view raw text
► .4 !■ "" ■*■■ ? ::*U: :m EDDIE ARCARO— Is pinning his hopes on Devil Diver to bring him his second success in the Preakness, he having guided Whirlaway to victory in last years renewal. The Cincinnati reins-man still clings to his original preference for the St. Germans colt over Shut Out, Derby winner last week. Fifty-Second Preakness Stakes To Bring Out Star Field of Ten Derby Victor, Shut Out,and Stablemate Devil Diver, Stout Choices for Feature Alsab and Valdina Orphan 4 To Try Again Today Where They Failed Last Week-End BALTIMORE, Md., May 8.— The Preak-1 ness — richest, most coveted and most ro-mantic of Marylands turf fixtures — is at j I hand. Ten of the nations leading aspir- I i ants for the 1942, three-year-old crown, are making mile and three-sixteenths event ! to furnish the action in Pimlicos history-j for a purse of 0,000 added. Heading the field in the fifty-second run- ing of this colorful spectacle, are the Kentucky Derby hero, Shut Out, and his brilliant stablemate, Devil Diver, wholl fly the equally famous pink and black banner of Mrs. Payne Whitney, "The First Lady of the American Turf." Theyre the choices of racings cognoscenti, looming so formidable in many observers estimates that they may parade postward as odds-on i chances in the "tote." Arrayed aaginst this "pair of aces" are Mrs. Al Sabaths dazling 1941 juvenile king, Alsab; the Chesapeake winner Colchis, who will carry the hopes of the international | sportsman, Robert Sterling Clark; Ben ! Whitakers valiant little Requested, winner of the Flamingo and the Wood Me-I morial, and such other capable colts as Belair Studs Apache, Mill River Stables Fair Call, Movie Mogul Louis Mayers Domingo, Valdina Farms Valdina Orphan, and the prominent Calumet Farms Sun Again. Its a representative field, one of a wieldly size making for a conclusive con-| test. May Net Winner 8,175 The Maryland Jockey Club has set the stage at its ancient Civil War course for the presentation of this most appealing and significant of its numerous stakes. All the usual "straws in the wind" today pointed to a fence-bulging attendance. The , winner of this Preakness will earn a net monetary prize of 8,175, in addition to an aura of everlasting celebrity, unless he is one of the supplemental entries — Requested, Fair Call, Valdina Orphan or Colchis. In the event any of this quartet is victorious, he will pick up a net purse of 6,810. This is one of the richest renewals of the Preakness, which attained its greatest opulence in 1928 when Victorian won the 0,000 winners award. "The Old Sarge" Swenke, a native Balti-morean, who distinguished himself as a soldier in World War I., and developed Alsab, made the first Preakness entry. It was 7:40 a. m. and the sun was just climbing over the green panorama of Pimlicos centerfield, the mercurial Sabs conditioner strolled up to entry box and named Good 1 Colchis to Attract Large Following in Pimlicos 0,000 Major Fixture Goods son for the run for the "black-eyed susans." Patrol judge Boyle was the on.y member of the official staff present at that hour to accept the entry, and he had to put aside his electric razor, interrupting his morning shave. "If its a true run race, I think Sab will see the man" Swenke predicted in the picturesque language of the stables. John Gaver, who has put Greentree far in front of 1942 money-winning stables this early in the season, was his usual conservative self concerning the favorites "prospects." "I think the horses have a chance," he said. One must multiply Gavers commentaries by 10 to grasp their full import. All the other Preakness aspirants "connections" waxed more or less confident. Expect Requested to Better Derby Effort J. H. "Blackie" McCoole, the Celt who conditions Requested, said, "Requesteds going to run better than he did in the Derby and the one that beats him will win it all." While George "Fish" Tappen, who is Mr. Fiiz long-time right-hand man, declared "Its up to Apache now. He can have no alibis and if he runs back to that I work the other day when he eased up a mile and an eighth in 1:54 hes going to be mighty hard to get along with." : Each of the Preakness starters will carry 1 126, of course. The Greentree forces counted "upon their luck" through the draw for post position when the speed horse of the duo. Devil Diver, was allocated number one. While Shut Out is about midway the pack in number six. Devil Divers post position is in perfect ascord with the riding tactics Eddie Arcaro, the modern-day Tod Sloan, apparently will employ astride St. Germans swift son in the Preakness. Arcaro accuses himself bitterly of contributing to Devil Divers defeat in the Derby, wherein he essayed to rate "The Devil" behind horses early. Many of the railbirds think hell be far less casual coming out of the stalls in the Preakness. Any number of the Arcaro Rooting and Chowder Club are blindly confident of his ability to win this eld Preakness, even if Continued on Page Forty-Three. Shut Out and Nine Contemporaries