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T - 1 Here and There on the Turf Johnstown Sharp for Withers Is Test for Belmont Stakes At Play Pays for Himself Americans Will Keep Trying *■ ... _ _ - ■ ■ - x Unless the track be soaked, and even that may not cause any difference, Johnstown will make his next start tomorrow in the Withers Stakes over the mile course at Belmont Park, and it is confidently believed he will win. William Woodwards fast colt will be opposed by several other speedy three-year-olds, but if he is as good as he showed himself to be in every effort this season with the possible exception of the Preakness, the son of Jamestown and La France should prove successful. In his workout Monday, Johnstown indicated he had lost none of his edge, doing a mile at Aqueduct in 1:38%, and consequently he will be held at short odds tomorrow, either by himself or coupled with Gilded Knight. The Wheatley stable colt could be the second choice if he wasnt coupled with Johnstown, and more than likely some Belmont layers will quote separate prices against them. Continued on seventh page. HERE AND THERE ON THE TURF Continued from second page. The Withers running will have a bearing on the Belmont Stakes field next Saturday, most likely discouraging some of the eligi-bles to the longer event. Two Withers candidates, which hardly may be expected to try for the Belmont, are Porters Mite and El Chico, but regardless of how well they do tomorrow their chances of seeking next weeks feature are remote, because they havent the training foundation for a mile and one-half effort. El Chico was inactive for a couple of weeks after appearing in the Kentucky Derby because of an injured foot, and Porters Mite was given a vacation when it was learned in the Derby Trial he was not in proper form. Both colts have been prepared for the Withers, but they hardly will have the conditioning for a race like the Belmont, even if they possessed the natural inclination to run that far. Johnstown, Gilded Knight and Knickerbocker appear the most likely of the Withers starters to start in the Belmont, and with Heather Broom and Belay may compose the field for Americas only true counterpart of the English Derby. Having performed in the Preakness as well as other races thi3 spring, their program having been uninterrupted, Johnstown and Gilded Knight are thoroughly fit and little will be necessary for them to do to be in full readiness for the Belmont after the Withers. Knickerbocker won a test of seven furlongs before defeating a good field of older horses in the Metropolitan Handicap, and trainer Peter Coyne may instruct Wayne Wright to work out the son of .Teddy and Warrior Lass at the end of the Withers. As for Heather Broom and Belay, they are fresh from a mile and one furlong event and possessing sufficient time for a pair of good trials. The finish of the Hollis Claiming Stakes with At Play, Johns Heir and Mahdi heads apart, looked very much like one of John B. Campbells handicap, but the ten starters in the six furlongs straightaway dash clashed at weights in accordance with their ages and claiming prices. Bill Farnsworth, the second high weight, was installed the favorite, due to a fine effort over the main course in his previous outing, but he found running over the straight course something else and weakened in the final furlong, where At Play prevailed over Johns Heir and Mahdi. The victory of At Play with its compensation of ,350 brought tremendous happiness to Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Phillips, as it was the four-year-olds most important triumph. He was purchased just a year ago by them from Robert L. Gerry for a moderate sum and had won only one race for the Phillips family prior to the Hollis. Except for those few fortunate sweepstakes winners, Americans got very little satisfaction out of the 1939 running of the English Derby. A victory by William Woodwards Hypnotist or Ralph Beaver Strass-burgers Salford II. at least would have been by an American-owned horse. The victorious Blue Peter was from a mare by Stefan the Great, which stood in Kentucky for several years, but that English-bred stallion was repatriated when Joseph E. Widener obtained Sickle to head his Elemendorf Stud. Woodward and the other Americans who maintain stables in England wont give up the idea of winning the Derby, and If success is to attain their efforts, let it be hoped the successful colt is bred in this country. Despite the failure of American-bred horses to capture their most important race, the English are realizing more and more quality of our thoroughbreds and they may be more in evidence at Saratoga this year than last.
