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mmmmmmmmmtmmmmm—m • , I " 1 Weighing In By EVAN SHIPMAN Oedipus Brilliant Return to Races Native Dancer Should Win Withers Incidentally Fast, Fashionable FillyJ BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y* May 15. — For many of us, Oedipus bril- liant return to the races yesterday was the j £ t t i i s 1 t i ! ! ] "event of the week" at Belmont Park. Top weight of the small but select field contesting the Charles L. Appleton Memorial, Mrs. Phipps handsome chaser has never looked better than when leading from end to end and turning back the resolute challenge of Brookmeades H i s Boots. Oedipus j ] ] : i | I j L j ] ] I I ] j j , | I ] ] , . , , I present condition was obvious when he was viewed on the walking ring, and he lost little time in justifying all the compliments paid him there. Sometimes inclined to take liberties with his fences in the past, Oedipus jumped faultlessly yesterday. "Dooly" Adams, who gave the big Blue Larkspur gelding a well judged ride, allowed his mount to go right to the front, as is always his preference, and then rated him carefully. Not until His Boots drew level with Oedipus midway of the final turn was Mrs. Phipps champion called on, Adams appeal receiving a ready answer. His Boots, with an advantage of 16 pounds in the weights, and also seasoned with a preliminary race last week, made a noble try, but he was not good enough. Mrs. E. duPont Weirs The Mast, who finished a close third, showed an even race, but was never a serious threat. In the early running, Navy Gun attempted to go with Oedipus. This one hit the third obstacle hard. Recovering well, Navy Gun then cleared the water jump in fine style, but the earlier mistake must have shaken him because he tired soon thereafter. All in all, it was Oedipus day. He richly deserved the round of applause greeting his return to the winners circle after this auspicious race. Native Dancer should find tomorrows renewal of the mile Withers, sometimes called the American equivalent of the English Two Thousand Guineas, an easy race, and also a convenient stepping stone to the vastly more important Preakness next Saturday. If Alfred Vanderbilts brilliant gray needs "sharpening," this outing will help toward giving the edge some critics feel he may have lacked at Louisville. Our own view is that they are arguing "after the fact," seeking a rather complex explanation for the colts defeat in the Derby when the true answer is perfectly obvious and ready at hand. Circumstances forced Native Dancer to run a highly unorthodox race, showing blistering speed at a stage where, ordinarily, he would have been under a snug hold. Eric Guerins "time table" was rudely upset by the bumping on the first turn, and if Native Dancer was able to recover and go on as he did, only just missing his objective, it is proof that he was plenty "sharp" on Derby Day. That defeat does not need to invoke any elaborate excuses. If the gray colt wins the Withers and then the Preakness, the tendency will be to say that he has "improved." All that will mean is that it is a lot easier to praise a winner than to justify a defeat. For us, he was a fit colt, a ready colt and a good colt then, just as he is likely to be again tomorrow, and seven days from tomorrow at Baltimore. Maine Chance Farm is to be congratulated on the beautiful homebred filly, In-ciandSbtally, winner of her debut at the recent Jamaica meeting and of her second start in a dash yesterday here at Belmont. This roan daughter of Mr. Busher — Danise M., by Epinard, is simply enchanting to the eye, nor are her radiant good looks deceiving. Both sides of her distinguished pedi-~ gree endow Incidentally with speed aplenty, but familiar as we were with her sire and dam, we are at a loss to say which side of the family this filly "takes after." In any * case, she is a delight to behold, bringing a Parisian elegance to the shady walking ring, and then running with a smooth, ef-forfless action that conceals rather than emphasizes her intense speed. Fractions of :21f and :444s for four and a half furlongs in :51 flat are testimony enough to Incidentally s "foot," and she had no easy time in turning back the determined bid of Greentrees Devil Diver filly, Mainsail, but even under a drive, Incidentally never gave a feeling of strain. In our book, she joins George Wideners Evening Out as the best of her age and sex seen this season, nor is there Continued on Poge Thirty-Nine 1 , | j J . . . J l , ; P | 5 . ; ; | . WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Two any doubt at all that she is of stake caliber. Incidentallys robe is as unconventional and as smart as a daring Schiaparelli gown. The roan is liberally sprinkled with red, the general effect being a medley of red, white and blue, but resembling a highly feminine version of a Scotch tartan rather than the national colors. Unlike the great majority of "off color" thoroughbreds, her head is delicate and refined, the pencilling of the profile as haughty and aristocratic as you please. Her curves tend toward the arab- esque, and there is a hint of the desert in the refinement of line. Incidentally, we believe, is the first of the get of Mr. Busher to reach the races. We do we recall our first vivid impression of that wonderful chestnut. Brief as was his juvenile campaign, his lone campaign, Mr. Busher remains, in our view, the most impressive two -year-old we have ever seen. On the day that Citation won the Belmont Stakes, Mr. Busher captured a two-year-old. dash down the same Widener chute where his daughter shone so brilliantly yesterday. Well, it seemed to us at the time that Mr. Rushers performance matched in quality that of Calumets great colt. It would be a cruel disappointment if he failed to transmit his resplendant class to his progeny, but if Incidentally can be taken as a sample, no such deception is to be expected. Apprentice Willie Lesters riding has sev- eral times earned praise in this space. He is the best youngster we have seen in the saddle for some time, and we are confident that, unlike many apprentices, he will out-live the weight allowance. Usually, this boy rates a horse well, seeming to have a natural sense of race tactics, but yesterday Lester came up with a ride that was so peculiar that we can only suppose him to have obeyed strict orders. It is impossible to believe he would have thought this one up "on his own." In the final event of the day, a mile and a sixteenth affair for 0,000 platers, Lester took Pennfleur to the top and reeled off a half in :44% and six furlongs in 1:10 Vs. being a half dozen lengths in advance of the field at this stage. Naturally enough, Pennfleur was reeling after the droll exhibition, and he wound up, of course, out of the money. Earlier in the day, as good a handicap horse as Sun Rene had not been able to show that kind of speed, and, believe us, Plennfleur is no Sun Rene. We repeat, that we cannot believe Lester rode like that unless he was following orders. Many is the time that, left to his own devices, a jockey could win a race, but paddock instructions, followed to the letter, bring, instead of victory, some such wierd result as this.
