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jHere and There; on the Turf j. t ! Gold Seekers Race Impressive j ! Grand Slam Figures to Improve j , Hollyrood Will Do Better j I The Fighters March Continues j ! i William Dupont Jr., owner of Foxcatcher Farms, undoubtedly feels tempted to try for the Kentucky Derby with Gold Seeker, considering the impressive maner in which the daughter of Messenger and Golden Fair, by Wrack accounted for the Chesapeake Stakes at Havre de Grace Saturday. Gold Seeker is one of the three fillies eligible for the Churchill Downs fixture, won only once in its sixty-one runnings by a member of that sex. The other filly nominees are Seventh Heaven and Split Second, but neither is ex-N pected to start. The Foxcatcher miss handled the Chesapeake field in very neat fashion and was going strongest at the finish after having taken command inside the sixteenth pole under a well judged ride from Maurice Peters. She carried 109 pounds, which, according to the scale, had her receiving five pounds from Delphinium, Grand Slam and Postage Due, three formidable colts arrayed against her. Gold Seeker went into the Chesapeake in good condition, although she had not sported silks since February 15 in the Santa Anita Derby, in which she was a strong finishing third behind He Did and Valiant Fox. The distance was the same as in the Chesapeake and in that race she was opposed by a field that does not begin to compare in class with that she met in the Havre de Grace race. In the Santa Anita Derby the starters carried scale weight and under her impost of 121 pounds she closed steadily through the stretch to be beaten by less than two lengths. Next to last in the Chesapeake field of ten horses until reaching the stretch, Gold Seeker gave a fine display of stretch running ability in picking up her opponents one by one until she wrested the lead from Delphinium with but a short distance to go. The daughter of Messenger went through her two-year-old campaign as a maiden, the best she could do being a couple of seconds. She won at the first asking at Santa Anita at seven furlongs and took another race at a mile before garnering third honors in the Derby at that track. She evidently has improved and probably is still improving as her Chesapeake effort was by all comparison better than anything shes ever done. Several of those finishing behind Gold Seeker were not disgraced by their performances. Delphinium, a colt that could use more size, set a steady pace and stood a hard drive in thestretch, although it was his first start of the season. Grand Slam, likewise, made his Initial appearance and finished full of run in an effort that should do him much good. Bright Plumage, most seasoned member of the field, was blocked just as he attempted to move past Delphinium on the inside at the time Gold Seeker came up on the outside, otherwise he would have fought it out with the filly. Teufel showed an even effort that should do him some good. Tintagel may have regained some of his admirers through his victory in a six furlong sprint at Jamaica, but not to those experts giving thought to the fact that Marshall Fields colt had nothing to run with him. The Belmont Futurity winner took command right after the start and held sway throughout, whereas in the Paumonok Handicap, Cycle kept up with him in the early running and then drew away. Tintagel wont be able to run away from all the colts he may meet in the Kentucky Derby, nor in Saturdays renewal of the Wood Memorial Stakes. Hollyrood didnt appear so impressive in his first appearance of the season, running third, but pretty well back of Tintagel and Seabiscuit, but he can and will do better. It was mentioned in this space several weeks ago that it should not be surprising if he showed but little in his first outing. Hal Price Headleys hope will be better suited by the Wood Memorial distance and by the seasoning hes just received. Rushaway, winner of the Louisiana Derby, and Holl Image, successful in the Arkansas Continued on nineteenth vaae.. HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. Derby, met their master in The Fighter in the Texas Derby as that member of the Milky Way Farms Stable raced to his fifth straight triumph in six starts this year. Although the mile and a furlong distance of the Arlnigton Downs event was run in comparatively slow time and The Fighter scored by only a length, he continues as one of the most highly regarded -candidates for the Kentucky Derby. The Fighter, a son of Bull Dog Bridgeen, by Dominant, doesnt care about winning his races by wide margins and has to be ridden with an iron hand, or he will loaf after taking the lead. This characteristic was noticeable even when he went up against good two-year-olds last summer. The splendid conditioning The Fighter has obtained in his half dozen starts will stand him in good stead in the Kentucky Derby and he must be feared unless the track is muddy or slow. Rushaway is not a Kentucky Derby eligible.
