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DUNSTm EN ROUTE TO NEW YORK Year after year when leaving Louisville after a Derby running we always wonder if we have again seen a horse who will go on to take the Triple Crown honors In the American racing scheme as we know it today there can be no greater honor for a threeyearold Some horses have won the Derby and Preakness only to lose in the Belmont and the most re ¬ cent example was Pensive who came to New York to be beaten by Bounding Home It can work the other way also for the most famous winner of the Preakness and Belmont was Man o War There was no particular reason for Big Reds absence in the Louisville race for his owner Samuel D Riddle has said that they simply decided to have him make his seasonal debut in the Preakness Then there were seasons such as last year when Jet Pilot defeated Phalanx and Faultless in the Derby Fault ¬ less won the Preakness from On Trust and Phalanx and when they came to New York Phalanx showed his su ¬ periority over a distance of ground by winning the Bel ¬ mont from Tide Rips and Tailspin It is such occurrences that make us realize that a horse must be exceptional to win the Triple Crown A Racing fans who have not delved into turf history usually marvel at the fact that from 1875 to 1919 no threeyearold won the series of events In those early years the races did not have the significance that was later attached to them When Hindoo who many main tain was Americas greatest race horse won the Derby in 1881 he earned but 4400 Later that year Hindoo came East but he did not race in the Preakness or the Belmont Sysonby wljo is generally rated among the six best horses of this country was undefeated in nine starts in 1905 But he did not race in any one of the Triple Crown events It is often claimed that one of the most romantic items of Kentucky Derby lore was Exter ¬ minators victory in 1918 Old Bones failed to start in the Preakness of the Belmont It was not until 1919 that Sir 7s Another Triple Crown WinnerHere Sir Barton Won Coveted Honor in 7979 Since 7930 Only Six Have Triumphed Series Idea Originated in England Barton became the first horse to win the Derby Preak ¬ ness and Belmont and in the three races he earned 57275 Had any horse won these classics 25 years before Sir Bartons feat his total earnings would have been 9400 Today the aggregate added money is 300000 A A ASir Sir Barton in addition to the Triple Crown was also the first to win the Withers He was undoubtedly one of the best of his years He was owned by the Cana ¬ dian Commander J K L Ross of Montreal Historians say that Advance Guard was the best horse that ever represented Canada on the turf but if there was a better one it was Sir Barton In all Sir Barton ran in 31 races winning 13 and all but a few of his appearances were in the United States His most notable victory in Canada was in the Dominion Handicap at Fort Erie That was in 1920 when he was a fouryearold and shared the news ¬ paper headlines with the threeyearold Man o War Sir Barton and Man o War won at a mile and a quarter in 201 under high weight and these feats caused so much talk that they were matched at the Kenilworth track at that distance Sir Barton carrying 126 pounds and Man o War 120 pounds Prior to that race Sir Barton had shown danger signals that he was not in his best form and that proved to be the case when he was beaten by six lengths without a struggle in 202 Despite his dismal performance Sir Barton was one of the best horses of his time timeA A A A AEleven Eleven years after Sir Barton Gallant Fox won the Triple Crown in 1930 Five years later Gallant Fox son Omaha duplicated the feat of his sire Since Omaha the Triple Crown winners have been War Admiral 1937 Whirlaway 1941 Count Fleet 1943 and Assault 1946 This list in itself is evidence that it takes a good horse to win all three of these races There is no doubt in this writers mind that four of the best horses he has ever seen in action were War Admiral Whirlaway Count Fleet and Assault It was unfortunate that Count Fleet ran for the last time irvHhe Belmont Stakes We Have all heard the old claim the best horse since Man o War and it is this writers opinion that Count Fleet was as much en ¬ titled to such recognition as any other horse How lie would have fared had he gone on is a question There are people now who maintain that Man o War was great only as far as he went Assault was in much the same predicament as Sir Barton for it was the match race with Armed that is now remembered rather than some of the remarkable feats he performed in other events He was not in top condition that day at Belmont Park any more than Sir Barton was at Kenilworth KenilworthA A A A The Triple Crown had its origin in England and over a span e 138 years or since 1809 only 14 horses have accounted for all three events as opposed to the seven who haye won our own Triple Crown since 1919 This unique feature has addetf considerable interest to our racing setup in that it is preceded by such pre ¬ liminary events as the Experimental Handicap Wood Me ¬ morial Chesapeake Stakes Blue Grass Stakes and the Derby Trial But in all there are many rich events fol ¬ lowing the Belmont Stakes The Classic American Derby Withers Yankee Jersey Stakes Leonard Richards Stakes Travers Lawrence Realization and others With the honors of winning the Triple Crown a horse becomea a great asset to his owner in stud Last year one of the colts from the Mereworth Farm and who was siredby Whirlaway brought 37500 while the babes by Count Fleet brought rapidfire bidding at such high figures as 41000 35000 25000 25000 18000 and 17000 to give the top five Assault who won the Triple Crown just two years ago is how in stud and we daresay his youngsters jll also draw high bids when his first crop is sent to market
