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R E F L E C T I O N S NELSON DUNSTAH NEW YORK N Y May 6 Oftentimes John B Campbell and Charles J McLennan agree in their weighing of horses but this can hardly be said for McLennans as ¬ signments for Saturdays Dixie Handicap and Campbells weights for the Gallant Fox Handicap which will be run on May 15 Both of these events are at one and threesixteenths miles These famous handicappers put the same three horses on the top but not in the same order For the Dixie McLennan assigned Talon winner of the Santa Anita Handicap 128 with Stymie next at 127 and he followed by Armed at 126 For the Gallant Fox Campbell gave Armed the post of honor at 128 with Stymie next at 126 and Talon third on the list also at 126 So that old difference of opinion applies to these handicappers the same as it does to the boys who burn the midnight oil Of course Jimmy Jones has been say ¬ ing that Armed is now seven years old and the only way he can go is downhill Apparently that statement did not impress Campbell for judging by his weights Armed is still the top handicap performer in this 75000 race which will be run a week from Saturday Although Ben Jones said the other day that Armed would be re ¬ served for midsummer racing the release for the Gallant Fox stated that Jimmy Jones planned to start either Armed or Fervent For the Dixie Fervent was given 121 while for the Gallant Fox he is fifth on the list at 125 the same weight assigned to Phalanx and Rico Monte Then again for the Dixie McLennan gave Phalanx 120 five pounds und r his assignment for the Gallant Fox Indeed there is difference of opinion opinionA A A A AYesterday Yesterday was one of those pneumonia days at the tracks so we spent the afternoon catching up with some delayed reading One of the items that kind of puzzled us was the statement that the Breeders Sales Company of Kentucky had voted to penalize each consignor one yearling for every individual sold this summer which does not bring a price within 30 per cent of the sale Difference of Opinion of Handicappers McLennan Soys Talon Campbell Picks Armed Breeders of Kentucky Pass Peculiar Rule Mayer to Sell Breeding Stock in October Octoberaverage average The object of this of course is to see that only the top yearlings are sold at the summer sales with the seconds held over for the fall sles There are other angles to this new arrangement however Sup ¬ posing a breeder sends a horse like Alsab to the sales ring As you know Alsab sold for only 700 That being the case the consignor would not only take a loss on the yearling that he sold but he would also be penal ¬ ized one yearling in the following years sale At the same time the buyer of that yearling would earn over 350000 for the youngster he bought for the proverbial song It has always been our contention that a yearling that is sold cheaply and goes on to win many times his purchase price is good for the sales as a whole wholeA A A A t tLouis Louis B Mayer the MGM chieftain tells us that the tentative plans are to stage a sale of his breeding stock some time in October and a later sale of yearlings during the month of December At the breeding sale he will offer the stallons Alibhai Free France and some 77 broodmares This will be one of the largest dispersals of breeding stock ever to be sold in this country and trfere has probably never been a sale where so many im ¬ ported daughters of famous stallions will be offered Among the imported mares to be sold are Shining Cloud by Solario June n by Heroic Manasa by Heroic Brave Bird by Heroic Urtica by Spion Kop Boudoir n by Mahmoud and Donatrice by Donatello n Boudoir II is dam of the filly Flower Bed for which Herman B Delman paid 20000 at the last Mayer sale and for whom he recently refused an offer of 45000 Donatrice the daughter of Donatello H will probably be one of the most soughtafter mares in the entire sale for she is the dam of The Dude Capt Flagg and Bellesoeur BellesoeurA A A A There will naturally be speculation regarding the sale of Alibhai and Free Trance when they are sent into the sales ring in October Alibhai who has been called the Bull Lea of California has been one of the most soughtafter young stallions now standing in this coun ¬ try By Hyperion out of Teresina by Tracery he was the object of much discussion last season when Mayer refused an offer of 300000 for him Alibhais first foals were twoyearolds in 1944 and since then he is the sire of such wellknown horses as The Dude Style Prince On Trust War Allies Cover Up Belle Jolie Wheatfield Zenoda Call Bel1 and many others Free France is a sevenyearold son of Man o War out of La France by Sir Gallahad m and is often said to resemble Big Red more than any of his other sons His dam La France did not race but in stud she produced Johnstown and Jacola the latter being the dam of Phalanx who was votedthe threeyearold champion of 1947 A A AObviously Obviously French breeders are hoping to establish a market in this country for their yearlings There is a group of 11 Frenchbreds that are consigned by Mary ¬ land breeders to the Saratoga Sales They are six colts and five fillies by such stallions as Norsman Cidre Mous seux Le Pacha Bourn Magister Labrador and others There is another group now on the high seas and con ¬ signed to P L Grissom master of Duntreath Farm in Lexington Ky by the French Bloodstock Agency This group consists of 13 colts and 10 fillies and they are by such sires as Goya n Adaris tind Hierocles the trio that was purchased by Henry H Knight last year and are now owned by syndicates in this country It was first thought that the latter group would also be sold at Sara ¬ toga but that is now extremely doubtful as the Fasig Tipton Company tells us that so many entries have been received for the Spa sales that they doubt they will be able to handle the latter consignments even though ap ¬ plication should be made at a later date
