Here and There on the Turf: East Strong in Derby. H. P. Whitney Chances. Whiskery Sacrificed. Failure of Scapa Flow., Daily Racing Form, 1927-05-12

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■ — ■ i ♦ -? ! Here and There on the Turf — , East Strong in Derby. H. P. Whitney Chances. Whiskery Sacrificed. Failure of Scapa Flow. • * Recent deflections from the list of probables for the running of the Kentucky Derby next Saturday, has brought about some changes in the estimates for the big race, but there is still every reason to expect that the renewal will be a notable one, and the winner a representative three-year-old. At this time the East, that is to say the Harry Payne Whitney establishment, appears to have the call over the others, and that is because of recent happenings, one of which is the unfortunate injury to Candy Queen and the sickness that visited Hydromel. Osmand has not measured up, as was expected from his earlier gallops, and there is not the same reliance among the Kentuckians in the worth of E. R. Bradleys Bewithus and Buddy Bauer as there was in Bubbling Over and Bagenbaggage last year, while Boo, the winner of the Louisiana Derby, is considered a doubtful starter. There are others, but Kentucky surely does not hold a really good hand for the Kentucky Derby. Thus Bostonian and Whiskery take on an altogether new importance, while there is also Rip Rap and Black Panther to uphold the honor of New York. Scapa Flow was so thoroughly beaten in the running of the Preakness Stakes, that he has ceased to be a favorite candidate, but the others are stout colts and as well as these, William DuPonts Fair Star is another that must not be entirely overlooked. For these reasons, with the Derby almost at hand, the East has seldom, if ever, been better equipped for victory. When Bostonian was shipped to Jamaica to meet his engagement in the Wood Memorial Stakes, a fit horse was sent to the races, and that race, in which he was a good third to Saxon and Black Panther, tightened him up for his glorious victory on Monday, in the running of the Preakness Stakes. He has begun his 1927 campaign with 3,100 to his credit, to say nothing of the sporting glory, and the manner in which he won would indicate that he will carry on through the year right up in the front division. But Whiskery was the real hero of the Preakness Stakes. The son of Whisk Broom II. was used to race Scapa Flow into defeat, and after putting as fast a horse as the big son of Man O War away, he hung on with great gameness to finish, lapped on his stablemate and Sir Harry. And Whiskery had his share of misfortune in the running of the race, when he was forced to go wide on the first turn and had to race on the outside throughout. Then in the stretch Whiskery met with some slight interference, when Sir Harry made his ruse that was to land him in second place. Had it not been that Whiskery was used to race Scapa Flow into exhaustion, it is safe to promise that he would not have been caught in the stretch by Sir Harry or any other horse. It was a rare exhibition of speed, courage and stamina, all the requirements of a champion. And it should be remembered that there is still Valorous to be heard from in the Whitney establishment. On two-year-old form Valorous was a better colt than either Whiskery or Bostonian, and reports have shown that he has been coming up to his engagements for this . year magnificently. I Altogether, with this brilliant begin-ning, it would appear that the popular | Whitney colors are in for a big year, and t old Broomstick is due for more fame, as one of the greatest sires of any country. The Preakness Stakes affords a new line on the Kentucky Derby, for the run- ! ning at Pimlico seems to eliminate Scapa Flow, of which so much was ex- I petted. The handsome big son of Man O War had no mishaps, and he found the mile and three-sixteenths altogether too I far. In the other great race for which ! he is intended, he will have to race still . ! further, and the way he was trained for • the Preakness Stakes would indicate that . • his defeat could not be charged to lack of condition. Scapa Flow went to the post a fit horse last Monday, and he was , beaten by better horses. He did not fight along as a champion should, when Whiskery challenged, and altogether there, . must be an entirely new estimate of his 1 prowess. While a colt of great conformation, - this same Scapa Flow is built along ; sprinting rather than staying lines. This I is indicated by his sloping rump which I invariably tells of speed rather than . stamina. He is marvelously deep through i the heart and of good proportions in front of the saddle, but it is back of the ! saddle that everything indicates extreme » speed, and little in conformation, which 1 tells of ability to stay a cup distance. Last year the Harry Payne Whitney r horses carried his name to the top of the t list of American owners, with a total of f 07,193, and the three-year-old Macaw, with 6,050, was the best individual winner. " In his Preakness Stakes, Bostonian l has topped the entire winnings of Macaw j by almost 0,000, so that the stable is i . on a fair way to go even further before " the end of the year, when the other r giants of the stable are considered. Should there come a Whitney victory F in the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, as 3 . seems highly probable at this time, it 1 will give the stable a tremendous advantage over the other racing establishments with the racing reason just fully under way. There were fifty-eight different horses contributing to the Whitney successes of 1926, and only twelve of these earned in excess of 0,000. Thus it was quantity that played an important part in the journey to the top of the heap. It meant that the stable did not win any of the richest races, so that the Preakness Stakes already affords a beginning that may readily carry the stable earnings over the record of 3S,849 hung out by S. C. Hildreth for the Rancocas Stable in 1923, when there was the international match in which Zev contributed 0,600 by his defeat of Papyrus. May is early in the year to predict the probable leader at the end of the same year, but with this beginning, the Whitney stable will indeed be hard to beat.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1920s/drf1927051201/drf1927051201_2_2
Local Identifier: drf1927051201_2_2
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800