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Charles Hatton THE JUDGES STAND By Charles Hatton The Strange Case of the Sab Swenkes Reticence Explained NEW YORK N Y May 15 15News News gatherers have been puzzled by Alsabs mysterious injury resentful of Sarge Swenkes reluctance to discuss it and have we are afraid said some unkind things Under the circumstances we think the Baltimoreans willingness to suffer disgruntled reporters slings and arrows rather than talk about Alsabs under ¬ pinning is all to his credit As we noted in this space last winter the Sab was fired for osseletsx You will recall Swenke himself was ailing at the time undergoing an operation in Cincinnati No periodicals on veterinary surgery published photos of N Y Solans Fine Example Acorn Prep for Coaching Club Alsabs underpinning under captions like How to fire a horse To top it off Alsab somehow got to his bad ankle cradle and all But dp not expect to hear these things from Swenke It would have been in bad taste for him to have described the setbacks encountered by the Sab in his absence bringing the gossips down on the heads of every one concerned Although every one knows just such misfortune can befall anybodys horse in anybodys stable Besides Al Sabath was ill at his Miami Beach home at the time and it would not have been quite pink coat to have worried him either How do we chance to be aware of this Our source is operative 6 78 staff correspondent of the Little Bo Peep News Bureau BureauSwenke Swenke now has Alsab at Churchill Downs The altogether charming Mrs Sabaths stouthearted colt is well out of the woods to borrow a phrase from the picturesque jargon of the railbirds His ankle has been healing splendidly and he is hardened by gallops through his paddock at Alsab Farm FarmIt It is this observers belief and fond hope the Sab will resume his brilliant career at Washington Park at which time we have no doubt he will run the eyeballs out of every handicap horse of note in America AmericaThis This is not the first time by any means certain less scrupulous members of the Fourth Estate have amused themselves by pummeling Swenke in print These selfappointed committees of Alsab trainers without portfolio a year ago were all for reporting Swenke to the SPCA You would have thought him some kind of sadist But as time passed by Alsab proved that like every other firstclass performer he requires vigorous training that would be theundoing of any ordinary thoroughbred thoroughbredThe The firm stand New Yftrk officials have taken in dealing with chronic offenders among the erring riders tends to create greater public confidence in the supervision of the sport sportThoroughbred Thoroughbred racing now has supplanted baseball as Americas mosfc popular wartime sport Those entrusted with supervising it are not oblivious to the oppor ¬ tunity of further enhancing its tremendous vogue nor to the especially destructive effect scandal could have in these rather precarious times timesAs As we have previously observed in reference to the several prominent jockeys sans license racing has been good to them enabling them to earn substantial sums Had they been as good for racing they would not now be deprived of that livelihood livelihoodStewards Stewards at all tracks must realize that more than ever the eyes of American sports followers are upon them So must jockeys and horsemen Many thousands of newcomers are mingling with the regulars in the race going crowds Remember that minor infractions of the rules sophisticated regulars accept with a philosophical shrug as a part of the game loom large as indictments of the sport to more verdant racegoers A most interesting visitor to Gotham is Charlie Reinheimer who is a son of Curly Reinheimer a jockey of the Brighton Beach era Reinheimer has just returned from a 14month stay in Africa where he witnessed a good deal of racing Statistics he supplies to illustrate the popularity of the thoroughbred sport there are a revela ¬ tion to Americans AmericansFor For example there are two courses at Durban in the Natal Province which attract attendances upward of 30000 on Saturdays and holidays These tracks are equipped with tote in which the play averages 350000 and there are usually 60 to 70 books functioning alongside the machines machinesThoroughbreds Thoroughbreds from England and France are in the majority in the fields racing at Durban and Capetown The average daily attendance at Capetown is 15000 Africa also has racing at Cairo and nearby Heliopolis where Arabianbred runners compete Cairo racing is especially popular with service men Our Page who polled so many votes as the starlet of 1942 racing in America after heading Askmenow in the Spinaway met her initial defeat Friday at the Westchester Racing Association course She dashed away in grand style a first three furlongs in 34 in the mud pricking her ears and racing without her customary blinkers But she then choked up and it was noted rather sadly she bled bledIt It is on the knees of the gods if this product of Wood vale can now assume the rank among Americas brilliant race mares that is so obviously her heritage heritageA A filly of completely unconventional conformation this daughter of Blue Larkspur was just homely enough to be interesting though she could not interest anybody 500 worth last summer She nevertheless proved a filly of the highest class in one of the strangest sagas in modern turf history historyThe The Acorn Mile is regarded as a traditional preliminary to the mile and a half of the Coaching Club American Oaks Curiously enough it may this season prove rather more climactic than anticlimactic for the reason that it contains an absorbing prospect of serving as the vehicle of bringing together Hal Price Headleys Pimlico Oaks winner Askmenow and Calumet Farms Kentucky Oaks heroine the sore going Nellie L who is not a Coaching Club candidate candidateNellie Nellie L is an own sister of MarKell a Spinaway winner who furnished an interesting comparison of the Wests queenly Miss Dogwood and the Easts Vagrancy when she recently was beaten by the former at Churchill Downs then rather aston ¬ ishingly beat the latter eight lengths at Belmont Park ParkNellie Nellie Flag the dam of Blenheim Hs two distinguished daughters is a sort of bellcow of Calumets priceless brood marre band Wright acquired Nellie Flag in utero purchasing her dani the Preakness winner Nellie Morse for 6100 at the Bud Fisher dispersal
