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REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunstan DunstanBest Best Horse Not Always Winner Sun Again Was Suburbans Best Racings Popularity Still Soars Pensive Faces Task inBelmont inBelmontNEW NEW YORK N Y May 31 The Suburban was a race to verify the oftheard statement the best horse is not always the winner With Devil Diver out Sun Again was the logical choice and the huge throng on hand made him the favorite McCreary took him to the front and then eased him back until he was last The Calu ¬ met racer seemed to be hopelessly out of it but at the head of the stretch the little man with the short legs called on his mount and the latter hac the throng gasping by the manner in which he responded He could not find racing room coming down the stretch Ben Jones said after the race and that is why he had to go around horses Jones took the defeat quietly adding Sun Again was never in better shape than he was today We blew one but that must be expected now and then The vast majority of the throng did not agree with the noted trainer They thought it was a sftipid ride on the part of McCreary and were not backward in saying so Sun Again was pounds the best horse and we say this without attempting to take any credit from the winner Aletern The time of 20iys was the second fastest Suburban ever run and also one of the fastest in the annals of horse racing racingAlthough Although Sun Again suffered de ¬ feat his stretch run was one of the finest we have seen in a quarter century of racing This is the last year for the son of Sun Teddy be ¬ fore he enters stud at Calumet Farm to join such a great race horse as Whirlaway to say nothing of the others standing there Sun Again is one of the most magnificent horses we have ever laid eyes on He isnot big when compared with others in the post parade but he is powerfully muscled and reflects as he walks along all of the qualities so often associated with the finest in the thoroughbred We have not enthused about a horse in appearance since Eight Thirty and there is no doubt in our mind that had he been in shape as a threeyearold he would have been returned the winner of the Kentucky Derby Some horses get good breaks and others get bad ones Sun Again has had some bad ones but even with them he is one of the best racers to come up in re ¬ cent years He should make a superb stallionBelmont stallion Belmont Park not only established a new attendance record but the figures re ¬ veal that over a quarter of a million people attended the tracks which were operated on tlje holiday Racings popularity is growing with leaps and bounds and it would not be surprising if in the months to come the weekend and holiday crowds continued to break all records This could be especially true on the Fourth of July and Labor Day when important races will be contested at major tracks throughout the country In fact it would not sur ¬ prise us if more than 50000 were at Bel ¬ mont on Saturday when the Belmont Stakes and the National Stallion will be cofeatured on the card cardPensives Pensives attempt to become a Triple Crown winner should draw a recordbreaking throng to the beau ¬ tiful Elmont course on the week ¬ end He will find stern opposition in the Widener threeyearolds Platter and Who Goes There a pair that will draw solid support from a goodly portion of those present On paper it shapes up as one of the most interesting races of the season even if the interest is confined to the showing of these three horses The mile and a half of the Belmont should be to the liking of both Pen sive and Platter and as Who Goes There is by Challenger II there is no reason to believe he will not hold his speed over one and onehalf miles even though he did have the zip to win the Withers Mile MileThe The Belmont interest surrounding Platter and Pensive would not have been possible but for the supplementary entry which allowed the Widener colt in the race on a subscription fee of 2500 and an additional 250 if a starter This will be the last year for supplementary nominations to the Bel ¬ mont and everyone interested in fair play to the breeders are glad of it Arlington and Washington Parks in Chicago discon ¬ tinued the practice of supplementary nom ¬ inations and it is only a question of time When they will pass out of the picture en ¬ tirely They are distinctly unfair to the breeders who nominate their yearlings two years before the race is contested From the viewpoint of the track heads who are interested in putting on the best possible race they were good business But when breeders nominate yearlings and then con ¬ tinue the payments supplementary nom ¬ inations make a farce out of what is fundamentally a sporting proposition It is only natural that when an owner dis ¬ covers he has a threeyearold capable of winning ft race worth 50000 he is willing to chance 2500 for a crack at the big pofc
