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Here and There on the Turf Four Year Old Horses of ofMystery Mystery Cases of WMskaway Snob SnobII II and Hea Oceanic Regarded With WithFavor Favor Whiskaway Snob II and Hea arc three of the new fouryearolds whose racing this year will be of considerable interest Each showed enough last year for a tune to war ¬ rant the belief that a championship was pos ¬ sible but each failed to race right through the year with the success that its early form predicted j jSnob Snob II and Whiskaway were each sold for a big price Snob II to J S Cosden for 85000 and Whiskaway to C W Clark for 125000 Hollie Hughes who developed Snob H for John Sanford was much opposed to his sale and when he reported the offer of Mr Cosden to Mr Sanford who was in England at the time devoutly hoped that it would be refused Hughes was firm in his belief at the time that Snob H was the mas ¬ ter of all the threeyearolds and he raced in a fashion to give weight to the belief Snob H was transferred to his new owner apparently at the top of his form but trained off badly in bis new quarters and shortly after was retired for the year yearWhen When Mr Whitney sold Whiskaway to C W Clark he had every reason to believe that he was possibly selling the best three yearold in his stable In fact when Whisk ¬ away did not maintain his form for his new stable Mr Whitney wanted to take him back rather than that Mr Clark would have made a bad buy But Mr Clark has always been well pleased with his purchase and Mr Cosden feels that he obtained a full moneys worth in his purchase of Snob H HHea Hea is one that was not sold but he is also one that did not race up to the bril ¬ liant promise he showed early in May of last year He is still in the Salubria Stable the racing establishment of Admiral Gary T Gray son and that veteran conditioner W P Burch has been fitting him for the new racing season at Benning BenningHea Hea ran a truly brilliant race in the Freak ness Stake at Pimlico last May and after leaving the post sluggishly and being outpaced in the early running overcame a deal of interference and raced Richard T Wilsons Pillory the winner to a head Frank Keogh who has since gone to France to ride in that country for Joseph E Widener had the mount on Hea in the Preakness Stakes is a good horseman and after the race said that Hea should have ben the winner He also in ¬ sisted that with the possible exception of Morvich Hea was the best threeyearold in training Kcogh had ridden Mr Blocks colt as a twoyearold and he made this declara ¬ tion before Whiskaway had lowered the colors of the son of Runnyinede At the same time Keogh felt certain that Hea was the master of Whiskaway Aside from the fact that the Kcogh estimate of Morvich proved a bit exalted he had reason for the high opinion he entertained of Hea Yet Hea never came back to the form he displayed in the Preak ¬ ness Stakes He had begun his throyearold year a maiden and his brief chase for the championship was over early so early that he must not be discarded when looking over the handicap possibilities It is possible that Hea will yet prove the Keogh contention correct and turn out to be one of the best long ¬ distance horses of the year yearStill Still another of the new fouryearolds whose racing this year will be of peculiar interest is Oceanic in the Glen Riddle Farm Stable of Samuel D Riddle This colt was particu ¬ larly unfortunate last year Just when he was being tightened up for his engagement in the Preakness Stakes he was taken sick Then Louis Feustel his trainer was also taken sick and finally the colt with the others in the stable was turned over to Gwyn Tomp kins He was not brought back to the races until well into the fall racing season but the records will show that Oceanic in nine starts was five times the winner once second and three tunes third These victories gave Oceanic a high place in the list of money winnsrs of the year for his total amounted to 32712 Had it not been for his sickness and the length of tune he was kept away from the races it is a sure thing that Oceanic would have occupied even a prouder place at the end of the year yearIn In this particular Oceanic differs from Whiskaway Snob U and Hea for after a brilliant beginning they failed and were not brought back Oceanic after failing by rea ¬ son of sickness came back adequately It is admitted that his long absence from the races gave him a weight advantage in the fall that he probably would not have enjoyed had he been racing and winning through the year but the fact remains that he went into winter quarters a particularly brilliant handicap pros ¬ pect for this year Tompkins has reported that Oceanic has wintered well at Berlin Md and he has high hopes for him this year yearThen Then there is the promise that Morvich will be seen under silks again this year If he should come back it would mean a general revision of the handicap class The son of Runnymede and Hymir was a wonderful two yearold His threeyearold campaign began brilliantly when he won the Kentucky Derby but it was his solitary victory of the year yearBurlew Burlew was not the only one to have an abiding faith in the colt Many shrewd judges even after the colt was beaten at sprinting held to the contention that he was a good j race horse It was insisted that something was the matter with him and it was a mysteri ¬ ous something that could not be discovered and corrected If Morvich trains successfully and he will not be raced unless he does he will be afforded an opportunity to atone for his defeats as a threeyearold threeyearoldOne One has a fair idea of what to expect from such new fouryearolds as KaiSang Lucky Hour Pillory Rockminister Little Chief Surf Rider Bunting and Thibodaux but just what to expect from the others named will lend a new measure of interest to the handicaps
