existed, and that an ownerjbtad no possible chance of winning "unless it suited the combination. The" idea that such a ring Existed here is no new thing, but little is heard of the probability of ito existence until some owner feels himself aggrieved at the way his horse has been handled. This owner's animal was certainly most atrociously ridden, but whether it can be ascribed to the machinations of a riugj am unable to say. It might hare been, certainly, and if so I pope the efforts of this gentleman to discover the {existence of such a confederacy may prove sue.cessful . Z sometime* wonder why racing clubs do not Snake an effort to appoint some gentleman as judge who, through a lengthy experience, is considered competent to fill the position. I consider jthat it is almost as necessary to have a good reliable man appointed as judge as it is to have a competent starter. If such an appointment were "made, a very email sum would ensure the judge's attendance at most of the country meetings, and 'do away with the too common spectacle of gentlemen occupying the pontoon ot judge who are {neither fitted nor desirous of filling the judge's Ijox. • Unfortunately many country clubs would *&nd the expense somewhat of a drawback, but I quiteVsure owners and the pufilic would be pleased to Bee a. man appointed who could be Zx usted to give a quick and correct decision. The Jockey Club might very well take rthis matter into consideration, and 1 am conEvinced it would receive the thanks of all concerned if eomething were done on the lines suggested. It is not bo easy to correctly place aniin a closely-contested race as some imagine, 'and I am sure that many of those now filling Sndges* boxes would be only too pleased to be relieved of the responsibility. The appointment ,of a man as judge merely, because he occupies a good social position is surely a great mistake, but fi. ftm sorry to say that this is the usual practice \adfipted by the majority of country clubs irrespective of qualification. Mr Rattray informs me 'that he accompanied the late owner of Sultan to Geraldine on Wednesday to examine the horse Moody, supposed to be identical with Sultan. The late owner of Sultan Bays that he warned those in charge of Moody at Tinwald that they were ruuning some risk, as he believe i that the so-called Moody was Sultan. I. understand that the horse Bilbab, disqualified ly the New Brighton Trotting Club, was sold to go to Otago, where he is now supposed to be situated. Bilbah stands about 16 hands, is brown In colour, has a bang tail, a small white patch on the heck, and prominent hip bones. 1 also hear that Cynthia, another trotter, is In your part of the world. Cynth iais a big, some-ts-hat heavy bay mare, with black points.

The trotting people here have their hands full trying to unravel some alleged " ringing-iu " tssea.