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! Here and There I on the Turf i Metropolitan Not True Race » Harvest Favored by ! Weights I IGood Suburban to Lack Stars ! . Belmont Judges Muff Decision j One of the finest fields of milers ever brought together in this country was engaged in the Metropolitan Handicap at Belmont Park Saturday, but it did not produce a contest equal to its worthiness although the action was thick and fast. Too many of the eight starters got in each others way despite the width of the Belmont track and shallowness of its turn and when the starters were returned to their stables half of them had to be treated for cuts on the j legs. The Metropolitan field was made up of old horses which should know how to break and run straight, but apparently their jockeys were of a different mind and as a consequence Clang, Sation, King Saxon and Cycle all were sufferers. Alfred Vanderbilts Good Harvest was returned victorious by a comfortable margin as he skirted the rail around the turn and closed strongly after his stablemate Identify had carried the field the first six furlongs in 1:11. Whopper finished second as the task of running Identify into the ground proved too much for him. , Good Harvest shouldered 107 pounds and finished out the mile in 1:36%, the fastest time of the meeting for the distance. The speedy son of Epinard and Blossom, by John P. Grier, was in receipt of sixteen pounds and defeated Whopper by two lengths. In their last clash, which was in the Jerome Handicap last fall, Good Harvest barely nosed out Whopper, This race also was at a mile and the Vanderbilt gelding had an advantage of only seven pounds from Whopper. John B. Campbell, New Yorks capable handicapper, can be expected not to give Good Harvest any such weight edge in future handicaps over the middle distances. As King Saxon, which carried equal top weight with Sation, was unable to do anything after being snuffled back at the start, one is forced to the conclusion that C. H. Knebelkamps speedy veteran requires a fast getaway to prove himself a contender. Weights for the Suburban Handicap, Belmonts outstanding spring event for older horses, will be announced today by Campbell, but whatever they are the best field from among the fifty-six eligibles will not be mustered and more than likely Whopper will head the list. Discovery, Top Row, Cavalcade and Firethorn are the most formidable members of the list if and when they are ready, but none of the quartet can be expected to accept the issue. Although as sound as he can be, Discovery has been brought along very slowly in his training since he was given a let-up following his Santa Anita invasion, and the Vanderbilt star is not expected to resume campaigning until the Aqueduct meeting. Top Row only recently has been fired and he will be out of competition for another month or so. Cavalcade cannot be expected back to the wars until late summer, if ever, and Firethorn has acted so listlessly this spring that trainer Preston Burch does not intend to run him again until he shows something of his own volition. The candidates for the 0,000 added affair at a mile and one-quarter may be expected from Good Goods, Mantagna, Whopper, Dark Hope, Thursday, Good Gamble, Good Har-j vest, Purple Knight and Gallant Mac. Good j Goods just recently defeated Dark Hope in the Governors Handicap at Narragansett i Park after finishing second to the J. W. Y. Martin veteran in the Dixie Handicap at Pimlico. Whopper is being gradually brought up to the engagement, having started out in the Toboggan Handicap at six I furlongs and moved up to the mile distance | of the Metropolitan, being a contender in both events. The others all have had ex-i perience this season in races at a mile or over and can be expected to be pointed for the Suburban, which will feature Belmont Parks Decoration Day program. Because of the lack of a standout in the probable field, Vanderbilt may be expected to be represented by at least two of his seven eligibles and dont be surprised if the Maryland sportsman sends out four of his colorbearers. Even though they had a photograph to guide them, the Belmont placing judges muffed the finish of the third race Monday and gave the verdict to the Sage Stables Mahdi, with the Foxcatcher Farms Fairy Hill second, Southland Stables Above Par third and the Greentree Stables Chicolorado fourth. The quartet reached the finish of the four and one-half furlongs dash straightaway noses apart. The picture shows one | horse winning by half a head and the judges ■ decided he was Mahdi, the arm and saddle I cloth numbers not being discernable. A close I inspection of the photograph, however, re-[ veals that horse to be Above Par, so it is quite apparent that the officials transposed the placing of the Southland racer and Mahdi. Their mistake reveals two shortcomings — an absence of knowledge of colors on the part of the placing judges and the necessity of greater height in the position of the camera. With the apparatus higher in the air it would be able to photograph the saddle cloth numbers, which the cameras at Pimlico, Hialeah and Santa Anita have been able to do. In the meantime, the backers of Above Par can do nothing but console themselves as best they can while those few who had Mahdi at 20 to 1 or better may consider themselves very fortunate. Nothing can be done about it.
