view raw text
! * -A Here and There on the Turf , t Reigh Counts Trial. , Nassak a Contender. Return of Grey Lag. Jumping at Belmont. j — — • t Just when doubt had been expressed of j j whether or not Mrs. John Hertz Reigh j Count would show to his best advantage over the mile and a quarter of the Derby route, trainer Michcll sends him for a l mile in 1:39!, to have him canter out the mile and a quarter in 2:03. This would seem to show that the son of Sun- j reigh will be well able to race the mile ! and a quarter distance without any f trouble on May 19. The question of I ability to stay a mile and quarter wasj s i i the only one that had not. been answered I j by Reigh Count, up to the workout of Friday, but now it would seem that he surely has the right to be the choice for the Derby. Analyzing the performances of all the Q other candidates for the Kentucky Derby, it would appear at this timo that t if Reigh Count is to be beaten, Nassak, k the Rancocas Stable hope, is as well qualified as any to accomplish that feat, t. i i Brooms is a colt of wonderful speed i and it is possible that his recent per- | I formance at Pimlico will tighten him up | considerably towards the mile and a quarter detail, but there is no denying ■ that he was tiring in his last race, even though he finished out resolutely to beat Edisto and "Willie K. Brown "Wisdom, another of the sons of Brown Prince II., that Frederick Johnson has among his eligibles to the e I I Kentucky Derby, made good at Jamaica Friday, but it was only a three-quarters dash. Like all of the sons of this sire, Brown Wisdom seems to be a natural 1 stayer and he may be much better than n his defeat of Flyacross would indicate, * but he is still something of an unknown n quantity as far as a Derby chance is concerned. l" Sentiment counts for much in racing and there was a bit of sentiment shown at Jamaica Friday when old Grey Lag, J after closing a big gap, swept through the stretch to victory over Cherry Pie, another veteran of racing. As those two finished first and second, a great cheer went up from the crowd and it was a . spontaneous acclaim of a sterling old horse that by his honesty, courage and speed, endeared himself to race-goers - years ago. Incidentally there have been other occasions when a sire and one of his progeny have raced on the same , program, but they cannot be recalled at this time. That is what happened at . j Jamaica Friday, for, in the first race a 1 Lrown filly, Grey March, was raced in i the colors of the Rancocas Stable. She ; is a daughter of Grey Lag, now in his 3 tenth year, and Middle March, a daughter of Nassovian. It may be that Grey Lag, , even at this late date, and after his 3 temporary retirement to the stud, will I come back to a measure of greatness. He beat a good band on Friday and the - manner in which the old horse warmed 1 up for the race, evidenced that he j i relishes the trainins- There is no man 1 I J t j 1 ■ c f . ■ i , | I i 1 j ! ! t , t j j j a l j ! f I s i i I j Q t k t. i i i | I | a ■ e I I 1 n * n l" J a . - of , at . j living that is more sentimental about his * horses than this same Sam Hildreth and that is assurance enough that Grey Lag is doing exactly what he wanted to do when he came back to racing. This same race that went to Grey Lag saw Mrs. Vanderbills Kentucky Derby candidate, Oh Say, soundly beaten. He was giving away considerable weight | when he took up 117 pounds, which was five pounds over his scale weight, but he should have shown to better advantage if he is to have a chance in the Kentucky Derby. the As the race was run, he and the four-year-old Filemaker, which was in receipt t of a jear and seven pounds from Oh ° Say, were rushed along to a 1 ng lead p, and they sprinted almost head and head a all until nearing the stretch. There it was b, that Oh Say had enough and dropped ft back in a fashion to indicate, seemingly, to t at that he will not do over the mile and a a quarter distance. ° si During the Belmont Park meeting of the Westchester Racing Association, which is to begin May 17, there will be m four cross-country features, while, of l course, there will be various overnight 0 opportunities for the jumpers of every u description. The manner in which the J in stakes have filled leaves little doubt of D. r the success of that branch of the sport a c during the meeting. The best of the stake races is the d do Charles L. Appleton Memorial, which has a guaranteed value of 0,000. The other three have ,500 added each, and the running dates arc so arranged that 7 s the best results should be obtained. The h opening day is the date for the running ] of the Internatipnal Handicap, to which there have been fifty-nine nominations. S The Appleton Memorial Steeplechase to jj comes second on the list with May 26 as i the running date, and it attracted fiftv- ° v one entries. Fifty-eight were nominated s to the Corinthian Handicap, to be run * June 2, and the final feature is the Mea- dow brook Handicap, with fifty-two nominations, to be run June 7. ■ i These races will bring out all the best ,-f • i jumpers of last year, as well as many a * ■ new development and not a few of the importations. There should be more r than one meeting between Joseph E. c Wideners Fairmount and the Greentree t Stables Jolly Roger, the great rivals for f the cross-country championship last year. r In the four decisions of the Appleton * Memorial Steeplechase the Widener c ; horses have been triumphant twice. Neap-Tide was the winner of the first race in 1922 and then in 1926 Fairmount jwon. The Charles L. Appleton Memo-rial Steeplechase was made possible by Mrs. Payne Whitney, who races under the name of the Greentree Stable, and for sentimental reasons she would probably prefer to win that race than any other of the meeting. Her only success was r last year when Jolly Roger won. For the initial running three were started I 1 from the Greentree stable against Neap- 2 Tide. Peccant finished second and Roi Craig third, with Soumangha unplaced. ! 4 In 1923, when Gwyn Tompkins won the 5 = race for Samuel D. Riddle with Brigadier General, the Greentree Stable starter was ; 7 Irish Sea. In 1924 when Not Much won for the Queen City Stable, Damask ran third for the Greentree Stable and Let- ; 1 terrnan was also a starter. In both 1925, when the race fell to I Mrs. F. Ambrose Clarks Tassel, and in , 1926, when Fairmount won, starts were made with Damask. Then came the Jolly Roger victory of last year and the first I success for the stable in six attempts. For the renewal this year there have been seven named. These are Jolly , 1 Roger, Coronation, Erne II., General 1 Post, Bold Knight, Cherry Pie and Green- . ■ horn. But Joseph E. Widener also has J seven named in Fairmcunt, Sandstorm, , I Barley Corn, Lighthouse, Be Fair, Royal Flay and Arc Light. This tells of some of the real sporting . interest in the Charles L. Appleton i Memorial Steeplechase. «
