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6 and Here and There s 8 7 on the Turf 9 9 - . 1 1 Preakness for Mr. Mutt. 2 2 St. James Is Galloping. 3 Example of "Johnny" Callahan. 4 4 Kilmer Silks for the Season. Now comes the word that Mr. Mutt and J Comic Artist will journey from Louisville to I Baltimore to race in the Preakness Stakes t and then return to Louisville for their en- t gagement in the Kentucky Derby. 1 These two good colts in the stable of H. C. i Fisher have been doing exceedingly well under c the careful direction of Alex Gordon. Thc have been training at the Douglas Park track : and are probably further advanced than any of the three-year-olds in Kentucky, with the ! exception of Mrs. R, M. Hoots Black Gold. . 1 Of course, the son of Black Toney leads them i i all in the matter of condition, for he was seasoned at New Orleans, where he won a i brilliant victory in the Louisiana Derby at : . Jefferson Park on March 17. 1 Whether or not Webb will be able to keep Black Gold on edge for his May engagement t remains to be seen, but at this time he is 3 further advanced than any of the others. Mr. Mutt in his races last year suggested 1 that he would be at home over a long route, , but he was anything but a lucky colt. At the 2 end of the Walden Stakes, that was won by the Rancocas Stables Stanwix, with Sunspero second, - Mr. Mutt was a close third. He took c that part of the purse after beginning last in i the field of twelve and had to close an immense gap. Incidentally in that race he gave e Mad Play two pounds and a beating, for it I was Mad Play that finished fourth. Then in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes s at Churchill Downs, that fell to Wise Counsellor, m with Mad Play a close second, Mr. Mutt t was unfortunate. On the way to the post he g unseated his rider and ran off, with the result t that he was excused from starting. Gordon had the son of Ballot and Eden Hall 1 in rare condition for the Kentucky Jockey Club b Stakes and this unhappy ending was a bitter disappointment. The colt has been doing ail 11 that has been asked of him this spring in a a fashion that gives both Mr. Fisher and Alex x Gordon high hopes for his topping the three-year-old . division. St. James has come out in the open and it t may be said that A. J. Joyner has begun th3 12 real work of fitting him for the races at Bsl-mont 1- Park. He is credited with an easy half M in better than 52 seconds over the training lS track, and that is enough to suggest that the son of Ambassador IV and Bobolink II. has 15 had some exercise under the shed. No three-year-old at Belmont Park compares in appearance with the winner of the ie Futurity of last year and, as it has been :n expressed by many of the admiring trainers, s- "Joyner has something to work on." He has 15 a big robust colt to shape into racing condition in and it is safe to predict that when he is called ;d upon to race he will be ready. J I t t 1 i c : ! . 1 i i i : . 1 t 3 1 , 2 - c i e I s m t g t 1 b 11 a a x . it t 12 1- M lS 15 ie :n s- 15 in ;d It was a considerable time ago that Mr. i Joyner intimated that he would endeavor to have St. Jamss ready for his engagement in i the Preakness Stakes, and that may still be the plan, but he has many a rich engagement before him and there will not be undue haste in fitting him for a May race should he not come along in his training to the satisfaction of his astute conditioner. At this time there does not appear to be any reason why he could not be made ready for May facing. Although it is natural that Sarazen the unbeaten should be one of the prime choices in the future book for the Kentucky Derby, Mrs. Vanderbilts great gelding has not been going along altogether to the liking of Max Hirsch. He is out again and galloping well, but for a time he was laid away when there was a suspicion that he might go amiss, Undoubtedly there was nothing to give undue concern and it was only a slight interruption in his preparation. It came at a time when it was of small moment, for so little had been done that a short letup meant next to nothing. The fact that Sarazen is not eligible for the Preakness Stakes gives Hirsch more days than are enjoyed by trainers who are heading for the Baltimore stake and he will take full advantage of that time. A study of the statistics of the long meeting at Havana reveals that "Johnny" Callahan led the riders with a total of fifty-six winning mounts. This was just five more winners than A. Pickens, the rider to finish second, This tells a lesson that should sink into the minds of the little apprentices of the present day. Callahan is an old man of the saddle. He is eld enough to be the father of some cf the youngsters that were riding against him, but he offset all that vigor of youth and fin-,r ished on top because he had led a clean life. He has attended strictly to business and now after all his years in the saddle "Johnny" Callahan is as good or possibly better than he was years ago. Too often the youngster, particularly if he meets with success, strays from the straight and narrow when he becomes a regular rider. He is subject to no end of temptation and it takes a level-headed kid to come through clean and right. It is not meant by this that there is not temptation in every line of professional ath-ie letics, but with the jockeys there are so many of them ride to fame while still little more than children. They are not as well equipped to withstand the temptations at a tender ago. "Johnny" Callahan has set an example of clean living and the success that attends such a life that is a strong object lesson to the aspiring young jockeys. When Willis Sharpe Kilmer had his sale at Belmont Park last spring there was a fear that i i it was the beginning of the end for him on the turf. The stable had been seriously handicapped by the death of two trainers, Eugene Wayland and William Shields. It altogether upset the plans of Mr. Kilmer and it placed on the market several of his home-breds that went on to make good for other owners. But Mr. Kilmer will bs back this year with a powerful stable and the plan is to show the popular colors in Maryland early in the year. John I. Smith is making ready a division at Havre de Grace, while Charles J. Casey will have another string of importance in his care ! at Aqueduct. The horses have all progressed favorably at beautiful Sun Briar Court at Binghamton and it is probable that there will 1 not be much left to be dene when they reach i the public training grounds to have them ready. It is unfortunate that Mint Briar is not .among the horses in training at this time, for early last year when he was the winner of the Keene Memorial Stakes from Initiate, Peter : King, Transmute, Stake Me and his stablemate ! Sunny Sal. he gave promise of being one of the 5 sensations of the year. He was one that Mr. Kilmer did not send 1 to the market with the others and he did not t win another race all through the year. But t there is still high hope for Mint Briar and an 1 effort will be made to bring him back to the ; races in the fall. In the meantime there is still Exterminator. He has promised to come back and if he does 3 there need be no other horse in the string to make the colors the most popular on the 2 American turf.
