Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-29
CELL, NLER- Up

| centric animal on the track: McCarter
Gloritier. winner of the Metropolitan last
year. and a host of three-year- olds. any
one Of which may happen to be the sur
| prise of the season.
Much the same horses are entered for
| the Brooklyn and the Brighton. SO that
the fields in all three flandicaps are any
| thing but barren of possibilities,
Top Weight for Ballot.
| Ballot will carry top weight, 126 pounds
| in all three Of the top notch handcaps
AS it is weight for age. the general i'm
preston is that the colt has not been
| harshly treated. This years scale of
weights is not so high as some within the
last three years, due to the fact that by
| far the great majority of entries are
those of comparatively young animals.
! That Colin is given Ill pounds, or ex-
| actly weight for age, in the Brooklyn and
| Suburban, and liz pounds, or two pounds
| less than weight for age. as an 1mpost
| in the Brighton. would indicate that the
| official Handicapped is not carried away
with the remarkable performances of the
| horse as a two-year-old 1t may be that
| he is of the opinion that Colin will be
| unable to duplicate this season his record
| of last year, and that Is by no means out
! of the question, it has happened in the
| past that two-year-olds do not train well
| the following year, thereby greatly disap-
| pointing their owners.
One fact is very certain. Colin has
wintered well. The king of the two-year-
ODDS of 1907 was led out Of his stall re-
| Gently at Sheepshead Bay. and as he
| paraded back and forth before small
but admiring group of spectators ne
seemed to be more fit for racing than he
was last summer. He has filled out. but
the added flesh appears to be that of
natural growth. combined with strength
and there is nothing which would indi-
cate that increased weight means that
he will be sluggish or less a speed marvel
| than he was in 1907, when he retgned
king of the younger court of the turf
world.
In allotting the weights for the handi-
caps it has seemed proper to the official
Handicapped to give Colin six more
pounds to carry than Uncle, the colt
which he defeated so decisively in the
| Saratoga Special last summer. There
| were many who believed that Uncle was
| the most dangerous competitor that ran
against Colin last season, and as the
| horses are likely to meet frequently in
| their three-year-old engagements this
! year it will be interesting to note wheth-
| er Colin is six pound better racer than
| his adversary.
! 1t is true that Uncle and his stable
| mate Meelick, another possibility, VII
! have had the benefit of winter racing.
| but MeeliCk has been named for the
! Brighton handicap only. and it is posi-
/
! the early events and given rest during
! the later months of the season, while 1t Is
not likely that Colin will be sent to the
! post until the weather is warm and set
| tied. Mr. Keene seldom cares to race
his horses before the beginning of the
! Belmont meeting. Prior to then the at
tention of jimmy Rowe, the trainer
! for the stable. is given to fitting them
| for the more valuable and more historic
races to come.
Better Glass Of Horses.
A comparison of the lists of nominal
! tons to the more important handicaps-
| and these are the races which the public
! in general is more inclined to follow
! with those of last season gives evidence
/ that the turf has again arrived at a
/ point where the rich purses must be
/ fought for by horses Of a better class.
| In other words. the old idea of purchas-
/ ing a promising aged horse and careful
| by fitting him to try to win but one or
| the more important races has to large
| extent been abandoned.
| This is indicated largely by the fact OF
the elirninat ton from the classics of 1908
of a very large proportion of the horses
which were considered twelve months ago
| to have a chance to win honors In the
handicaps of the summer of 1901
OF the seventy-four nominations for the
! Brooklyn in 1907, only fourteen have been
( considered good enough to be nominated
for the race this year. This is convincing
proof that the owners In the east and
west are satisfied that the young horses
! which performed last year are far too
good for the veterans. and that II would
not be worth while to try again with the
| latter. 1t is also a good argument In
| favor of the breeders, the reliance
which is placed upon the young horses
would signify that their owners have
much faith in their future. Frankly, 1t
means that a better class of horses has
| been raised TO meet the demands of the
turf. which speaks a good word for the
American thoroughbred.
Bedouin, Inferno, Fountainblue, Frank
Gill and Running Water, which were not
named for the Brooklyn. a handicap pre-
ceding the Suburban, have been nominat-
ed for the latter race. This is an indica-
ton that their owners will start them
late trusting to their developed speed to
beat all rivals when they are ready to win
fame. OF the culls which have been
weeded from the handicap starters of
1907. there are such horses as Blandy.
Cairngorn. Far West, Oxford and the
like: horses that were once looked upon
as dangerous, but which have been COM
| PEELED to admit the supremacy of the
younger generation.
/ Nothing is more interesting than a chat
with James r Keene on the subject of
his horses. If ever the American turf
has had associated with 1t gentleman