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EYES OF TURF WORLD ON WHIRLAWAY IN BELMONT REFLECTIONS By CHALLENGER Whirlaway May Make Turf History Tries for Triple Crown Honors Belmont Stakes Has Mighty Roster Colins Streak Almost Marred It is an old story that should Whirlaway win todays renewal of the Belmont he will become the fifth threeyearold in history to win the Triple Crown The previous four were Sir Barton Gallant Fox Omaha and War Admiral any one of which a book could be written about Sir Barton was defeated by Man o War in the latters swan song to the turf But right there we have two Belmont winners which were excep ¬ tional Sir Barton was a maiden when he won the Derby but today he stands as the only winner of the Triple Crown plus the Withers Man o War was not a Triple Crown winner but few will dispute he was the greatest horse ever developed in this country Gallant Fox won 308275 as a threeyearold and ttiough each succeeding year brings the possibility of it being topped it remains that in the past decade no horse has remotely approached it Further he is the only Crown winner which sired another and in Omaha he sent a sturdy threeyearold to the racing wars Omaha was in the money in eighteen of his twentytwo starts here and in England winning the Victor Wild Stakes Queens Plate and finishing second in the Ascot Gold Cup and the Princess of Wales Stakes as a fouryearold in England War Admiral had an even better record for though he won the Crown from two to five he won twenty one of his twentysix starts and was out of the money but once As a whole those four Crown winners were fine racers No Belmont Stakes greats list can be confined to the Triple Crown winners however Starting with Ruthless winner of the inaugural in 1807 the list includes Duke of Magenta Hanover Henry of Navarre Friar Rock Colin Man o War Grey Lag Crusader Zev and Twenty Grand It also includes Inspector Bj Jean Bereaud Commando Burgomaster Peter Pan Sweep Luke McLuke Hoiirless Johren Chance Shot Blue Larkspur Granville Johnstown and Bimelech Famous horses every one of them in fact so famous it would Jiot be difficult to select four which would rank with the quartet of Triple Crown winners How about Hanover Colin Man 6 War and Twenty Grand without a doubt four of the greatest ever to face a starter in this country Hanover was one of the truly great horses of the American turf It has been said he never shoiflo have been beaten and might not have been had he been owned by anyone but the Dwycr Brothers a pair who cared little beyond the winning of a wager Man o Wars record of twenty wins in twentyone starts is an ofttold tale and if there is any flaw in Colins career it can only be that like Man o War hedid not face the starter as a handicap performer Winning all of his fifteen starts Colin is one of the few undefeated great horses of the world Twenty Grand was one of the best distance runners of the century his Derby record standing until Whirlaway lowered it this year yearRemarkable Remarkable as the Belmont winners roster is just as remarkable is the imposing lists of those which ran second and third In 1908 one of the most thrilling races of all time was recorded when Colin won from Fair Play and King James As stated in the last paragraph Colin was undefeated in fifteen starts In this Belmont renewal however he came as close to defeat as winners ever come Run in a blinding rain ¬ storm it was impossible to see the horses running in the back stretch Jn fact it was so bad the timers did not attempt to time the race As they came into the stretch Colin was in front and it appeared to be but a question of how much margin he would have at the finish Suddenly Joe Notter riding Colin eased his mount even though they were quite a distance from the finish line Dugan riding Fair Play saw his opportunity and drove his mount with hand and heel As Fair Play closed and with the throng in an uproar Notter sensed the race was not over so collecting his mount he sent Colin on again It was one of the closest finishes ever seen at Belmont in fact just as close as that long disputed Futurity finish between High Strung and Roguish JEye in 1928 Colin ran only once after that but Joe Notter his rider stoutly maintains he was the best horse ever to race in this country and with no exception of Man o War WarThe The Belmont has been run at one and onehalf miles since 1926 when Crusader scored over Espino and Haste in 232 Since that year the time has been very uniform the fastest being credited to War Admiral which in 1937 defeated Scencshifter and Vamoose in 228 equalling the American record for the distance that was to be lowered to 228 by Sorteado at Belmont Park in September 1939 On that particular day the turf world was as much interested in War Admiral as it is in Whirlaway today A throng of 35000 was on hand and were to be rewarded with an exhibition by War Admiral that will never be forgotten When The Admiral was leaving the track it was seen he was leaving a trail of blood he had struck the quarter of his right forefoot and sheared it off as if with a knife Seldom is a horse accorded the ovation given War Admiral though it was a costly victory as he was not seen under silks again until late in October In the three rewenals since War Admirals record breaking run all winners have been timed under 230 Pasteurized 229 Johnstown 229 and last year Bimelech defeated Your Chance and Andy K in 229 to earn 35030 a figure far below the 66010 earned by Gallant Fox in 1930 No race is more closely watched by the breeding industry than the Belmont Stakes At one and onehalf miles it is the closest counterpart to Englands Epsom Derby Down through the years it has been won by many horses which later became leading sires or ranked high on the lists of their years Fair Play leading sire of 19202427 ran second to Colin in 1908 but when sent to stud sired the trio of winners Man o War Mad Play and Chance Shot The latter sired Peace Chance 1934 while two years before Chatterton leading sire 1932 a son of Fair Play sent Faireno to the winners circle Man o War tied Fair Plays record with the trio of winners American Flag 1925 Crusader 1926 and War Admiral 1937 Though Sir Barton won in 1919 the year 1930 started the decade of Triple Crown winners with Gallant Fox the latter a son of Sir Gallahad III a leading sire which has brought the Teddy clan into Belmont prominence Gallant Fox sired Omaha and Granville All three American lines of Fair Play Domino and Ben Brush have been rich in Belmont winners the latter clan scoring when Pasteurized won in 1938 Bimelech winner over Your Chance last year was by Black Toney thus of the Domino clan
