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EL CHICO AND JOHNSTOWN RACE TODAY AT JAMAICA : -a - Belair Star Opposing The Chief and Others in Paumonok Juvenile Champion of 1938 Entered in Six Furlongs Sprint Preceding Inaugural Feature Observers Predicting Best New York Season in Years NEW YORK, N. Y., April 14. The 1939 Metropolitan racing season of 175 days on the five major tracks of the Empire State will get under way at the Jamaica course Saturday afternoon, with the familiar Paumonok Handicap, at six furlongs, as the initial attraction. Though only eight have been named overnight, the field possesses plenty of quality, indicating that tomorrows renewal will compare favorably with previous runnings of this ,500 added stake. Just Johnstown and The Chief alone, providing the pair are at peak form, would make it a contest well above the general run. Much interest has been evidenced hereabouts in the seasonal debut of the first named, Belairs hope for another Kentucky s2 T" j : ml rtt. i jjt:i uy, aim in j. lie ijiiiei ue s iacing a horse which showed New Yorkers his mettle in the Dwyer and Brooklyn Handicap last season. There are half a dozen others in the race, but the principal attention of folks at the Metropolitan Jockey Club property today will center on the two. The Paumonok is not the only event of high merit on the program, as it will be preceded by a six furlongs dash, which promises to bring into action for the first time since last fall, the unbeaten juvenile champion, El Chico. Overnight Gilded Knight, Sea Captain, Pontius and his stablemate. Our Mat, have been named for the same sprint, but the John P. Grier colt i is certain to be a prohibitive favorite, prob-i ably at odds which will be unbettable for a great majority of week-end racegoers. EVERY STALL TAKEN. New York thoroughbred enthusiasts, the horsemen and heads of the various racing organizations, are looking forward to the best season of sport in this state in decades. Every stall on the three Long Island tracks has been taken, with the cream of the countrys performers slated to swing into action in this vicinity during the lengthy season ahead. That should make the show a satisfactory one. Then, too, there have been many recruits to the ranks of owners and just plain racegoers during the last dozen months. All of which should aid the box office. The Worlds Fair should help some, though not to the extent many people are inclined to believe. This was proven at Arlington Park during the Worlds Fair in Chicago. The public is expected to send Johnstown to the post favorite for the Paumonok, though overnight it was anticipated that colt and The Chief would open equal choices. The first named three-year-old, a son of Jamestown and La France, closed his 1938 campaign with a cluster of three straight stakes, the Richard Johnson at Laurel, the Remsen Handicap at Jamaica and the Breeders Futurity at Keeneland. That gave him seven victories in a dozen chances. TRAINING UP TO STANDARD. No fault can be found with the Aqueduct training of the Belair colt. In his six .furlongs final he travelled that distance in 1:13, the quarter in :22, half in :46 and five-eighths in :59. That shows he holds speed Continued on thirtieth page. EL CHICO AND JOHNSTOWN RACE TODAY AT JAMAICA Continued from first page. in abundance, with earlier moves being of that sort which indicate prime fitness. If hes beaten there should be no alibi on the score of condition. Victories for a three-year-old in the Pau-monok have not been uncommon. Coquette was that age when she beat Harmonicon in the 1915 renewal. Eight years later along came Zev to repeat the same feat and later annex principal honors in the Kentucky Derby though in between he took a solid licking in the Preakness. St. James defeated Zev in the 1924 Paumonok, with the next three-year-old victory being that of Polydor in 1928. The following spring it went to Mei Foo and in 1930 Sarazen n. was first home. After a lapse of three years Sgt. Byrne struck another blow for this decision while in 1937 it was Pompoon, early favorite for the Kentucky Derby. Todays stake will provide an excellent sharpener for the Jamestown colt, one which promises to make him a tougher opponent for El Chico in the Wood Memorial, April 29. After the two he may be favorite for the Derby, just as his stablemate, Fighting Fox was a year back. THE CHIEF DANGEROUS. I The Chief, star of Col. Maxwell Howards thoroughbred collection, appears strictly the one Johnstown will have to fear. He wintered nicely at Columbia, where he worked in handy style prior to shipping to Belmont Park. At the latter grounds he has done all asked. Hell be the actual top weight of the race under 125 pounds, though on the scale Johnstown, with 112 pounds up, is giving him a pound. Don Meade will be astride Early Delivery, and thats an assurance of a following for the Milkman four-year-old, which won his onlv two 1939 starts. Both were in Miami. the first in the Hialeah Inaugural Handicap and the other in an overnight event at Tropical Park. El Chicos appearance in the six furlongs secondary attraction will lend color to the program, though the race does not promise much from a competitive standpoint. One; hears of nothing but dazzling training trials from the John P. Grier colt this spring and if these are correct its questionable if theres a horse of his age which could handle him at three-quarters of a mile today. Conditions of the race enable William Zieglers star to be in with 116 pounds, which is mighty sweet for a colt which won seven j stakes last year in that many outings. Its ! the same as the assignment of Gilded ! Knight, whose lone major achievement as a juvenile was the Wannamoisett Handicap at Narragansett Park in November. OUR MAT TWO-TIME VICTOR. ! Our Mat, a colt which did surprisingly well at Santa Anita, where he was a two-time winner, is in with 108 pounds, and it is probable he will accompany his more renowned stablemate to the post. In addition to Gilded Knight, the Wheatley Stable also has entered Sea Captain, just a fair sort, judging from his 1938 record. Pontius, which won a single overnight race last year, completes the quintet named overnight. Offhand, one would say its only a question of by how far El Chico will win. The remaining five events offer a promise of excellent competition and with several "name" horses slated to appear, plus the usual lure of a seasons opening, a capacity crowd should be on hand at Jamacia this afternoon. Only foul weather would prevent this coming to pass.
