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Charles Hatton THE JUDGES STAND Bv Charles Hatton Change Belmont Policies Mrs Ames Proves Bargain Buy Shut Out Seeks Cap Honors Depth Charge Makes Debut NEW YORK N Y May 11 11Something Something pretty strange is going on at Belmont Park For instance there is perhaps a perfectly good reason that the horses are unsaddled in the administration building enclosure instead of before the stands but it eludes us completely Ignoring the element of color injected into proceedings of unsaddling before the stands it seems to us the customers are entitled to see horses on which they wager pull up and walk off without having to dash from their seats to the paddock Moreover the riders may be weighed out from two to three minutes faster in the winners ring which means that much time gained lor coce piay on tne following event Another return to the old order is the move to delete the supplementary closing clause from the 25000 Belmont Stakes which means that in some future seasons it will almost certainly be deprived of its appeal and importance through the absence of champion ¬ ship contenders There are too many other more liberallyendowed late closing threeyearold fixtures nowadays for breeders to feel they simply must support this futurity futurityA A number of other little things have been un ¬ done There are no more floral wreaths for the heroes of the Belmont Grand National and New York Handicap The Juvenile course has been aban ¬ doned and even the electric teletimer was idle on opening day though we understand it will resume its interesting functioning Matt Daigers philosophy Everything happens for the best may be applicable at Belmont But this all seems so retrogressive Can it be that the Westchester Association includes members who actually want to sub ¬ stitute the old atmosphere of forbidding pompous austerity for the general public favorite has gained in recent years Mrs Ames is a name with which racegoers may become quite familiar before the end of this wartime turf season This substantial bay daughter of Johnstown Catalysis confidently chose the coveted Fashions fortyfourth renewal for her debut and earned her racing diploma at a getrichquickWallingford mutuel of 8190 A 2300 yearling acquisition of Henry Longchamps Lustigs she won 7000 for the restaurateur in Mondays filly feature and thus distinguished herself as a bargain several times over in her initial venture under colors The fact she sported four white bandages did not dimmish her odds Mrs Ames also is in the National Stallion StallionA A star must have chuckled and skipped somewhere when Mrs Ames triumphed for her dam won the Fashion in 1937 By the way a yearling brother of this Long champs deb is the outstanding individual in A B Hancocks Claiborne crop this season The Kentucky Parisian rejected an offer of 12000 for Catalysis and this colt when she was rather an outsize foal in the spring of 1942 1942Mrs Mrs Payne Whitneys pink and black standard was flaunted to a popular victory when Devil Diver sallied down the alley in the Toboggan Greentrees success was not so surprising to many of the attendance as that Devil Diver rather than his lionized stablemate Shut Out should record it Ekkys son champion 1942 moneywinner paraded looking like a matinee idol but he was somewhat more promising for the future than a hero of the day The Metropolitan Suburban Brooklyn and Butler are objectives Princeton Johnny Gaver has in mind for ShuNOut Belmont Parks L I R R spur officially a railroad yards remained unexpectedly Idle opening day It requires no prodigious powers of perception to deduce something untoward developed developedIn In addition the earlier 130 first post time did not work put any more favorably than at last falls Victory meet Estimates are that 50000 in handle on the days initial event was the toll of this early first post basing the calculation on Jamaica wagering statistics Walter Kelley who conditions sporty Allen Simmons sturdy Blue Swords advances the theory Blue Larkspurs son may have rapped himself leaving the gate in last weekends Preakness This explains his momentary gimpiness gimpinessIndications Indications are that Blue Swords will not serve as Count Fleets shadow again soon The Ohioan has won some 20000 in second prizes this spring Probably he will confine his activities to those threeyearold stakes which fail to attract The Count during the summer when there are more opulent fixtures for his division than the Hertz colt can possibly appear in Johnny Longden incidentally inclines to disagree with those who fancy Count Fleets opposition is so woefully weak On the contrary the mild little reinsman opines Blue Swords is first class but simply was unfortunate enough to have been foaled in The Counts year This was no lucky break for Longden either for he rides Blue Swords when the latter is not opposing Mrs Hertzs fabulous colt Few noticed an incident that occurred during Saturdays Preakness Just as Count Fleet wheeled into the road home a woman clad in a gleaming white dress in the centerfield dashed shrilling towards the rail and The Count saw her was startled and ducked toward the outside fence But by virtue of some hairtrigger jockeyship Longden averted any unfortunate consequence of this impulsive swerving managing to straighten his mount before damage was done doneThe The rather flighty Count Fleet of last summer would doubtless have wound up in the parking lots or beneath the grandstand were an effort made to steer him through a bedlam of shouting lanes of humanity such as con ¬ fronted him when he turned for home in the Derby and Preakness In all probability the New Yorkers will see him in action next in the Withers mile on May 22 22Depth Depth Charge a half brother by Bold Venture to Count Fleet made his racing debut in Mondays maiden spin of four and a half furlongs down the Widener chute This King Ranch colt was installed the public preference in the tote and fashioned a smart pace to the furlong pole where he began to tire tireDepth Depth Charge is a black deriving his coal color from his dam Quickly his action reminiscent of Count Fleets and a smattering of speed But Robert Kleberg probably will be delighted if he is within just 20 lengths so much horse
