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y..-.. ................ Here and There on the Turf Sir Damion Comes Back Badly Hurt in 1937 Derby Injured Again in Florida Tatterdemalions Bad Luck - ....4 A trifle more than two years ago, George Odom was telling the writer that Sir Damion had more than an outside chance in the Kentucky Derby. That was the day of the Churchill Downs classic that was won by % War Admiral, with Pompoon second and Reaping Reward third. Sir Damion finished nineteenth in that race in a field of twenty, beaten some thirty lengths, and he didnt run again until mid-January of this year, a long time for a horse to be away from the races. As we remember the 1937 Kentucky Derby, Sir Damion was right up with the leaders in the run down the stretch, . and in running around the lower turn he became surrounded by horses. Some time during the first half-mile of that Derby, the son of Sir Gallahad n. — Ommiad, by Omar Khayyam, was jumped upon and severely cut. Trainer Odom consequently was compelled to throw the Marshall Field horse out of training, not for just a few months, but for the remainder of 1937 and most of 1938. Sir Damion was able to resume training during the latter part of last year, but it was no sinecure that he ever would live up to the fine promise he held entering upon his three-year-old campaign. But that unfortunate injury did not rob Sir Damion of any of his natural ability to speak of and Odom was able to start him at Hialeah Park, January 12 last, and have confidence in his ability to win. He did by running seven furlongs in the exceptionally fast time of 1:22%, , coming back within two weeks to defeat a better field over the same distance in slightly slower time, and then he won again a short time later at three-quarters in 1:11%, standing a long drive to do so. Three victories in three starts, all in fast time, was remarkable for a horse which had been away from the races for nearly two years, during •which time he had arrived at the point of . maturity, making such accomplishments most difficult to attain. After his third race at Hialeah, Sir Damion was prepared for the Widener, at a mile and : one-quarter, but about two weeks before that " 0,000 affair of a mile and one-quarter he developed a pair of splints that required firing. His training program was interrupted, but nevertheless, the Field veteran was good enough to set the pace in the Widener until I reaching the stretch, where he was overtaken . by Bull Lea running one of the sharpest races of his life. Only Bull Lea de-| feated Sir Damion in the Widener and, he in i turn, defeated such a colt as Stagehand. That Sir Damion didnt go into the Widener in his very best form wasnt generally known ; or his performance in that ten furlongs event would have been treated with much more respect than it was and he would have been more highly regarded in the Dixie Handicap at Pimlico Wednesday. Not bothering to give Sir Damion a preliminary . face before the Dixie, Odom sent him into that historic race with a condition- Continued on twenty-ninth page. HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF f Continued from second page. ing based on workouts alone, and that he ! knew his horse was demonstrated by the 1 clever manner in which the Field representative " took the lead right after the start : and held it all the way under perfect rating ; from Don Meade. He set a steady pace, but one that left him plenty of speed to be used L in the stretch when called upon; the fact remaining that Sir Damion held a greater advantage at the finish than any previous • part of the long test. Even though his impost ■ was comparatively light, Sir Damion 1 displayed the best performance of his career • because he defeated one of the finest : groups of older horses to be brought together this season, this in spite of the long time he had been way from competition. • His name deserves to go alongside of the many outstanding horses previously listed 1 on the Dixie honor roll. As the Dixie was decided, Sir Damion i made all his own breaks by dominating the i opposition by his speed. Tatterdemalion was 5 the only other starter to give an outstanding performance and it may have been unfortunate - that he came out so wide in the stretch, , losing perhaps nearly as much ground as he ! was beaten. In addition, he was pinched L back slightly at the start and had to be 5 a member of the rear guard during the opening • half-mile. None of the others appeared [ to have any very valid excuses. Jacola went evenly throughout, Thanksgiving faltered and Pompoon flattened out badly after . * moving up on the second turn in a manner to suggest that he would run by Sir Damion. Heelfly now must be regarded as inconsistent, . as he too showed only a brief flash ! of speed after acting up badly at the post, in contrast to the quietness he showed in 1 his previous outing at Pimlico. Incidentally, John B. Campbell, the New York handi-capper, I gave a line on Sir Damions chances 3 in the Dixie by assigning him 126 pounds in the Toboggan last Saturday.
