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k REFLECTIONS by nelson dunstan NEW YORK. N. Y., May 14.— From all indications the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness results have quite a few of the three-year-old owners in a quandary. Undoubtedly, the 5,000 Withers, which will be run at Belmont Park on the week-end, will draw a small field. The Withers is at one mile. If we judge the situation correctly the Belmont Stakes, which will be run on the closing day at the Elmont course, and is at a mile and a half, will also draw a small field. When you come right down to it, there are not a half dozen good mile and a half horses in this years three-year-old group. Four horses predominated in but, of course, we the Derby and Preakness runnings, might just as well eliminate all four from this week-ends William Hells Cosmic Bomb will race It may be that be a starter, but he. too, is very doubtful and it looks now as if the 5,000 event is likely to draw such horses as Owners Choice. Brabancon, Blue Border and a few others It is something of a job to train a three-year-old for the Derby and Preakness distances, then sharpen him up for the mile of the Withers, only to have to prep him again for the longer routes of the Peter Pan and the Belmont Stakes. Only a super horse can win them all. AAA Although the season is early, New Yorkers may already have seen two fillies who are to blaze their way in the two-year-old racing of 1947. The first is the expensive yearling. Royal Blood, a chestnut colt by Coldstream— Spotted Beauty, by Man o War, who was bred by the Coldstream Stud and who has won convincingly at Belmont. Another is Ghost Run. a filly by Boojum— Foxiana. by Stefan the Great, who won the race preced- Small Fields Likely in Withers, Belmont Royal Blood, Ghost Run Impressive Babes But Why Not Threat to First Flight Sneller, Glidewell Promising Race Riders ing the Acorn Stakes at Belmont yesterday. A C. V. Whitney homebred, this filly was ridden by Eddie Arcaro and, at the end of the four and a half furlongs dash, she was three and a half lengths in front of Forever Fair. She led from start to finish and, had her rider seen fit to hustle her, she could have won by a far greater margin. Only the future can determine whether we are correct in estimating the worth of these two babes, but we do expect Royal Blood to show his class in the running of the 0,000 Juvenile Stakes on Saturday, and also the National Stallion Stakes, which will bring the Belmont meeting to a close as a co-feature to the Belmont Stakes on the last day of this month. • AAA Judging by the Acorn Stakes, which was the feature event at Belmont yesterday, the King Ranch holds a powerful hand in the running of the Coaching Club American Oaks, which will be the feature event at Belmont next Tuesday. Carolyn A. was an odds-on favorite in the Acorn, but she could not do any better than finish seventh. Since the death of Blue Larkspur some 10 days ago, his youngsters have amply demonstrated their class. In the Acorn another potential champion came to the front when his daughter, But Why Not, was a convincing winner over Harmonica by two lengths, with the latter four lengths in front of Alrenie. It could come to pass that But Why Not will have to match strides with First Flight in the Coaching Club, but, if that should prove the case, the latter had better be in top shape or she will have to bow to the King Ranch miss, who scored so impressively in the Acorn. First Flight was one of the best two-year-old fillies this writer has ever seen in action, but, should she select the Coaching Club for her debut of the season, we can assure you she will meet up with a top miss in But Why Not. To date, we have been more impressed with the three-year-old fillies than we have with the colts. AAA After the running of the Derby and the Preakness, to say nothing of the Dixie in Pimlico, the best horses of the country do congregate on the New York tracks. So, too, do the best jockeys. Viewing the races at Belmont, we were struck by the fact that the majority of the best race riders in the country are now plying their trade in this Metropolitan area. It is not enough to say that Arcaro, Atkinson, Longden and Guerin are riding in New York, for there is also Johnny Adams, Bobby Permane, Jack Westrope, Conn McCreary, Basil James, Porter Roberts, Ira Hanford and still others. The trouble is that newcomers are few and far between. There are two new youngsters, however, whose work we feel to be promising. One is Joe Sneller and the other is Paul Glidewell. The latter youngster owns a farm in Missouri and when his riding days are over, they tell us he will be sensible enough to return to that farm with a good bankroll that he has earned in the saddle. That is a refreshing story for, lately, we have been hearing all too many stories about young riders who have very little sense of the value of a dollar. Some end their career in pretty much the same way they started, and that was with little or nothing.
