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REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunstan Ascot Gold Cup Winner Has His Faults French Writer Criticizes Conformation But Admits Arbar Is Great Race Horse Miss Grille Returns to Impressive Form NEW YORK N Y June 22 22Arbar Arbar Marcel Boussacs 48 winner of the Ascot Gold Cup is evidently not the type to suit the eye of the connoisseur After his victory this spring in the Prix Jean Prat at Long champs the French periodical L Eperon did not mince words in describing the fouryear old son of Djebel Astronomic by Asterus The report of this new feature named in honor of the late French owner and breeder says When a race of this importance is to be disputed one examines the contestants in the paddock with great care before the start If one had not known that Arbar was Ar ¬ bar he would hardly have attracted atten ¬ tion To be sure he has a fine expressive head that recalls the Arab type but when one pushes the examination a little farther it is difficult to be satisfied particularly with the hind quarters and the pasterns are weak in appearance In spite of this condemnation LEperons critic admits that Arbar won the Prix Jean Prat like a fine horse in the same style as Ksar That is high praise and the account of the race goes on to say that three things were proved that afternoon at Longchamps 1 That Arbar richly deserved top weight in the Free Handicap of three yearolds in 1947 2 That the heart of a race horse is more important than his confirmation 3 That Djebel is a sire of fine thoroughbreds over any distance distanceWe We have often wondered just how much importance conformation has in a true estimate of a fine thorough ¬ bred There is an old saying that the good ones come in all shapes and sizes but that should hardly discourage a breeder from aiming and selecting for type Obvious weakness can never be a recommendation and it is no argument that some great thoroughbreds have shown glaring defects On the other hand if conformation were all Madison Square Garden would be a better test of the breed than the Belmont Stakes and that of course is ridiculous The tendency among us observers is always to notice merit after the fact and we have heard Stymie praised as one of the handsomest stallions in training by men who had the opportunity to pick him up for 1500 Why didnt they buy him A top show horse brings far more than that Once in a while a horse comes along who cannot be faulted in the walking ring and who justifies our admiration on the track They say Man o War was a trifle on the leggy side but he was a wonderfully handsome horse So were Epinard Sun Briar Eight Thirty Little Risk First Flight to mention just a few of both sexes who come immediately to mind Citation might not win a model hunter class against the best at Warrentoii or Upperville but to our mind he looked class all over in the paddock before the running of the Belmont and well wager there is not a more hand ¬ some twoyearold in the country than Mr Busher This is the aesthetic approach for your racegoer handsome is as handsome does doesMiss Miss Grillo who was not badly treated by the handicapper in the New Castle Handicap last weekend at Delaware Park showed a pleasing return to form when she captured the elev ¬ enth running of this fillies and mares stake from the unlucky Elpis The latter was in trouble between the turns forced to take up and then make her effort on the outside Miss Grillo on the other hand found clear sailing for jockey Ira Hanford These good mares were ranked alike by Gil Haus before the running of the mile and a sixteenth fixture and at this dis ¬ tance they are undoubtedly closer than the two and a half lengths separating them at the finish would suggest Their next meeting should provide an interesting race First Flight just mentioned as a distinguished beauty showed nothing at all in the New Castle flattening out badly when it came to an issue The Whitney filly who has never regained her superb two yearold form may not have liked the muddy going at Wilming ¬ ton and then again she may no longer be capable of beating the best over any kind of strip In her previous race in the Top Flight Handicap at Belmont First Flight had every chance but there too she failed dismally We prefer to remember her as a juvenile juvenileWhile While we are not going to be hasty in judging Im ¬ prudence II the French daughter of Canot recently pur ¬ chased by an American syndicate headed by Arthur B Hancock for a big price we will admit that her first start In this country was something of a deception The win ¬ ner of the One Thousand Guineas the Epsom Oaks and the French Oaks should have shown better than a trail ¬ ing effort for her debut on Long Island She had worked very smartly for this outing and seemed to like the track but French horsemen present at the race say that she may not have liked the gravel in her face A sure way to remedy that of course is to be in front from the drop of the flag and if Imprudence II had repeated her spring form of 47 that is where she would have been The same French horsmen speaking of the fillys last years form said that unlike the majority of her sex she tailed off after midsummer not being nearly as good at Long champs in the fall as for her English invasion invasionThe The late M W Savage owner of Dan Patch 155 is re ¬ volving rapidly in his grave we have no doubt at the mention this week in a New York sports cartoon of his champion as a cheap pacer The same cartoon in one of its balloons says that Dan Patch won more money in purses than Stymie Nei ¬ ther statement is true Dan Patch was not a cheap anything and his purse earnings were only an infinitesimal fraction of the earnings of Stymie The most popular of all harnesshorse champions Dan Patch was unbeaten in all his races dropping but a single heat throughout his career and that at Brighton Beach He did not race long and he never raced for a stake as high as 20000 Most of his performances however were exhibitions against time and there is no record of the sums he earned for Savage owner of the International Stock Food Company and a very shrewd advertising man DAILY RACING FORM receives queries regarding the exact earnings of Dan Patch but it is impossible to supply an answer All that one can say definitely is that this stallions exhibitions not races drew thousands to state and county fairs throughout the nation and that owner Savage was well rewarded
