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Here and There on the Turf More Derby Hopes Blasted. Quatrains Rating Deserved. Chance Plays Debut. Maryland Season Ends. More Kentucky Derby candidates fell by the wayside Tuesday when G. Frank Croissants recent purchase, Kentucky Cardinal, scored an easy victory over a band of eligible* for the big race at Churchill Downs. Step Along, which finished second to the Croissant colt, had some excuse for his defeat in that he met with interference, but the Xalapa Farm pair, Sweeping Away and Prince of Bourbon, and the Ziegler hopes, Needle Gun and Borderland, failed hopelessly. Kentucky Cardinal was giving away weight to all of these and consequently his victory may be accepted as ample qualification for his Derby start. It is not likely that the defeat of any of these others will prevent their start ing in the Derby, but their performances in this race appear to be ample evidence that their owners can scarcely hope for much in the big race. Meanwhile James Rowe was testing one of H. P. Whitneys Derby colts at Pimlico. He sent Reminder to the post against older hors s in the Wicomico Handicap at a mile and three sixteenths, and the three year old made a sat isfactory showing. His opponents were not the most formidable in the handicap division, but old Reparation, which finished second, is still good enough to try the mettle of a three year old. Reminder earned himself a trip to Louisville by his success, but whether he will earn anything else after he reaches the Kentucky Derby scene remains to be seei. Captain Hal, in a workout at Churchill Downs, galloped a mils and a quarter Tuesday in 2:05,;. This was rather a remarkab:e trial, but it is such a sharp contrast with the colts showing in his Clark Handicap race last Saturday that a student of form is puzzled. It is just possible that Captain Hal is one of those horses which burns up the track in the morning, but fails in the afternoon. In any case it is hard to reconcile his tnal of Tues day and his race of last Saturday. Other Kentucky Derby hopes that worked at Churchill Downs Tuesday failed to show any particularly impressive speed. Training f„r the Derby is now practically complete and, unless the candidate is in top form now, there is little chance that he can be made so in time for the running of the race. The Kentucky Derby is naturally the chief topic of discussion wherever turfmen gather this week and the general opinion seems to be that the race is an open cne. Few horsemen are able to overcome old opinions and look upon Quatrain as a legitimate favorite. They do not like winter horses as Kentucky Derby candidates and they feel further that the burden of being the favxrite will be more of a handicap than weight for the Johnson colt. But Quatrain has stood up under his Ken tucky Derby preparation better than any of the other leading candidates. One by on? the horses which were expected to furnish chief op positn n for the son of Omar Khayyam have fallen by the wayside and those that remain, with one or two possible exceptioa«. have done nothing to indicate that they are in a class with the favorite. Quatrain, on past performances and on train ing progress, desrre.- t- be the favorite. Whether he can overcome the tradition of failure which has beset Kentucky Derby future choices of the past remains to be seen, but there can be no quarrel with the legitimacy of his rating at the present time. The debut of Chance 1lay at Jamaica Tues day had been widely heralded. The son of Fair Play and Quelle Chance was selected from the big band ot yearlings at the Nursery Stud last year by the late Maj. August Belmont as the best young.ster which the farm had produced since Man o War. Naturally there was great interest in this colts first appearance under colors. Chance Play is a well-built chestnut with excellent conformation, generally speaking. The only blemish on his appearance is the pres ace of large, unshaptly ankles. These, it is said, are merel a peculiarity and not a sign cf unsoundness, as such deformities often are. In any case the colt showed that he could run fast when he cantered away from a big band of maidens to an easy victory in spite of the fact that his being green caused him to swerve out in the stretch. One race is not enough of a test to determine the real class of the youngster, but if he can maintain that fine speed which he showed Tuesday over a longer distance later on, he should vindicate the judgment of his late breedir in every way. The defeat of Rock Man by two horses which he had previously beaten was the big surprise of Pindicos Tue.-day racing. This two year old had scored four straight wctones during the Maryland meetings and was considered a practical certainty for the Spring Juvenile Stakes. But he showed none of Ins rare speed m that race and finished thurd behind Sdvcr Finn and Skip Along, neither of which had done anything previously that would earn a high rating. Rock Man must still be considered the outstanding development of the spring two year old racing in Maryland, but there is a blot upon his record. He will have plenty of opportunity to redeem himself in later stak :s. The Maryland spring racing season came to a fitting clone Wednesday afternoon at Pim lico and it is safe to say that seldom have the race courses of that state enjoyed a more pros- I per, us period of operation. Attendance was wonderful from the opening of Bowie to the end of the Pimlico meeting and the crowd which saw the Prrakness Stakes May 8 was one of the largest that ever viewed the race, m spite of the fact that it was decided on a Friday. Marylands wonderful spring campaign is an indication that all racing sections wdl enjoy exceptional success this year. This indication is already borne out by the attendance at New York and Kentucky tracks. Jamaica has sel dom atiracted such crowds as have been visiting the course this spring and Churchill Downs is aLso drawing exceptionally large patronage daily. This prosperity and popularity of the turf is not an unmitigated blessing, however, bf -] cause it centers upon racing the attention of its enemies as well as that of iu friends. Be-j cause of this, the men who have the destinies of the sport in their hands, must be even more warhful than usual in order to protect the turf from those who for one reason or another wojlj undermine it. Danger comes from the unscrupulous in the ranks of ostensible friends cf racing, as well as from the paid reformers who are constantly attempting to stamp out eveiy amusement in the country. The sport must be protected against both of these menaces.
