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reflections! By Nelson Dunstan . . Suburban Famous Fixture of Turf Whisk Broom IIs Disputed Record Distance of Event Has Not Changed Three-Year-Old Winners Scarce NEW YORK, N. Y., May 29. Some time tomorrow afternoon another name will be added to a roster of a race that since 1884 has mainly been a hall-mark of thoroughbred greatness. The Suburban is not as old as the Belmont, but as far back as 1905 the author of "The American Thoroughbred" said: "The Suburban is the one great fixed event which still remains to us in its original form. We have the Belmont and Withers, but they are. stakes of earlier days in name only they have lost their originality and merely preserve the name." A book of tremendous size could be written about the Suburban, and not the least of the myriad items would be that the distance of one and one- WHIRLAWAY Should he win the Suburban today he will surpass Sun Beaus mark on the money-winning roster and also be the first four-year-old to carry 129 pounds to victory in that time-honored race. quarter miles has not changed since the inaugural running. "If you would follow the many changes which have come down through the years in racing, the Suburban Handicap is your best guide," a famous historian has said. Prior to 1913, the Suburban was run at Sheepshead Bay, and the fan of today knows little of Villepegues, and of Brighton, Manhattan and Oriental Beaches, where Berry Wall, "Diamond Jim" Brady, Riley Grannan and others gathered to discuss and argue horses. The American turf has changed much since those days. One of the changes in the Suburban has been that from Sheepshead Bay to Belmont Park. Time, as such, has long been a disputed point in racing. The "time" of a race is the first thing some persons look at. Others all but ignore it. In the inaugural running, Gen. Monroe defeated War Eagle in 2:11. Last year, Your Chance won from Hash and Shot Put in 2:02. A study of Suburban time down the years is but proof of the point that our modern tracks are faster and that unless a horse is capable of negotiating one and one-quarter miles in less than 2:04, his chances of a Suburban victory are slim. Yet, it is doubtful if the record made in the Suburban as far back as 1913 will ever be lowered. For, in that year, Whisk Broom II. was credited with having run the one and one-quarter miles in 2:00 flat and to add to the astonishment, with 139 pounds up! Joe Notter, who rode him, once said he believed the time was correct, but for 30 years doubt has been cast upon it with the claim there was an error on the part of the timers. Whisk Broom II. had returned from England as a six-year-old, and what cannot be disputed is that he won the Metropolitan, Suburban and Brooklyn Handicaps in that year. That feat, many claim, is more difficult than it is for a three-year-old to win the "Triple Crown." But whether any horse can run one and one-quarter miles in 2:00 flat appears to be answered by the fact that no other horse has ever been able to duplicate Whisk Broom II.s time. If Whirlaway wins the Suburban tomorrow, he will be the first four-year-old to carry 129 pounds successfully , in that time-honored race. Salvator, Ballot, Crusader and Eight Thirty were a quartet of four-year-olds who won their respective renewals with 127 pounds, the highest poundage recorded for horses of that age. Snark was a five-year-old. and carried 120 pounds when in the Suburban of 1938 he was timed in 2:01. Aneroid was a four-year-old, but carried only 110 when he won fro mthe game mare, Esposa, in 2:01. Eight Thirty, a four-year-old in 1940, has the best record for a four-year-old, with both weight and time considered as he carried 127 pounds to defeat the- older Cant Wait, 109, in 2:01. It was not until 1903 that Africander became the first three-year-old to win a Suburban renewal, and not since Crusader won in 1926 has a member of that division been able to defeat older horses. Mares have been even more scarce, for in the 55 runnings to date, only Imp, Beldame and Bateau have been flet nough to score over the colts and horses. And, in the long history of the race, Crusader was the only one who won two successive renewals. A victory for Whirlaway tomorrow would soar him far above Sun Beaus mark as second on the money-winning roster. There we come across a surprising item. For while at first flush there would appear to be something in common between the Suburban roster and the list of the biggest money winners, the only Suburban winner among the first 20 on the earning list is Equipoise. Salvator, Henry of Navarre, Ben Brush, Hermis, Ballot, Johren, Grey Lag, Crusader, Equipoise and Eight Thirty all live in history as high-class performers, and yet, the Suburban roster is as much a "Whos Who" of great horses who met defeat in it. In succession we find Cherry Pie, American Flag, Black Maria, Chance Shot and Petee-Wrack, as horses who ran second, and among those who ran third are Tenny, Irish Lad, Fair Play, The Finn, Boniface and Exterminator. Speaking of Fair Play, his line is as prominent in the Suburban as it is in other distance events of the American turf. His son, Mad Hatter, won as an eight-year-old in 1924, and his son, Man o War, sired such a pair of winners as Crusader 1926, 1927, and Bateau, 1929. Head Play, 1935, was by My Play. Last years winner was Your Chance, a son of Chance Shot. Featured with tomorrows Suburban is the ,000 Roseben Handicap, which in two previous runnings has been won by The Chief and Harvard Square. Some of the fastest three-year-olds and older horses of the season are due to face the starter. These two events are fitting and worthy to usher in the last week of the Belmont meeting. On Tuesday next, the Peter Pan Handicap will act as a preview to Saturdays Belmont Stakes, and with it the ,000 Meadow Brook Steeplechase is expected to draw the foremost jumpers, with the exception of Bath. On Thursday, the Top Flight Handicap, for three-year-olds and older fillies and mares is expected to draw a fine field from Vagrancy, Pomayya, Bostoff , Proud One, War Hazard, Jane Blenheim, Painted Veil and others, and this should result in one of the best races of the meeting. The closing day, Saturday, June 6, will be a red-letter day of the American turf for, as "Army-Navy Day," history is certain to be written. The National Stallion Stakes, for two-year-olds, will be co-featured with the 5,000 Belmnot Stakes, third and last event of the "Triple Crown." This day will result in a contribution of approximately 00,000 to War Relief.
