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k I : Here and There on the Turf , ;p . : I Doubtless it is best for the reputation of Diavolo that he avoid the engagement in the Dixie Handicap, as has been announced by James Fitzsimmons, his developer. From the manner in which the magnificent son of : "Whisk Broom II. and Vexatious had been 3 training at Aqueduct it was apparent that : the original intention was to send him after 1 the 5,000 prize that lie won last year. . There did not seem to be any doubt of his ability to take up the 128 pounds, at which he was handicapped and, had Fitzsimmons : continued his training, he would surely have had a big following when sent to the post. : There are all too few 5,000 opportunities 1 for five-year-olds and such a victory would ; have been a worthy start for this great 1 stayer, but there may be much more racing fame with a later start. Diavolo is sound and right, but it would be inevitable that hard racing at the end of April would mean an enforced let up possibly when some of the cup engagements fell due. Then it must : be taken into account that when a horse has i such an early start at the top of the handicap, he will be required to carry high weights right through the season, should he meet With any measure of success. Altogether it seems to be the part of wisdom to reserve Diavolo until a later date in the racing year. Reputation for the horse is much more to be desired by Mrs. Phipps and Ogden Mills, owners of the Wheatley Stable, than money earned by their champion. It is of much greater importance to earn a racing championship than a money earning championship. There is nothing the matter with Diavolo, but it is well nigh impossible to have a horse carry through from early spring until late fall and it is in the late summer and through the fall that the stayers have their most frequent opportunities. Just when the son of Whisk Broom II. will be returned to active training is not known, but it will not be until he is built up again by a respite from hard galloping. There is nothing to cause alarm in this change of racing plans and it may safely be predicted that when Fitzsimmons decides to bring Diavolo back he will be fit and ready to uphold the magnificent reputation he made last year. Now tthe candidates for the Kentucky Derby are beginning to show something in their trials beyond mere speed. The days of the six furlong works are about over and the mile and a quarter, the Derby route, is what is being asked of some of the most potential eligibles. And of the lot training in Kentucky, B. B. Jones Gallant Knight, the son of Brave Knight, seems to be progressing in a manner that should keep him one of the natural "future" book choices for the big "classic." His most impressive recent trial was when he went along over the Derby route at Churchill Downs in 2 :13. When it is remembered that the Derby is not to be run until May 17, it tells of the forward condition of this colt, for he was being eased up at the end of that fast gallop and well able to go along faster. This was far and away the best Derby move recorded up to Wednesday, and, in the opinion of some trainers it really was too fast. But the son of Brave Knight cooled out nicely and the date of the running is far enough away to cause no apprehension of the .work doing harm instead of good. It is a test of real training skill to fit a three-year-old for a gallop of a mile and a quarter so early in the year and there is always the danger of doing too much with the horse. Many a race has been left in the trial and it really works more harm to have a horse overtrained than under trained. With Diavolo definitely out of the Dixie Handicap there comes a new importance to Victorian, in the "Warm Stable of Mason and Hanger. It is remembered that in the running of the Dixie last year Victorian, giving Diavolo ten pounds and under 122 to the 112 pounds carried by the son of Whisk Broom II., was "only beaten a head. It was a pair of the sons of Whisk Broom II. staging a memorable battle and both of them added a considerable degree of fame to both "Whisk Broom II. and his marvelous sire, Broomstick. Victorian already has a big jump on others j of the handicap division in the matter of 1930 earnings, by reason of his victory in the Agua I Caliente Handicap, which netted 8,400, and, ; even should he fail in the Dixie, he will ; still, hold a mark for them all-to shoot at: 1 Victorian will , find a: different band of horses opposing him at Pimlico than he met at the Mexican course, but it must be re- membered that he was subjected to unnatural interference in that big prize and his victory was remarkable for that reason. The Dixie is at a mile and three-sixteenths and that suits the Warm Stable star better than the mile and a quarter. Ho is well seasoned by reason of his Mexican campaign and, unless he has gone stale, which does not seem probable, he will be a good horse in the Dixie. Should Victorian be started in the 0,000 Philadelphia Handicap at, Havre de Grace, for he has been nominated, there will be a line obtained on his eligibility for the Dixie.
