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Here and There on the Turf How Osmand Improved Whitneys Big Lead Scapa Flow for Withers Excuses for Crusader Coming up to the Kentucky Derby in training Joseph E Wideners Osmand just about forced the conviction that a mile was his limit Then in the running of the big stake race he stuck it out magnificently to be beaten only by a head by Whiskery It was an absolute upset of what he had shown no later than the Wednesday before the race when he nosed out Jock in racing a mile and a sixteenth after having made all the pace He was plainly tiring at the end of that mile and a sixteenth and Sande had to use all his skill to bring him home the winner winnerOf Of course it is natural to reason that the Wednesday race did the gelding a world of good in tightening him up for the Derby but after the finish that day it was generally agreed that Osmand could not be considered a serious con ¬ tender for the big race Then Osmand had the advantage of a perfect ride and Jock was ridden with scant judgment Lang rushed the McLean colt out in going the mile and a quarter Saturday and he ran a better race than he did Wednesday when he finished a good third for altogether too much use was made of him in the early running runningJock Jock has undoubtedly improved greatly over his form of last year and he was truly a surprise in the Derby but Os ¬ mand is by no means through and with the probably ordinary threeyearolds that have been shown thus far it is en ¬ tirely possible that he will train on to a high place in the division But what is the use of all this Excuses will be found for various of those that ran and the victory of Whiskery will probably be considered by others as a lucky one Already excuses and explanations are coming along bat in any way the run ¬ ning of Saturday is analyzed it is hard to reach any other conclusion other than that it was an ordinary Derby field and that the twoyearolds that promised so much are far from being the threeyear olds that was expected The victory of Whiskery in the Ken ¬ tucky Derby on Saturday was a triumph for the Harry Payne Whitney Stable that of course was tremendously gratifying to that turfman It was doubly gratify ¬ ing by reason of the fact that Mr Whit ¬ ney bred his winner and there was still further satisfaction in the fact that he is a son of Prudery a Whitney filly that was third to Edward R Bradleys pair Behave Yourself and Black Servant in the 1921 Kentucky Derby DerbyIn In that race Tryster also bore the Whitney colors and was a close fourth lapped on the filly but the pair finished six lengths back of the Bradley team teamAnd And this taking of the Preakness Stakes of the Maryland Jockey Club at Pimlico by H P Whitneys Bostonian and the double for the popular New York turfman when Whiskery was the win ¬ ner of the Kentucky Derby gives that racing establishment a big lead over the other stables in the race for the top of the moneyearning list These two horses earnings in a week amounted to more than 100000 and the racing year is just well under way Some of the big values that follow compartively early in the year are the Fairmount Derby Amer ¬ ican Derby Latonia Derby Belmont Stakes and Withers Stakes The Whit ¬ ney hand is a strong one for all of these when it is remembered that Valorous is still to be heard from as well as some other bright prospects that have been in training at the farm farmNo No trainer of a candidate for the Preakness Stakes and the Kentucky Derby was more disappointed over the result than Scott Harlan who developed Walter M Jeffords Scapa Flow Before the running of the Maryland race there was no trainer with a candidate for both races more supremely confident of vic ¬ tory in both The result of the Preak ¬ ness Stakes naturally weakened Harlan a bit on his big colt but he was afforded his second chance and last Saturday his race was no better if as good as his performance in the Preakness Stakes In the first he was permitted to make pace and he failed Then in the Derby he was reserved behind the leaders with no better results These two races con ¬ vinced Harlan that Scapa Flow should be pointed for the mile of the Withers Stakes and he will hereafter be devel ¬ oped along speed lines He has proved that he cannot stay and he has shown that he is a colt of extreme speed He is built for sprinting if there is any ¬ thing in conformation and while it is disappointing that he does not measure up to what was expected he will un ¬ doubtedly be of much more use in this line of endeavor While the initial appearance of Samuel D Riddles Crusader in New York was anything but impressive it will not do to discard him as the logical top of the handicap division on his Excelsior Han ¬ dicap performance Of course that de ¬ feat makes him start all over again to prove himself but he will have many another opportunity and it is just about safe to promise that before the end of the meeting at Belmont Park he will have done something to redeem himself himselfOf Of course George Conway should know his horse and it is presumptuous to at ¬ tempt to tell him how Crusader should be trained but like his illustrious daddy he is a big gross horse and seems to be one that needs a deal of drilling He has the constitution to stand up under such a strenuous system and when he has been in hard training for a considerable time it will be surprising if he is not a better horse horseMan Man o War would fill up rapidly un ¬ less he was drilled right along and time and again the magnificent son of Fair Play and Mahubah was working faster In the forenoon than horses were racing in the afternoon He needed just such training Crusader with so many of the qualities of his daddy undoubtedly needs plenty of training himself Conway un ¬ doubtedly knows better than any one else and it is entirely possible that Cru ¬ sader though he was worked a couple of days before the running of the Excelsior Handicap was still just a bit short for that race raceWith With the weights announced for the Toboggan Handicap one is reminded that the Belmont Park meeting is to open at the big Nassau County course on Thursday This threequarters dash through the Widener course always brings out a truly notable band of sprin ¬ ters and its roster of winners contains the names of many a swift running horse horseFor For years the meeting of the West chester Racing Association opened with the running of the Metropolitan Handi ¬ cap at a mile while the Toboggan Han ¬ dicap came later but it is a much better arrangement of the racing dates for the stakes to have a sprint come before the mile dash dashOf Of course a mile should really be con ¬ sidered a sprint itself but it is a dis ¬ tance that has long ceased to be a sprint in this country and it is unfortunate that many a horse that is highly rated is not able to show to advantage at a greater distance than threequarters threequartersFrom From the list of eligibles to the re ¬ newal of the Toboggan Handicap this year there is sure to be drawn a field worthy of the old race and with favor ¬ able weather and track conditions a great race is sure to result Sarazen Chance Play Macaw Pompey Croyden and Vespasian are among the older horses at the top of the list while Os ¬ mand leads the threeyearolds now that The Satrap is out of training That is to say he is in the same notch of 117 pounds with Sweepster the Rancocas Stable star threeyearold Celidon is handicapped at 116 pounds and Sarma ticus which won the same race last year for Robert L Gerry is in under 114 pounds
