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Here and There on the Turf How Sarazen Failed. Quality of Sting. Opening of Woodbine. Man o War the Stud. The stunning defeat of Mrs. Vandrrbilts champion. Sarazen. in the Metropolitan Handi rap at Be.mont Park Friday was just one of thoBe happenings in racing so hard to expla.n. There is no doubt that Sarazen was trained to the minute for his race. He had done all that has been asked of him by Max Hirseh in a manner to suggest that he would run the race of his career. He was to all appearance in the b:st of robust health, but he absolutely refused to extend himself in the running of the race. The fact that Sarazen would not extend him self resulted in his being in close quarters for a considerable part of the race, but it was just his temper that prevented his coming cl»ar after he was away so well. With a horse that has invariably given so bountifully of his speed the performance of the son of Hich Time and Rush B x was doubly surprising. He is a champion that had earned a reputation for his honesty and a glance through his brilliant record told e!o quently of his dependability. But Sarazen would net extend himself Friday and he performed for all the world like a sulky brute from the time he reached the barrier. No horse in the race hud been more carefully trained and he surely had been rested loni enough, for his last previous start was when he wa.- such a brilliant winner of th"- Dixie Handicap, at a mile and three sixteenths, on May ] at Pimlico. i.r.tzcn must nt be condemned for his showing in the Mctroprlitun. but his race was one that is sure to lessen confidence in him. In a race that upset th ideas of his sterling honesty and for that reason is a bitter di-ap pointment. Looking at his performance fr~m every angle the conviction is forced that the great four year old conqueror of Epinard had an attack of mean temper, for which no bodily ailmrnt can be blamed. And while it is admitted that Sarazen did not run within many pounds of hi- real ability. it must not lie forgotten that James Butler has in his horn" bred Sting a colt of sterling cla-s The son of Spur and Chat is by long odds the best that Mr. Buler has produced at his New York breeding farm, Easixiew, at Tarray town. When Stmg gave his wonderful exhi bitions of spec 1 at Jamaica he at once took a front position, but now that he has tak-n a Metropolitan Handicap he has an altogether new importance. Speed in itself means little unless it is sustainctl speed against horses of acknowledged high or good class. There haw-been many chicken hearted horses of marvclou. pperd. but they were beaten when they were pitted again-: LaMM of "high class," and were beaten in fl iwrr time than they had shown on various occasions when not meeting thisclass. Sting se"ms to bel vng to that class as well as being gifted with great speed and they are the greatest attributes of any thoroughbred Spur, the sire of Sting, was a good, game horse himself and Sting comes by his good class honestly. While he was in receipt of weight from Sarazen he gave away considerable to all the other tarters in the Metropolitan Handi cap and the manner in which he came home the winner indicated that he will go on as far M anything in the field. The fact that Mr. Butler bred Sting made the victory doubly pleasing to the master of Eastview. This year the Butler silks have been coming into their own as never before, and with Sting to head the list, the white and cherry cohrs is sure to go on to still greater things, as the racing season progresses. Saturday was a big day in Canada, with the opening of the seven days meeings of the Ontario Jockey Club at Woodbine Park and ! the running of the Kings Plate, the old»st turf feature on this continent. Toronto, the hime tf the Ontario Jockey Club and of the famous old Woodbine Park course, is the greatest of Canadian racing cities and the meeting ju t begun, is always a tremendously big event in racing. For the opening there was a great gather ing of the best people in Canada and this year, as in all others, many a strong stable r rosed the border from the Inited States W iry for the stakej that are offered. Though rjiing in Canada has been sorJy harassed y excessive taxation, the turfites are carrying M with praiseworthy liberalily that makes certain a big term of sport. Woodbine Park, both spring and fall, has always bee.i particularly literal in the value of its offer ings and the racing has such a strong hold in Toronto that there does not seem to be even a remote chance for any adverse legisla tion, in the matter of taxation, that will pre vent the racing there to be other than of tre mend .us importance. There were four Man o War fillies started in the last race at Belmont Park Friday and they finished first, second, third and eighth. .Not so bad when there were twenty went to the post. Last year it was apparent that Man J o War would make good adequately in the | stud. His crop was an excellent one and now it would seem that he will go on to a greatness in the stud commensurate with his marvelous ainl.iy as a race horse. T.i;is. the winner of the race Friday, is a daughter of Shady; Edith Cavell, th? one which finished second, is a well named daughter of the nurse, and Medal, the one that "jus third, is a daughter of Meddlesome II. They dominated most of the running and finished out the four and a half furl ngs in :522.-,. a j worthy performance when it is considered that the Belmont Park track is slower this year by reason of the new top soil that has been spread to make the cushion more grateful for galloping horses. Frequently the best race horse is far from being the best stock horse. As a matter of fact, some of the greatest race horses have been failures in the stud and two examples that could be cited are Salvatrr and Colin. They were anything but successful as stock horses and each was a champion in racing. These are only two that come to mind at this time, but many another could be named. Fair Play and King James were out at the same time as the unbeaten Colin and they finished behind him on many occasions, but b"th Fair Play and King James went on to things as stock horses that were not approached by Colin. Man o War was the best son of Fair Play and has begun his career in the stud in a manner to suggest that he may prove as great as his illustrious sire, Fair Play, as • stock horse.
