Ponder Has Nine Opponents In Preakness Stakes Today: Derby Winner to Face Capot, Palestinian Again at Pimlico; Marylands Event in Triple Crown Also Brings Forth Noble Impulse, Sun Bahram, Parliament to Give Battle To Son of Pensive Over Mile and Three-Sixteenths Route, Daily Racing Form, 1949-05-14

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JOCKEY S. BROOKS— Will be up on Ponder, the Kentucky Derby winner, again today in the Preakness renewal. Ponder Has Nine Opponents In Preakness Stakes Today Derby Winner to FaceCapot, Palestinian Again at Pimlico Marylands Event in Triple Crown Also Brings Forth Noble Impulse, Sun Bahram, Parliament to Give Battle To Son of Pensive Over Mile and Three-Sixteenths Route PIMLICO, Baltimore, Md., May 13. — Ten of the more durable three-year-old colts were entered this morning for tomorrows seventy-third running of the historic Preakness, famed mile and three-sixteenths fixture which constitutes the second step in the three-rung ladder annually used by members of the division for ascension to championship honors. Each starter will carry 126 pounds in the 5,000 added classic, the post time of which is scheduled for 5:15 p. m. Endeavoring to make it five victories in the past nine years for Warren Wrights Calumet Farm is Ponder, whose sire, Pensive, followed up his Derby triumph with a score in the 1944 Preakness. Other Calumet ► winners in the Maryland classic were Whirlaway in 41, Faultless in 47 and Citation last year. Two of the quartet, Whirl -away and Citation, went on to complete the coveted triple by winning the Belmont Stakes. As was the case in late weeks Derby, Ponder will face the cream of the current crop of sophomores, headed by Greentree Stables Capot, who, despite his defeat by the Calumet colt in the Derby, may attract the majority of public support. Others named for this years renewal are Isidore Biebers Palestinian, Clifford Mooers Old Rockport, Crispin Oglebays Noble Impulse, Mrs. E. H. Ellison, Jr.s, Sun Bahram, King Ranchs Curandero, Mrs. Ada L. Rices Model Cadet, Christiana Stables Parliament and Sylvester W. Labrot, Jr.s, Taran. Race Has Gross of 11,870 Should 10 starters remain in the field, which seems improbable, the gross value of the Preakness will be 11,870. Should Palestinian, Old Rockport or Model Cadet win, their purse would be 8,870, in that all were supplementary entries at a cost of i 1,250 each. If one of the original nominations is returned victorious, he will earn 0,985. Ponder is truly a three-year-old development, for he carried the maiden "M" throughout his four-race juvenile campaign. He accomplished his initial victory at Tropical Park during the winter, then won two other races before the seasons campaign was completed in Florida. Even after arriving at Derbytown, Ponder was considered a second-stringer behind De Luxe, himself regarded as only a possibility. Ben Jones, who conditioned the colt for Continued on Page Forty-Three Ponder Faces Nine Opponents t In Pimlico s Preakness Stakes t j 1 , 1 t B ;. e 1, !, - I, ►. i, e r e y s d : ; ■ 1 [ ; 1 Derby Winner Competes Witht Capot and Palestinian Again; Noble Impulse Rated Threat Continued from Page One his Derby victory, but will relinquish the position to his son, H. A. "Jimmy" Jones, tomorrow, sent Ponder through a perfectly planned campaign prior to the "big day." Ponder was fourth to a trio of Derby eligibles in a six and one-half furlongs Keene-land test, being beaten by Ky. Colonel, Petey Cotter and Halt. It was in the Derby Trial that Ponder gave indication of his true value and potentialities. In his first engagement at more than sprint distances, the Pensive colt charged through the final furlong to be beaten a bit more than a length while second to Fred Hoopers Olympia. The t latter was being eased through the late stages of that event, but Ponder, for the first time, had given assurance that he " would be running when his opponents were coming back to him in the Derby. That is exactly what happened when the r Kentucky classic was staged and, aided and abetted by the skillful riding of popular £ Steve Brooks, the stretch - running colt * charged to his first important triumph while earning the lucrative purse of 1 1,600, which brought his total earnings to 00,550. Should the latest Calumet de- t velopment get by the Preakness, he would t appear to stand a royal chance of complet- ing the "Triple Crown" conquest, for the mile and a half of the Belmont should be to his liking. 1 Having been in continuous training since * a mid-summer of his juvenile year, it was not necessary to press Ponder in local I trials. He has been galloped extensively and his final "blow-out" this morning was 1 a half mile in :48%, which was just one- 1 fifth of a second slower that his sharpener I for the Derby. Ponder drew the extreme J outside post position, but his style of running will permit him to drop down on the 1 inside immediately after the start, thus 1 disposing of the necessity of losing ground • early.-. I Brought About Olympias Defeat , Capot, brown son of Menow and Piquet, 1 is credited with having been largely re- i sponsible for the defeat of the highly- ■ fancied Olympia in last weeks Derby. It i was the Greentree colt who "dogged" I Hoopers three -year-old through the early , stages and forced him to retire after a mile in 1:38%. With Olympia among the absentees tomorrow, his handlers having | elected to reserve him for the Withers Mile, • Capot is regarded as being in a more fa- vorable position. John Gaver supervised Capots final training this morning and, with Ted Atkinson in the irons, the Greentree colt overshadowed his rivals with five furlongs in 1:00 flat, breezing. The move did not come j as a surprise, for Capot is unbeaten over the Pimlico track. As a juvenile he established what was then a track record of 1:42% for a mile and a sixteenth, only to be disqualified and relegated into second position behind Slam Bang. He later confirmed his superiority over that colt by whipping him a week later in the Futurity, which, added to his Champagne and