view raw text
► 1 — Wp* H£ PjH Boa 3gpnP w9 KiHi REQUESTED — Ben F. Whitakers winner of the Flamingo and Wood Memorial will try to redeem himself for his dull showing in the Kentucky Derby in the Preakness today. REFLECTIONS I By Nelson Dunstan i Shut Out Repeater in Preakness? Pimlico Event Appears Wide Open Whirlaway Pointing for Suburban Stars in Belmont Handicap Events BALTIMORE, Md., May 8. "Will Shut Out repeat in the Preakness?" is a logical question, and yet one ,that may draw the challenging "can he?" From all indications the Greentree camp feels that Devil Diver will run much improved over his Louisville showing, and that j he will be the one to beat. If that be true, it adds zest to the uncertainty which preceded — and followed — the Derby running. A big question mark must be placed against the names of Requested and Colchis, whose Derby and Wood Memorial efforts, respectively, were so out of keeping with their racing as a whole, they must be thrown out. If Sun Again goes, he adds another angle of speculation and still the one starter who will be followed from end to end by thousands of eyes is Alsab, that game and colorful little colt who is ever in there, giving his all. Instead of clarifying the three-year-old situation, the Derby left many questions for the Preakness to settle. Veteran handicappers are quick to say that the Preakness has all the ingredients for surprise" that was offered the throng at Churchill Downs and that as a race it should be one of the most thrilling renewals of the decade. Shut Out is not the first Derby winner to arrive in Baltimore with the players more intent on seeking a horse to beat him rather than giving him their support. In 1940, Gallahadion scored an astonishing upset over Bimelech and, when he came to Baltimore, the players were not only convinced that Bimelech would turn the tables, but also that others in the field were better racers than Mrs. Mars colorbearer. As it turned out, Bimelech was the winner, with Mioland second, and Gallahadion third. It is likely that the Greentree entry will go to the post as a strong Preakness favorite but, if that is the case, the presence of Devil Diver will have as much to do with it as that of Shut Out. The Derby is not always a true index to the Maryland event. Johnstown defeated Challedon at Churchill Downs, who ploughed through the mud to win the Preakness by himself, with Johnstown down the track. Then again, Cavalcade won the Derby, only to be defeated by his own stablemate, High Quest, a week later. Many in Baltimore tonight seem to believe that if the Greentree contingent is the winner, it will be Devil Diver on the head end. Eddie Arcaro has stated that he will handle Devil Diver differently tomorrow afternoon, but whether or not this will alter the situation is a matter best left to the race itself. Marylanders are as true to Colchis as they were to Challedon. Hardly had Challedon crossed the finish line in the Preakness when a Maryland sportswriter wrote a parody called: "Challedon, My Challedon," to the tune of "Maryland, My Maryland," and it was sung in every barroom in the Old Line State that same night. Colchis was fast becoming an idol in Maryland when he was taken to New York to run out of the money for the first time in his career in the Wood Memorial. Jockey Peters bore the brunt of much criticism for that defeat of the Clark gelding. George Woolf, who rode Colchis when he twice defeated Alsab in Maryland, will have the mount tomorrow, and his connections are confident he will display the same form which made him one of the steadiest two-year-olds of the present three-year-old crop. As a juvenile, he started 14 times and was never out of the money and, as stated above, won his first two starts this year prior to the Wood. He will have his opportunity to redeem himself, and even though Challedon has come back, the Clark gelding will come in for his share of Maryland hero worship should he be returned the winner. Jamaicas spring meeting comes to a close tomorrow with the Grey Lag Handicap, an attraction second only to the Preakness. Whirlaway, sensational winner of the Dixie Handicap on Wednesday, will not be a starter, and Ben Jones told the writer the Calumet champion would likely point for the Suburban at Belmont at May 30. The Grey Lag will draw Suburban candidates who did not start in the Dixie and, from all indications, one of the most brilliant fields in Suburban annals will result from the outcome of the Dixie, Grey Lag, Metropolitan and other events which will probably stress the current division of older horses as one of the most interesting and colorful of the past twenty years. Whirlaway will be the great magnet, but should Attention, Challedon, Mioland, War Relic and Market Wise come out to oppose him, it might well be claimed that it is one of the most brilliant groups of handicap stars to face the starter in American turf history. Should Market Wise start in the Grey Lag tomorrow, it will be his first race since the Widener at Hialeah and will give fans a true line on whether he is to be ready for the important stakes for his division at Belmont Park.
