Sporting Notes.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 6705, 19 November 1889, Page 4

Sporting Notes.

The presence of Hia Excellency the Governor, magnificent weather for Cup and Derby days, and better times, assured the financial Buocesa of the Metropolitan Meeting of the Canterbury Jockey Club, but there is no disguising the fact that tho racing was the poorest witnessed at this fixture for many yeare. Not only were the fielda small and generally of poor quality, but the contests, with one or two exceptions, were uninteresting and oneBided. It is no easy matter to find an explanation for this state o£ things, but there can be no question that the terrible hardness of the track at Biccaiton had a a good deal to do with the non-appearance of several animals which might, with better fortune, have added very much to the interest of the gathering. It waa very satisfactory to find the public turning out in such numbers on the first two daya of the meeting. While the large attendances were pretty compliments to our new Governor, they showed that " the improvement in our condition/* of

past few months ia not altogether an idle fiction. People do not go holiday-making with much zest when they are weighed down with commercial depreßßion, and there was nothing about the goodtempered, well-dressed crowds at Eiccarton last week to indicate the ■ j hopeless state of insolvency in which i some croaking politicians tell us we are | j involved. No one who spent the holidays ; in Canterbury will accept the bankruptcy of the Colony as a foregone conclusion. Our reports of each day's racing gave the principal incidents of the meeting, and ! our review need not run into any great ', length. Tirailleur, whose high reputation we accepted with some misgivings, fully established his claim to be regarded aa the champion of the year. Many people condemned this colt on account of his somewhat angular appearance, but from the very first we could see nothing in his shape to prevent his being as good aa he has turned out. He won the New Zealand Cup handaoniely, probably with nine or ten pounds in hand, and when he met Scots Grey in the Canterbury Cup at j weight-for-ago, established hib superiority beyond the shadow of a doubt. For many reasons we are pleased by the success of J Mr Gollan's colt, but most of all it is | gratifying to have positive proof that the " persistent rumours of collusion between two prominent owners were entirely without foundation. Scots Grey was to us, we confess, the sur- ] prise of the meeting. His owner had made no secret of hi 3 confidence in the colt's , ability to improve upon his Hawke's Bay j and Worth Canterbury performances, but j we took those moderate displays as something near his proper form, and, as circumstances proved, were very wide of the mark. At Hawke's Bay the colt was backward in condition, and a*: North Canterbury was interfered with when running through his horse 3 at the top turn and j had to come again on the outside. At Eiccarton last week, by winning the Derby andrnnninguptoTirailleurinthetwoOup3, he Bhowed himself not only better than we j had supposed, but a genuine stayer. That ho is eomething behind Mr Gollan's colt there can be no doubt, but if ho should keep sound and train on, he will, we think, always be found nest best among the three- . year-olds. Cyniaca put in a very strong claim to be regarded aa one of the good ones of the year, and is perhaps the beat filly we have had since Lurline. We thought her rather out of her distance at a mile and a-half, and still believe she is batter at a mile, but she was not far behind Scots Grey in the Derby, and won the Oaks with consummate ease. Sound-legged and j game as they can be made, Bhe will certainly win again for her ownors. Alsace was run both in the Derby and Oaks, in the interests of her stable companion, but is evidently a rapidly improving filly, and if entrusted to a nice horseman like Thompson for another race or two, will gain the confidence she requires to win races. Peerswick ran green, and hardly so well ea we expected, but wants a little more time and will, have a turn before the season is over. Eenata showed none of the brilliancy with which he was credited, but is capable of some improvement and may yet show himßelf a worthy member of a good family. Bose Argent won a couplo of races, the Maiden Plate and Juvenile Stakes, very comfortably, but signally failed to get the mile and a half in the Oaks. Among the two-year-olds — to go back a year — Pygmalion stood head and shoulders, both in appearance and performances, above the others. He won the Welcome Stakes just as easily as hi 3 sister Cynisca did last year, and his second to Moraine in the Nursery Handicap, with 161 b the worst of the weights and a bad start, was a really great feat. He looks every inch a Derby colt, and, if those front legs stand, will be a very formidable candidate for the "blue riband" next year. Moraine ran consistently, and if hardly the sort to make much improvement during the next twelve months*, will always be tolerably smart over sprint courses. Major George'B pair, Reprisal and Vendetta, showed up as prominently as any of the others, and will do better when Cutts has had a little more time to develop their pace, while Ben Trovato, Lullaby, Eichlake and Seraph will bo seen to greater advantage later in the season. Whisper was the most successful of the older horses, and after making every allowance for a little kindness from the handicappers, there is no denying the fact that the little daughter of Albany and Tell Tale ia a good deal better than the majority of the Southerners supposed. She was turned out in capital fettle, and always able to come at the right end of her races. Occident waß going faster than anything else at the finish in the New Zealand Cup, and thoroughly deserved his situation, but Dudu, who ran very disappointingly throughout, must have gone off in the last 'week of her preparation. Eecluse did all thab a good horse out 6f condition could be expected to do, and would have boen better at home in hia box. British Lion was not prominent during any part of the race for the New Zealand Cup, but for a moment or two looked as if he would repeat his last year's victory in the Metropolitan Handicap. Whisper, however, caught Mr Jones' horse in the last hundred yards, and won, some people thought, with a little to spare. The les&er lights may be dismissed in a few words. Alcinous just misßed a little coup in the Stewards' Stakes, and opened the eyes of the handicappers in a manner which some of them will remember. Chain Shot was very sore and went down softly in the Maiden Plate, but Forester showed that he iB still possessed of come of his old brilliancy. Neither Erin-go-Bragh nor Little Shamrock was at his best, but Quibble waa better than he has been for months and unlucky in not securing a bracket. The absence of Masthead was generally deplored, but if Stoat's performance is any index to the strength of the stable, the daughter of Spritsail would have had very little to Bay in the decision of the big handicap. Sextant made his re-appearance in the Stewards' Stakes, and showed a great dash of pace for four or five furlongs, but his infirm legs had interfered with his preparation, and he could not last home. Wakatipu ran much better than most people expected, and nearly up to the good trial ho had shown in public ; but the horao is not reliable, and we should dearly like to see his plucky owner with something better. The following table shows the amounts won by the progeny of the various sires represented at the meeting: —

The respective positions of Mußket and Apremont in the above list are just the j same as those they occupied at the conclusion ! of the corresponding meeting laßt year. Musket's total has been reduced by only £2, and Apreinont'a by £43.

Winners Amount. £ s d Musket ... 4, 2,631 7 0 jipremont 8 1,109 12 0 Albany 3 622 5 0 Cadoifan 2 184 6 0 Lapidifit 1 181 9 0 Puriri ... 1 ISO 15 0 Painter ... 1 112 2 0' Python 1 07 17 0 New Holland 1 05 0 0 Hornby 1 80 9 0 Trump lard ... 1 71 5 0 Hoinnaa ... ... 1 61 15 0 Bandoora 1 47 10 0 St George 1 2d 10 0 Ingomar 1 28 10 0 LeolinuH ... 1 28 10 0 First King 1 11 5 0 GnyFawkos 1 14 5 0 Batrayer 1 14 5 0 Kobinson Crusoe 1 14 5 0 _ j £5.603 3 0