view raw text
Better Self Wins Yankee With Ease EaseKing King Ranch Colt Never in Serious Trouble at Suffolk To Lead Salmagundi Home HomeSUFFOLK SUFFOLK DOWNS East Boston Mass June 5 King Ranchs Better Self con ¬ sidered one of the best of his generation last season came into his own this after ¬ noon at Suffolk Downs when he scored the easiest kind of victory in the 50000 Yan ¬ kee Stakes richest event of the year for threeyearolds in New England The vic ¬ tor who appeared to dominate the small field from the drop of the flag was two and a half lengths to the good of the Santa Anita Derby winner Salmagundi at the finish with Jockey Warren Mehrtens taking things very easy Dole who never took a prominent part in the proceedings but who did show an even effort was six lengths further back in third place a half length to the good of the Brookmeade stables Dart By ByThis This was the first occasion since its in ¬ augural in 1935 that the Yankee has been run at the classic mile and a quarter dis ¬ tance and Better Selfs time of 205 for the 10 furlongs appears ordinary until one takes the sloppy condition of the strip into consideration The King Ranchs bay son of Bimelech Bee Mas by War Admiral was a strong favorite rewarding his back ¬ ers with 420 and 300 There was no show wagering due to the small field com ¬ posed of six starters representing five sepa ¬ rate interests interestsInrermitten Inrermitten Showers to Post Time TimeBetter Better Self may be no Citation but he ran like a good colt this afternoon and the extended distance of the Yankee which many horsemen feared he would be una ble to negotiate was perfectly simple for this attractive Bradleybred from Max Hirschs barn barnAfter After a week of uniformly good weather it had to rain on Yankee Handicap day a light drizzle starting early in the morning There were intermittent showers right up to post time for the feature but this did not prevent some 23000 fans turning out for the big race and these loyal patrons of the sport were rewarded with a fine spectacle even though Better Self the choice won with quite a bit to spare spareThe The many partisans of Better Self had hadContinued Continued on Page Three Better Self Gains Easy Yankee Handicap Victory VictoryKing King Ranch Colt Shows Way to Salmagundi Over Sloppy Track TrackContinued Continued from Page One Onean an anxious quarter of an hour during one of the notorious New England post parades The colts going for the Yankee were on the track just 15 minutes before post time and then spent the interval exhibiting themselves to the geese in the infield pond In spite of his respectable burden of 122 four more than the weight assigned Salma ¬ gundi and 14 more than Doles package Better self for all his slight frame ran to the crowds expectations Job Dean Jessop hustled Dart By right to the front as the field left the gate in the Yankee from the chute In the long run to the first turn Dart By was closely followed by Better Self and Salmagundi while Dole and Quarter Pole brought up the procession Dart By continued as the leader around the turn and down the backstretch but Jessop was riding vigor ¬ ously to maintain his advantage while both Better Self and Salmagundi appeared to be under stout restraint The clip was sustained the leader showing a half in 47 and six panels in 112 before any of his pursuers made any real move moveBetween Between the turns Mehrtens who is noted for his uncanny sense of pace de ¬ cided that it was time to force matters and the King Ranchs jockey challenged with Better Self on the outside At the same time Dart Bys stablemate Splash made a menacing move saving a lot of ground along the rail but this bid was shortlived while Better Self followed by Salmagundi went on to the front For a moment it appeared that an interesting duel might develop but Salmagundi was not equal to the task Mehrtens took a quick glance behind him decided that no real threat would or could disturb his lead and then coasted home on a tight rein Dole came from far back to earn the show award but the Honeywell Farms Roman colt was run ¬ ning over tired comeptitors comeptitorsDart Dart By was pretty well exhausted from his early effort Splash showed only the one flash of speed between the turns and Quarter Pole a colt who received consider ¬ able backing on the strength of his recent victory in the Constitution Handicap here showed absolutely nothing Perhaps the off track was to blame or possibly there was some real class in this field
