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i TURF GOSSIP FROM FRANCE ! Flat Racing Season Well Under I Way at Courses Near Capital. ♦ Thunderclaps Debut of 1924 — Garner Riding In Great Form — Details of Eplnard Visit Settled. i ~« SPECIAL CORRESPONDENCE. | PARIS, France, March 21.— The flat racing . season In the Paris district opened agreeably March 14 at Maisons-Laffitte. The road from here to the course was in frightful shape and disgusted everybody, covering them with dust before they reached the enclosure. A new tramway is being put , down on each side of the route and the discomfort encountered on the way was something beyond words. The racing was of good quality, although nothing of great class shows so early in the season. luy darner won the opening , race of the 1924 season ana Freddy Williams and Frank ONeill also rode a couple of winners. ONeill and Frank Keogh had a real set-to in one finish. A short head was the ver- , diet in ONeills favor. , On the fifteenth we moved to St. Cloud, , and as it was a Saturday there was a large crowd for March. Much interest was shown in Dandyprat. a Sans le Sou three-year-old belonging to the Aga Khan, which was making his iirst start in a maiden field. NOT HIGHLY REGARDED. Duke and darner told me that he had never showed anything at home and some intimate circumstances before the race convinced me they were sincere in what they said. The public, however, went to Dandyprat in fine style. Of course, all the papers had called attention to the fact that at the Deauville sale of 1923 Duke paid 15S.000 francs for him. When the barrier went up darner was off flying, and the colt just lasted to win by a short head. I do not believe he will ever repay the money paid for him, for Duke has had a lot of trouble with him on account of his soreness. He was the best looking yearling at Deauville when sold, and is an attractive fellow today. The Maisons-Baffitte trainers have their horses ready ahead of the Chantilly men. That is as a rule the case, and on account of this seasons cold snap the difference is more pronounced than ever. On St. Patricks Day we were again at St. Cloud and the Macomber Stable won the Second Optional Handicap with a good-looking son of War Cloud and Posy. The new-trainer Charles Count sent the winner to the post in fine condition. He looked extremely-well; but I do not think there was much confidence with the stable connections before the race. Thundercloud, War Clouds son. had not run since Deauville. He finished in the money in two of his races last season. While ho won by a length after coming from behind one must see him do something again before an opinion is formed as I fear there was not much behind him. The light weight rider of the stable. Hsling, rode him. ONeill is at Nice for the entire week. He will leave there on the blue train after the Irand Prix, and go around Paris in the Calais car direct for England. He should arrive at Lincoln the day before the handicap. Sir dalahad III. had a fine crossing, and is a firm favorite for the big race. By the time you receive this the race will be run. Everybody here is confident, and their money down on the Jeff Cohn representative. Oood Judges, like Duke, "dene" I.eigh, Denman and Major dilroy all think Sir C.allahad III. is well in, and will win. There is a fine four-year-old jumper in Willie Heads stable, Bobadil, by Sardana-pale — Framee. He has not met Be Coyote yet from Barillers barn ; but I rather think the former has the most scope. He has only l.c-en beaten once at Enghein. which course he is unsuited for in my opinion. He is an Auteuil horse, wanting plenty of galloping room. GARNER RIDES WFI.L Ciarner is at the top of his form, leading the jockeys and hunting winning mounts. He is riding well, and riding with confidence, which means a lot. Barre still, in my opinion, is the shining light over the obstacles. On the eighteenth we had another day at Maisons-l*affitte. A taxi cab strike was on and the attendance was light. The racing was of an uninteresting character, darner won a couple of races. Be Tremblay opened on the nineteenth. The taxis were running again, and there was a large crowd present for a middle of the week day. It was perfect weather with brilliant sunshine. Everything was going finely until the third race. Ten fillies went to the post, and they all behaved badly. The tapes were broken several times. Suddenly they were seen to break. It looked like a poor start. Five were off in a bunch, with the others straggling. The white advance flag was seen to fall, and then go up. Mcdee. Kreigelstein, lOsling, darner and Eamoure raced on. Keough. Vatard, Williams, Ferre and Bartholomew pulled up. Nobody will ever know what happened. I say the white flag was seen to fall; but that is what one is told. Keough said the advance man was running to get out of the way of a horse, and the flag lowered, and then went up. A CLOSE FINISH. A rattling finish took place between the five that went on. darner won on Macom-beis Bain Cloud, with another representative of the stable third. Of couise as the h twos had been in the hands of the starters all bets stood, although the field made ■ terrible row. demanding everything to be called off. When the race iinally was Starts 1. and the sdvance flag really was not raised again. Robert I.azards Lonely Lassie won comfc rtably with Flank Keogh riding. After the lace there was considerable whistling and hooting, but the field did not come across the course. Perhaps ten or twelve .limbed oer the fence. However, the soldiers soon had all In order, and the crowd went off to try and find a winner for the next race. The five impetuous OCkeyi haVC all been set down for the next tWO days at Be Tremblay. I really believe that they were alongside, or beyond the white flag, for they were bunched and running fast, and the five boys were old hands, and well up in the game. U was hard on Galen Brown, aa ii.tiu Oood, which he trains, would probably have won all right if it had been a race. 1ierre Weitbeimer told me today th:it everything was all arranged for Epinard V go to America in the sumner. I did not ask him what was arranged; he simply volunteered the information tnat all d- tails Were settbd now. Algerian, the representative of the Macomber stabl-- in the Stand Prix de Nice, won a race on the Kiviera yesterday. He beat nothing: but he did it well. The Qraai lrix should be between ITeinontie and Algcrlen. I rather favor the former, but if Algerlen comes back to last years form he should bo dangerona. Two stallions have lat ly died. Consuls, the sire of Massine, which many think might have been the crack three-year -• Id list year except for hiss accident, and Jaeger, which ran second in the Two Thousand Guineas and Derby of 1912. Jaeger injured himself in his box, breaking his i els is, and had to be destroy on.