Wakefield victories, made him a triple stakes winner as a two-year-old. Capot won the Chesapeake Stakes at Havre de Grace for his lone victory this season, but has not been worse than third in a five-race campaign. Both Gaver and Atkinson feel that Pimlico is his preferred track and they have expressed the opinion that the colt will have no excuses. When asked for his comment on Capots pros-J pects tomorrow, trainer Gaver stated: "Ill be quiet and let my representative speak for himself." Very Consistent Colt Palestinian, who is by Sun Again, who i was a stakes winner himself, while sport-E ing the Calumet silks, has done extremely i well under trainer Hirsch Jacobs during his two seasons of campaigning. He won t seven of his 11 starts as a juvenile, climax -i ■ ing the campaign with a victory in the Endurance ■ Handicap at Bowie. The strapping chestnut was in Florida i last winter training for the Flamingo Stakes but was forced to pass up that event when he went a bit wrong. Since return-e - ing to strenuous training, the Bieber colt has won but a single race, taking the mea-e - sure of Wine List at Jamaica. That effort, , plus a close race behind Olympia in the » Wood, earned him a starting position in the Derby, in which he raced well while ; finishing third. He will have the services tomorrow of Eddie Arcaro, who will be : striving for his third Preakness, having l won honors with Whirlaway and Citation. Arcaro has ridden Palestinian on two oc-;, - casions, winning with him over ,500 claimers last year, and handling him in i a victory over Wine List this season. Old Rockport, who is by Carrier Pigeon, „ considered one of Equipoises better sons, :, is owned by Clifford Mooers, a native of f the Lone Star State and a farm owner in i Kentucky. Old Rockport was a four-time e winner last year, but did not reach real prominence until the past winter in Cali- - t " r £ * 1 t t 1 * a I 1 1 I J 1 1 • I , 1 i ■ i I , | • j i i t ■ ■ i - - , » ; : l - i „ :, f i e - fornia, when he took the measure of — Olympia in the Santa Anita Derby. Sensational Apprentice * Reaching prominence with Old Rockport * was the sensational apprentice development, Gordon Glisson, who will be in the saddle for tomorrows Preakness engagement. The two teamed in the Derby last week but could do no better than fourth. Phil Reilly has been handling training chores for the past week and he feels that the colt will show to better advantage over this course, expressing the belief that the Churchill course was a bit "cuppy." The last three-year-old to earn a starting position in this years Preakness through stakes victory was Noble Impulse, the son of Bull Dog, who won Mondays Survivor Stakes in the mile and a sixteenth track record time of 1:42. The race marked the first distance appearance of the year for the Oglebay colt, who distinguished himself as a juvenile by winning three important stake races. The Survivor marked the first victory of the year for Noble Impulse and, in the race, the colt turned in a quarter mile in :23%, the half in :47%, six furlongs in 1:11 Ys and the first mile in 1:35%. A pace such as that may find the speedy Capot taking dust from Noble Impulse on the morrow. Bobby Martin, who will ride "Doc" Jones charge, was astride this morning when Noble Impulse stepped a half mile in :47%, getting the last furlong in shade better than :12. Sentimental Interest Much sentimental interest will go with Sun Bahram, whose owner is the former Mrs. Willis Sharpe Kilmer. Sun Bahram was third to Capot and Slam Bang in his last two starts as a juvenile and has shown that he possesses at least as much class in the current crop of three-year-olds. He has won only one race in three starts this season, but his victory came in his most recent endeavor, in which he was equipped with blinkers for the first time. Carson Kirk, who is currently leading the riders at this meeting, will handle the saddle chores. The Ellison silks are quite familiar to racegoers throughout the country, and especially to Marylanders, for they were the colors of the late Willis Sharpe Kilmer when that popular sportsman was represented by such capable racers as Sun Beau and Exterminator. Model Cadet, a son of Requested, who finished in a dead heat for place with Sun Again in the 1942 Preakness, won by Alsab, would have to show marked improvement to become a serious threat. Trainer Tom Smith suspects that the track may be too hard for his charge and the manner in which the veteran spoke left one to believe that, were the decision of entry up to Smith, Model Cadet would pass up the engagement. However, an upset occurred in the Derby and Mrs. Rice is hoping that if another should turn up in the Preakness, it will involve Model Cadet as the principal. No rider has been named for Model Cadet. Robert J. Kleberg, owner of the "Triple Crown" winner, Assault, appears to be reaching for the moon with Curandero, who has failed to win a race in five starts this season. Curandero, a son of Brazado, impressed greatly as a juvenile, but went wrong early and has not indicated that he is a top member of his division this season. Should an upset be possible, train-t er Max Hirsch is the one capable of such an accomplishment. Dave Gorman will be down from New York to ride Curandero. Parliament and Taran are extreme out-i siders in the Preakness field, and their scattered support is likely to come only be-3 cause they are, more or less, locally owned. Parliament is regarded as a starter only if the track is muddy. Taran had been re-. garded as a probable starter until his dull performance in this weeks Survivor. While many felt that effort would eliminate him, trainer Jimmy Rowan feels that his colt did not have an even chance, for he dwelt at the start and trailed the field. With prospects of a keenly contested and interesting event, and predictions of clear, cool weather, officials of the Maryland Jockey Club predict one of the better turn-1 out of recent years, with the figure hover- ing around the 32,000 mark.


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800