CANTERBURY.

New Zealand Illustrated Sporting & Dramatic Review, Issue 1516, 15 May 1919, Page 11

CANTERBURY.

Art’s Great Northern Hurdles Engagement— Gloaming Quite Recovered From Mishap — Hylans Changes Hands—G. M. Aynsley’s Promising Yearlings—Gay Lad Reappears on Tracks —Bon Spec and Punka Both on Easy List. CHRISTCHURCH, Monday. Most of the horses that raced at Wellington were given a short let-up on their return to Riccarton, but several are being hurried along again in view of the Timaru, Oamaru and Dunedin meetings. Art has been galloping very freely of late, and is in better trim than when he won at Riccarton last month. He is under orders for the Great Northern Hurdle Race, in which he will probably be ridden by F. Ellis. On his best form the little Sarto gelding must take a good deal of beating in the big Ellerslie race. Heathercote does not look any the worse for the two hard races he had at Trentham. He is being kept going in view of the South Canterbury meeting. Subterfuge has been showing considerable improvement in her recent track efforts and should land a stake at one of the forthcoming. southern meetings. Gloaming has not done any work since his return from Wellington, but he is reported to have quite recovered from his accident. There are no more races for him this season, but it would come as no surprise to see him taken across to Sydney for the A.J.C. spring meeting. Rossini, another member of R. J. Mason’s team, is not doing much. He is a greatly improved colt, and may accompany Gloaming to Randwick. The hurdler Hylans has bene sold to a South Canterbury sportsman. Killowen passed through Christchurch a few days ago en route to Oamaru. He was. only held on lease by Mr. T. H. Lowry, and now goes back to his owner, Mr. J. B. Reid. G. M. Aynsley has just taken in hand a quartette of very promising yearlings. They are a chestnut filly by Nassau from Martine; a bay filly by Solferino from Warstep; a chestnut gelding by Solferino from Stardancer and a chestnut filly by Bonny Glen from Lady Disdain. The same trainer is keeping Wai love, Nantville and Wardancer going. It is intended to race the last-named .at the Dunedin meeting. A start has been made at erecting the schooling fences at Riccarton and they will soon be in use for educational purposes. The Gray double, Vagabond and Chimera, was strongly supported here on both days of the Manawatu meeting. Miss Mimic’s display in the Palmerston North Stakes was of a disappointing nature. Evidently she did not do well on the trip away from home. Sisyphus has been more or less sore since racing at the C.J.C. meeting, and does most of his exercise on the lead. Gay Lad made his reappearance on the track on Friday morning, having thrown off all effects of his mishap. He is in splendid trim to be got ready for the Winter Cup, which will probably be his next public effort. Bon Spec, who went amiss on the eve of the C.J.C. meeting, is still being spelled. McCombe has hopes of getting him ready for the Winter Cup.

Punka has been on the easy' list since her return from Wellington. It would come as no surprise to see her racing in Australia next spring. A. Shearsby, who trains Sleight of Hand and other horses for Mr. Armstrong, has engaged four boxes at Riccarton for the Grand National meeting. At the C.J.C. autumn meeting the club made a mistake in the race cards by not coupling Sundance and Kilgour in the Nursery Handicap. Under the circumstances, backers of Some Kid, who finished second to Royal Stag, claimed that they were entitled to a second dividend. This was not forthcoming, as a notice had been posted on the totalisator just before the race started that the two horses mentioned would be coupled, and consequently only one dividend returned. The club has now decided to pay the second dividend on Some Kid, -though fortified by legal opinion that it is not necessary to do so.

- LATER. Art to Leave for His Northern Trip —Pleasing Gallops at Riccarton — Fancied Candidates for the Timaru Cup. (Telegraph—Christchurch Correspondent) Art shaped pleasingly in a gallop over a mile on Saturday morning. He leaves for Ellerslie in the course of a few days in E. Scoullar’s charge. Sisyphus took charge of his rider on Saturday, and bolted nearly seven furlongs before being mastered. Afterwards he was slightly lame again. Subterfuge defeated Fabisco and Bonsign in a creditable gallop over seven furlongs, which she cast behind pleasingly in Imin. Slsec. Wardancer rattled off a mile and a-quarter in 2min. 10 2-ssec., finishing well. He had a light weight up, but it was a satisfactory effort in view of his Dunedin engagements. Tip Up (Hegarty), with Kaminohe (Burrows) as a companion, started for a round of the schooling hurdles, but at the second fence Kaminohe blundered badly and unseated his rider. He was afterwards remounted and jumped the big brush fences without a mistake. Naupata (Hegarty) and Paremata (Burrows) were given a turn over four of the brush fences, which they negotiated without mishap. Paremata’s showing pleased most. Naupata is still inclined to be a bit dirty at the start, and it was some little time before Hegarty could persuade him to go. Though the fields for the first day’s racing at the South Canterbury meeting are not likely to be large, there is ample material for good racing. With all his weight Eleus is sure to run well in the Timaru Cup, while if John Barleycorn is back to anything like form he should be handy.