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HAPPENINGS AT HAVANA INVESTIGATION OF SOLDIERS INCONSISTEN-CIES EXONERATES AN INFIRM HORSE. Transformation of Jerry and Refugee from Sprinters Into Stayers — Ex-steeplechasers Doing Well on the Flat — Gossip of the Course. By T. K. Lynch. Havana, fuli.i. Mnir/ 2. — The officials have had scv ral owners anil riders on the mi pi I, ro-g irding what they considered tlie inconsistent showing of some of their chaises. After soldier wm here a few days ago an investigation was held ovt r tlie horses races and the matter was pone into in a thorough manner by the stewards. They lound that Soldier had a collision seme time ago with one of the Ki.vson string While working and sustained an injury to the head from which he Med Intermittently for a day and I half. Besides Soldier had sore heels win n he came to Cuba and they were cracked open when he won at the first time of asking with Ball in the saddle. His next effort was rot pleasing when he ran last in a field of three. It waa after this race that the colttstea occurred. The hors" worked fairly well and had the support of his stable in his subsequent ru-os in which lie showed little speed. On the morning of his recent winning, his race trainer, at. Jordan, said that he cant-red the horse himself and discovered that he wiaild BOt extend himself. On the advise ef a Mai I smith he had Soldier shod with strips of felt ; • f.ve a the hoofs and plates and he went to the post rigged that way. This tended to take the Jar off the horses sole feet and was i spi usible for the sudden improvement. There has been little ral 1 her ■ this winter and the track at tiniis had been qaite hard, which no doubt has been in a measure responsible for the poor showing m ide by some of the horses who do best ia soft going. Form, however, has heea good and the layers have here, worried quite a bit by the backers, who have beta unusually successful of late. Sprinters Developing into Stayers. Several lioncs whiMi eame bore wifii the nputn-lioii of being sprinters hare been going ever a considi rable route of ground and winning. Refugee and Jerry are a couple In this class, and it only goes to show that mistakes are often made by trainer* in not training their Charges to go a long route. In one of his recent races here Jerry ran a mile and one-sixteenth in 1:44%, a track record for lie distance. Refugee, after winning at sprinting distance--, was started in a mile race. Which he won in the fast time of 1:10. The crazr for short races is one of the evils of the f.uf at ho present time. F.very ether quality is sacrificed for speed. Short races prove nothing and are notoriously uu-satisfactory. Secretary Nath.nsiii Is usiag every effort to hare laces it a mile or over fill and on Thursday last h ■ sextet fled in having on his program four races in which the distances were at a mile or over. S. M. lreece. who came lire with quite a ban 1 of horses, hits laccccdcd in disposing of several of t: cm at private sal.. A. B. Boater Bmridsaa parcbased llagnetlna and A. B. BaBey bought the Bannocfchura p Uttag, Barney Kurney. Mr. Prates also sold to the Cuban government ten of his polo panics, which wttl be oaed by visiting players from th" states in the rnealag i wis tournament. Banter" Davidson has had much success with the pony ran r Donner that he purchased of Dr. Martin in Baltimore for SUM. Bonnet baa won two Bares and in another of his -tarts he finished third. I he colt W«a bred by Dick Waikins at his place down in Texas and is by le Hoszke. a horse that Watkhm won many races with, both for him- if and for the Haymaua. Baaaer was passed up by A a; kins as a discard, being considered too small to bather with. lie waa sold to Dr. Martin, who us. .1 1 1 1 in as a - addle pony. Whca Davidson got him Dene r was sore, as a result of being ridden o er hard pare Bleats, but he has got all over that now and is going sound. Old Jumpers Doing Well on Fiat. A couple of dd jumpers that are racing here hare more than paid their way. Baaway, which raced through the field a number of times last year, has won three races besides finishing second once and third another time. Hedtlchs March Court, which he claimed from Gwya Tompkins