TALK OF THE DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 2527, 20 August 1902, Page 45

TALK OF THE DAY.

By Sentinel,

THE C.J.C. GRAND NATIONAL MEETING.

The Canterbury Jockey Club were favoured by having splendid weather for the opening day of the Grand National meeting, and the attendance probably exceeded that which has ever previously been present afc a National meeting. The track was a trifle holding, but otherwise in excellent order for cross-country racing. On the lawn and outside the club considerately .spread hay for the people to walk on, and by doing so showed a desire to study the comfort of their patrons as far a-s possible. The raoing on the first day was remarkably interesting, and several closely- con tested finishes were witnessed. Large fields sported wlk in many of the races, and no k-P3 than 24- faced the barrier in the Winter Cup; while the 14 that figured on the card for the Grand National Steeplechase went out to do battle for the prize. The ball \va3 set rolling with the First Hunters' Hurdle Race, and a field of nine saddled up for the race. Tufto was elected to the I'ositiou of favourite, and those who Temembored his display at the last Dunedin meeting backed the St. Clair gelding with confit'ence. He looked well to the eye, and appeared to be in. much better nick than when he made his debut over fences at Wingatui In the race Tufto appeared to be in trouble from the start, and he did not display anything like his best pace. He ha-d the steadier of 12 5 on liis back, and with the track on the soft side it is a burden tliat requires a good horse to cany it. Tufto struck tho lasc fenco heavily and fell upon H. Carr, who was afterwards found to have a small bone in his ankle fi-acturc-d. The winner turned up in Slow Tom', who 13 a chestnut gelding by tho VVarrington-bred hor*e St. Ive*. The latter in a full brother to Conjurer, and was a fair performer when an inmate of tho Hon. G. M 'Lean's stable. After being prominent tLrotighoufc the race, Slow Tom won easily l>y three lengths from Hurricane, who also possesses the Gorton blood in his veins.

Considerable interest was taken in the Maiden Hurdle?, as there would bo a lino obtained about the Grand National Hurdleg. Mars was withdrawn, and Strathnairn was made .1 slightly better favourite than Scortinli Minstrel. Both tho«e horses were turned out in excellent order, and the latter was evidently in great heatf. .Scottish Minstrel won ear-ily at tho fim-li : and Winsome, tho half-sister to Record Reign, who had be<-u lyinij toino distance away from the leaders during the early part of the race, put in a good run and finished third. Surrey, who ran unplaced last year in th« pamo race, divided the winner and Win=ome. He run a good hor^e, but could not; pace it home with the Clanranald gelding.

The third race on the card was the Winter Cup, and the various candidates were eagerly "-canned in the paddock. The New Zealand C;ip favourite, Siege Gun, held a le\ee, and those wiio "made his nequniutanco' 1 while lie was undergoing his toilet for the fray were considerably impressed by the appearance of the ton of Hotoliki-w and Frailty Dunodin Fupplied two of the field m Ardnarff and Blazer The formfT looked bright and well, but his appearance nap somewhat dibcountcd by a winter coat Blazer bore evidence of having done a s-olid preparation, and was confidently -expected to run a great race. Ostiak looked bettor to me than what he did when being saddled up for the same race last jcar. He won the rate everywhere except at the winning pcy-t, and when challenged by Waiwhera 111 tho iasc fow strides lie appeared to bhut up. Ip to this he was 6i riding along iv great style, and it looked a thousand to ono on him winning, as his rider appeared to have a fair hold of him. Many maintained that Jenkins was caught napping, but when Waiwhera ranged alongside he was hard at last year's winner. Ostiak failed to respond, and was defeated fe£ % u«»*. Field 23»ttecy r*n a. good third,

and then came The Snannon, Siege Gun, Scotty, and Somerled. Blazer finished third last, and ArdnaTff was with the leaders of the second division. The latter was doubly handicapped at the barrier by being ono of the second row which it was found necessary to make in order to accommodate the large field at the post. Blazer was about third from the inside rails, but had his chance settled at the outset by being slow ofF the mark. He was chopped right out, and never afterwards made up liis- gTound. Siege Gun was another who was slow to move, and after running on the outside pf the large field was travelling well at th<> finish, and obtained fourth position as the field raced past the post. Scotty boro marks of having been galloped on during th© race, and his off hind leg was slightly cut in a couple of places The winner of tho race is a good cut of a chestnut mare, by Quilt out of Waikaka— a daughter of Tor pedo and Cascade. JMr R. W. Patterson, the well-known Wellington metallician, who owns the mare, had £15 on Waiwhera in the machine, so that he had a fairly good win over the race

After the Winter Cap came th© principal event on the day's programme, and the 14 horses that figured on the card prepared for the fray. This year the Grand National oceeples was the medium of a great deal of sp,?culalion, and the leading metallicians had large volumes on the double, Steeples and Hurdles. Tho majority of tho field bora evidences of having done solid preparations for the racp. Moifaa looked much brighter than he did when ho went out to compete in the same race last year. Gobo looked as bright as a star, but h© has a big knee, whioh doos not improve his appear^ ance. In the race, Straybird was the first to throw out, and Moifaa came down after getting about half the journey. Pipi was responsible for the pace, and carted his field along at a good solid pace. He feKcad well, but .Haydn carried too many guns for him at the finish. The Guard was travelling well when he came down, and he must have played a prominent part at the finish but for the mishap. He injured one of his shoaldors when he fell, and Haydn overreached during the race, and cut one of his frout heels. It was a great set-to between the placed horses over the last half mile, and Haydn was greatly distressed when ho pulled up. Last year Haydn carried 11.0 and defeated Long Tom 10.7 and nine others 111 tho Grand National Hurdles in smin 55 4-sseo, but since then he has not displayed any form which approached the merit of that win. Contrary to expectations, Huku negotiatod the course, but his lack of jumping qualities outweighed his pace, and he was ne\or prominent. The top weights in the race, with the exception of The Guard, never menaced Haydn's chance of success, and probably the going contributed a great deal towards their downfall. Iv the Tally-ho Plat© Steeplechase Brab won easily, and Zither and others who may have possessed a chance made tho winner's victory easy by coming to grass. Royal Conqueror was considered a good thing for the Ladies' Bracelet, but Scylla, a five-year-old mare by Stepniafc— Whirlpool, ran home an easy winner by three lengths, and Shellbaok also finished in front of the Grand National candidate.

Shylock had no great difficulty in accounting for the Enfield Stakes, and tho day's racing waa brought to a conclusion with Hie decision of the Woolston. Plate. In this race a field of six faced the tapes, and First Shot ran home a winner by a length in front of Lapidary. The winner was bought after the race at £105.