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*mm ■■■■ ■■■..-.....« i Here and There on the Turf Menow Tops at One Mile No Belmont Threats in Withers Teufel Picks Up Good Purse Red Rain Succeeding as Jumper , Just before Menow made his first start of the season and Hal Price Headley was confident the Belmont Futurity winner would stand up, the Kentucky turf man predicted that if the son of Pharamond II. and Alci-biades was not of Derby calibre, he nevertheless, would land one of the important three-year-old fixtures. Headley evidently had the Withers in mind when making that statement and he need worry no longer about the truth of it. Menow did not develop into a Derby horse, nor was he able to win the Preakness, finding the r" lance too far, but the mile course of the Withers was well within his scope and the 1937 juvenile champion cleverly defeated his eight opponents, the class of which unfortunately was not very outstanding. Yet, in turning the mile in 1:37% to win eased up by two lengths, Menow displayed one of the best performances of a three-year-old seen in New York this season. If Menow was not a colt of great natural speed, he probably would have had his troubles in capturing the Withers. In the early part of the race he plainly showed the effects of his campaigning for the Derby and Preakness, lacking his customary alacrity in leaving the post and getting to the front. Charles Kurtsinger worked on the big-flanked colt stoutly in the opening quarter to arouse him sufficiently to get up with the leaders. After another quarter, and the field wai heading into the turn, Menow hit into his stride and from that point to the finish he looked more like the colt which set the pace for a mile in both the Derby and Preakness, stepping the quarter in :23, half in :46% and three-quarters in 1:11%. Although eased up near the end, the Head-ley colt still turned the final quarter in better than :26 seconds. The Withers usually has been a stepping stone to the Belmont, although nine years has elapsed since its winner went on to capture the mile and a half classic. Blue Larkspur turning the trick after disappointing in the Derby. Menow, however, hardly can be accounted a Belmont prospect because his connections are well satisfied that he is not a stayer and it is doubtful if they will take a chance on knocking him out. Few of the other Withers starters are Belmont candidates, and Dauber, the leading candidate for the June 4 event, need have no worries about the opposition from this quarter. Thanksgiving, the runner-up, is not in the Belmont, although Redbreast, which gained third honors, is an eligible. The Greentree colt will Continued on twenty-third page. ,. . v v — — — — — HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. have to improve sharply, however, to be accounted a candidate. Teufel is no such horse as his half-brothers, Single Foot and Canter, but that he is possessed of some ability was again demonstrated on Saturday in his courageously attained victory in the Puritan Handicap at Suffolk Downs. Under 119 pounds, the five-year-old son of Diavolo and Virginia L., by McGee, ran the mile and one furlong in 1:50% to defeat the Chilean-bred Peligroso II. by a head. Ogden Phipps veteran may have been lucky in winning, however, as Peligroso II. had been assigned 100 pounds for the race and had to take up five pounds overweight. Under his original impost, with a capable lightweight in the saddle, such as Nick Wall, the W. V. McGrath importation probably would have taken first money of ,400. The Puritan Handicap featured a program whicV attracted an immense crowd to Suffolk Downs as excellent weather conditions prevailed, indicating that the long meeting at the East Boston course is well on its way to a successful conclusion. No more happy person enjoyed the Belmont Park races Saturday than Mrs. C. V. Whitney, whose silks were borne to an eyelash victory by Red Rain in the Charles L. Appleton Memorial Steeplechase. Red Rain, a failure on the flat after his victory in the Hopeful Stakes in 1935, made one try last year through the field but fell, although showing considerable promise. He began his . jumping campaign this season with a victory J over a creditable field, coming back to take the Appleton with a performance requiring an unusual amount of courage. The five-year-old son of Pennant and Dustemall, by Chicle, was considerably best of the Apple-ton field but his ride from A. Scruton was hardly that of a master, and he also went to his knees at the tenth fence, yet he overcame these disadvantages to wear down the well ridden Sailor Beware in the stretch. Red Rains steeplechasing career, a promising one, is before him.
