view raw text
MORSTEP RETAINS BEST FORM Shandon Farm Filly Becomes Double Winner at Havre de Grace. Dominates Old Virginia Purse Under Guidance of Warren Yarbcrry— Negotiates Bough Racing Surface. HAVRE DE GRACE, Md., April 28.— Shandon Farm stables Morstep, mud-running daughter of Misstep — Mormaw, became a double winner at the meeting. She displayed better-than-average ability over the rough racing surface to account for the Old Virginia Purse. The allowance race for three-year-olds was the principal contest on the semi-final program of the Harford Agricultural and Breeders Association at Havre de Grace today. She met four others of her age after the withdrawal of E. R. Pikes Royal Teddy. Morstep, the only one of her sex engaged in the sprint of six furlongs, was good enough under jockey Warren Yarberry, who was accepting his first mount of the meeting, to dominate all of the running and achieve her success in a drive over Calumet Farms Easy Mon, an invader from Keeneland Park. At the finish, the two principals were separated by three-quarters of a length, with the distance run in 1:14%. It was good time considering the condition of the track. Third went to A. C. C. Stables Ace Call, while Hants, a recent winner here, easily took the measure of Air Win. TRACK OFF. With the weather cool and discomforting and the racing strip in bad shape from recent rains, including a drizzle all day, the attendance was the smallest of the meeting. Small fields ruled during the afternoon and several short-priced choices were victorious. In the feature the five • starters left the chute in good order and it found Morstep dashing into the lead, although led out of the stalls by Hants and Air Win. Having good speed in the footing, the Shandon Farm miss went along smoothly before Hants, while Easy Mon on the inside held third place. In the run down the far side the leaders went along in rather close order, and no change took place in the first half-mile. Reaching the front stretch, Hants found the pace too stiff and fell back, and it found Ace Call taking his position, to be right with the two leaders making the turn. With a furlong to go Easy Mon came away from the rail to set sail after Morstep, but the filly was holding on willingly and the best that Easy Mon could do in the last eighth was to gain a quarter of a length. Ace Call in taking third was four lengths before Hants and two lengths away from Easy Mon.
