CANTERBURY DOINGS

Otago Witness, Issue 2801, 20 November 1907, Page 56

CANTERBURY DOINGS

Bt Fbitz.

Since the close of the Canterbury. Jockey Club'a meeting the weather ha» Seen gloriously fine, almost toD fine, in fact, »8_ t3fo tracks at Riccarton are getting very hard again. The local trainers are beginning to complain on this point. With the excellent water supply which is available there should be do reasons for fault-finding regarding bard tracks, but, judging from recent experiences, the club might have been saved the expenae of laying down the pipes and making the other provisions for watering the tracks, for all the U£« that is made of the service.

After the bustle and excitement of the Carnival wesk matters have now settled down quietly at Riocarton, where the various ■3oo*l trainers are engaged getting their charges ready for events further abend. The first meeting that will occupy attention is that of <the South Canerbury Jockey Club, which will be held this week, and at which quite a number of Biccarton horse* will be in evidence. The acceptance* for the first day are T««y large, and I expect the meeting to prove more than usually interesting. The following howes may run well: — Summer Handicap, Persuader; Shorts Handicap, Lupulrte-; Timaru Handicap, Probable; Flying Handi-cap,-Replete; President* Welter Handicap, llonkey Puzzle; Washdyke Trot Handicap, The Article.

B. Cutts will probably leave at the end of *h» week for Feilding, in charge of F-leeifoot «nd Bed Rain. Fleeifoot's miswon will be the Fielding Stakes, while Red Bain may be Been Out in some of the handicap events at the meeting. Prom Feilding Culis will take the pair on to Auckland, where his teann will be strengthened by Guidwife and) Clanchattan. Of the quartette Fleetfoot and Guidwife are .the pair that I have most confidence in, and they may pick up ft stake or two before they return home. CTanchattan has not won a race for over a year, but he showed a glimpse of form in the Fendalton Handicap at tho decent meeting at Riccarton. Red Rain ia only a- moderate at present) but time may work ■wonders in hifl caec.

I understand that G. Murray Aynsley has made up his mind to journey to Auckland ■with Bonny Glen and Artillerie. Bonny^ Glen is, nicely in the Auckland Cup with 7,8, and there ate more unlikely things than that he will win. The chief object in view, however, is the Derby, and with the beat of the three-year-olds either on the shelf or else missing from the list the chance of the Stepniak colt looks very bright. Artillerie, who ■will accompany Bonny Glen, is a two-year-old filly by Royal Artillery— Nantes, and I look on her as a very likely sort. She has shown good form on the tracks, and she went very close to effecting a surprise at the recent meeting iv the Irwell Handicap, in whdch Discipline just beat her. She is the kind of filly that might pick up one of the two-year-old handicaps at the Auckland meeting. So far I have not heard anything definite with regard to the Yaldhurst horses, but as the stable does not appear to contain anything much /good at present, apart from Munjeet 4tfid the two-year-olda, Mr Stead 1 may not Undertake the journey to Auckland. My resanrks concerning the weakness ol the Yaldfcurat team are made, of course, in the belief tfaat Boniform and Count Witte are on the shelf. With either or both of these three-year-olds in active commission the situation would have to be entirely reviewed. Bucoleuch is going on nicely just now ; and hs may be a member of the te»m which I understand W. Pine intends tc take north for the Manawatu Racing Club's meeting next month.

W. J. Taggart has purchased Seal Rock ivexo. Mr Stead. From what I can learn the horse will probably be sent to Australia with a view to being sold for stud purpose*. Being from the same dam as Gladsome and Apologue, and by the sire of the crack colt Elevation, he should 1 attract the attention of Australian breeders who happen to be on the look out for a sire.

