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W E I G H I N G I N By EVAN shipman BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., June 2. Letter to a young man This columnists nephew and namesake who would far rather be riding jumpers here at Belmont Park than attending to his military duties "deep in the heart of Texas". Dear Evan: With the running of the Meadow Brook Handicap tomorrow, the Belmont spring steeplechase season draws to a close, and, thanks largely to Colonel Nelles Extra Points, we can not only look back on excellent sport, but can anticipate interesting stakes races at Delaware, Aqueduct and Saratoga. Because Extra Points has progressed so remarkably in such a short space of time, Colonel Nelles and your friend and well-wisher, Mrs. Adams, who has done such a wonderful job training and conditioning this eight-year-old Grand Slam gelding, both agreed not to nominate him for the two and a half-mile Meadow Brook, their feeling being that the extra distance, plus the high weight that Fred Parks would most certainly have assigned him, made this final stake of the meeting too severe a tack for the present. Personally, I believe they are right, but I also believe that when they do decide to send him over two and a half or three miles, Extra Points will then show the same superiority over the others that has thrilled us, time and again, during these recent weeks. He does everything so easily, so gracefully, taking all his-fences with perfect assurance and also showing a high turn of speed on the flat between obstacles. In Extra Points absence tomorrow, I am stringing along with Mrs. Vernon Cardys Sun Shower, the only chaser who has shown himself capable of putting Extra Points to a drive this spring. AAA "You can judge for yourself just how good Extra Relating News of Chasers to Nephew in Army Extra Points Was Revelation of Spring Season Sun Shower Seems Well Placed for Meadow Brook Racing Friends Send Regards to Former Rider Points is now, and how much he has improved over his je i r 1 11 T, wnM previous lorm, wnen j. ten yvu muli? iic wtu yuiii;cuuis quu Shower 18 pounds in the recent Corinthian Handicap, the race in which Mrs. Cardys horse forced him really to extend himself over the last three jumps. Not even at Saratoga last summer had Sun Shower been any sharper, and Pat Smithwick timed his bid to perfection in the Corinthian, waiting until both His Boots and Palaja had taken turns "softening up" the favorite in the early running. But when Smithwick made his well-timed move, "Dooly" Adams, who fits Extra Points so well that he actually seems part of the horse, was ready for him. Had Extra Points ever hesitated, or made the slightest mistake, Smithwick and Sun Shower would have caught him. Here is where that 18-pound difference would have told the story if Extra Points were, anything less than an absolutely first-class horse. As it was, he was gradually drawing away in the run, in, after taking the last jump. "Dooly," taking no chances, used his bat a couple of times, but there was really little need for it; Extra Points won with his ears pricked. AAA. "Weights for tomorrows Meadow Brook renewal tell us that handicapper Fred Parks was also distinctly impressed by Sun Showers fine attempt back of Extra Points in the Corinthian. He has placed him at the top here with 155, one more than he has assigned The Mast; 10 more than Sundowner will carry, and 11 over His Boots assignment. Beaupre, Palaja and Tourist List are all three tossed in light. I know how fond you always have been of The Mast, but the truth is that the big black has not shown too well this season. In the International and the Charles Appleton Memorial, his races were dull, while in the recent Corinthian, he seemed to sulk. You know how "full of himself" The Mast is on one of his good days; he does all but tell you in the paddock when he feels like racing, and one of these days well see him in that form again. Now that Sundowner is no longer obstreperous, he seems to have lost his speed. Last year, he was so much o a handful that I considered him positively dangerous in a field, but now he acts like a well-schooled chaser; he has learned good manners at the expense of all his former brilliance.. As for His Boots, all I can tell you is that he looks well and jumps well, but does not seem to have the proper edge. Looking back at his best races, they have nearly all been late in the season. AAA "Yesterdays hurdle race was about the best contest over the little jumps that I have seen all season, and I wish you had been here, either to watch it or ride in it. Albert Foot got home first by a head with a three-year-old Ray Woolf has developed for Montpelier, Altus, a chestnut Air Hero gelding. For the entire mile and a half, racing in time that was only three-fifths of a second off Extra Points track record, this was a match between Altus and Democles, this -gray conceding the younger horse 14 pounds in actual weight. Albert rode one of his prettiest finishes, but he had to have a good colt under him to win, since Democles is one of the best of the division now. Mrs. Obre, for whom you used to ride Sale-maker, started her French horse, Xapcout, in this race for the first time in this country, and I thought he showed Continued on Page Nine WEIGHING IN "By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Forty-Eight very well indeed for Scott Riles. Xapcout had been a winner on the flat in France as recently as last March, and he is in good condition now, taking his fences welTand boldly and showing speed on the flat between the obstacles. He tired yesterday as if he was still a little short, but next time out, hell certainly be worth backing. AAA "Mrs. Adams and her husband, Flint Schulhofer and Scotty Riles and all your other friends want to be remembered to you, and they all hope you. will be getting .a furlough during the Saratoga meeting. Mrs. Adams says to tell you that the stable cats have increased and multiplied in your absence. Alain du Briel has a new car, a new horse and a new baby, but he admits that the car hardly ranks with your red Buick. The baby, I only know about from hearsay, but the horse is one of those brought over from France and auctioned this spring by the syndicate. It is a chasing mare named Gamay, and Ray Woolf is training her, expecting to start her here shortly. I have been watching the entries for your .maiden three-year-old, and youll be on for something when he finally starts. Jules Schwartz big colt, Fairbrotherr that we both liked so well last year, wintered well and made his first start here the other day. He did not do much, but he was running a high fever that night, and will be on the shelf for a couple of weeks. Jules and "Frenchy" both send their best, and so does your loving uncle
