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Nelson Dunstan REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunstan Colonel Bradley Tossed a Coin Bradley Luck7 to the Fore Again Eastern Breeders Still in Daze Vagrancy MarKell Meet Thursday NEW YORK N Y May 31 When Bless Me came up for sale last week Colonel Bradley asked 20000 Too much John W Galbreath answered Ill give 15000 That gleam of old was seen in the eye of the Idle Hour master That can easily be settled he said Ill toss you a coin whether you pay 15000 or 20000 Galbreath readily agreed and when the 25cent piece that represented 5000 had spun in the air and landed it carried the old tale of Bradley luck Now a fouryearold Bless Me is a brown colt by Sickle Buginarug by Blue Larkspur and his only stake victory last year w as in the onemile Saranac Handicap where he defeated Star Beacon and Lochinvar in 137 This sale coming one day before Attention was knocked down for 55000 stresses that a horseintraining who can win races is worth his weight in silver if not gold Never were opportunities greater for a horse to win himself out quickly As an instance Abraham Hewitt paid 7000 for Some Chance last fall and in two victories this year including Satur ¬ days Roseben he has earned 6525 Now at the peak of his form he should go on to a profit for his owner then prove a good stud prospect when his racing days are over overGoing Going into June eastern breeders are still in a Quandary as to wether yearlings will be sold in the East or whether they will join with Kentucky breeders in the Lexington sale during the second week in August The Virginia Breeders Association seemingly has done nothing and why they ask breeders to waste their time to attend meetings is something to figure out Some of the eastern breeders have reached the point that they dont care where the yearlings are sold while others write us they insist on an eastern sale even if some of the others go to Kentucky It does seem a shame that such arr important group lacks leadership or in this emergency someone who would go to the trouble of getting an opinion as to whether io throw their lot in with the Kentucky breeders or stage a sale somewhere in the East Jockeys have organized and so have the owners trainers racing asso ¬ ciations and Kentucky breeders When this war is over Virginia breeders would do well to band together so that they will not find themselves in another such predicament in the years to come Their contribution to racing is important enough to warrant a live association The Maryland Horse official organ of the Maryland Horse Breeders Asso ¬ ciation states that Maryland tracks tried the scheme of breeders awards some 15 years ago This was done in the hope that other racing associations will follow suit This hope proved vain so Maryland then decided to take care of its own breeders by giving 250 to the breeder of each winner if foaled in Maryland Well if Maryland comes in this time she will not be alone In the same publication a writer who signs himself Nothing Gained says The Thoroughbred Racing Associations sup ¬ posedly stands for turfwide coordination It also has other purposes No doubt it has done some good But it has left many problems untouched In that respect its most glaring error has been in not recognizing the part horsemen play in racing Some one should take Nothing Gained aside and tell him about the slogan bigger purses for better horses which was started by the TRA and has been adopted by some tracks That is of distinct aid to horsemen They should also remind him that Rome Pimlico and the Preakness were not built in a day and that a little patience would be more appropriate at this time than criticism The best race of the year to date for fillies and mares should result in Thursdays running of the Top Flight Handicap at one and onesixteenth miles Vagrancy top weight at 128 pounds is flue to start in the Suburban a few hours after these lines are written MarKell and Pomayya are next on the list at 122 and although the former was out of the money in the Roseben on Saturday she was within three lengths of the winner nevertheless On May 14 MarKell beat Vagrancy by eight lengths but in her next start the Bclair filly came back to race like her true self and defeated the threeyear bid Too Timely by two lengths Too Timely went on to win the Coaching Club American Oaks and will start in the Top Flight with but 108 pounds The possibilities do not end with those three however for Bonnet Ann 113 and Yarrow Maid 109 are another pair entitled to consideration Brook meades Yarrow Maid was a good winner over some of the Top Flight eligibles when she won the Wendy Handicap from Best Risk with Stefanita Jane Blenheim Waygal and Bonnet Ann in the beaten field It is by no means a twohorse race but on the cold dope the rivalry between Vagrancy and Mar Kell will be one of the highlights of the race as Vagrancy picks up six pounds and MarKelM2 over their last meeting meetingMay May came in with the running of the Kentucky Derby and went out with the Suburban Tomasello Peabody Memorial and the Colonel Alger Memorial at Detroit June too will offer many events that will have a bearing on championships and notably the Belmont Stakes which with the National Stallion will bring the success ¬ ful Belmont meeting to a close on Saturday Aqueduct will throw open its gates next Monday and continue through June 26 when the 30000 added Brooklyn Handicap will be run Both Suffolk Downs in Boston and the Fair Grounds in Detroit will continue throughout June while Lincoln Fields in Chicago will run until June 19 with Arlington Park taking over on June 21 and continuing until Washington Park comes into the picture on August 1 Aqueduct will open with the 5000 added Queens County Handicap followed by the 5000 added Shevlin on June 9 and the 7500 added Carter Handicap on Saturday June 12 Aqueduct is better situated than Belmont for transportation and fans will have no such hike as has been the case from Queens Village to the Elmont course Judging by the two New York meetings which have preceded it Aqueduct will draw large throngs throughout