at I.aurel last fall, lias also won three races. He ftnlised second three times and third once. Both lenses look good and will undoubtedly score more brackets before the meeting comes to a lose. V. I. Scully ha- a COOple of hov-es here of his own breeding, liu Money and Tin Feather. Tins and Needles a mare he r cently disposed of for a good price, is tie d.iii ef both. Iiu Money has won twice and in bet other starts finished .s . aad twice and third once, liu feather has heea second twice and is due to win. This is Scullys first visit to aba Mai he says that this is tiie finest winter climate in the world. .1. lines Fitsiianions sent an apprentice dowa here earned Bowaa m barge of Prank Herotd. who promises to make good when he goes bach to the states. XOnag Bowaa lias shown merit ami has all the arm irks of a goad rider. JIs is alert at the past, has splendid bands and is a fairly good finisher. With more experience it seems like a sure thing that be vvill make good. He has already riddea several winners aad the horsemen have discovered that he is a lad of BOssS skill and lie i now getting his share of inoiinl-. Hamerkop seems like the champion hard luck horse of the aim Hag. He ha-- finished in the money la all but one of his st.uts an 1 his record shows Hint he ha- earned second money five thnea and third lancy [oar. Zodiac is another borse that has yet to win altheagh he has finished second am! third on fie different « CCasteus. Kddie Crawford, Who i- training the latter, has a couple of shifty sprinters ii his stable in the Poxhall Keeae cas off Lacac and the three-year-old filly .olden Bantam, whheh be purchased of the Cochran stable in .New Orleans last winter. H. K, Knapp a Visitor. Among tie- recent arrivals at Oriental Park is H. K. Knapp of the New York Jockey Club. He is accompanied bj his daughter, son and daaghter-ia- 1 ;v. "I aii ghai to be bach again and to hear I bat they are baviag sach ■ good aseetlag." s.ud Mi Knapp. "Caba is an ideal place for winter raajajg and in Oriental Park you have a ceases bait is second to none. I am told that the horses are of a better class than you had last winter. This is as it should bo. Mr. Ilrown and his associates ■serve the support of every person interested in the thoroughbred and it is only a question of time whea tiie largest stable in the country will be liberally upsesented earth w later." At th" conclusion of the races an Friday a sale of hors.s in training was held in tiie paddock and aaaong those disponed of were tie following: Peaceful Star to W. C. Capps, 1917.sh00: Safe and Sane to ,. P. Burke, M; Laatana to m. w. Simmons, IBM; Odds and Ends to O. J. Ueid. 00: Little Cottage to D. Shaw. 00; St ming ton to ol. Be-trampes. 05; Memory t.i Kd Curie, 06; Niagara to Ed Poree, 13; No Friend to Senor A. Li-znm.i. 10. Walter Mill r. who a few years ago was one of the leading riders on the New York tracks, is here spending the winter. Miller is a shifty sort of a billiard player and a few Bights ago matched himself against tenor Mundito Oampinioni. a well known Cuban player at three cuahml caroms. 300 points. The match was for ,u . Miller putting up 00 against Senor Campinioliis 00. Miller wou by a margin of ten points. Frank HerroM, who lias some horses hero for tl i Qainey Stable and other owners, prides himself on his ability to speak the laaguage. A few eights ago he called i:p a senorita from the place wler lie is stopping at Marianao and the telephone exchange misunderstood him and thought that lie was yelling "fire" over the teh phone. In a few minutes the fir- department came rushing up to his place and for a time there was qaite a bit of excitement. ol. Hill Scully of Tennessee, straightened out Blatter and put the firemen in good humor by telling them his famous story of how a cat went mad hunting for a little dirt down in Tennessee near where he was born. It is qaite evident that Edward It. McLean has not as yet decided definitely who will train bis big string in tin- next racing season. Henry Cra veil, tie- colored trainer, lias the McLean horses Bt lha P.. nning track at peasant, but it is under-stool that Mr. McLean is negotiating with a welt known trainer, at present in Cuba, to take over his horses.
