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Here and There on the Turf I Is Discovery on New Winning j ; Streak? j Brooklyn Started His 1935 ; : Climb I Campbell Thinks Weight Not His Bugaboo j Gives Handicappers Serious Worry j Discovery, Americas best horse last season of any age, will be called upon Saturday for what may prove to be a. very serious effort when he goes after his third victory in the Brooklyn Handicap. For one thing he must carry 136 pounds, an impost that has found him unwilling for one reason or another on an occasion or two in the past. Another factor that may cause the star of Alfred Vanderbilts extensive stable considerable embarrassment is Roman Soldier, no mean campaigner himself, and in the handicap, which is a mile and a furlong event under 125 pounds. Both horses are going into the race apparently at the top of their form, so a very keen struggle is anticipated. Discovery only a few days ago returned j to the wars following a vacation from his winter campaign and gave a most excellent account of himself in a three-horse race, if that is possible. Roman Soldier has been doing a bit more work this summer and so has been defeated, losing the Rockingham Park Handicap under 133 pounds after he had been victorious under 132 pounds and three times with 126 pounds on his back. Connections of Discovery say he is weighted too highly, but in this view, John B. Campbell, official weight adjuster on the Metropolitan circuit, doesnt concur. Otherwise he would not have assigned the five-year-old son of Display and Ariadne such a heavy impost. The veteran official necessarily has considered that Discovery will go into the Brooklyn in first class condition and that being the case, he believes the Van-derbilt veteran will show a performance that will be most difficult to match. Campbell isnt concerned with whether Discovery is right or not, that being a case for his trainer, but he is interested in giving every candidate for the Brooklyn an equal chance insofar as the weights are concerned. Therefore he throws out Discoverys losing efforts at Santa Anita Park this winter when the son of Display lost under 138 and again under 130 pounds, believing that something else besides the impost prevented the horse from giving a worthy demonstration of his prowess. Many observers, and Campbell may be considered among them, cling to the belief that Discovery has begun a winning streak such as took him to the top of the handicap division last season. Second only to Cavalcade among the three-year-olds of 1934, the Vanderbilt colt did not hit his stride until the Brooklyn Handicap last summer. He was beaten in five previous starts, running second to Head Play in the Suburban Handicap. Although he failed to achieve his objective during the winter, though training faithfully, Discovery did no spring cam- Continued on thirty-sixth page. HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. paigning this year, side stepping all the events in which he was beaten last spring. With the Brooklyn close at hand, he was , sent into an overnight handicap in which he galloped away from his two opponents while carrying 135 pounds. His victory was a hollow one, but it at least gave him needed seasoning and he goes into the Brooklyn with no apparent excuses. After winning the Brooklyn last year, Discovery went to Arlington Park to win the Stars and Stripes Handicap and it is believed he will follow the same course this summer. After that fourth of July special, he has the Butler Handicap at Empire City and the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs as other engagements during the month. The one has a value of more than 0,000 and the latter carries 5,000 in added money. He probably would have won the first running of the Massachusetts last fall but for a saddle cloth grabbing episode, in which he was the victim, even though his impost in the nine furlongs affair was 138 pounds. Ten days after the Massachusetts, Discovery can return to Chicago for the Arlington Handicap and then he can ease up somewhat because of a couple of weight for age attractions at Saratoga. If Discovery parades through these engagements without losing, he probably will be called upon to carry more weight each time. That is only natural for a handicap-per because his job is to turn out dead-hcats if he can. The weight fixer doesnt wish to assign Discovery too much weight nor his opponents imposts that are too light. Campbell is satisfied that Discovery is a natural weight carrier and that too heavy an impost hasnt been the chief reason, if it has been a cause at all, why the Vander-bilt horse has been beaten five times since winning the Brooklyn Handicap last summer. In at least one of Discoverys defeats, the New York official believes his victorious opponent had too light an impost and "the son of Display obviously was not himself in two or three other races in which his colors were lowered. Discovery seems to be as good as ever at the present time and he promises to be a staunch favorite to accomplish the unique feat of winning the Brooklyn Handicap for the third time.
