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Weighing In By EVAN SHIPMAN BELMONT PARK Elmont L I N Y May 2 If yesterdays International Stee ¬ plechase Handicap is any criterion we are going to see some ex ¬ ceptional brush sport this season because this initial stake brought together a large well matched field so well matched that handicapper Fred Parks allowed himself only a 11 pound spread between top and bot tom The race proved his judgment correct With the exception of The Mast who slipped on the grass as he landed at the water jump every one had a chance after more than threequarters of the two mile journey had been com ¬ pleted and they raced in a tight group all the way Only as they turned into the I stretch did jockey Phelps detach Jam from his competitors after running down the pacesetting Hot and Jams margin of eight lengths at the finish over Flaming Comet and Palaja gives little indication of what a disputed contest this had been from start to finish These chasers were fit and ready to run and their trainers had schooled them so well that few mistakes were made The leader of the division Oedipus declined the issue but Bostwick in Oedipus stead sent out the imported French horse Palaja who acquitted him ¬ self well Montpeliers Hampton Roads who raced so well last season and from Whom much was expected in the Interna ¬ tional was the only starter who to our eye appeared a little short for the race but he has many starts ahead of him and plenty of time to reach top condition conditioni i In addition to The Masts mishap Sergt Peace tumbled late in the Inter ¬ national with Scottyr Riles the track ambulance taking the boy to the hos ¬ pital Happily Riles was only shaken up but the horse broke his neck and was destroyed This was the second accident fatal to a chaser in two days Sleep Song having broken a leg almost in front of the stand the afternoon before and the dismal last rites did not make a pleasant picture Last night at the Yongers harness track a trotting mare Neola Hanover was in a crash on the first turn went down and was terribly injured She was given a strong seda ¬ tive arid removed from the track on a float it being believed that there just might be a chance to save her for breed ¬ ing These accidents are inevitable even with careful riding and driving but some races such as the English Grand Na ¬ tional seem to invite disastrous spells The obstacles on our American courses are much more reasonable and many of our most exacting races see every starter on his feet at the finish finishFor For a horse to take jumps at speed and with a man on his back is considerable of an acrobatic feat To tell the truth a horse is a rather clumsy animal over jumps as is evident when you compare him f qr in ¬ stance with a deer A smaller lighter frailer animal a deer thinks nothing of obstacles that no horse could attempt and it might be added that human hurdle races demonstrate graphically that our own frame is better adapted to fencing than is the equine Left free in a field not orie horse in five hundred will attempt to jump even a low fence to get out The horse is however a creature of habit and can be taught By long and patient schooling we develop a more or less accomplished jumper but never arrive at the point where this resembled an instinct The horse will take the obstacles when a man sends him to them not of his own choice and that is why flat racing will always be a more natural sport than steeple chasing Sir Gallahad IK grandsire of Bull Lea and great grandsire pf Hill Gail on onContinued Continued on Page SixtyThree WEIGHING IN INBy By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Three whom a great many eyes will be centered tomorrow was one of the rare horses who would on occasion jump freely and of his 6wn volition He picked the occa ¬ sions too You will find if you look back in the records that the name of Sir Gallahad m is not among the starters for the Grand Prix de Paris of 1923 That is because he did not choose to run the idea haying entered his head to break away from his handlers jump a fence and spend the afternoon paddling around hi a small lake in the Bois de Bolougne just out of each of all who attempted to catch him That incident sounds as if the Teddy stallion possessed as strange a temperament as Alfred G Varfderbilts reluctant Cousin but actually Sir Galla ¬ had m was not a difficult horse and he has transmitted good sense and good temper to all his line He probably just thought that June afternoon was too hot for racing and decided on a cool dip George D Widener president of the Westchester Racing Association would have deserted Belmont Park for the after ¬ noon had Battlefield started at Garden State on Tuesday but a muddy strip kept the fine little chestnut fouryearold on the sidelines We understand that the mile Metropolitan Handicap one of the tradi ¬ tional features of the current Belmont meeting will be Battlefields first impor ¬ tant objective and his talents are unques ¬ tionably suited to this event The War Relic colt was not severely campaigned last year and he has been brought along slowly this season He is always a lot of horse in any race The courage with which he clings to an opponent usually outgam ing them right on the money has endeared Battlefield to Metropolitan racing fans We are eagerly looking forward to seeing him once more and we are certain that to see will be to applaud
