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COURT DANCE VICTRESS Defeats Merry Lassie and Inhale in Jamaica Feature. G. D. Widener Miss Stages Fractious Exhibition at Gate and Delays Start of Briarwood Purse. NEW YORK, N. Y., April 19 Court Dance, one of the most consistent winners among the 1937 two-year-old fillies, returned to competition at Jamaica this afternoon and carried George D. Wideners familiar light and dark blue hoops to a decisive score over Wheatley Stables Merry Lassie in the featured Briarwood Purse, a three-year-old filly test of six furlongs. At the end the chestnut daughter of Jamestown Flag Dance was a 4ength and one-half in advance of the Wheat-ley filly, which in turn beat Jock Whitneys Inhale three lengths for second place. The .winner was 13 to 5, with the runner-up odds-on. All three fillies, candidates for the stakes for their age and sex this spring, were making their first starts of the new season. Court Dance completed the three-quarters in 1:14 and carried 113 pounds, getting three pounds from the runner-up and Inhale. All the races were run in trotting-horse time due to the muddy track conditions. LARGE CROWD PRESENT. A crowd of near-Saturday proportions turned out under sunny skies to see the Tuesday offerings, but they fared only in so-so fashion in trying to pick proper favorites. The week-day attendances at Jamaica these days are larger than for Saturdays a few seasons back and the meeting begins like a record-breaker in this department. " Court Dance, handled by the leftrhanded Wayne Wright, kept the five starters in the feature at the gate for a few minutes while she staged a catch-as-catch-can exhibition with George Cassidys assistants. War Admiral could have done no better job of giv--ing these gents a headache. Finally she was banished to the outside and gained a step two lengths off the field. The maid from JErdenheim quickly went to the inside and was lapped on Inhale and Merry Lassie for a few strides. Then as Merry Lassie went into a clear lead she was going along under "steadying restraint in second place, with Inhale a distant third and the other two never in the running. WRIGHT MAKES MOVE. Halfway around the turn Wright made his move and the Widener mare went to Merry Lassie on the outside entering the short front stretch. She was not unduly pressed from the eighth post home to score by a length and one-half. Longden went to the whip on the Wheatley filly, one which had a better record than the winner last year, but it was of no avail and he put up his stick. Inhale was third in an even effort all the way, but three lengths off the first two and never a serious menace after going a furlong. Continued on twenty-third page. COURT DANCE VICTRESS Continued from first page. Manhasset Stables Roman Hero turned in an excellent performance to win his debut over a band of other highly regarded colts and geldings in the third. Second to the chestnut son of Fompey and Nancy Dyer was Bill Gallaghers Royal Taste, with River Edge Farms Capulet third, and Jock Whitneys heavily-backed King Cotton fourth. Over a muddy track, the winner ran the five furlongs in 1:01 under Sammy Renick. The race was a thriller from start to finish. Sandy Bill, after having been away from the races since the winter of 1936, was brought out in the first race by Hirsch Jacobs and, under a hustling ride by Eddie Arcaro, lasted to be winner over W. C. Winfreys Speed, while T. P. Morgans No Nane was a close third. It was the same Sandy Bill of two years ago when he jumped into a long lead, but at "the end he was quitting at every stride and, while his winning margin was a length and one-half, Arcaro had to ride with all his power to keep him going to the end. CITADEL IN FRONT. There came another score for James Fitz-simmons, the Wheatley Stable and Johnny Longden when Citadel led home a field of three-year-old maiden fillies in the second race. This was a six furlongs dash. Second place went to IL Salomons Outboard, with Mrs. John Hertz Lace Reigh taking third from Swing Time. From a good start Citadel and Swing Time, closely lapped, went into a long lead over the others and they continued to draw out until they were splashing along five lengths ahead of the rest of the field, headed by Mollie Swain and Outboard, racing along like a team. Swing Time hung to Citadel to the stretch turn, but it cost such an effort that she dropped back badly in the straightaway. Citadel was also tiring in the final furlong, though she was still three lengths clear crossing the line. Outboard had closed with good courage and Lace Reigh was racing well to be third, a length and one-half back of the Blue Pete filly. The fourth race went to Ceiling, ridden by Johnny Gilbert. He carried all the pace, but at the end was doing his best to score by a length over Pendenciero, a South American invader that was starting for the first time in this country. Grey Fluff was another two lengths back, in third place, before Harvesting. Jockey Tommy Malley signed up with the Woodmere Farm, trained by Ed Feakes, for the season. The horses were wintered in New Jersey. Edgar Barnes arrived at Belmont Park with a division of the Bomar Stable, to campaign over the Metropolitan tracks.
