view raw text
[reflections - ~— ly Nelson Dunstan " 5,000 Sussex to Draw Rounders, Stymie Jeep Should Be Favorite for Belmont Santa Anita Derby to Draw Record Throng Tom Smith Saddling Many Baby Winners NEW YORK, N. Y., June 20. Three-year-olds will hold the spotlight on the East and West coasts on the week-end, but Delaware Park will stage the Sussex Handicap, a race for three-year-olds and older horses that prom ises to be a thriller. Rounders, who came within two-fifths of a second of the track record in winning the Dixie, will carry the top weight of 126 pounds and, along with him, William Helis has a trio from which to select a runningmate in Salto, 112: Olympic Zenith. 101, and Ricks Raft, 108. In the Dixie. Rounders won as he pleased and even though the same group will oppose him on the week-end, an added note of interest is the presence of Stymie, who is weighted at 124. Stymie ran second to Devil Diver in last Saturdays Suburban and is the main threat of the Helis horse, who now appears to be in the best form of his career. There was some talk of Polynesian, who was in at 115 pounds, being a starter, but Morris Dixon, his trainer, wisely decided not to send the three-year-old against these older horses. With Bon Jour at 122, Alex Barth at 120 and He Rolls at 119. this shapes up as one of the most interesting contests for older horses staged so far this season. Jeep could do no better than fifth in the Kentucky Derby, but the manner in which he won the Peter Pan on Tuesday points him out as a Belmont Stakes favorite on the week-end. Away slowly in the Peter Pan, he worked his way forward and, at the finish, was close to two lengths in front of Brookmeade Stables Sun Herod, who is not a Belmont eligible. J. ML Roeblings Wildlife ran third with Trymenow fourth, and both of these colts are entitled to a chance at the rich purse on the week-end. Walter M. Jeffords has made no definite statement as to whether Pavot would be a starter, but even if he is we believe Trymenow, his stablemate, will show to better advantage. Trying to guess the other Belmont starters is rather difficult but we have an idea that Dockstader will represent the Greentree Stable as Coincidence is just back in training after being a victim of the coughing epidemic. At the distance, the Belmont Is fairly open but we have no doubt that the throng will make Jeep the choice. Back in 1938, 55.000 spectators were on hand to witness the victory of Stagehand in the Santa Anita Derby. Judging by the throngs that have been attending at the Arcadia course this season, that figure may be surpassed when the race is renewed this Saturday. Interest in the event has been sharpened by the fact that Busher, the champion two-year-old filly of 1944 and for whom Louis B. Mayer paid 0,000, has an opportunity to win over the colts. Unlike the Kentucky Derby, in which Regret was the first and only filly to win. Busher would not be able to claim that distinction. For it was back in 1939 that Ciencia defeated Xalapa Clown and Impound. From present indications. about 15 will answer the Derby bugle and among the colts who will oppose the Mayer filly are Checkerhall, Bymeabond. Best Effort and the Howard pair of Sea Sovereign and Bismarck Sea. It will be a tough race for Busher, but it would not surprise us to see her on the head end at the finish line. Tom Smith, trainer of the Maine Chance Farm, continues to send out winning two-year-olds at the Long Island tracks. On Tuesday, a field of 24 babes went to the post in the fifth at Belmont and the winner was Knockdown, a brown colt by Discovery — Bride Elect, which was purchased by Maine Chance Farm at the Meadow Brook auctions from the consignment of Alfred G. Vanderbilt for ,000. Smith has now won with Beaugay, Lord Boswell, Harveys Pal, They Say and Knockdown and has been second with Gay Garland and third with Colony Boy. It is a remarkable showing, however, and further attests to the ability of Leslie Combs II. in selecting yearlings and the skill of Tom Smith in bringing them up to the races. If these youngsters continue to perform as they have to date, it looks as if Mrs. Elizabeth Graham, owner of Maine Chance Farm, has a very good chance of getting back the 00,000 she spent for yearlings in 1944, before this season is out. Colony Boy, who cost 6,000, has yet to win his first race, but veterans who saw him in his only outing are of the opinion that he la the most promising two-year-old in this fashionable barn. Every year complaints are heard regarding the claiming rule and this year is no exception. M. G. Farnsworth of the Horsemens Benevolent and Protective Association last week went on record as saying, "The horsemen would like to have the claiming rule changed. We feel that to increase a claimed horse, that loses, 25 per cent is unfair to the public, the racing secretary and to the owners. For instance, a horse is entered in a ,000 claiming race, he runs last, is claimed and, under our existing rule, he is forced to occupy a stall for 30 days and be idle, or to run way over his head. Every horse has his followers. These people cuss" the new owner, say he is cheating, but the fact is that our claiming forces this animal to compete where he has no chance of winning." Only yesterday the Illinois Racing Board acted on this suggestion and passed a rule whereby only horses who win races out of which they are claimed must be entered during the following 30 days for at least 25 per cent more than their purchase price. Farnsworth strongly believes the new rule will make for more truly run races and a better satisfied betting public.
