The Washington times., 1924-07-18

the top OF his form, the Fair Play
any day.
This is rather q broad statement
but past performances prove that
Man o. War was without question
the greatest thoroughbred Of re.
cent turf history in this country.
His record is one that brings joy
to the heart Of every race follower.
His only defeat came az the re
suit Of some questionable riding on
the part of once jockey. In all
OF his other races he was so su.
pcrior to his company, that to CUES
ton his right to be termed the
champion would indicate ones ig.
norance.
"A close study Of Man o. Wars
many winning races shows that
In winning the Lawrence Realiza-
ton Stakes, at Belmont Park, in
1921, i'm which the great son Of
Fair Play set q new worlds rec
ord, he was covering twenty.fOur
feet nine inches at each stride, In
che final furIOng without being
pushed by a rival.
This is said to be the greatest
measurement ever made Of the
stride Of a thoroughbred. Louis
FeusteI, trainer for Samuel ID. Rid
die, is authority for the statement
that Man o. War has shown as
much as twenty-five feet in his
stride when pushed by an opponent,
- rse,s 49, ~ - Are yrtYafp.
out.
Epinard may be a long.gaited
horse, but we will refuse to admit
his stride IS greater than that OF
Man o Wars. In his morning trials
down at Belmont Park the Vert.
heimer colt has not shown anything
that would indicate he takes an
enormous stride.
Quite the contrary is the. case. III
the slow gallops he has been tax.
ing to date. his action looks as II
4 was choppy. It may be that
after he gets his land legs working
he will display more snfoothness IN
his running.
In fairness to the French cham,
Zion, the public is advised to wait
until after he has once more been
put back on his regular daily meals
before passing judgment on his
qualities. To date, Trainer Leigh
has not allowed Epinard anything
near his customary daily portion
Of feed.
It is the usual case i'm trans
porting thOrOughbreds either by
land or sea. By cutting Town their
feed, the risk Of having them con-
tract fever is lessened. The same
can be said 10 hold good in the
case of a human being.
That is why some people do not
coy travelling. They overload their
stomachs. and then expect to enjoy
health. The two things cannot be
Heconciled to each other.
Also, if a thoroughbred does not
receive his full portion OF food, he
cannot be expected to work at his
best. During the past few days,
Leigh has been increasing Epinard's
diet so that In about another week
the great French champion will be
fit and ready to go out to do a
good days work. When that time
arrives. his real training vii begin.
To date he has not been asked
20 do anything more than take a
little limbering up exercise. For
that reason turf critics are not in
position to pass Judgment upon
the action or length Of strides Of
the French visitor. However, when
the siege of real training begins
there is going to be quite a num-
Der ready with the old steel tape
measuring the distance taken by
Epinard In his strides when at full
speed.
Upon their investigation win de.
pend greatly the amount of support
the Worthemier star will receive
from turf fans in this country. If
his stride outdistance that Of Man
O'War there are going to be many
who will pick the European chal.
lenger in the coming international
races.
James Butler is the latest Ameri.
can owner to enter q pair Of stars
In the big international event. Noon
Fire, a colt that has displayed ex-
ceptional speed in the fastest com.
pany in the country, has been nom.
mated by his popular owner for
the six furlong event at Belmont
Park. Sting, & colt that broke the
Empire City one mile and quarter
track record on opening day, has
been named to measure strides with
Epinard in the Latonia test at ono