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Here and There on the Turf New York Season Opening. Bubbling Overs Showing. Failure of Taps. Form on the Grass. With the delightful curtain raiser of the United Hunts at the Terminal course, completed on Monday, the big circuit of The Jockey Club tracks will begin the New York racing season at Jamaica this afternoon with the meeting of the Metropolitan Jockey Club. Taking a line through the monster attendance at the two days of racing at the Terminal, it may safely be predicted that the opening at Jamaica will be the best in its history. The weather was anything but propitious for the two-day meeting of the United Hunts Association, but with all that handicap it was a tremendous crowd that was out on both days and never was there more enthusiasm at any race meeting. This all speaks volumes for the racing that is to begin today. Though the races of the Hunt Club have come to greater importance than ever before, with many it is not until the Jamaica gates are thrown open that the real New York racing season is on and they wait for that opening, no matter what the charm of the Hunt racing. For the opening day the big feature is. as usual, the Paumonok Handicap, a dash of three quarters for three-year olds and over, and since its inauguration in 1906, when it was won by Inquisitor, it has always been a race to bring out a particularly good field. In its roster of winners are found the names of St. James, Worthmore, Zev, Tryster, On Watch, Dunboyne, Flags and many another that made brave turf history. This distance is a suitable one for this time of the year and the renewal for 1926 promises to be up to the best standards of the race. The Jamaica stables are all filled up for the meeting, while many of the trainers who stable their charges at Aqueduct or Belmont Park will van their starters over on days when they are engaged. Then there are several strings on the way from Maryland, so that there will be no lack of fit and ready horses for the opening of the New York campaign. And now it is Edward It. Bradleys Bubbling Over that has come into the public eye in considering the possibilities for the Kentucky Derby. This good son of North Star III. and Beaming Beauty, by Sweep, in his first start of the year simply cantered a mile at l/xington Monday to win from a band of other Derby eligible*. He took up 118 pounds, giving weight to each starter, and ran a mile under stiff restraint in 1:38%. Not much has been said about Bubbling Over in discussion of how the Kentucky Derby-candidates have been coming along in their trials, but it is significant that Mr. Bradley has made many wagers on the chance of hia swift running son of North Star III. And it must be remembered that when Thompson had Bubbling Over training over the New York tracks last summer his wonderful flight of speed impressed all the t miners. Thompson said himself that with no exception Bubbling Over was the fastest horse he had ever trained, and he has trained many a fast one. Bubbling C*cr was a bit unfortunate in his two year old campaign, yet he was seven times winner in ten starts, was twice second and once third. The time that the son of North Star III. finished third marked his first defeat in six starts and it surely would have been a victory but for an untoward happening. This defeat came at Saratoga and was caused by a man raising up from behind a hedge in the infield and startling the colt on the stretch turn, causing him to run to the outside fence. Sande was forced to snatch him up to avoid an accident and even with that handicap he was going so well at the end that he would have been the winner in a few more strides. He was beaten a nose by Canter in the running of the Pimlico Futurity in the fall when Clarence Turner plainly outrode Eddie Barnes and his other defeat was when he was second to Walter J. Salmons Flight of Time in the Breeders Futurity on November 21. Bubbling Over was away from the races after his victory in the Champagne Stakes at Belmont Park on September 9 until his Pimlico Futurity race on November 6 and that was a contributing cause to his defeat by Canter. On his first race of the year Bubbling Over takes a new Kentucky Derby importance and he seems to be the brightest hope with which to keep the big race in Kentucky. While Bubbling Over was proving his Ken tucky Derby worth at Lexington there was a disappointment at Havre de Grace in the crushing defeat that was suffered by Samuel D. Riddles Taps, a filly that was generally considered one of the brightest hopes among the three-year olds of her sex. Taps was only meeting fillies and she had shown so much in her preparation that she was considered much the best of the starters, though it was a fast band of seasoned misses. The daughter of Man o War was credited with a trial of three-quarters in 1:13% in preparation for the five and a half furlongs and her race was so altogether bad that it was generally agreed that she had sulked in the running. If this was the cause, it is just a bit alarming, for all the sons and daughters of Man o War thus far have shown perfect tempers. Then it might be just possible that Taps was hurt rather than helped by her fast three quarters before the race. Of course, George Conway knows his horses and he is a careful and shrewd horseman, but there have been many cases of a horse leaving its race in its work and if Taps was not tightened up suf ficiently, three quarters run as fast as she was permitted to run in her work might readily do harm. This is not said in any criticism of the train ! ing of Taps, but is offered as a possible excuse for her defeat, and it would be well if this; was the reason for her showing, rather than that she has developed a mean temper. It will not do for the handicappers to put too much dependence on the form of the horses that raced over the Terminal course on Saturday and Monday. It must be remembered that, while the turf course is no handicap to many horses, it benefits some and hurts others. In the days of the grass courses at Sheeps-head Bay and Saratoga it is well remembered that this or that horse was "a bear on the grass," while he could show only ordinary form on the dirt track. There were others that were all at sea when asked to run over the turf, while dependable and high class over the dirt. That may have had something to do with the showing of Mino Saturday and it will not do to convict him on this showing. Then there were others that possibly preferred grass considerably above dirt track form. The safe way would be to wait until the grass form has either been verified or contradicted before giving out handicap figures on that Terminal racing.
