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Here and Therej on the Turf Bowie Off to Flying Start Runaway Fails to Halt Singing j Wood i Sharp Changes Made in Derby 1 Odds I Fitzsimmons Colts Are Training j Well - 1 One of the largest opening day crowds in Bowies history was on hand Wednesday as the Southern Maryland Agricultural Association, inaugurated the major season of 1936. Conditions were not exactly ideal, but they were good enough for racing in that sector this time of the year, and if they remain so Bowie is expected to demonstrate that its racing has increased in popularity just as the sport has done in other parts of the country since last fall. The feature attraction was the Inaugural Handicap at five and one-half furlongs with the winner turning up in the image of Singing Wood, veteran and high class sprinter in the stable of John Hay Whitney. Singing Wood, just about the fastest horse that sported colors at Santa Anita, was the high weight among the thirteen starters with 1Z8 pounds and was the second choice in the wagering. He would have been the favorite, however, but the large crowd became skeptical of his chances after he had thrown his rider and ran away yesterday morning to make a call on neighboring Bowie village three miles away. The runaway had no effect on Singing Woods speed the following afternoon as he was on top of the early pace in the Inaugural from the start and despite his high impost and the chunks of weight given to his opponents, went to the front willingly and easily when called rpon, to score with much to spare. It was a performance such as he displayed at the first asking at Santa Anita Park and it served notice on other eastern sprinters that he will be a tough one to knock down as long as trainer William Norton is able to keep the five-year-old son of Royal Minstrel and Glade in good form. He likely will make his next start in the Harford Handicap, traditional opening feature at Havre de Grace, the next track on the Maryland program and then the Whitney speedster may go to Jamaica for the Paumonok Handicap, although the two events are only two days apart. Abrupt changes have been made in the odds against several of the more prominent candidates for the Kentucky Derby and they may be considered as important because they denote, directly or indirectly, how the horses are training. Hollyrood, future book favorite from December until Brevity won the Florida Derby, has moved ahead of the J. E. Widener flash again, probably because the bettors or Frank J. Cosgrove, the commissioner, have come to the conclusion that his known mud running ability offsets any edge that the son of Sickle may possess because of his speed. Only a point separates the odds against the two colts, however. Full recognition of the splendid manner in which White Cockade and Granville are training at Aqueduct under the practiced eye of James Fitzsimmons is indicated by the sharp slices in the odds of the two colts, each of which is now held at 12 to 1. News that Ned Reigh was moving to Belmont Park from Remlik Hall, Virginia, to complete his training must have had something to do with the drop of his price to 10 to 1, at which figure Grand Slam also is held. Trainer Fitzsimmons already has begun the task of preparing White Cockade and Granville for distance racing as both colts were sent over the mile and a furlong route in their latest trials. White Cockade, a son of Diavolo, owned by Ogden Phipps and a more precocious two-year-old than the Be-lair Studs colt by Gallant Fox, went the : distance in 1:56 and the latter was timed in 1:59. Naturally, White Cockades perform- ; ance was the more impressive, but it is believed he Avill come to hand more quickly : than Granville. The two colts may be expected to undergo further trials at moderate speed in the near future but likely will be sharpened up for competition over middle distances during the Jamaica-meeting be- : fore being asked to participate in the Kentucky Derby. Before the end of the season, more tracks will be using the camera as an adjunct to the placing judges than, the courses having totalizators. . . . Proph, two-year-old winner for J. W. Parrish at Miami, is a half-brother to Rolled Stocking, probably the best horse ever owned by the Kentucky banker. . . . Harry Richards drew" the mount on Singing Wood in the Bowie Inaugural after. Bobby, Jones was injured when the horse threw him the previous morning. . . .Managers of the major Chicago tracks are seeking a compromise to prevent the Sportsmans Park - Continual on twenty-seventh sage HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. bid for a longer meeting from getting into the courts. . . .Because of a death in her family, the horses of Mrs. John Hay Whitney are racing in the colors of her husband, which are similar to those of the Greentree Stable. They made their first appearance in this country in the Santa Anita Handicap, but have been used, in England for several years. . . .Hal Price Headley is dismantling the training barn at his Beaumont Stud and it will be re-erected at Keeneland. He will continue to use his private track for break-j ing yearlings and early spring training. I
