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REAL TEST FOR WINOOKA Australias Great Sprinter Assigned AssignedDifficult Difficult Task With 126 Pounds Poundsin in Homewood Handicap When the great Australian sprinter Winooka was beaten a nose at Churchill Downs last week in his first start of the 1934 season a great many horse players be ¬ gan to rub their hands Inasmuch as Winooka had been beaten at scale weights a good many race followers thought that in such races as the Australian sixyearold was called upon to run at Washington Park would be under lighter imposts than he is accustomed to carry carryBut But racing secretary Bill Shelley who serves in this capacity both at Churchill Downs and Washington Park was not fooled in the slightest degree by Winookas failure to come down in front the other afternoon In his opinion it was the slow track and not the fast company that ac ¬ counted for Winookas downfall and when he drew up the weights over the weekend for the Washington Park Handicap at six furlongs which opens the twentyseven day meeting at Homewood on Thursday he gave Winooka top weight of 126 pounds just as though the Australian sprint star had not been beaten in his first 1934 trip to the post last week weekWhether Whether Winooka can take the measure of good sprinters when he is giving them weight is a point that remains to be proved in Thursdays ninth running of the Wash ¬ ington Park Handicap When he came to the American turf last season Winooka was not given a great deal the worst of the weights for there were a good many shrewd racing men who felt that his record in Australia was no indication that he pos ¬ sessed enough class to beat good American horses but this season Winooka is a known quantity a horse that ranks with the best at distances up to seven furlongs and the handicappers are going to have him by the tail all summer summerIn In the Washington Park Handicap Winooka must carry 126 pounds and he is giving the second top weight Trinchera four pounds in doing so The rest of the field of fortyfour nominees get in under a feather comparatively speaking for with the exception of a few dangerous contenders they have all been assigned under 110 pounds poundsTrinchera Trinchera with an impost of 122 figures to be one of the more dangerous contend ¬ ers for there are few sprinters in training that can be depended upon to defeat this fiveyearold son of Eternal when he is as sharp as he is at this time Clarify at 116 and Quatre Bras H at 115 also rank as de ¬ cided threats vhile Ebony Lady in at 113 threatens to repeat her triumph of last week over Winooka
