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REFLECTIONS I By Nelson Dunstan l lBelmont Belmont Opening Tops Last Years Jones Mapping Out Plans for Coaltown Citation Now Sixth on Money Ladder Large TwoYearOId Fields at Belmont BelmontNEW NEW YORK N Y May 18 18The The Belmont meeting went off to a very auspicious start despite the heavy fog which enveloped it when 29340 fans turned out yesterday to wager 2255019 In these days when the trend is downward those figures are somewhatrefreshing for on tlie opening day a year ago only 24454 were on hand for a rainy opening and a muddy track it is already obvious that Belmont continues to draw the class horses and this is likely to continue wjth Coaltown in the Swift to ¬ morrow and Saturdays Metropolitan Handi ¬ cap attracting many of the best nailers in the country Rippey who won the Toboggan so brilliantly down the Widener chute yesterday will probably come back to try again in the Metropolitan that may see Faultless Fervent Stymie Gallorette Endeavour n an others answering the bugle Last year 48632 fans were on hand for the Metropolitan running and although Stymie was the winner over 11 others this years field now gives every promise of being just as brilliant and as fast This race will be a forerunner to the 50000 Suburban which at one and one quarter miles will be run on Monday May 31 And once again the best horses now in training should be in the lineup lineupJimmy Jimmy Jones the Calumet trainer admits that he is somewhat perplexed as to how he will work out the schedules for Citation and Coaltown We rather imagine he is more concerned with Coaltown than he is with the horse who has now won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Naturally Citation is pointing for the Belmont Stakes on June 12 and Jones is desirous of starting him once prior to that third and last leg of the Triple Crown He could select the 50000 Jersey Stakes at Garden State Park on May 29 or the 15000 Peter Pan Handicap at Belmont or the 50000 Yankee Handicap at Suffolk Downs on June 5 Coaltown presents quite an ¬ other problem After tomorrows Swift Stakes this speedy son of Bull Lea will probably be pointed for the Withers which at one mile will be run on May 29 the same day as the Jersey Stakes The Calumet trainer has indicated that Coaltown will not be a starter in the Belmont due to its one and onehalf miles Even so there are many races for threeyearolds at one and onequarter miles still to come and as we recall the Kentucky DerbyJ Coaltown is very capable of negotiating that distance As we see it there will be plenty of opportunity for both the Calumet horses in the months to come comeWith With his Preakness earnings of 91870 Citation climbed high on the moneywinning ladder His total earnings to date amount to 423 JOO and this moved him above First Fiddle and into sixth position on the worlds moneywinning list From now on however the jumps upward are going to be much more difficult Should he win the Belmont Stakes he will pass Sea biscuit who is now in fifth position credited with 437730 and place him next to Whirlaway who has 561161 to his credit Citation will still have a long way to go to catch up with Stymie but if he stays sound there is no telling just how high he will climb before the present season comes to a close There is probably no angle of racing that has undergone so many changes in recent years as the department of earnings For over 10 years Sun Beau sat securely on the throne with 376744 and on more than one occasion it was said that his figure would never be topped But Seabiscuit dethroned him and since then Whirlaway Assault Armed and Stymie have gone far ahead of the Kilmer horse Stymie may or may not reach the 1000000 mark but if stakes and purses stay at the values they are today and Citation graduates into the handicap ranks as a sound horse he may be the one to eventually accomplish the feat of winning 1000000 1000000Yesterday Yesterday 12 fillies answered the bugle for the first twoyearold race of the Belmont meeting and today no less than 28 twoyearold colts and geldings were named for the second race of the day This division is likely to develop very fast from now on and the running of the Juvenile at five furlongs on May 29 will send some youngsters on their way in the campaign that will lead up to the Saratoga Special Hopeful and the various Futurities in the fall This year the National Stallion Stakes will be run in two divisions one for the colts and the other for the fillies and by that tune we will at least have an inklng of some of the youngsters whose breeding would justify the thought that they are above the average in quality Eternal World who won two stake events at Jamaica is an eligible for the Juvenile and also for the National Stallion Stakes which will be run on June 12 and while he may continue his winning ways his task should be a much more difficult one when he meets many of the colts who have yet to make their debut Just one of the youngsters that will be watched with a great deal of interest is Mr Busher for whom Mrs Elizabeth Graham paid 50000 as a weanling This colt who is a full brother to Busher is an eligible for the National Stallion StallionWe We received many phone calls yesterday from people asking How did Steve Brooks do in the last two races at Churchill Downs on Saturday On the final day of the Downs meeting Steve won the first six races in Louisville starting with Young Buddy in the first then scoring with Donward Bay Acre Brownstown Wise Paisano and Tidy Sum Brooks was unable to win the last two races of the day but in scoring with his first six mounts he performed one of the outstanding riding feats of all times on the American turf It was back in 1946 that Edward Plesa scored with six of his seven mounts at Play fair but prior to that the occasions have been few and far between when jockeys have been able to score with six consecu ¬ tive mounts Johnny Longden was Jhe leading rider of the 1947 season but only won out after a bitter struggle with Brooks who is undoubtedly one of the most capable jockeys in this country today During 1947 Brooks finished fifth on the list in the amount of money won scoring with 285 out of 1279 races with earnings of 874762 The only one to top him in number of winners was Longden who scored with 316 of his 1327 mounts
