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Here and There on the Turf j Star Sprinters Vie Today i Woodward After Double Torchy in Smart Effort i Kyne Seeks Kayak n. 4 Two splendid sprints are to be offered today as the inaugural features at Havre de Grace and Jamaica, and while it may be un-i fortunate they compete for horses, enough good speedsters are available for the Hartford and Paumonok Handicaps to attract smart fields. The Paumonok long has signalized the opening of the metropolitan season, as well as Jamaicas spring meeting and seldom has it failed to attract a high-class line-up for its dash of six furlongs Todays field is quite in keeping with the standard and tradition of the Paumonok and the capacity gathering expected at Jamaica should see a bristling contest, one that will find the good three-year-old prospect Johnstown getting his first test of the season, William Woodwards colt will have to be good to capture the Paumonok, but he car lose and still show a creditable performance as his opponents will include The Chief and many other fast-moving older horses. El Chico, unbeaten two-year-old champion of last year and the "future book" choice for the Kentucky Derby, is also scheduled to make his 1939 debut today at Jamaica in an allowance race preceding the running of the Paumonok. While the distance of the race is only six furlongs, much interest will be displayed in how the juvenile champion carries on in his first appearance under silks this year. He has been working in a manner pleasing to his trainer, Matt Brady, who is confident that the son of John P. Grier is destined for another record-breaking year, , While Johnstown is bearing the Wood- Continued on seventh page.. HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page ward silks in the Paumonok, Fighting Fox will be doing likewise in the Harford in the hope of giving the chairman of The Jockey Club a double in the two stakes. The four-year-old brother to Gallant Fox also will have to uncover plenty of speed to get any-j thing at Havre de Grace, as he is the top weight among the candidates with an assignment of 122 pounds. Most of Fighting Foxs opponents are Maryland horses and they can be counted on to give him all the trouble they can to keep the winners share of the ,000 purse in the home state. Like Jamaica, a banner opening is predicted for Havre de Grace, the spring season being well under way in the Old Line State and weather conditions have improved since the disagreeable period encountered by Bowie. In addition, secretary Charles J. McLennan has arranged a fine supporting card for the Harford. Keeneland could not have asked for a better opening than it had Thursday, even though the weather prospects the previous day were none too inviting. Almost freezing temperature was the order Wednesday and the track was heavy, but only topcoats were, required for comfort as the bugle brought out the field for the first race and the track had improved so much overnight that it was "good" and safe. This was demonstrated when Ramases, a first-time starter from the Hal Price Headley stable covered the short half-mile course in :46, just four-fifths of a second off the track record. With the going at its best, the son of Pharamond II. and Panasette might have endangered the mark made last spring by the fast-stepping Oddesa Beulah. It may be too soon to predict a bright future for Ramases, but he certainly handled himself like a quick colt, and if he has any class may make his mark in stake company. However, he is not one of the four Headley nominated for the Lafayette Stakes. That the track was not at its best was indicated by the time of 1:12 required by Torchv to account for the featured Phoenix 1 Handicap. The Dixiana gelding can run much faster than that, as he demonstrated last fall in setting Keenelands mile and one-sixteenth record of 1:43. So his Phoenix effort indicated the dullness of the going. Although making his first start of the year, Torchy was good enough to take the measure of four horses, which had seen winter service, and The Fighter, one of the countrys better sprinters. Torchy, which heads the eight horses Clyde Van Dusen is keeping for Dixiana while Jimmy Smith has the main division, looks like one of the better members of the older division, but he wasnt named for the Ben Ali Handicap, which should be cause of regret to the Dixiana camp. That ,500 event is over the mile and one-sixteenth course, over which the Torchilla gelding handled himself so well last fall. William P. Kyne would like to offer a special event at Bay Meadows with Kayak H. as the principal actor, but, naturally, with three or four others with sufficient ability to give the Santa Anita Handicap winner a battle. Charles S. Howard always has been willing to run his top horses in special contests, and if Kyne is able to line up horses like Main Man, Specify and Roman Hero for a mile and one-sixteenth race, Kayak H. may not be in such a hurry to start on his trip to the East Coast, where he has engagements in the Metropolitan and Dixie Handicaps. Another reason for Howards willingness to race Kayak n..at Bay Meadows or Tanforan is to show the colt to a home town crowd for the first time. All of the Argentine four-year-olds campaigning has been done on eastern tracks or at Santa Anita.
