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HEAD PLAY NOT CHEAP HORSE « 50 Price as Yearling Average Price in Fall of 1931. « Washington Park Track Superintendent Awaiting Orders to Prepare Stall for Preakness Winner. * Tom Young, track superintendent at Washington Park, who had orders to bed down stalls for Head Play and other members of the Warm Stable, prior to the running of the Preakness Stakes, is expecting a renewal of those orders immediately after the running of the Wood Stakes at Jamaica next Saturday. This, from the fact that Head Play, who was nominated by his former owner Mrs. William Crump for the Wood Memorial, a late closing fixture, was not named for the Withers or Belmont, both produce stakes, which required that all thoroughbreds destined to participate in the running of these fixtures must be named at foaling time. Head Play is not a cheap horse as many turf scriveners would have the country to believe. He cost Crump 50 and that was about as much as the top-notch youngsters were bringing at the Fasig-Tipton sales mart on the Lexington-Paris road in Kentucky in the fall of 1931. William Crump, ex-jockey, who bought the son of My Play and Red Head, had his horse spotted days before he went into the auction ring. He was prepared to bid much more than 50 for the colt, but Head Play was knocked down to the little jockey-trainer at his own bid. Crump spent most of his spare time in developing Head Play. He found the colt as a yearling, an obstreperous sort of a thoroughbred and handled him with great caution and care. When he won something near 7,000 as a two-year-old, Crumps task was not done. The colt had very bad post manners and like many of the Fair Play breed, was hard to handle. Head Play still has the taint of unruliness at the starting post, but he is such a fast colt that even should he get a bad sendaway, he seldom fails to get to the front and away from all interference when he leaps into his stride. Like all descendants of Fair Play, this grandson of the sire of Man o War, carries the traits of many of his get. Head Play is a stout horse and has plenty of pep. Many critics look for him to emulate his illustrious uncle Man o War this season and not lose another race. That is pitching the "red cyclone" too high. As time marches on, the entire nation will be looking on to see if Head Play is the kind of a racing proposition he is reputed to be. It may be that Head Play will go through the remainder of his three-year-old year undefeated. In this event, Head Play was undoubtedly the victim of an incompetent and misjudged ride. So was his uncle Man o War in the only race he ever lost; the San-ford Stakes, at Saratoga in the summer of 1919.
