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Sun Again Calumet Withers Reliance Twelve Regarded as Probables For Belmonts Saturday Stake Fairaris Is Sent Easy Six Furlongs in 1:16 3-5 Alsqb Still Outstanding Favorite ELMONT, L, I., N. Y., May 21. All was quiet on theWithers front at the Long Island courses today, with R. S. McLaughlins Canadian-owned Fairaris, an English "war baby," the only prospective starter in Saturdays history-making mile, to be indulged in anything more than an exercise gallop. The big son of Fair Trial came off his recent distance move with a consummate six furlongs in 1:16 over the relatively deep Belmont training strip. He was clocked the first half mile in :50. Fairaris presence in the Withers field gives the week-end renewal of that ancient turf fixture an international, hands-across-the-border aspect. He also has developed a certain confidence in many observers, who are, impressed by the facility with which he disposed of a field of seasoned and classy older sprinters in his 1942 debut, last Saturday. Plain Ben Jones clarified Calumet plans for representation in Saturdays 5,000 special, with the announcement that only the 1941 Arlington Futurity winner, Sun Again, will fly the famed Devils fed and blue hoops of the Chicago sportsman, Warren Wright. Wishbone has shown winning form at the current Belmont Park session, but the Misso.urian is apparently convinced that only Sun Teddys hefty son holds a solid chance. Sun Again finished in a dead heat for the place, with Requested in the thrilling Preakness last time out. McCoole Hopes for Soft Track Trainer Blackie McCoole, of Requested, welcomed todays rainfall with all the enthusiasm of a share-cropper in the dust bowl. He hoped fondly that a great deal more of the same would descend on the mile and a half Nassau County course between now and post time for the Withers. Belmont Parks racing path, however, has a fabulous quality of being almost as speed conducive when drenched as when dry and is never really bad. All that remains now before the bugle blows the Withers field to the post is the filing of entries tomorrow morning and the final blow-outs of the hopefuls. In its present form, the Withers sixty-seventh running shapes up as a contest among Mrs. Albert Sabaths Alsab, Ben Whitakers Requested, Calumets Sun Again, Greentrees Devil Diver, Mrs. Ralph Mcllvains Bright Willie, R. S. McLaughlins Fairaris, Foxcatchers Star Beacon, W. M. Jeffords Seamanlike, Milky Ways Dogpatch, Mill Rivers Fair Call, Mrs. E. Mulrenans First Fiddle and, it is possible, J. M. Roeblings Lochinvar. There are an even dozen in that group, these being the "wheat" sifted from 84 nominees last February 16. The iron Alsab meanwhile holds steady as the probable public preference. His dazzling mile in 1:37 indicated that he maintains the keen edge developed, rather amazingly, between Derby and Preakness days. Good Goods Colt Very Sharp As a matter of fact, Good Goods phenomenal son is more "on the bit" right now than at any previous time of the 1942 season. Alsab has gained weight, his coat has acquired a new sheen and he is full of B-l, "the go vitamin," looking for the slightest excuse these mornings to jump right through the skylight of his stable and giving his attendants a handful leading him. about the shed. All this when, in the judgment of the "experts," he should have been "dead bn his feet" weeks ago and sent off to some equine health farm to recuperate. Alsab, obviously, is one of that rare, tough type of thoroughbred requiring work that would ruin the ordinary horse just to reach his best form. He is about as fragile as a 72-ton tank; and twice as formidable, in the estimation of his large and enthusiastic cheering section. The "beggar prince of the sport of kings" is the top box office entertainer on the present-day American racing scene. His presence Saturday will attract a huge weekend crowd to the commodious Nassau County course, in what is his first local start of the season. Each Contestant to Carry 126 A factor that may conceivably militate . against Alsabs prospects of adding his name to the roster of Withers heroes, alongside that of his unbeaten ancestor, Colin, is the unwieldy size of the field. For some occult reason, Requested is almost a forgotten horse in the current discussions of the Withers, though he set much of the pace in the Preakness, being in front at the end of the first mile there. Fairaris, following his successful debut in last week-ends sprint, is the most talked of among Alsabs prospective rivals. Incidentally, the fact that Jack Campbell rated Mrs. Sabaths 00 bargain basement colt superior to such as Whirlaway, Mioland, Challedon and Attention at a mile and a quarter in his Suburban weights, will not escape the figure sharps, and, of course, will tend to diminish his "tote" odds. Each Withers starter carries 126 pounds. The time mark at which the Withers field will be shooting is the 1:35 stakes mark, established by mighty Man o War in 1920 and equalled by the French Snob II., and the sensationally fast Johnstown. The track standard" is Jack Highs 1:35 "flat" in winning a Metropolitan renewal under a somewhat unintentional feather of 110 pounds a few years back. The Juvenile renewal, a sort of counter irritant to the Withers for the figure students, looms as an uncommonly interesting and significant contest itself. Mrs. J. S. Letelliers Jack S. L., wholl be "there or thereabout" in the wagering, worked smartly for the engagement today at Belmont when he moved a handy half-mile in :46, the quarter in :23 and three furlongs in :34. This move seems to prove that he holds the high order of speed flashed in The Jockey Club Plate. Greentrees Hickory Head and Jock Whitneys Four Freedoms generally are regarded as the principal rivals for this escapist from the plater ranks.
