New-York tribune., 1909-06-07
COMMENT ON SPORTS
RACING ON THE MEND.
Ne5cs and ViezUs on Current Topics,
amateur and Professional.


is corvalescing in the satisfactory way
RELAPSE may come. but il seems extremely oouo'-
ful. and those who interested in the oreeoIHs
and racing of thoroughbreds are breathing easier
than any time since the passage OF the Asne"
Hart law z year ago The crowd which turned OUT
Oh Memorial Day TO see g programme run on that
was vofury poor proved 10 the satisfaction OF an
concerned that racing can live ana thrive "i'ii'u'
organized bookmaklng. Even more satlslylhs' PEI
hans was the crowd which went down TO
Cravesend on Thursday TO see KING James VIII
the BROOKLYN Handicap. There is certain cflarrh
about Belmont Park, with its roomy and plc'-
uresque paddock. broad lawns and attractive cup
house which is lacking at little, crahped
Gravesend but. after all il is the horses whlch at
tract and it may be said in favor Of the Brooklyn
Jockey Club inciosure that the smallness OF the
track makes racing more Of a Spectacle ana con-
seouentiv more enjoyable from the standpoint OF
sport The size Of the crowd and the interest ois-
played were certainly q good omen
s c. Hildreth is deserving OF all the money ana
all the honor that King James has brought 10 MN
since he purchased the OF Plaudit from Johh r
Madden last fan for a price said 10 have been
x95 oao In rhe first Mace he IS OF the few men
who was not altogether panic stricken by the con-
ditions that obtained last year, when the outlook
for the turf this state was anything put rosy
bued and instead Of cutting down his expenses as
50 many others did. went about Strengthening MS
stable and paying good prices wiChal, for the oest
IN the market In the second place, he dlsplaEea
keen judgment in buying horses which promised
we'll ard which were well engaged. and his success
in winning a derby in California and the rich BEL
mont Stakes which paid $4,000 10 the winner with
Joe Madden and the Burns Handicap, the Call
fornia Handicap. the Metropolitan Handicap me
Toronto Cup. end last, but not least the BROOKLYN
Handicap with King James, cannot be put down
altogether 10 luck. He has reaped only a fair ana
3,st reward for his enterprise and foresight, 10 say
nothing Of mis- judgment in picking out good horses
and his skin in training them
The brilliant victory.o King James in the Brook
l,-n Handicap and the defeat OF James r. Keenes
(e1t have awakened lively interest in the Suburban
Handicap which Will be on June a. the open
ing day of the summer meeting Of the Coney Island
Joc5zev Club at Sheepshead Bay Barring untoTe-
seen accidents these TWO good horses VIII meet
again in thar race fight over their battle OF the
Brooklyn. and while King James defeated Celt IN
decisive fashion il is not altogether certain that ne
can repeat the victory In my opinion Celt dio hoi
run kindly on Thursday and failed 10 stride, oolh
tn his warTn-llp and in the with the ease and
freedom that have marked his previous appearances
in public This may have been due TO a number Of
causes. among them that he was carried along too
fast and not allowed fully 10 settle down Butwell'
riding under orders no doubt seemed too impatient
10 get 10 the front. Lack Of seasoning, as sug-
gested by Mr Keene. may also have had much 10
DO with the performance, which was disappointing,
10 say the least But whatever the cause. there Is
no reason believe that IL viii not be corrected by
the Get goes 10 the posi- IN lle SUbul jail II
is 20 hoped that both he and King James will be
fl and ready TO face the starter for that historic
handicap as in that il makes little or no dif-
ference what other horses go 10 the post, for an
other meeting between the two viii attract every
lover Of a good horse who can spare the time TO
90 TO the track
Il is altogether early in the point TO
James r. Keene's Sweep. the son Of Ben Brush
Pink Domino, a. a second Colin. but there can be
af,o 4 rzp-vear-nli of the
class and quality which bespeak greatness He
has plenty Of size and substance but is so compact
" built tha. he gives the Impression Of being
the small side. He is deep through the heart, with
shoulders well laid hack, while his quarters indi-
cate great driving power. but, best Of all, he is
quick on his feet and has that smooth frctionless
way Of galloping that reminds OF Colin, Artfu
and other great horses. James r. Keene said after
the victory Of Sweep in the National Stallion Stakes
Monday thar II he proved TO be as good horse
by ten pounds Colin would be well satisfied
L is a grave question if anybody knows not even
excepting Jimmy Rowe. Just how good horse the
great son Of Commando was or is Il is true that
he was driven out 10 beat Cohort q head IN his
early DAYS as 4 two-year-old. but on that occasion
the track heavy and Colin running with
bucke6 shins. Again, IN the Belmont Stakes last
year after il was thought that he was hopelessly
broken down. Fair Play ran him 10 a short neck
but that due largely Notter's careessness in
overlooking the fact that the finish line had been
moved forward for that particular race In all mis-
other races Colin won in such impressive manner
that there telling what he had in reserve.
He is the kind Of horse that IS always ready to
give his best disposed 20 take things easily
unless called Mr.. Keene viii be lucky indeed
if he has bred in Sweep horse that is within ten
pounds Of the unbeaten OF Commando
The sporting writers in England who, as q rule
took Jerome .. Travers and SIR Martin seriously
also showing some anxiety concerning the
American polo team which viii play an interna-
tionel the latter part this month for the
American cup. which has been Of competition
for number az years. With Travers and Sir Mar
tin disposed OF. il remains for Harry Payne Whit
ney and his team mates 70 bring little consolation
10 this country The chief plant abroad IS that
Mr. Whitney has bought up Of the good ponies
and one writer went so far criticse the Eng
lish players for disposing OF their good mounts
even though the sales made in most instances
a year AGO The London Sportsman suggests that
q guarantee fund he raised abroad to obtain the
best ponies 10 be had and suggests further that
the polo PLAYERS in England should lend their best
ponies &c the members of the British team TO Off
the advantage which the Americans are sl,r-
posed to have N this respect the only means of
retaining the cup from the invading players Anner
can peo teams which have tried to regain the c,ip
fn previous years have been handicapped 10 = large
extent by the lack Of proper mounts but being for
warned Mr. Whitney has been working for q wear
cap. and is forearned 10 all appearances II
was a good move. though it has been charac-
terized Yankee trick.
The baseball fight for the so-called college cham
plonship is in sadly muddIed condition. A week
ago Il looked II Harvard Pennsylvania had
worked themselves clear Of the other teams but
now. matter what future games have in store
cloud must rest the title OF any nine which
has the temerity 10 claim it This condition was
brought about by the defeat OF PENNSYLVANIA hy