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INAUGURAL AT HAMILTON ■ • Belle of Govans Again Shows the Way in Feature. * — _ — . Threatening Weather Fails to Deter Race Fans, Who Visit Course in Large Numbers — Track Trifle Slow. ♦ HAMILTON, Ont, June 25.— The Mountain Valley Plate, offered as the main attraction for the opening of the summer meeting of the Hamilton Jockey Club today, was for the better grade juveniles and was decided over the five-eighths distance. John Fairell, Jr., supplied the winner in his consistent racer Belle of Govans, the shifty daughter of Campfire, which, by adding this victory to her score, earned her fourth purse out of seven starts. Her victory this afternoon was one that left little in doubt as to her quality. Second to the Farrell juvenile came the Thorncliffe Stables Pin Wheel, while leading Rose Spot for third place came C. V. B. Cush-mans Equation. The start was a good one and all left in good alignment. Rose Spot was first to show in front, being joined for the leadership by the winner and Fine Lady, while the others were in close formation. The exception was Gilded Youth, which had trouble in reaching a position along the inner rail and was caught in close quarters and then lost his footing. He unseated Ralls a sixteenth from the starting point, and was eliminated. At the turn out of the back stretch Schae-fer, astride the winner, permitted Belle of Govans to take command, and thereafter she was easily mistress of the situation, winning in ridiculously easy fashion, twelve lengths separating her from Pin Wheel, while Equation was a length farther back and eight lengths clear of Rose Spot, with Fine Lady far back. Equation, on the way to the post, was kicked in the mouth by the flying heels of Rose Spot and lost some of her teeth. She bled badly from the contact. Threatening weather conditions had very little effect on the attendance for opening day of the Hamilton Jockey Clubs first summer meeting, and a surprisingly large crowd journeyed to the Barton Street plant to witness some excellent entertainment featured by the Mountain Valley Purse of ,000, while the Salisbury Purse, at one mile and seventy yards, was of secondary importance. Track conditions were on the slow side, due to the recent rains, but the track was in a safe condition. Len Sweep finally made good in the silks of the Toronto-owned Maryvale Stable, and incidentally, rounded out the first score for that establishment since the stable showed its colors for the first time during the meeting at Woodbine, and the score of the Maryvale colorbearer was one of the most popular of the day. In accomplishing his victory, Len Contiuued on twenty -second page. INAUGURAL AT HAMILTON Continued from first page. Sweep was good enough to set the pace from the start of the five-eighths trip that found ten others starting with him. At the end of the journey he led British across the winning line to score by five lengths, while just a nose back of the latter, and to lead the others, came LaQuerida. Old Care Free kept Intact his undisputed record of being unbeatable at the Hamilton track when he defeated some good horses that started with him in the second race, over three-quarters, in which he was a prohibitive choice, and in accounting for the racing the aged Colin gelding reached the end of the journey under a drive to take the measure of Santa Sweep by a length. In third place and leading the others was Cedar Crest, one of the rank outsiders. Lady Chilton, the queen of the half mile track, raced into fourth place, with the others strung out. Richard Pendlings Knockany came back today after a long lay-off and, well-backed for the three-quarters third race, for province-breds, which was called the Mount Hope Purse, he lived up to expectations by taking command after the first quarter, and thereafter, under the energetic riding of jockey F. Whittaker, the good son of Cudgel — Oaniee reached the end of the distance winner by a length and a half. Sparus, making his initial appearance of the year, staged a brilliant Gtretch duel with J. S. Smallmans Mee-ran for second place and was successful, while Meeran was safely entrenched in third place, beating Brevet by half a length. The Seagram Stable furnished the winner of the Salisbury Purse, the second best race of the day, when Edisto was returned the winner over some Rood ones that opposed him over the mile and seventy yards distance. The race was robbed of much interest with ! the withdrawals of Patricia J., Remedy and Bucky Harris. However, those which started offered the Seagram starter enough contention to make the affair an interesting one, and it was only after a drive that Edisto was able to score by a length from II. C. Hatchs Lacturius.
