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BETWEEN By OSCAR OTIS PIMLICO Baltimore Md May 12 Trainer H A Jimmy Jones who has Citation under his care here reveals that the big horse is train ¬ ing lightly but smoothly for his Preakness engagement and second leg in the mythical Triple Crown of America Citation is about as intelligent as horses come and now that he is on edge does not require hard drilling to keep him on that edge Citation lacks nerves which perhaps is one reason he can maintain top form over a long period of time which is one of the hallmarks of a good horse It stands to reason that a horse who fritters away his energy through nervousness or is a poor traveler has that much less left for actual racing and normally also would take more time to reach winning condition There is no indecision left incidentally in the Jones family at least as to the respective merits of Citation and Coaltown The Derby left little doubt about the matter said Jimmy But perhaps what had many fooled about the respective merits of the two horses was that fabulous work of Coaltown down at Hialeah Park during the winter Jimmy tells it this way There were but two watches at the break that morning mine and Bens It just happened that way I was on a pony and Ben was on a pony about 100 feet down the track from me Coaltown broke I tabbed the first eighth in 10 and some small change got him at the quarter in 21 and some change the three furlongs in 33 and a half mile in 43 I couldnt believe my watch I galloped down to Ben and asked him what he had obtained Ben had him the same as myself but at first thought his watch had gone haywire We didnt know then we had a really good horse but we knew we had a truly fast one It might be mentioned that the world record for the half mile is Tie Scores 45 at the Hipodromo de las Amer icas in Mexico City Eddie Blind the Pimlico starter who had the task of doing some of the barrier schooling of the Calumet horses at Hialeah Park during the winter tabbed Cita ¬ tion early as perhaps the pick of the crop because of his lack of nervousness and general all around intel ¬ ligence at the post Some of the Calumet people at that time thought perhaps Free America was the logical se ¬ lection and for all we know it could prove out that way before the year is over However it is Citation that has been doing the running recently and until Free America comes along and indicates differently most folks will string along with Citations claim to number one honors This is the first Preakness to be started by Blind and he will take every precaution to guard against any mishap As at the Derby the recall flag will be used In the milliontoone chance that one stall of the gate should not open or should the gate open when Blind himself had not actually pressed the button a false start will be declared and the horses sent back for another whirl by the flagman Of course the chances for anything other than routine are remote but if mis ¬ haps occur in overnight races they also could in a stake Any added money sweepstakes presents a different aspect than an overnight race Where a fee payment is made by the owner there should be every opportunity for a horse going to the post to become in fact a starter A withdrawal and refund to the public of all monies wagered is in the rules for a horse locked in the gate but with a Preakness such an occurrence would develop into a false start which is entirely logical logicalA A A A ADave Dave Woods the Pimlico goodwill man insists that the Saturday renewal of Marylands most famous stake will be seen by more people than ever before in all the world saw a horse race Woods is basing his asser ¬ tion that the Preakness will have this tremendous au dience because the race will be sent out live on tele ¬ vision The Eastern television chain will carry the race in Baltimore Washington Philadelphia New York and Boston The Kentucky Derby was telecast but not live i e during the actual running of the race But even this great throng may be put to shade in future years when television cables reach the West Coast and other great population centers Of course those people have television too but are not as yet hooked up with the Atlantic Seaboard chain and hence cant get in on the spot developments Inasmuch as this is the most ambitious turf television yet attempted it will be inter ¬ esting to see if the telecast cuts down the crowd Most turf experts here do not think so soA A A A AJimmy Jimmy Rowan trainer of Bovard and Willie Saun ders who will ride the S W Labrot colt in the Preakness are in agreement that while it might sound foolish to actually pick their horse to beat Citation both feel that if any horse accomplishes that feat it will be the trim son of Bahram Willie Saunders has been riding the colt steadily says he discovered that Bovard had the earmarks of a good horse in winning the Louisiana Derby and that the colt has shown steady improvement ever since He acts as if distance doesnt mean a thing certainly a great aid in winning any such stake as the Preakness In any event they think him the best son of Bahram ever foaled to date And both trainer and rider believe that Bovards defeat in the Chesapeake Stakes can be discounted He encountered trouble in the affair and came out of the race with slight injuries which caused him to walk sore for a twoday period I think Bovard is the second best threeyearold in America explained Saunders While this may be tak ¬ ing in a lot of territory Bovard is just beginning to find himself It is going to take a lot of horse to beat him from now on This is the first Preakness starter in ¬ cidentally for the youthful Rowan who took over the main division of the Labrot horses last fall An oddity in the turf wprld where personnel shifts frequently in most cases Rowan has been associated with the Labrot stable all his life
