view raw text
R E F L E C T I O N S By NELSON DUNSTAN NEW YORK NYMay 5f Some day when they write the life story of Eddie Arcaro they will have to designate April 30 to May 4 1948 as the five most exciting days of his life During that period the great little jockey was pinched by a pub licityseekine COD of the Louisville police became the first rider in history to pilot Jtour winners of the Kentucky Derby had at race named after him at Sportsmans Park in Chicago and then came back to New York to receive the plaudits of the Jamaica throng on Tuesday It sourided kind of nice he said wjstfully I want to tell you that I appreciate the talk Ben Jones gave me just before the Derby Ben told me not to worry too much about Coaltpwn for in all the years he had been developing horses he said he had never seen one that Citation could not catch once he went after him Believe me Coaltown is an extremely fast horse but Ben Jones Jiad given me confidence and I went after him with a prayer Citation is not as impressive as Coaltown Coaltownvl vl know He had me on kind of a spot I couldnt chase Coaltown too early in the race for if I had done so I would have gotten both of us beaten He is the kind of a horse that responds when you ask him the question and I can tell you I was pretty relieved when he finally drew alongside of Coaltown and then passed him JBut with all my admiration for Citation dont underestimate Coaltown he is as fast as horses come With the Kentucky Derby now history and the Preak ness not to be run until May 15 older horses will have havean an opportunity at the major eastern tracks this Satur ¬ day At Jamaica they will stage the 25000 Eirenze Handicap Pimlico will off er the historic Dixie Handicap which has 25000 in added money Garden State will stage the 15000 Valley Forge Handicap and up in New England the 10000 Commonwealth Handicap will be the feature at Suffolk Downs The Firenze Handicap Handicapwhich which is for fillies and mares will be run at a mile and a sixteenth and Gallorette has been assigned the top topweight weight of 126 pounds with But Why Not next at 124 The appearance of these two members of the weaker sex Eventful Days in Life of Eddie Arcaro Jockey Has Wholesome Respect for Coaltown Jones Gave Me Confidence in Citation 0lder Horses Hold Spotlight This Weekend should fill the Long Island track to the rafters but at the weights there are quite a few others who are entitled to consideration Efpis is in at 121 pounds and is followed by Harmonica at 120 and then the frio of Cosmic Missile In the Pink and Miss Kimp at 119 each But even that does not complete the possibilities for Earshotr is next at 116 First Flight 115 and then the trio of Carolyn A Miss Disco and Ocean Brief at 114 each A goodsized field will probably answer the bugle and on paper this shapes up as one of the most interesting races of the Jamaica meeting meetingA A A A AThe The Dixie Handicap which is one of the oldest events on the American calendar should also result in a very fine contest Talon the South American horse who won the 100000 Santa Anita Handicap has been given the spot of honor at 128 pounds just one more than that which was assigned to Stymie the worlds moneywinning champion Armed is next on the list at 126 but accord ¬ ing to a recent statement by Ben Jones the Horse of the Year will be reserved for midsummer racing at the Chicago tracks Double Jay is next at 124 and is followed by Fervent at 121 Phalanx 120 and the trio of Endeavour n Elpis and El Mono at 118 Then comes the trio of Faultless But Why Not and Colosal at 117 each In all of these events there are horses who have been entered for the stakes at two tracks and it is diffi ¬ cult at this writing to say with any degree of surety in which they will be started In all there were 35 named for the Dixie and farther down on the list there are quite a few who will have to be respected if they go to the post This is especially true of the Dixie and Valley Forge For the latter event Armed is the highweight at 128 pounds and is followed by Cosmic Bomb and Double Jay at 125 each and then Fervent at 122 All of Saturdays races will serve as preliminaries for the 75OOOGallant Fox Handicap a week from Saturday This event is for threeyearolds arid older horses at a mile and threesixteenths and among the eligibles for both the Pirenze and the Gallant Fox are Gallorette But Why Notr Harmonica Elpis and Carolyn A Gallor ¬ ette who is now the worlds top money winner among fillies and mares won her last start and it would not b surprising if she increased her earnings to over half a million before the season is out In the Gallant Fox she Will meet some of the best order horses in training Stymie is just another who will be endeavoring to increase his earnings through the medium of this rich race The South Americans Talon Rico Monte and Endeavour in are also eligibles and the list is further strengthened by Cosmic Bomb Phalanx Double Jay Fervent Faultless and still others This is the most important race for the handicap stars since the eastern season started and will be a forerunner to the Suburban arid other rich events at the Belmont Park meeting which opens on May 17 17A A A A AIn In a paragraph above we made mention of the pos ¬ sibility of Gallorette passing the 500000 mark in earn ¬ ings this season TO bur way of thinking one of the most interesting points of the present season is whether or not Stymie will pass the 1000000 mark and thus become the first horse in history to obtain that fabulous figure Another point that we will all be watching is just how far Citation will climb on the moneywinning ladder At the moment Citation has earned 331830 so he has quite a long way to go before he will approach the Jacobs racer who now is at the top of the money winning list In fact he has 500000 to go But it must be remembered that Stymie too is very active and it is a foregone conclusion that he will climb higher on the ladder before the season is over It may be that the earnings of a horse cannot be used as a basis for com ¬ parison with other horses but it is most certamlyau indication of class There has never been a year when threeyearolds or older horses have had an opportunity to garner so much wealth for their owners and along with others we are naturally wondering how that money winning ladder is going to shape up at the end of this
