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Here and There on the Turf Some Kentucky Derby and Preakness Reflections ReflectionsLittle Little Really Known of Three Year Old Form FormExterminator Exterminator to Campaign in Kentucky Day after day there comes word of how this or that candidate for the Kentucky Derby is going along in his preparation for the big prize All of this is truly interesting but after all it means little at this early date It has been impossible and it would bs foolish for any trainer to attempt to have any eligible go along in a fashion that would afford any real line on his chances for winning the race An exception is in the case of such as Blauc Seing Edward Gray and other winter raced candidates candidatesOf Of course the interest is in the fact the horses arc looking well eating well and feel ¬ ing well This or that one has grown and improved through the winter and has come through the cold months in robust health Be ¬ yond that and the fact that a horse is gal ¬ loping soundly it is impossible at this early to to form anything like a definite opinion on the chances of any of them themIt It has been shown that enough of them are considered to have improved over last year sufficiently to inspire many a trainer with high hope This will make them go along more confidently in the preparation of their cligibles Not until the really serious ques ¬ tions are asked will it b3 possible to separate the wheat from the chaff When the time comes for trials over distances approximating the Derby route there will come the weeding out from the big list that is always inevitable inevitableTrainers Trainers have learned by bitter experience that it is frequentlj fatal to rush a threeyear old in the spring even to make him ready for a Preakness Stakes or a Kentucky Derby As far as the Louisville race is concerned there is not the same reason for high pressure be ¬ cause it is run later than usual At present the candidates are in the buildingup process to make them fit for the strenous lraining that must come later if they are to go to the post postIt It is a most important part of the prepara ¬ tion and it must bs done with great care But it is a part of the preparation that affords scant line on real possibilities on the day of the race raceThis This or that one is doing all that is asked of him with a dash that is brilliantly promising A fast fiveeighths now is no index except to show the possession of speed It may be done with a dash that suggests an ability to race on indefinitely and the same threeyearold may if asked find threequarters a bit more difficult and a mile a route that is well beyond his best present capabilities That is one of the reasons for not being too hasty in picking out the possible winner of a Derby in May No threeyearold line is available on most of the horses that are engaged and it would be suicidal for any trainer to attempt to obtain a line at this time of the year But as far as robust health is concerned it is doubtful if there ever was a Kentucky Derby with a greater number of eligibles of like class and health Within a short time there will be some that will be dropped from the ranks of the possible contenders but on the other hand it is possible that there will be others not men ¬ tioned at this time that will show in their preparation that they belong right up among the best Watching the progress of colts and fillies in their preparation for such a race is intensely interesting and what they do at this time has its interest but that interest is merely in the fact that they have dash and the health that will make more serious train ¬ ing possible The Kentucky Derby promises to have the largest field in its long and glo ¬ rious history but he would be a prophet in ¬ j deed who could from what has been shown name those that will come through the train ¬ ing ordeal and reach the post While it has been observed that Extermi ¬ nator has not been named for the Metropolitan Brooklyn or Suburban Handicaps of this year he has been engaged in Kentucky in the Clark Kentucky and Independence Handicaps Mr Kilmer has made various other Kentucky nomi ¬ nations in the threeyearold stakes that have been closed and the fact that Exterminator does not appear in the New York handicaps makes it appear that the old fellow will be an escort for Sallys Alley and the others that have rich engagements in the middle West WestToward Toward the end of last year Exterminator was far from being himself That was shown conclusively by his performance in th3 Wash ¬ ington Handicap at Laurel and later in the two miles and a quarter of the Pimlico Cup at Pimlico It was the first Pimlico Cup de ¬ feat for the old son of McGee and Fair Em ¬ press for he had taken the race in its thres other decisions Exterminator is now in his eighth year and it is smal wonder that he be ¬ came a bit jaded at the end of last year He has gone through ths winter in a fashion to warrant naming him for the Kentucky fixtures and New Yorks loss is Kentuckys gain for there seems to be no reason to expect that he will not come back as he has year after year Every year there are no end of consolation chances for the threeyearolds that may have failed in the Preakness Stakes Kentucky Derby Belmont Stakes or others of the greater races for that age division One of these chances is in the Stuyvesant Handicap to be run at Jamaica This is a mile race for three yearolds and the recently closed entries reveal that of the seventyfour that are nominated fortytwo of them are also engaged in the Kentucky Derby DerbyThese These are practically all horses that will be campaigned over the New York tracks and it affords an example of how liberally the East is represented in the Churchill Downs race raceThe The Stuyvesant Handicap is to be run May 17 just two days before the Derby and it will afford a chance for some of those that did not earn their way into the Kentucky Derby field
