THE C.J.C. MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2539, 12 November 1902, Page 50

THE C.J.C. MEETING.

.. -£he weather was fine during the early toorning on Cap Day, and th* streets of tJhristchureh were -thronged with the usual crowd*,, dressed ia holidays attire, but shortly before the first race th© sky became overcast and a boisterous wind arose, which g&ade things" very unpleasant on the course. Haft, were in the air that were not hoisted 'an the first throe* of a horse's victory, and '*~f*irrjr heavy shower descended. It afteriwsrcbr cleared- up 'and became beawtiiwly fine, and continued so fo» the rest of the day. The track was In good order, /and the general surrounding* of the course presented a 'pleasing appearance. There' was a 'splendid attendance when the field engaged in the Hurdle Race were being marshalled foe the fray, and by tke time the Cup came up for decision the paddock enclosures and the outside were thronged with people. ■Evening Wonder outstayed the opposition in the Hurdles, and won comfortably at the finish. Scottish Minstrel took off too far away from the east fence, and landed on top of the obstacle, but neither horse nor rider was hurt. Exmoor looked all over a .winner in the Madden Plate up to seven "furlongs, but then Evelyn Wood gave him jfche go-by, half a furlong from home, and .won easily by three lengths. In the xßicfcarton Welter Regulation was prominent from the rise of the barrier, and afterwards tan home cleverly from Ayrdale. Pretrovna jwas prominent with ttoe leaders up to half » furlong from home, but nothing seriously menaced the winner's chance, and she showed * great reversal of farm to what «fie exhibited in Dumedin. Another New Zealand Cup has become a toatter of history, something new and jiovel has to be noted in connection with it. It is that it has been won by a paddockfauned horse, who was acquired by his present' owner at the hack price of £27. aWhen the field wae being saddled for the [race there was no doubt- as to Halberdier ■being the commoner of the party as far as 'appearances went. He is a plain, horse, with [nothing very attractive about him, and 'his P'racy."- looks were- not added to by each »fr hi* fetlocks being adorned by large tufts tot hair. Halberdier is a- dark, bay, with Wack points; and was got by Cuirassier '(brother of Trenton), out of Mica Stead, a ' ■of Leolinus and the imported .Trumpeter mare Miss Laura, who was *lso the dam of Town Moor and St. Laura. He Bnm bred by Messrs Duder Bros., of Auckland, and was the second foal produced by flu» dam, who haa thrown nothing of note ■besides the Cup winner of 1902. When the [field marshalled for parade, as far a* looks ,wenfc Canteen was the greatest Roman of 'them all, and next to him I liked the apjpearance of Welbeck, Siege Gun, and TorkuUa. Nonette and Glenaladale looked finely drawn and -aomewhat overdone, and the former moved sore in his preliminary. (Nonette does not present the appearance of ' {being a great weight carrier, but rather looks like a useful handicap horse. Porirua is not a. very attractive looking colt, and does not look t- Cup horse. Punamu is a nice cut of a filly, and nas greatly improved since aha raced at the Geraldine meeting. In the betting on the race Siege Gun was a Rood favourite, but off the ground was not jheayily backed on the day, and Halberdier (mainly on the strength of some excellent .■work pttt -up since his arrival at Riccarton) \raa next in demand, and Sirhw was supported on the machine to an nnthought-of extent. There was not a great deal of delay art the post, and Piper despatched the field to » good start. Canteen appeared to, be the jfxest bone to break the line, but by the time the course proper was reached Welbeck had /Mftnned command of affairs, and he was closely attended by Punamu and Canteen, the latter fighting hard for his. head. As the field- raced past the stand Welbeck led Punamu and* Canteen by about a length, -and the most prominent of the others was tHsdherdder and Siege Gun, with Nonette whipping in. Going out of the straight and passing Cutta's the positions remained unchanged except tlat ToKfculla dropped back and joined Nonette in the rear. Racing along the back Welbeck still piloted the ■way, and Was closely attended by Punamu, Canteen lying third, pulling double, and Halberdier lying next. Passing the seven- j furlong post Glenaladale improved his position, and Nonette and Tortulla moved up J on the outside. Siege Gun was lying in the ' middle of the field, and did not appear to be travelling too well. Rounding the far bend Welbeck slightly improved his advantage in the lead, but as the horses swept found the home turn Ac field closed up again, and when heads were turning for home Canteen wat, closing on the leader. Nonette was observed coming through on the outside, and his victory was heralded, •but he could not sustain his effort. The first torse on whom I noticed the whin being used was the favourite. Hewitt drawing the . stick on him shortly after the field entered the straight. When heads were straightened for home Canteen was on terms with Welbeck, and a little later Halberdier drew tip to the leaders, while Glenaladale, Porirua, Tortulla, and Siege Gun were the most promivnt of the others, _ but the latter ' was being hard ridden in an' endeavoui 'o improve his position. Racing for the distance all the horses appeared te be jlose together, and there appeared -to be a possibility of a great --race being fought out. but a hundred yards from home Halberdier's victory was heralded, and a little later the Cuirassier gelding came away, and won very easily in the last 50 yards from. Welbeek who passed the poifc about two and a-half lengths behind the winner. Canteen was a length behind the second horse. Then came Porirua, Glenaladale, Siege Gun, and Tortulla. It wa» a fair]/ popular win,

[ and the -winner ancf rider cam* in for an ovation as they returned to the weighing enclosure. The time put vp — 3min 33 4-sscc — does noli read as being fast, although the conditions were fairly favourable for a good go. The chief topics after the race were the inglorious display made by the favourite, the- easy manner m which the winner triumphed, and Canteen's bold show-ing-up- to over a mile and a-half. Many thougKl Canteen could have been second had he been allowed to run along, but no one ventured to say he could have lowered the colours of the winner, no matter how the race was run. Considering that Nonette was very sore and galloped short, he ran a, good race,- and appeared to possess a chance a quarter of a mile from home. Glenaladale was noticeable after a mile and a-half had been left behind from his improving his position, but he failed in, the last couple of furlongs. Porirua probably could have been closer, but he was not ridden out till I the bitter end, when pursuit of Halberdier ; was a hopeless case. The time of the race : as taken by Mr G. G. Stead at its various stages was: First half-mile, 54isee; six furlongs, lmin 21£ sec; one mile, Imin 48£sec$ one mile and a-qnarter. 2min 16sec ; one mile and a-half, 2min 42sec; two miles, 3min 332 sec. To-morrow captured the Welcome Stakes in good style at the- finish, and finished as straight as a gun barro!. King Log did not maintain a true course during the race, but none of the crouch riders- seem capable of keeping fcheir mounts properly in order. Sychem dwelt a trifle at the barrier, but afterwards ram. a good colt. Starshoot and Bandmaster are promising youngsters, but the former got much the worst of the start, and the latter has not been doing too well lately. Enna ran home an easy winner in the Sapling Stakes, and nothing had a chance with Vladimir over the last furlong oi the Stewards' Handicao. Pallas, Red Gauntlet, Scatty, and Westguard were prominent at a furlong- from home, but it was a one-horse race at the finish. George Price, the well-known North Island horseman, broke one of his collarbones when Zealous came down in the Ladies' Purse, and Mr C. D. Crowe, who rode Eiore in the same race, also fell and received a bad shakiug. The accident happened about three furlongs from home, and at the same place Bombardo unahipped his rider during the race for the Maiden Plate.