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DEVASTATION IS THE VICTOR Defeats Mad Hatter anci Boniface in Dominion Handicap. o Second Meeting at Fort Erie Begins With Adverse Weather and Track Conditions. FORT ERIE, Ont.. August S. Stephen Pctits Devastation, a four-year-old son of Wrack Treeless, added his name to the winning roster of the Dominion Handicap this afternoon at Fort Erie when he scored in a drive from the Rancocas Sfables Mad Hatter, while J. K. L. Ross Boniface, the top weight in the race, was third. The race, which had an added value of 0,000, attracted the best of the long-distance performers in this section and, despite the wretched condition of the track, it was almost impossible to separate the first two horses as they crossed the finish line, with Mad Hatter on the inside and Devastation on the outside. Boniface was a long way back, while he in uirn had a safe margin over Planet. There" was much bumping and crowding in the final eighth of the race, in which Sande, on Mad Hatter, was mainly responsible, for he impeded Devastation, but the latter, under his light weight, wore down the Rancocas stable starter and got up in the final stride to win by a nose. There was a delay of five minutes at the post, in which Boniface played an important part by his unruly actions. The field was caught in alignment and the webbing sprung, but Tailor Maid refused to start. Firebrand was the one to go to the front, and he was pursued by Mad Hatter, while Devastation was racing in third position with Registrar leading Tailor Maid by a wide-margin. overcomes much ixteufeuexce. When settled on the backstretch Firebrand began to tire and Sande had a restraining hold on Mad Hatter. Devastation was racing with plenty in reserve, Sande elected to go to the front with Mad Hatter rounding the far turn and readily passed Firebrand, drawing away into a commanding lead. Devastation was gaining steadily and coming to the outside. He was repeatedly bumped, however, but held on gamely to his task and managed to outstay the Rancofas starter. Boniface found clear sailing next the inner rail and closed with his usual rush, but was a long ways back and never menaced the pair in front. Planet was in trouble at several stages of the race, out came with a belated rush on the outside. Never before in the history of the Niagara Racing Association was a meeting started at Fort Erie under more adverse weather and track conditions. A cold and disagreeable wind swept across the course, winch, coupled with low and threatening skies, kept the attendance down to small figures compared with other days. The track, drenched by repeated storms, was a veritable quagmire. There were no good spots to choose in the course, although the majority of the winners finished in the middle of the course. The card, which was built about the feature attraction, was a good one and brought together well-balanced fields. Racing on the whole, despite the many upsets, was of a spirited order and horses neglected in the wagering accounted for the majority of ths dashes. TIGHT FIT IX OPEXEIt. The closest finish of the afternoon camo with the running of the opening dash, in which Colando, Nenette and Crock o Gold dashed past the judges in the oraer named and only separated by inches. Colando followed the early pace and assumed the lead when well in the stretch, but was ridden hard to stall off Nenette, while the latter in turn had but a short margin over Crock o Gold, which finished with a rusli on the outside. Peter Piper failed badly in this race after flattering his backers by leading by a wide margin to the stretch, where ha quit. Benjamin Beach has taken over the engagement book of jockey J. Wallace and Will make his engagements at this meeting. Albert Rohrbach was an arrival from Saratoga this morning and will remain for tha meeting. J. B. Campbell received the entry blanks for the Pimlico Futurity for foals of 1923. John T. Morrissey of Kemplands Farm, Lexington, Ky., was the first nominator and named the progeny of Plucky Hen II., bred Continued on twelfth page. DEVASTATION IS THE VICTOR Continued from first page. to Cudgel; Tip Toe, bred to Cudgel, and Lovers Lane, bred to Light Brigade. Steve Petit came up from New York to watch Devastation in the running of the Dominion Handicap, returning to New York right after the race. Condition books for the Timonium meeting arrived this afternoon and were distributed among the horsemen. D. J. Leary, who saddled Mad Hatter for the Rancocas Stable in the Dominion Handicap, shipped him to Saratoga after the race. Devastation was also shipped to the Spa, while J. Phillips Guy was sent to Windsor. Jockeys Sande and Marinelli also left for Saratoga.