Match Strides in Preakness Stakes Greentree Ace, Stablemate 1 Strong Choices in Rich Pimlico Feature Event Continued from Page One he has the proverbial paddle and his rivals outboard motors. His handling of Whirl-away in the Dixie is vividly fresh in the minds of all as one of the most amazing exhibitions of plain and fancy horseback-ing ever witnessed at Pimlico. But Devil Divers running mate, Shut Out, is the most accomplished three-year-old thus far in the young 1942 turf season, having only last Saturday proved his worth in garnering the richest of all Kentucky Derbies. Portsider Wayne Danforth "Cowboy" Wright, a remarkably rejuvenated •has been," rode Shut Out in the "Run for the Roses" and will handle him again in the Preakness, which is the second of the cluster of three stakes comprising Americas "Triple Crown." The other is the Belmont, of course. Wright in Saddle Again Today Shut Out also has the Blue Grass to his credit, while Requested won the Flamingo after being virtually left, and then in the Wood won all the way. Colchis captured the Chesapeake at the direct expense of Alsab and Requested. Valdina Orphan won the Derby Trial. Alsab seemingly is destined to be "always a bridesmaid, never a bride," finishing second in the Derby, third in the Chesapeake Trial, second in the Chesapeake, third in the Flamingo and a creditably close fifth in the Widener Cup. The others have failed to make any notable impression on the records of early spring specials for three-year-olds. Domingo only escaped the maiden ranks at Jamaica and is a "green sort." This aliens presence, however, gives the Preakness an international as well as intersectional aspect. Hes very British. Sun Again was second, and obviously short, in the Derby Trial. Fair Call has flashed early speed, but has been inconspicuous in the late stages of his 1942 essay. Apache will have "blinkers on" in the Preakness. The form of these colts and the gelding, Colchis, is too familiar to racings keenly interested followers this spring, however, to warrant any exhaustive survey here. Requested is the only Preakness entrant who didnt put in a distance trial for this mile and three-sixteenths, McCoole evidently concluding that he needed freshening rather than training after his busy winter and early spring campaign. It will be recalled that, a couple of seasons back, Bimelech followed the same schedule and won the Preakness. None of those undergoing mile and a furlong finals in the middle of the week showed any great speed, most of these moving along in hand at a clip approximating 1:55, all needed to retain theiri edges. Apaches Preakness test was most im- ► — pressive, the dusky Belair homebred pulling up nine furlongs in 1:54. This morning, Shut Out breezed a half in :532/s by way of blowing out. Fair Call moved a handy three-eighths in :36%. Requested bounced over a quarter in :24 and half in :482/5. Sun Again put in a quarter in :24%, half in :51, also breezing along with the breeze. Domingo, a recent arrival from Belmont Park, loped over a half in :54, just to get the feel of Hilltop going. Alsab Likely Second Choice The track was dull and drying after the recent deluge. Because of the native Marylanders extraordinary loyalty to all things Maryland, the Baltimore-trained Alsab and the Maryland-reared Colchis will be well backed in the tote. Most formists reckon the Greentree duo even money chances, but Saturday crowds have a fashion of shaving these overnight estimates a point or two and they may wind up 4 to 5 or even 3 to 5. Alsab is second choice, with Valdina Orphan regarded; Colchis, Apache and Requested next in esteem. Sun Again, Colchis and Domingo are the only three in this Preakness who didnt also participate in last week-ends mile and a quarter Kentucky Derby. Of the trio of newcomers, Colchis has much the most impressive spring record. Trainer "Plain Ben" Jones isnt exactly excited ! about Sun Agains fitness for the fray. Domingo is "carrying coal to Newcastle" ! in the popular theory. Eddie Arcaro and George Woolf are the only two booters with Preakness mounts whove experienced the thrill of having previously ridden a winner of the stake. Arcaro steered "Plain Whirly" in 1941; Woolf was astride Bold Venture in 1936. Ben Jones and "Mr. Fitz" are the only trainers wholl saddle Preakness horses and who have saddled earlier winners. Fitzsimmons tightened the girth on Gallant Fox in 1930 and his son, Omaha, in 35. The ample "Plain Ben" saddled "Plain Whirly" last year. William Woodward, owner and breeder of "The Fox" and Omaha, and Warren Wright, owner-breeder of Whirlaway, are the only Preakness owners with earlier triumphs in Marylands spring classic to their credit. Mrs. Payne Whitney, incidentally, likes collecting turf trophies and is especially anxious to place the historic Woodlawn vase on her creaking sidebroad this spring. The Preakness record time is High Quests l:58/5 in 1934, when he beat his Kentucky Derby winning stablemate. Cavalcade, inches, on the post.
