view raw text
RAIN THREATENS JOHNSTOWNS WITHERS CHANCES r • Showers Predicted in New York — Gilded Knight at Short Odds Belmont Prize to Gross 0,200 if Eight Overnight Eligibles Start — Knickerbocker, Porters Mite, Birch Rod and Hash in Field * NEW YORK, N. Y., May 26. — Johnstown is the number one candidate for tomorrows running of the Withers Stakes, but thunder showers are predicted and William Woodwards star, undefeated on a fast track, may find damp Belmont Park going just as difficult to negotiate as the Pimlico mud, shutting him out in the Preakness. But dust or mud, Johnstown and his running mate in the wagering, Mrs. Henry C. Phipps Gilded Knight, will be quoted at odds-on by the Belmont layers, probably at a price as low as one to five. The Kentucky Derby-Wood Memorial-Paumonok Handicap-Jamaica record breaker may not be at such a disadvantage in Belmont mud as in wet Pimlico going if such a condition prevails, because !of the sandy texture of the course. That is a question to be answered in only one way — Johnstown must try it. The promise of rain increases somewhat the element of doubt as to Johnstowns Withers chances, likewise buoying the hopes of the seven other candidates. • KICH PURSE. Eight starters in the sixty-fourth edition of the Withers, a ,000 added test for three-year-olds at one mile, and an important preparatory test for next Saturdays renewal of the Belmont Stakes, will give it a gross value of 0,200. The winner will collect 6,350 if all go. The companion feature, but hardly comparing in public interest, is the Juvenile Stakes, whose sixty-third running has drawn an overnight field of six. Its purse will gross ,775 with the winner receiving ,825. Although opposed by such likely youngsters as Cockerel, Epatant, Now What and Wise Bee, Benjamin Whitakers sprightly Gannet is likely to be the choice in the five furlongs dash over the straight course. Johnstown, Gilded Knight and Knickerbocker are at least three of the Withers candidates that will be using the event in preparation for the Belmont, but they will be concentrating on winning tomorrows race in view of its value of traditional importance. All have been particularly pointed for the Withers, including Johnstown and Gilded Knight, whose speed has been sharpened up since their efforts in the Preakness at a mile and three-sixteenths. GILDED KNIGHT DANGEROUS. In the Preakness, Johnstown tired after displaying good speed for a mile while Gilded Knight, after chasing him closely, held on determinedly to finish second, about a length and a half back of Challedon. Trainer James Fitzsimmons, convinced now that the Derby winner didnt care for Pimlicos brand of mud, thinks Gilded Knight might have beaten Challedon had the Wheatley colorbearer been rated back with the son of Challenger II., rather than at Johnstowns heels. Even with Johnstown an absentee, Gilded Knight could be expected to rule favorite be- Continued on fortieth page. RAIN THREATENS CHANCES OF JOHNSTOWN IN THE WITHERS Continued from first page. cause of his victorious efforts in the Chesapeake and Survivor Stakes, as well as defeating El Chico in a six furlongs dash in the first start, of the season for both colts. He indicated in both the Preakness and Survivor that he was not at a disadvantage in mud and slop.. Drawing a reasonable amount of respect is Knickerbocker, whose brief but undefeated career was punctuated last Saturday by his unexpected victory in the Metropolitan Handicap. Joseph E. Wideners colt carried only a hundred pounds in the Metropolitan, but his feat in defeating such seasoned and capable older horses as Heelfly, Jacola, He Did and Thanksgiving, deserved commendation. Being undefeated, Knickerbocker is yet to prove just how good he may be. PORTERS MITE RETURNS. The Withers will mark the return to competition of Porters Mite, victorious in the Futurity and Champagne Stakes over th9 Belmont straightaway last fall; William E. Boeings fleet colt was freshened up after the Derby Trial, but has been brought back to condition in recent weeks with several sparkling trials. All the other Withers candidates may be considered outsiders although the Greentree Stables Hash has shown recent winning form. John Hay Whitneys Whisperer, a recent graduate in a maiden affair, also is entered in another contest and may decline the Withers issue. The other overnight candidates, Falaise Stables War Dog and George D. Wideners Birch Rod, were close by in their last outings, but their Withers chances appear very remote.
