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Miss WodforcPs Possible Successor SY SALVATOR Oer a year ago the writer contributed to Daily Racing Form what he entitled his own private gallery of great American race mares of modern times the list presented beginning with Ferida last of the great four mile heat mares which was foaled in 1S76 and closed with Regret the Kentucky Derby winner of 1915 1915In In the accompanying comment attention was called to the fact that in recent years class in our race mares had been declin ¬ ing That those of the past two decades in no way compared with their predecessors queens of the turf of a prowess so quis sant that they were able to hold their own with the best of the dominant males and even to overcome them in the premier stake events It was pointed out that this pre ¬ sented a strange anomaly to wit That the female ef the species as the weaker vessel would naturally seem to shine more brilliantly under modern conditions when the distances have been so curtailed in com ¬ parison with those of former days but that in reality she held her own far more suc ¬ cessfully over the oldfashioned Marathon routes than today in the jazz age of the sprinter sprinterA A IlECOUD IX DAXGEn DAXGEnOne One of the possibilities of the approach ¬ ing season however is that we may at least see the longstanding moneywinning record for American race mares beaten This record is held by Miss Woodford the immortal daughter of imported Billet and Fancy Jane by Xeill Robinson Foaled in 18SO Miss Woodford raced for five seasons as a two three four five and sixyearold terminating her career a truly glorious one in 18SG During its course she started in fortyeight races of which she won thirty seven and captured a grand total of 118270 in stake and purse money moneyThirtyseven Thirtyseven years have elapsed since the retirement of Miss Woodford and as yet her achievement has never been equaled or sur ¬ passed by a thoroughbred of her sex Only a few seasons later it appeared as if she would be exceeded by Firenze but that great little mare finally stopped at 112586 Firenze was foaled in 1884 made her debut at two and raced on until she was seven She started eightytwo times and won forty eight eightBELDAMES BELDAMES GOOD TOTAL TOTALSince Since her retirement over thirty years ago only one of the thousands of thorough ¬ bred mares raced in this country has reached or exceeded the 100000 mark This was Beldame whose total reached 102570 she winning seventeen of thirtyone starts At one period in her career most of the experts would have laid two to one that the daughter of Octagon would excel the record of Miss Woodford That was when after a dazzling form scoring a Suburban triumph that placed her name besida that of Imp as the only fe ¬ male winner of Americas premier handicap handicapJust Just at that moment the fame of Beldame illuminated our entire turf world But alas only for a moment Had Beldame died the day after that Suburban it is altogether likely that she would have passed into his ¬ tory as Americas greatest modern race mare But she lived on and raced on most disappointingly her subsequent performances being some of them fairly humiliating in contrast to her previous ones And so her chances of deposing Miss Woodford faded away awayWe We have had other mares which if more astutely managed might have won the pride of place Imp was one To Tam bien was another But fate and the condi ¬ tions of their careers not lack of class on their part decreed otherwise otherwiseNow Now at the dawn of another Metropoli ¬ tan season whose forecasts are beginning to fill the skies once again there is a pos ¬ sibility that Miss Woodfords successor has appeared In 1922 in her twoyearold form Sallys Alloy daughter of imported Allumeur and Salvolatile by Disguise won the sum of 94S47 far and away the largest amount ever credited to a filly at that age and leaving her only 23424 to go to make her ¬ self the premier moneywinner of her sex in American turf history As she is ex ¬ tensively engaged in the richest threeyear old events to be contested in 1923 it would appear that she needs to realize but a frac ¬ tion of her winning potentialties in order to attain the goal goalWill Will she do so Ah theres the rub rubHow How many ultrabrilliant twoyearold fillies we have had that thereafter failed to even pay their training bills A long list might be cited but why name names Let us forget them and hope that better luck is reserved for Mr Kilmer If it is 1923 may have in store for that sofavored gen ¬ tleman two high distinctions For his re ¬ nowned gelding Exterminator has even a shorter distance to go in order to depose Man o War from the kingship of all Ameri ¬ can moneywinning thoroughbreds regard ¬ less of age sex or any and all conditions conditionsTIME TIME FOU A QUEEX OF THE TURF TURFOf Of course moneywinnings are not pri ¬ marily an indication of racing greatness This is especially true of our jazz age when so frequently they tell a quite different tale Many big moneywinners of recent seasons have not been at all comparable in class to horses of previous ones which won com ¬ paratively insignificant sums Nowadays a thoroughbred may win more in a single race than the titans of departed days could or did in their entire careers And it need not necessarily be a great or even a neargreat horse that turns the trick trickEven Even should Sallys Alley oust Miss Wood ford from her queenship that alone would not proclaim her a greater performer or a greater one than many others of her sex that in the past have ornamented the turf She might still remain manifestly less great But it is time for another real queen to appear We need her and need her sorely We have a horde of flappers and jazz babies a sad paucity of sovereign ladies The ad ¬ vent of one is therefore much to be desired Only think for instance what a wonderful thing one would be for the special stuff artists et id genus omnes She would be good for unlimited publicity in this day of the exploitation of any and everything of the feminine beyondIn gender to the limit and beyond In closing I may add one private reason of my own why if Miss Woodfords record is at last to be beaten it would please me to see Sallys Alley get there Miss Woodford came in the direct female line from one of our own native American families She is outside the Figure System and according to pur sang canons has no right in any thoroughbred stud book And Sallys Alley is of the same ilk She too lacks a magic number of tar root springing from some my ¬ thical royal mare It would be a good thing for American blood lines and those who believe in them for her to win the crown So heres to her success May she prove greater as a three than as a twoyearold and relegate all previous records by her sex to hasbeenism
