view raw text
REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunstan ThreeYearOlds Hold Spotlight Today Small Field in Belmont Stakes June 12 First Flight Imprudence II in Top Flight Meadow Brook to Attract Top Chasers ChasersNEW NEW YORK N Y June 4 4Threeyearolds Threeyearolds will hold the limelight tomorrow for besides the running of the Peter Pan Handicap at Belmont Park and the Yankee Handicap at Suffolk Downs the Epsom Derby will be run in England The King and Queen will attend the Derby but the growing inter ¬ national interest in racing is clearly seen in that Marshall Cassidy Lou Walger and Johnny Clark will be among the Americans present The Epsom Derby will have no effect on the Belmont Stakes which will be run a week from today and only the actual running of the Peter Pah arid the Yankee will determine if the Belmont field will be any larger than it now promises to be We look for one of the smallest fields in the running of this event which is the third leg of the Triple Crown Barring accidents Citation is a certain starter and according to all the experts appears the winner This being the case the Kent Handicap at Delaware Park will probably offer a larger field for those at the Wilmington course There were 93 originally nominated for the Belmont and only 90 for the Kent but it is almost certain that the field for the latter will be double that for the Belmont BelmontA A few days ago we stated that on paper the 20000 Top Flight Handicap which will be the feature event at Belmont next Wednesday shapes up as one of the best races of the spring season Since making that state ment C V Whitneys First Flight who made her first start of the 1948 season won the seventh race at Belmont last Wednesday and in so doing demonstrated that she Is back in the form of two years ago and will be one of those to beat in the Top Flight Yesterday five fillies and mares went to the post in the Water Blossom Handicap and while the muchimproved Conniver who is trained by William Post was the winner and Imprudence II finished last we look for much improvement from this fouryearold filly who last year won the One Thousand Guineas and Epsom Oaks in England The Water Blossom was her first start in this country and considering that it was not a bad effort Should both First Flight and Im ¬ prudence n both go to the post they are likely to meet the most formidable threeyearold and older fillies and mares for on the list is Gallorette Harmonica the Sub ¬ urban winner Honeymoon and Elpis who ran first and second in the Vineland Handicap and also But Why Not Snow Goose Carolyn A and still others who will be mak ¬ ing a stout bid at the weights assigned them This race which is at one and onesixteenth miles has all the aspects of a championship event eventWar War Battle who was voted the best steeplechaser of the 1947 season was scratched from the Corinthian Steeplechase Handi ¬ cap which won by the Brookmeade Stables Fleettown vas one of the best jumping contests seen on Long Island this year Had War Battle been in the lineup it is doubtful if with 160 pounds he would have scored over Fleettown who is one of the most improved racers over the jumps to come up in recent years In his four starts to date Fleettown has won two and been second twice and barring accidents he will be in the running for the championship for the rest of this season Mrs Corliss Sullivans The Heir ran second in the Corinthian passing gallant old Elkridge in the run in from the last jump to the finish As we stated a few days back steeplechasing is becoming more popular and we daresay the jumping enthusiasts will be out in force for the running of the 15000 Meadow Brook Steeplechase Handicap which will be the feature event at Belmont next Thursday Both Fleettown and War Battle are eligible for this event and we look for a splendid contest in this two and a half mile event that has been won by some of the best jumpers seen in this country during the past 30 years yearsJune June will be a busy month in many racing sectors Nar ragansett Park will open on Monday Aqueduct will follow the twoday United Hunts meeting opening on June 17 and both Monmouth Park in New Jersey and Arlington Park in Chicago will come into the picture on June Zl At the Narragansett meeting which is of 30 days dura ¬ tion there will be six stake events contested and the foremost of these is the 25000 Providence Stakes a test for threeyearolds at one and onesixteenth miles Some ¬ what of a novelty is that the weights will be determined by the earnings of those competing Coaltown who is an eligible for the Kent Stakes at Delaware on June 12 is also named for the Providence which will be the feature event at the Pawtucket track on June 26 At this writing it seems safe to say that Coaltown and William Helis Salmagundi who won the 100000 Santa Anita Derby will be the high weights of the field should they answer the bugle Vulcans Forge who defeated Coaltown in the Withers is another named for this race and while three yearold events have had small fields in recent weeks it strikes us that the Providence will draw sufficiently to make it one of New Englands most interesting races dur ¬ ing the spring and early summer summerLast Last year it was necessary for racing to rally to the aid of the horsemen at Rockingham whose horses were afflicted with swamp fever Now the sport faces the task of aiding those who are stranded due to the result of the flood at Portland Meadows Bill Kyne has not only placed the resources of the Portland Meadows Jockey Club at the disposal of those who have been made destitute but appeals have also been made to the horse ¬ men and the track management of the California Turf Founda ¬ tion and also the Hollywood Turf Club Chairman Loyd Vright of the California Horse Racing Board has pledged full support and cooperation for aid to the stricken horsemen at the Port ¬ land track His board advised general manager Jack Mackenzie of Hollywood Park and Gwynn Wilson of Santa Anita that any funds advanced for relief purposes would be approved as essen ¬ tial charity expenditures from their charity foundations Al ¬ though the United States Government has taken a solid stand against charity meetings it would seem to us that the race tracks of America should appeal to the Internal Revenue De ¬ partment or the Treasury Department whichever has the say in this matter to stage a day at their track and deduct it as bona fide medium of aiding those in distress We doubt that even hardheaded government officials could hold that this is not a deductible item These horsemen in Portland are cer ¬ tainly entitled to any possible help that can be given them