The well-known trotting stallion Black Child met with an accident a few days ago, which resulted in the breaking of a small bone hi one of his legs. The- mishap, coming in the ilidoMe of the season, is most unfortunate for hi& owner, but it is hoped that the inconvenience will only be temporary, and that tho horse will be all right again before, long. The nomination* reoeived for the Hororata Racing Club's meeting are excellent, exceeding both in numbers and quality anything I can remember for one of this club's fixtures. If all the horses nominated journey to the (meeting, we efoould be favoured with a particularly good day's sport. The Ashburton Trotting Club, on the other hand, has secured a disappointing nomina■tion for its meeting, axxL, judging by the refulta, as seen in the lists, the experiment of <Xtendang the gathering to two days is not likely to work out very eucceasfully. Ashburion norsee figure prominently, but the representation far Chrietohuroh stables falls far ■bort of what I -expected. From what I oan near there is likely to be & strong contingent of Christohurch horses at c Tafinna P«rk Trotting Club's meeting at the end of this month. C. Piper informs me ilttt he will almost certainly be taking something down for this fixture. llrs B. O. Drunoan's well-known trotting snare Vanquish, by Vanoleve, ka» foaled a filly fc Jhe American-br*a «ire Cillndo. The sensation of the past wwe* In* been provided by the wholesale prosecution of bx»kJnakerß by the Canterbury Jockey Club for trespassing at Riccartou during the recent

meeting. Most of the men were charged on two informations, the offence occurring on separate days. After hearing evidence tho magistrate, Mr V. G. Day, imposed the following penalties:— G. Bates, T. Butler, G. Campbell, J. Coburn, F. Courtney, S. Isaacs, F. Lovelock, W. Lnhy, W. Norman, J. Ryan, W. Schaokall, E. Tuckey, and W. Varcoe were each sentenced to two months' imprwonm-ent, and ordered to pay costs, in default 14 days' imprisonment on each information, the sentences to be cumulative. F. Duval, S. Jones, W. Noel, T. Robinson, and J. Saunders-, being first offenders, were sentenced to one month's imprisonment, with a similar provision for the costs, all the sentences to be without hard labour. E. Collins, A. M'Kinley, T. Orr, J. Paton, J. Batoliffe, and J. Ross were each fined £10 and costs (£2 16s). Ross, because of his health, and the others because their counsel had assured the court that they would give up their betting business. As a result of the cases, there has been » lot of agitation, all classes of the community having 1 taken a hand in it. There is & strong feeling that the Canterbury Jockey Club has done the cause of the totalisator. no good by its latest action, sympathy being all with the men who have been punished in such an extreme manner. A petition was put in circulation on Friday, and on Saturday night, when the signatures numbered about 10,000, Mr M. Barnett proceeded to Wellington with it for the purpose of presenting it to Parliament. Mr C. E. Calcutt, who died suddenly on Friday, was a keen sportsman. He was a member of the Canterbury Jockey Club and a steward of the Christohurch Racing Club, while he was at one time a member of the New Zealand Trotting Association. The big crowd of visiting horses which we had with us for the recent meeting at Riccarton have all returned to their homes with the exception of Le Beau, who will probably leave in a few days for Feilding, where he claim* engagements. In the meantime he is bowling along freely on the local tracks.

The three jockeys who were injured at the Cup meeting are progressing favourably. Jones has resumed riding, and M'Cluskey, whose injuries were more severe, expects to be out of bed in a d*y or two. though it will be some time before he is back in the saddle. Yarr is still nursing a broken collarbone, but he is mending fast. Mr T. Sheenan lost a two-year-old filly by Pilgrim's Progress—^Greek Maid! from one of his paddocks during Cup Week. All efforts to find her were fruitless till a few days ago, when she was. found running out on the Waimakariri River bed. It is shrewdly suspected that the filly did not get out of the paddock -without assistance from someone, and, under the circumstances, Sheenan was lucky to recover her. By the way, ehe is a good-looking sort, and she may develop into <» -useful stake-winner next season.

Some changes have taken place in the constitution of local teams as a result of Ihe sales which followed the Cup meetingPas Seul ia under M'Cracken's care, Sir Artegal is an inmate of M'Donald's stable, while T. Cotton has charge of Huascax. St. Joe, who has been purchased by Mr Clay, a local publican, has gone into Grant's stable, which also shelters Paragon. A promising sort of a filly, full sister to Gwendolina, is the latest addition to Clarke's team. *

Two of Sir George Clifford's two-year-olds in Millionaire and Whistle Craft are to be added to the Us-t, and subsequently treated to a spell.