view raw text
j e Here and There on the Turf Eeviewing the Brooklyn. Limitations of Peanuts. Temper of Crusader. Hydromels Good Race. s e Little Peanuts, the son of Ambassador IV. and Agnes Sard, that races for Robert L. Gerry, gave a startling exhibition of his gameness and speed when he won the Brooklyn Handicap on Saturday, in the remarkable time of 1:48, just a fifth of a second slower than the record for the distance, hung out by him over the Aqueduct course last September. But Peanuts has his limitations and they have to do with his lack of size. There is no more courageous thoroughbred in training, but this same Peanuts, by reason of his lack of size, is utterly unable to take. up his weight with the best of them. There has been some criticism of Walter S. Vosburgh in not piling more weight on the little horse, but Mr. Vosburgh seems to have him gauged just about correctly, and any time he can bring about such a finish as that in the Brooklyn Handicap, no fault can be found with his handicapping. All last year the highest weight that Peanuts carried to victory was 116 1-2 pounds, when he won the Pierrepont Handicap at Jamaica, and he was not opposed by the best of the handicap division. The greatest weight he carried all last year was 121 pounds. That was in the Thanksgiving Handicap at Bowie, and when he was at his best. He was beaten 1 j in that race by Backbone. He was beaten 1 in the Continental Handicap under 119 pounds; in the Merchants and Citizens i Handicap under 117; the Twin City Handicap under 116, and the Brookdale Handicap under 114 pounds. He won the ! Empire City Handicap under 112 pounds ; Champlain Handicap under 114; Edge-mere Handicap under a like weight, and the Bowie Handicap under 115 pounds. He was the winner of five out of a 1 dozen starts last year, and in each race 5 the little horse gave an honest account L of himself, but he demonstrated that it t was a physical impossibility for him to take up great weight. Mr. Vosburgh knows the limitations of f the little horse and it is to be expected that his handicapping should place him 1 where he has a possible winning chance. " Mr. Vosburgh is only concerned in 1 j 1 j 1 i ! 1 5 L t f 1 " 1 bringing about good finishes in his nan- dicaps. While on the subject of the Brooklyn Handicap, it must be remembered that it was not the weight carried by Crusader that accounted for his bad showing. His race was below his performance in the Suburban Handicap, and altogether out of line with any one of his good races. He was only taking up five pounds more than the weight he carried to such a sensational victory in the Suburban Handicap, and a repetition of the race would at least have seen him fighting it out with Peanuts and Chance Play, v if, indeed, he did not beat the pair of them. Crusader was jostled around a f bit at the post and it may have soured his temper, while there was a report that n he had been severely kicked while at the U barrier, though there did not seem to be u an apparent injury when he came back to the scales. Crusader remains a great colt, but it begins to look as though he is a bit of a rogue and not always willing to give up his best. This has been the fault of many good sons of Fair Play, and he is j a grandson of that great sire. When he t has been beaten he has been all but dis- graced, while, when he is in a cheerful v running mood, he seems to be a champion J of champions. Weight cannot be blamed for his show- ing, for there was no part of the race t that he showed any of the fire and dash 1 that has marked all of his good races. He seemed to refuse to extend himself cheerfully, and it is entirely possible that J on his next appearance he will be in a j more cheerful mood and race according- j ly, just as he did in the Suburban Han- dicap, while in his previous race to that he had been soundly beaten by such horses as Amber-jack, Cherry Pie and 1 Navigator, by no stretch ot fhe imagina- J tion belonging in the top handicap class. As long as Crusader has such an un- 1 certain way of behaving he will remain something of a disappointment, even though he has all the attributes and qual- ities of a champion. Then this Chance Play a son of Fair Play is equally guilty. His race in the t Suburban Handicap was little short of j disgraceful and he came back on Satur- day with his greatest performance when, under 121 pounds,, he gave Peanuts such a stern battle after carrying the load of making the pace all the way. In his previous race to the Brooklyn Handicap, he raced brilliantly, but right at the end he surrendered to Light Carbine, one that had never before been considered really in the top handicap division. At a slight difference in weight he beat Light Carbine thoroughly in the Brooklyn Handicap. With both Crusader and Chance Play it seems a question of temper. Just as the victory of Edward R. Bradleys Boot to Boot in the first running of the revived American Derby caused surprise last year, there was another surprise at the Washington Park course on Saturday, when Hqdromel was the winner. Mr. Camdens good colt ran an excellent race in the Kentucky Derby, when he finished fourth to Whiskery, Osmand and Jock, and he raced creditably after that performance, but there were few who considered him equal to the mile and a half of the Washington Park feature against Whiskery, in the light of the Kentucky victory of the Whitney colt and his subsequent good race with Buddy Bauer in the Fairmount Derby. But he proved himself a rare long-route traveler when he won in 2:29, a new track record for the distance. It is possible that Whiskery has had a bit too much of it and is staling off a bit. He has not been raced excessively, but he has been kept in hard training since early in the spring and raced in the Preakness Stakes, where he was third to his stablemate Bostonian, the Kentucky Derby, which he won, and the Fairmount Derby, in which he was only beaten a scant half-length by Buddy Bauer. He was shipped to New York after that race, but was not started in the Belmont Stakes because of the death of Payne Whitney, then sent back to Illinois. He has been hard at it since April and he may possibly have staled off a bit. Then it is possible that Buddy Bauers trip from Kentucky to New York to start in the Belmont Stakes did not do him any good. But whether or not either one of these colts has gone back, the performance of Hydromel was an impressive one and is unfortunate he is not eligible to the 1 Continued on twenty-first page RACING FORM HANDICAPS, - Continued from second page Latonia Derby, to be. run next Saturday; at the Kentucky course. It is too bad that this early in the year there should come some charges! of attempted fixing in steeplechases. Probably there is nothing in thes$ stories, but such loose talk is greatly to" be regretted. The turf has always beeni" cursed with loose talkers and there never has been proper punishment meted out to the scandalmongers who delight! in blasting reputations. Nine times out of ten all the stories of "fixing" and of "pulling," of "night riding" and oi "sponging" are manufactured out oi whole cloth, but unfortunately, there are always some gullible enough to swallow these tales of crookedness in racing. There is only one way that this loose talk can be effectually curbed, and that is to have the gossiper on the carpeb and make him prove all the charges, he makes against this or that trainer; owner, jockey, or whoever it may be that has been the subject of his gossip. Then, in the event the charges are not proved, the villifier should be promptly; banished himself. This has been an unwritten rule of racing for a considerable time, . but it never was enforced as it should be and, until it is, there will, always be this vicious and loose talk. . . - This is only one place to make, charges of offenses and that is in the stewards stand, and the man who makes false charges has no place on the turf; or, for that matter, anywhere else. No sport is better protected by its rules than the running turf and there is no sport that is more villif ied, and the pity of it is that much of this malicious loose talk comes from those who should know better. It is the befouling of ones own nest and the racing authorities cannot be too vigilant in seeing that it is stamped out.
