view raw text
I j , Here and There on the Turf , Paumonok Started Zev I Marked Pompoons Debut i Johnstown Tops 1939 Field Will Help Derby Status ! One winner of the Paumonok Handicap later captured the Kentucky Derby, another j finished second. They were two of the ten three-year-olds to prove successful in the J twenty-nine runnings of Jamaicas famous six furlongs dash, which annually marks the opening of the New York season. Zev triumphed in the 1923 running of the Paumonok only to turn in a disappointing performance in the Preakness and cause him to be an outsider in the Derby field of that year, but he didnt pay any attention to whether anyone was wagering on him, as he mastered a good field of which Martingale was second, and Vigil third. The following year St. James beat Zev in the Paumonok, and on the strength of that victory became the hollowest sort of a Derby prospect, but he was unable to get postward in the Churchill Downs classic several weeks later. Polydor, Mei Foo and Sarazcn II. added to the prestige of the three-year-old division in taking the three runnings of the Jamaica sprint feature beginning in 1928, but they side-stepped the Derby, and it was not until 1934 when another Paumonok winner tried for the Derby, but the mile and one-quarter route was quite different to Sergeant Byrne than six furlongs. Pompoon was something more than Sergeant Byrne, being more like Zev, in 1937, but the Jerry Louchheim star couldnt complete a Paumonok-Derby double when War Admiral got in his way in the latter event. The son of Pompey and Oonagh, beaten a length by War Admiral, holds the distinction of having carried the Continued on thirty-first page. HERE AND THEREON THE TURF Continued from second page highest impost to victory in the Paumonok, the scale considered. He successfully handled 116 pounds, four over standard, the next highest package having been the scale of 132 borne by the five-year-old Snark last spring. Only a pair of Kentucky Derby eligibles may be found in the Paumonok this spring, but one of them, Johnstown, is best of the thirty-two nominees, in the opinion of John B. Campbell, The Jockey Clubs astute handicapper. He assigned William Woodwards fleet colt 112 pounds, four under the three-year-old scale for a six furlongs dash in April. At this arrangement the son of Jamestown and La France is considered a pound better than the two four-year-olds, Fighting Fox and The Chief; two pounds above the five-year-old, Sir Damion, the actual top weight with an allotment of 126. While Johnstowns impost is four pounds less than Pompoon had up, it is three pounds more than Zev was called upon to shoulder in his victorious effort. A probable starter in the Jamaica inaugural attraction, Johnstown will be viewed closely in his final triajs. Whether or not he shows well in the Paumonok, Johnstowns Derby status will not be determined until he engages in the Wood Memorial Stakes or a race of similar length. Some doubt exists as to Johnstowns ability to go a route, even though he is a half-brother to Jacola, winner of the Maryland and Washington Handicaps, at a mile and one-quarter last , season. He, displayed the speed of a sprinter in most of his juvenile outings, but the wily Fitzsimmons, who holds something of a record for developing outstanding distance horses in this country, may be expected to prepare him for the different demands of three-year-old racing. Johnstown is by Jamestown, the sire of Specify, a natural speedster, which was made a powerful candidate for the recent Santa Santa Anita Handicap by expert preparation. As has been the case in recent years, the Paumonok will represent a clash between winter horses and those just being brought up to fitness. Johnstown is one of the latter as are his stablemates, Fighting Fox and The Chief. Sir Damion, however, campaigned m Florida and did well, his best effort resulting in second honors in The Widener. Thanksgiving, whose Paumonok weight is 123 pounds, tried for the Santa Anita Handicap, while the other eligibles to the race that saw service on the West Coast were Airflame, Rye Beach, Preeminent, Flying Scot now retired and Unselfish. In addition to Sir Damion, the Florida Horses include Early Delivery, Wise Prince, Armor Bearer and Drudgery. The field probably will be of moderate, size, but including most of the top weights, and if it is the usual Campbell handicap the Paumonok will prove a very close affair,
