THE C..T.C. AUTUMN MEETING.

Otago Witness, Issue 2668, 3 May 1905, Page 50

THE C..T.C. AUTUMN MEETING.

The Canterbury Jodkey Club's autumn meeting of 1905 will go into history as one of the most enjoyable meetings a sportsman could wish to attend. The weather, it is true, left something to be desired in that respect, but the racing was of a high standard, and close and exciting finishes, some fine horsemanship, and a. goodly array of well-conditioned and fine-looking horses were to be found contesting for winning honours in the majority of the races. Naturally, owing to the time of the year, some of the horses looked' a bit broken in their coats, but that that could not be taken as a true criterion as to their racing condition was evidenced in more cases than one, notably, for instance, in Ailsa's case. The Wallace filly a, fortnight ago looked in really fine oi*der, but before being stripped for engagements at Riccarton sho contracted a skia disease, which anything but enhanced her appearance to the casual spectator. That it did not seriously affect her prowess tinder silk was evidenced by her bold showing in the Great Easter, and her subsequent win in the Templeton Handicap. The two principal events, the Great E'?»ter and Great Autumn Handicaps, attracted fine fields of horses, and provided races which were well worth, a long journey to witness, and incidentally reflected great credit on the handicappeiv who had th.T task of bringing them together, even after allowing that Machine Gun's penalty

made the result of the race a much closer thing than it would otherwise have been* Machine Gun, after he returned from his Wellington and Manawatu campaign, improved considerably in his track form, and what was more important, also improved considerably in hi 3 wind, and altogether showed indications that under favourable circumstances it would have taken a. big load to frtop him in the race. The advent of bad weather did not enhance his prospects, but after the pi-evious Saturday's rains tho track dried quickly, and although a bit on the slow side, furnished excellent going. A field of eleven stripped for the fray, and not one of them looked! out of place, and each and all appeared in good battle order except To-morrow, who seemed a bit backward to run out a severe seven- | furlong journey. Sandy was the lilipu- I tian of the party, but he was in with a , feather, iind it was his prominence in the , straight at tho finish which caused the writer to recommend him for his race on the second da-y, as his display at least was gcod welter form. Machine Gun did not look too bright in the coat, but with Ghoorka's, Savoury's, Petrovna's, "Vladimir's, and Lady Lyonors's appearance little fault could be found, whilst Golden Vein looked in great fig, an.l to the eye was the fittest horse in the field. Boris, whom the writer saw for the first time as a racehorse, looked light. Petrovna, as usual, was very smart to begin, and ran over her first half at a four-furlong gait, and Vladimir, who drew outside position at the barrier, must have toavelled at , a merry pace to gain second place so eooa j as he did. As a matter of fact probably | tho effort to get him into a good position settled his chance in the race, -as lie ruatle but feeble response when Machine Gun wrested the lead from him after Petrovna had retired. Ghoorkha got into a\ bad position in the early stages, but it was his brilliant run from the rear and terminating challenge to Machine Gun which caused Jones to draw the whip' on the Yaldhurst candidate, who responded with great jjameness, but was right out as the post was reached. Machine Gun always occupied a good position near the leaders, and inside the distance looked like having a fairly comfortable win, until the black son of Lochiel dropped from the clouds. Savoury gave a .disappointing display, and after being in the ruck throughout finished second last. Machine Gun's performance undoubtedly set the seal to his fame *as a, sprinter, as under unfavourable conditions he> registered as fine a performance as one could wish to see. The official time was lmin 29 4-ssec, but several private watches made it well inside of the 29sec, and the spectators gave a fitting recognition to the performance, by greeting the winner with a generous round of applause as he returned to the enclosure. Jones rode a fine race-, and was well entitled to a big share of the applause. The field which deployed into the arena to contest the Great Autumn Handicap was not very strong numerically, but, with a couple of exceptions, looked well fitted to run out a 12-furlong journey. Quarryman looked in good order, but Convoy was peacocky in his carriage, and conveyed the idea that he was a bit above himself. Vladimir's appearance left nothing to be desired, and there is no dotibt that his race at Invercargill, although a losing effort, had a beneficial effect on the son of Stepniak's condition. Ghoorka, if anything, looked a, shade brighter than when he bolted with his Dunedin Gup, and this, coupled with his brilliant showing in the Easter, made the writer strongly inclined to favour his chance. Savoury was perhaps a trifle bigger than he was- in the spring, but presented a very taking appearance. Cannie Chiel looked well, and although he had to be stopped in his work track conditions favoured him, but his display was disappointing. Crichton looked fit and well, but lighter than usual ; whilst Stepdanoer, never of a gaudy appearance, had gone out of favour a bit owing to her poor showing in the Sockburn Handicap on the previous day. The field was well in line when the^ barrier was released, but Convoy and Vladimir cannoned badly, and lost a bit of ground. Quarryman was hunted off fhe mark with the whip and kept as buoy as possible until going into the back sti-etch, where Crichton was hia nearest attendant. Convoy raced from the ruck going along the back, and j appeared to be pulling double, but he shot ' his "bolt after going a mile, at which stage Crichton also commenced to retire. Running round the far turn Ghoorka went up to the leaders, and, travelling over a • deal of ground, ran on the outside of them j until - reaching the straight, where he appeared -to be in trouble. Vladimir appeared on the scene at the distance, and was on terms with Quarryman when the lawn was reached. Derrett then pulled the whip on his mount, and after administering a couple of cracks got into his horse with hands and heels, and the son of Stepniak, sticking gamely to his task, beat QuarTyman by a neck for winning honours. Ghooi-ka finished a fair third, just in front of Stepdancer, who was followed in turn by Savoury ; whilst Crichton was last to finish. The winner received an ovation as he> returned to .scale, and there is no doubt that Vladimir put up a fine performance, as he was last to leave the mark, and his actual time mupt have been an improvement on the official 2min 36;ec. Quarryman ran a good race, and perhaps a bit too much was made of the colt, as after he was hunted off the mark be made tEe pace for the vest of the journey, with the result that b« was unable to pull out that little bit which would probably have "made the difference between defeat and victory.