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Charles Hatton THE JUDGES STAND Bv Charles Hatton Devils Thumb Seeks Classic Jamaica Considers W R Fund NEW YORK N Y June 10 10A A good many of us nowadays are going places on the Thumb Cecil Dutch Wilhelm is going places with The Thumb More specifically he is going to Chicago with Devils Thumb the colt who won what is technically known to the craft as a whole pallet of Saratoga stakes last summer Devils Thumb interests us because he is the forgotten horse among those who are currently regarded optimistically per ¬ haps as prospective rivals for Count Fleet in the Arlington Classic and American Derby Wilhelm who is vaguely reminiscent of one of those lean drawling Some Fuel for Symposium Clever Fillies iii Astoria characters in Zane Greys Riders of the Purple Sage and indeed is a cattlerancher with a pleasant drawl is encouraged to hope Devils Thumb will be ready for the Classic I am not certain he will but he has been galloping three weeks and is hard as nails and we will try hard to make it he says His hoof is good as new again He bruised it some time last year and this left an imperfection which he cut out whenwe stopped him Slide Rule is accompanying the Seattleowned strings big horse to Chicago and Wilhelm notes hopefully that Snarks son never was going sounder sounderSlide Slide Rule is in all those threeyearold stakes too the Boeingr trainer observed but I doubt if he will race as well over a distance as will Devils Thumb So in the interests of justice and Ben Lind heimers deserving WashingtonArlington meetings we remind observers gently that it is an error of omission not to consider Devils Thumb at least as much in lassie as is Ocean Wave for instance at the present time Dr Edward Kilroe who guides the destinies of the informal accessible Jamaica course probably will make an announcement concerning his clubs approach to the extremely important matter of racings war relief fund wathin the next fortnight Last year you may recall the Metropolitan Jockey Club probably gave up more of its funds in order to swell the turfswar relief yield than did any other New York asso ¬ ciation which is no reflection on the other organizations Because it did not designate any days card for this patriotic purpose Jamaica was the outright donor of 125000 and paid 45000 taxes to make this gift It is just that the good doctor prefers this method and it is possible a similar one will be adopted in 43 Count Fleet is such a rare and challenging performer we suppose it is inevitable sports writers compare him with Man o War always without allow ¬ ing anyones opinions On the whole we find there is no more auspicious time to remember appointments elsewhere than when one of those professional oldtimers starts drivelling sentiment all over the place placeThis This observer believes Man o War was a superior horse But we are not a disciple of that school of thought which holds the thoroughbred type having produced a Man o War cannot equal or better that achievement Those who subscribe to such a theory must regard improvement of the breed as a mockery and think the entire warp and woof of thoroughbred breeding pretty futile business businessJust Just so members of the CFIW Club will not lack for comebacks when trapped in one of these disputes we offer the following few pertinent facts Man o Wars best time at six furlongs was 109 and a fraction as a threeyearold Count Fleets 108 as a twoyearold Man o Wars smartest time for a mile was 135 as a three yearold The Counts 134 as a twoyearold Man o Wars fastest time for a mile and a sixteenth was 144 as a threeyearold Count Fleet hung out 143 as a twoyearold and at the same age was timed in 144 in the mud Man o Wars besb time for a mile and a half was 228 under 118 pounds Count Fleets 228y5 under 126 and running on a sprained angle In June too not September SeptemberIf If it is insisted Man o War galloped to his time figures you may point out Count Fleet did too with equal accuracy His connections instruct Longden explicitly against any unnecessary use of the colt in historic attempts to lower the records recordsYou You might add that The Count has been performing on off tracks all season and make some reference to his 136 in the wretched Withers going when the course was at least two seconds off That still is the mile of the year If you want to be persistent note that he ran the first mile of the Wood on a soft Jamaica surface in 136 as against a track mark of 138 But if you take our advice you will suddenly remember you simply must make a phone call right away awayThis This observer is one who believes the thoroughbred does improve though almost imperceptibly as the decades slide away Breeders need not despair of their efforts in this direction One of the longest stepsinlherightdirection in assisting American thoroughbred breeders to procure a better horse was the introduction in recent years of the saliva and urine analysis tests particularly the latter It is our theory that the processes of time and these drug tests will eliminate certain strains long fashionable in this country and which scarcely need any identification to experienced horsemen horsemenThe The breeders awards will foster the development of generally classier animals too now that these are graded to put a premium on quality Breeders will be encouraged to patronize better stallions and buy better mares More people will be encouraged to breed horses More people need to be it is obvious from the acreage being converted to farming and the mares being bred to jacks when they are bred at all Probably these awards should be adopted on a permanent basis in all races conditioned for horses above the cheaper variety of platers When the fillies can beat the colts depend upon it the colts are a mediocre lot W S Vosburgh was wont to remark It seems highly im ¬ plausible we have seen the shiftiest of New Yorks crop of male kinder ¬ garteners thus early in the new season but candor forces one to state the fillies uncovered have been generally quicker than the colts Lucky Draw is a gelding geldingNext Next Wednesdays 5000 Astoria of five and a half furlongs may find Mrs Ames heroine of the Fashion and National Stallion opposing two very brisk fillies in the unbeaten Cocopet and the hardhitting Sea Reigh both incidentally owned by Lazy F Ranch It would amaze you the number of horsemen who prefer Sea Reigh
