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REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunstan By Jimminy Division Champ? Parker Colorbearer Impressive Percentages on Graded Caps Yearling Sales But Month Away NEW YORK, N. Y., June 26. From Kentucky comes word that Elmen-dorf has an exceptional yearling filly in the miss by Sir Gallahad nr. Wayabout by Fair Play, thus a i half sister to Boling-broke and full sister to Waygal. ... At Louis B. Mayers farm in California they are building a feed lot for at least 2,000 cattle annually and have finished a new breeder house that will accommodate at least 10,000 chickens per year. The next, project will be a model dairy. . . . The Jockeys Guild will issue a handsome "Year Book of 1944." . . . William Helis is now a commuter between Chicago and New Orleans as the majority of his horses are now at Washington Park. . . . The smaller eastern division will go to Garden State Park at Camden. . . . Garden State Park, which opens July 5, will use both the loud speaker and the number board. . . . Many important turf problems will be presented to the National Association of State Racing Commissioners in Chicago next week. For about three furlongs, By Jimminy and Lucky Draw staged a Dwyer duel that reminded veterans of the 1920 battle between Man o War and John P. Grier. That was the one, you recall, in which Big Red was supposed "to have broken Griers heart." Man o War finally surged to the front, but no more convincingly than By Jimminy did from the Widener three-year-old who is by Jack High, who, in turn,, is by John P. Grier. By Jimminy was not ready around Derby time, but he is as fit as hands can. make him today and will speak his piece in such 50,000 events as the Arlington Classic and American Derby, and possibly the Jersey Handicap. The Parker colt was even more impressive in the Dwyer than in; his two previous victories. While he had a six-pound advantage over Stir Up and Lucky Draw, who both carried 120, he won so easily that his time of 2:03 could have been bettered had he been pushed. He settled the question as to superiority over the Belmont Stakes winner, Bounding Home, but it must be added that the latter toted 126 pounds. Graded handicaps versus claiming races has been the subject of considerable discussion this season. In view of that, we made a recapitulation for the weeks of June 5 and June 12 at Aqueduct, Suffolk Downs and Delaware Park. In those two weeks, 53 graded handicaps were staged at these three tracks. Of the total 24 of them were won by the favorite; 15 favorites were second, and six of them were third. This leaves only eight of the favorites out of the money in the 53 races. During 1943, the percentage of winning favorites of all races, at all tracks in this country was 37 per cent, which, as the American Racing Manual says, "was slightly above the average." If these two weeks could be accepted as standard for the entire year, it shows that graded handicaps were above the average in formful racing. Claiming races have ben reduced in numbers this year, and while they play a definite and important part in the racing set-up, there is today a greater opportunity for owners to run their horses without fear of losing them through the claiming box. The new sales pavilion at Keeneland is practically completed. While, as we stated before, it is doubtful if any yearling to enter it will bring as high as the 6,000 paid for Pericles, this is going to be an exceptionally strong year in ringside bidding. Before us are the lists of many breeders and, for the past hour, we have been scanning the offerings of the Claiborne and Ellerslie studs of Arthur B. Hancock and it is obvious that many beautifully bred fillies are among his offerings. Pericles has a half sister in the bay filly by Stimulus out of Risk by Sir Gallahad III., and it would not be at all surprising if she were one of the highest priced of the so-called weaker sex to be sold at Keeneland. Just yesterday, Mrs, J. P Jones, who will manage the Nydrie Stud sale at Meadow Brook, sent us a photograph of the filly by Stimulus out of Heloise, one of the greatest producing mares of the past decade. Heloise is the dam of Baron Jack, who brought 3,000 at last years sale on Long Island. This filly will hardly bring that much money;, but she is a handsome miss and, like the Risk filly in Kentucky, will un doubtedly draw many bidders at the Meadow Brook ringside.
