view raw text
SNOWBIRD HANDICAP • Well-Backed Balboa Runs Away With Aurora Feature. • Better Weather Conditions Bring Out Almost Capacity Crowd — Interesting Sport Seen. » AURORA, III.. April 23.— The Snowbird Handicap of ,000 added at a mile and a sixteenth, which was intended as the stellar offering of Saturdays program, developed a farcial contest with Balboa, backed to the exclusion of the others, and an easy winner. Golden Mac taking second place by a greater margin than separated him from the winner. At no time after the rise of the barrier did the race have a semblance of a contest. Balboa was hustled into the lead immediately after the start and, racing along at his leisure, kept in advance of Golden Mac by a varying margin of from ten to twenty lengths. Jockey Whitacres effort on Golden Mac did not exhaust him in any degree. Had he displayed more energy, the probabilities are that Golden Mac would have given Balboa a sharper argument Arabian was completely out of it from the start and he finished so far in the wake of the other pair that he was completey out of vision. Improved weather, clear and cold, afforded opportunity for a great gathering of the racing enthusiasts in these part to get their first taste of this year of their favorite sport and they took full advantage and jammed the massive racing plant to almost the crowding stage. TRVCK CONDITIONS BAD. The track continued bad. the worst it has been in this year and this was responsible for ahseine of a better grade of starters in the different races. Some of the contests brought spectacular finishes, but the main, the racing had a routine order with the sturdier built ones triumphant. Former victors repeated, the first four races going to previously successful ones. William Diggins, which was a winner in a preceding start, repeated his effort Saturday in the opening number, and had considerable margin to spare over fas Welch at the end. tas Welch raced well and, with a better ride, would probably have reversed the decision with the winner. Zucchini had him in the deepest going in the early stages, but later changed his tactics and raced him wide Where the better footing prevailed. He made a game effort to reduce the winners lead but was unable to do so. Hurler, racing fast near the end. managed to land in third place. The second race, also at three-quarters, found C T. Worthinglon installed the favorite, and ha had little difficulty taking command after .lagger had become mired in the deep going next to the inner rail. C. T. Worthington, however, had to be hard pressed to stave off the determined bid made by Sligo Branch. Jagger finished in third place and raced as if he was the best, for he had to traverse the worst part of the course for the entire distance. MONASTERY REPEATS. Another former winner during the present meeting registered in the third race, when Monastery, a strongly hacked favorite, was home in front. Rocking finished in second place and Miss Lane third. Monastery indulged Hocking with the lead for the first three-eighths, hut thereafter moved into the had and had little difficulty keeping in advance to the finish. Hocking raced well, but was ahout to succumb for second place to Miss Lane when the latter suddenly took a tired swerve towards the inner rail, where the going was deep and it mired her. She was good enough, however, to hold on to third place, for the others were considerable distance hack. Wis.- fJiiys success made it four straight victories for previous winners. Wise Guys victory was scored in spectacular style, the entire field at the finish being strung across the track, with Wise Guy slightly in the h-ad. Wo:tdlake was in second place, with Proceeds just a small margin back and slightly in front of Bad Lack. Wise Guy showed a liking for the rough going and raced with the first division from the start, taking the lead in the last sixteenth and holding the others safe but having to be urged to do so. Updike was the first in the B. L. Baker establishment to earn a purse this year on Illinois Hacks. His victory came in the fifth race, in which a fairly good band of platers met to race the t hrec- |uarters distance. He was kept restrained in the early stages while the fickle Smoky l»ay. the favorite, led the others He moved up with a rush approaching the stretch and, taking command at this stage. w;ls not seriously menaced in the last Luotinuid oo twentieth pace SNOWBIRD HANDICAP Continued from first page sixteenth. Outlawed, finishing with a rush right at the end, overtook the stumbling Colonel Schooler to land in second place. Colonel Schooler was a considerable distance in advance of the others to finish third. Smoky Day tired badly at the end. Pathan, well backed, was the winner of the mile race which closed the days card. His victory was in the main due to stealing into a long lead at the lower turn, where his rider took him close to the inner rail while the others were racing wide. The move enabled him to take decisive command and he he.d Blue Torch safe all during the stretch. Blue Torch closed a big gap in the last quarter and finished a considerable margin before Rib Grass, which also had closed a big gap. High Prince and Rodrigo reached the exhaustive stage before going three-quarters.
