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Here and There on the Turf Misfortunes of Epinard. Opening of Latonia. Skill of Earl Sande. Weighting of Not Much. What with Pierre Wertheimers Epinard d being beaten and going lame it does not look u any too bright for his being as much of a drawing - card as was expected when he was invited d to come to this country for new laurels. Of ™ course, there still remains ample time for him n to regain his form before he has to fill his !S American engagements and the report of his ■ recent lameness is that it is trivial and will ii hardly halt his training. In his most recent race the erstwhile French h champion impressed many as not being as ■ good a race horse as he was last year and that t may be the fact. But it is a question if Zev v is as good a horse this year as he was when n he well nigh swept all before him last year. In Memoriam has had his mishaps and the e other American horses of the handicap division n have had their troubles. AH of this would 6 tend to show that Epinard is not yet beaten n and, while he has lost on two occasions, it 1 must be admitted that he raced brilliantly. It is to be hoped that Eugene Leigh has the great four-year-old back to his top form 2 before long and that he is able to wipe out t his defeats before the time arrives for his K shipment to this country. Latonia the beautiful opens its gates Tuesday f for its long meeting and the Kentucky Jockey » Club is to be congratulated on the opening. There are few courses in this or any other r country more beautiful than Latonia and every care has been taken for the comfort and convenience of its patrons. For the meeting, which is to continue until July 5, the book is a particularly attractive one, • with an abundance of good horses and good J jockeys on hand, there is every reason to look forward to a banner meeting. Of course, the „ big feature of the meeting is the 5,000 added i ; Latonia Derby. This is run over the legitimate ; Derby course of a mile and a half and it ■ was closed with 135 nominations. It is to be ? decided June 28 and will be another occasion l for an eastern invasion of Kentucky. Mrs. R. M. Hoots Black Gold, winner of the Kentucky Derby, is one of the eligible I list, as are most of those that took part in i that memorable struggle at Churchill Downs. • Then, as usual, there will be the usual rivalry 7 between the East and the West and it is probable that New York will be variously represented at post time. Hildreth will probably have another try with the Rancocas Stable pair of Brae ad ale and • Mad Play, that he sent to the post at Churchill Downs. James Fitzsimmons may send on i William Woodwards Aga Khan after the ex-cellent race he ran in the Suburban Handicap. Gifford A. Cochrans Revenue Agent will surely 1 go to the post if he is fit and Alex Gordon I may give H. C. Fishers Mr. Mutt another r : chance to redeem himself. 3 It is possible that the Oak Ridge Stable will I be represented by Apprehension and Laurano. winner of the Metropolitan Handicap, and Le? J j Rosenbergs Sun Pal has been going along in , 6 a manner to suggest that he may be shipped. And there are others that will undoubtedly : make the trip to Latonia. t _ ; — i There was some surprise at the announcement that Benjamin Block is to dispose of all his horses in training. But it must be re- e menibered that it does not mean that the turf * is to lose Mr. Bloek, whose Morvich a few k years back gave his colors such importance. Mr. Block has been in poor health for a considerable time and will tour abroad for a time. He has Morvich in the stud and it is 1 a sure thing that his colors will be shown again and before so long. I Earl Sande continues to be the best horse 1 in the Rancocas Stable. Since his reinstatement after his ten-day suspension inflicted at f Churchill Downs he has ridden five races up 1 : t i e * k 1 I 1 f 1 to the close of the program at Belmont Park Monday and was winner of three. There is nothing remarkable in that record except for the nature of his winning rides. He had the leg up on Pedagogue in the Juvenile Stakes on Decoration Day and was beaten. He followed that with a victory on Bracadale in the Withers Stakes. He lost with old Thunderclap, but rode Mad Hatter to a magnificent victory in the Suburban Handicap Saturday. Monday his only mount was the maiden Pep to Peep and that was a success of peculiar brilliance. Sande has a particular skill in applying different methods to different horses. FrequenUy he will take the lead with his mount and make the pace, but when that is the system it is seldom the horse does not last the route. Then on other horses he will just as studiously avoid making the pace and make his try for victory through the last three eighths, or the last quarter. Earl Sande rides with his head as well as his hands and heels and that tells the story of his success. His mounts can hardly be classed as hand picked, but he is a tre-i mendous advantage to a horse of any character. Not Much, the imported fencer that races under the colors of the Queen City Stable, has been jumped to the top of the handicap for the Meadow Brook Steeplechase, that is to be decided Saturday. For that race he is asked to take up twelve pounds over the. weight he carried to victory in the Charles L. Appleton Memorial. Saturday he was handicapped at 153 pounds, while for the Meadow Brook he has to shoulder 165 pounds. It might also be mentioned that the Meadow Brook Steeplechase is at two miles and a half against the two miles of the Appleton Memorial. Dan IV., the star of the J. S. Cosden string, remains at his Appleton weight when he carries 163 pounds, but the jumping up of Not Much gives the Cosden horse a twelve pounds advantage over his last meeting with Not Much. Autumn Bells, which ran such a good race to finish second to Not Much, has only been raised four pounds when his weight is fixed at 143 pounds and seems to be leniently treated.
