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Here and There on the Turf The Deceptive Angle Judges Properly Placed Captain Hals Victory Return of Carlaris When the new Widener Course at Belmont Park was first discussed and commended in this column it was pointed out that by reason of the course not paralleling the grandstand there would be no end of trouble in spectators fixing the deceptive angle at a finish It was predicted that when there were close fin ¬ ishes it would be inevitable that spectators generally might readily disagree with the plac ¬ ing judges judgesAll All of that has come to pass There were only two races over the Widener Course on Saturday and in each the placing of the horses was brought into dispute by many who by long training are qualified to judge finishes It is not intimated that the judges made a mis ¬ take but the angle is such that there will come other days like Saturday when many were honestly of the opinion that Sankari had won the Keene Memorial Stakes and that Pillotta had beaten Be Fair in the fifth race raceThese These finishes were exceedingly close and there was reason for a discussion but with less of an angle for the spectators there would be less reason for the difference of opinion Admitted that the placing judges are in a bet ¬ ter position than anyone else to judge finishes as they should be it is always unfortunate when there arises any reason for dispute It is possible that eventually the regulars will become BO familiar with the angle that they will not have the same reason for complaint but what made the close finishes in the two races mentioned Saturday of great importance was the fact that Sankari which was declared to have been beaten by Afterglow and Pillotta which was placed second to Be Fair were two of the starters of the day that were looked upon with great favor before the running of their races That should make no difference but it does One suggestion that has been made is that the placing judges should be on the other side or grandstand side of the course as they are on the main track and in fact on vir ¬ tually all race courses coursesThat That would hardly do in the Widener Course for the rail next to the grandstand is the inner rail and it is on that side of the course that the horses fight out the finishes The reason for placing judges taking a position next to the outside rail is to enable them to split the horses out with less trouble and more precision precisionIt It is well nigh impossible to accurately judge a finish if the horses flash by in the judges laps It is well nigh impossible as anyone who made the attempt will testify Horses rushing down close to the judges stand in ¬ variably make the finish confusing so that the placing stand is surely on the right side of the course when the horses fight it out on the opposite side sideThere There does not seem to be any chance to alter the winning post to do away with the angle The course is a wonderfully good one in every other particular and it would seeni that it only remains for the spectators in the stands and on the lawns to become familiar with the difficult angle angleAs As a matter of fact reverting to the chang ¬ ing of the placing stand to the other or inside rail in the course it may be said that nearly all of the judges stands in this country are too close to the track Infinitely better results are possible with the judges ten or even twenty feet back from the rail It affords a much better opportunity to judge a close finish and it at once brings the horse that may swerve out at the end properly into the sighting When Captain Hal was the winner of the Collinsville Handicap in track record time of 112 Saturday he gave further evidence of being one of the truly speedy sprinters of the year The son of Black Toney and Waver ¬ ing was shouldering 128 pounds and he made a show of his opponents when he made all the pace to win easily This same good four yearold has only been beaten once this year and the manner in which he took the opening feature race of the Fainnount Jockey Club meeting suggests that he will win many another sprint before he is through throughAnd And he is something more than a sprinter for he has won at a mile and a sixteenth though his one defeat of the year was over a mile and a quarter route and sprinting seems to be his best card cardIt It was hoped that Captain Hal would leave Kentucky to fill his engagement in the Tobog ¬ gan Handicap at Belmont Park but he was kept in his own territory and it is possible now that he will not be raced in the East until Saratoga opens though he is engaged in the Speed Handicap to be run at Belmont Park on Thursday and has three engagements at Aque ¬ duct ductHis His three engagements at the course of the Queens County Jockey Club are in the Queens County Handicap at a mile the Brookdale Handicap at a mile and an eighth and the Carter Handicap at seveneighths He has shown enough to be respected no matter where it is elected he shall race It is well to know that Carlaris the Tijuana sensation is again in training This great colt was barred from starting in the Kentucky Derby after having been at one time backed to favoritism in the winter books and to have him come back will mean much to racing racingCarlaris Carlaris met with a slight injury shortly after he had galloped home the winner of the Coffroth Handicap in the most notable renewal of that rich race and had it not been that an effort was made to train him before a slight wound had been entirely cleansed of infection he might have started in the Derby That is not charged against the management of the colt for he was not galloped until it was understood his slight hurt had been entirely cured curedAfter After a second treatment galloping was re ¬ sumed but the infection was still there and then he had to be definitely thrown out of training and an operation performed Now there is no reason to expect that the old infection will return it has been expelled by the operation and there should be nothing to interrupt the training program programW W T Anderson the owner of Carlaris and Fred Kraft his trainer agree that the work of bringing the great threeyearold back will go along carefully and slowly and they will not even approximate a date for his return to racing But it seems certain that Carlaris will come back and when he does a meeting be ¬ tween him and Edward R Bradleys Bubbling Over winner of the Kentucky Derby would be one of the biggest turf events that could be arranged arrangedOf Of course anything that happens to Edward II Bradleys Kentucky Derby winner Bubbling Over is of vital interest That is why it was broadcast that the son of North Star III had hurt himself and was out of training trainingWith With a horse of lesser prominence it would not have been news of any material impor ¬ tance Now Mr Bradley has made a positive assurance that the injury caused by cuffing himself in a work is so slight that it will not be necessary to stop the training of the great
