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REFLECTIONS B* NELS0N dunstan NEW YORK, N. Y., June 15. — English experts are of the opinion that the Ascot Gold Cup, which will be run tomorrow, is a "two-horse race" between William Woodwards Black Tarquin and Alycidon, this being the pair that ran one-two in the St. Leger Stakes at Doncaster last fall. French horses have won the Gold Cup for the past three years and, in tomorrows race, they are placing their faith on Turmoil, who won this years running of the Prix du Cabran, which is the French equivalent to the Ascot race. While the winning of the Ascot Gold Cup is the goal of every Frenchman, there is a feeling in British circles that Turmoil is not quite the equal of the two favorites. Black Tarquin has yet to prove that he can negotiate two and one-half miles, but his showing in the St. Leger, which was at a mile and six furlongs, left-little doubt, in the opinion of the British, that he can go on to the longer distance. It is often said that Epsom is the most difficult of all the English courses, but many make the same claim for Ascot, for, in "Racing England," Chalmers says, "The Cup course of two and a half miles is the most severe in all England. It is wonderful how horses galloping at top speed keep their feet upon it, yet, they do so." AA A Since Foxhall became the first American-bred and owned winner of the Ascot Gold Cup, quite a few other Americans have endeavored to win this race, but their luck has not been any more pronounced than it has been in the Epsom Derby or the Grand National Steeplechase. Coming down to the last quarter century, American interest has been revived on quite a few occasions, and the first of these was when Reigh Count, owned by John D. Hertz, ran second to Invershin in the renewal of 1929. When he was in this country recently, Harry Wragg, the famous English jockey, told us he considered Reigh Count one of the best horses he had ever seen at the famous English course. After the running of the Gold Cup, Hertz issued a challenge to have Reigh Count race Invershin at Arlington Park, in Chi- Black Tarquin in Ascot Gold Cup Today Woodward Horse Favorite Over Alycidon Fillies, Mares in Limelight on Week-End Kentucky Derby Story in N. Y. Preview cago for a purse of 0,000, but, for some reason, the negotiations fell through. In 1936, Omaha, the son of Gallant Fox who won our Triple Crown, ran second to Quashed, but, two years later, Flares, another son of Gallant Fox out of Flambino, by Wrack, won the Gold Cup from Buckleigh and Senor. From that year on, no American horses were prominent in this two and a half miles race, but English turf followers are of the opinion that the William Woodward horse has a splendid chance of being returned the winner tomorrow. AAA Fillies and mares will be very much in the limelight at both Aqueduct and Delaware Park on the week-end. At Aqueduct, they will co-feature the Astoria, at five and a half furlongs, for two-year-old fillies, and the Gazelle, at a mile and one-sixteenth, for three-year-old fillies, while, down at the Wilmington course, the feature event will be the 5,000 New Castle Handicap, which is for fillies and mares, three years old and older, and also at a mile and a sixteenth. In the latter event, the five-year-old But Why Not, from the King Ranch stable, has been assigned 128 pounds and is asked to give six to Hcrry LaMontagnes Conniver, who ran second to Three Rings in the Queens County Handicap at Aqueduct on Monday. Ocean Brief, a stablemate of But Why Not, is third on the list with 120, and she is followed by Paddleduck, 119, and then the pair of Rampart and Sweet Dream, at 117 each. Below these leaders, however, there are many fillies and mares who are so weighted that they could prove troublesome to those at the top of the list. A A A After a lay-off since last November, Phalanx returned to the races at Delaware on Tuesday and the easy way in which he won augurs well for his chances in the more important races ahead. Two years ago, Phalanx established himself as one of the best distance-running three-year-olds to be seen in many a season. In that year, he won six stake events and, among them, the Belmont Stakes and The Jockey Club Gold Cup. Last year, this Whitney racer started seven times, but could win only one race, and the main trouble was a horse named Citation, who defeated Phalanx in both The Jockey Club Gold Cup and also the Empire Gold Cup. On Tuesday, his 1949 debut was in a race at a mile and a sixteenth, but he becomes a much better horse when the distance is lengthened out. He is an eligible for the 5,000 Sussex Handicap at Delaware on June 25, and, as this race is at a mile and a quarter, his effort will be watched keenly. Coaltown is an eligible, but, as he has moved on to Chicago, he will hardly be a starter. Phalanx is also an eligible for the Brooklyn Handicap, which will be run at Aqueduct on July 2, and this race is also at one and one-quarter miles. AAA At the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in New York, Friday night, the Thoroughbred Racing Associations will present a preview screening of the Kentucky Derby story. This picture is produced by RKO-Pathe in a short subject series entitled "This Is America." Col. Matt J. Winn, of Kentucky Derby fame, will be one of those on hand for the TRA showing. Racing has gone in for many splendid pictures of important turf events in the last few years, and one of the finest ever produced is "The Maryland Horse," which is sponsored by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and is now being sent from state to state telling the story of thoroughbred activities in the Old Line State. When Jack Denis, of Nashville, Tenn., chairman of the National Association of Thoroughbred Clubs, was in New York recently, he told us that his organization was seriously considering a picture which would give to the public a clearer understanding of the many phases of thoroughbred work in bringing a horse up to a race. These pictures are, naturally, expensive to produce, but they do give the average man a keener insight into the work on our breeding farms and also in the backstretch.
