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BkH REFLECTIONS By Nelson Dunstan ■ Arcaro Says Hill Prince Not in Trouble Jockeys Generous in Praise of Bill Boland Moderate-Sized Fields in Preakness, Belmont Many Opportunities for Sophomores Ahead NEW YORK, N. Y., May 10. Three-Dot Shorts: More than 1,000 are expected to attend the dinner honoring Thomas Testa, chairman of the Rhode Island Island State State Racing Racing Commission Commission at at Providenc Providence Sunday evening ...Silver ...Silver Flush, Flush, winner winner of of the the third third race race Island Island State State Racing Racing Commission Commission at at Providenc Providence ...Silver ...Silver Flush, Flush, winner winner of of the the third third race race at Pimlico last Monday, is the first filly in the first crop of the imported stallion, Flushing II., to go to the post.. .George Washington attended the Maryland Jockey Club races, Andrew Jackson was an honorary member of that organization and, in 1887, Congress adjourned so the members could attend the races at old Pimlico. . .At Saratoga in August, Blenheim Farms of Virginia will offer a yearling bay colt by Bull Lea out of Highclere, a 7,000 mare and dam of the stake stake winners. winners. Pipette Pipette and and Sopranist... Sopranist... Middleground Middleground was was the the fifth fifth horse horse to to run run stake stake winners. winners. Pipette Pipette and and Sopranist... Sopranist... Middleground Middleground was was the the fifth fifth horse horse to to run run BkH second in the Derby Trial and then take the Derby honors four days later. . .The story of the "story book horse" Hallieboy, who finished tenth in the Derby, will bear repeating for many years . . .There are eight springs plying water and 21 miles of white creosote fencing at Calumet Farm in Kentucky. . .By Jimminy will be sent from Brookmeade Farm in Virginia to. Harrie B. Scotts Shandon Farm at Lexington for the 1951 breeding season . . .Your Host is liberally nominated for stake events, and besides the Withers this Saturday, he is named for the Peter Pan and Belmont. Eddie Arcaro is evidently upset over the reports concerning Hill Prince in the Kentucky Derby. On one occasion, he is credited with saying, "If the radio said I was in trouble during the race, its news to me." To another reporter, he remarked, "I have read most of the newspaper accounts, of the Derby and, in my opinion, all the turf-writers were wrong." In saying that, he embraced hundreds of radio announcers, chart callers, observers and reporters. Hill Prince was never in serious trouble, but it is surprising that Arcaro would deny that Your Host in-• terfered with him, if only slightly. In the footnotes of his chart in this newspaper, Don Fair wrote, "Hill Prince, on the inside from the start, was in close quarters at the upper turn, continued willingly when clear and, after suffering some interference from the tiring Your Host, closed resolutely." Hundreds of newspapermen who have had years of experience saw the incident just as Fair did, and they include this writer. As a general thing, Arcaro can give a very intelligent resume of a race after it has been run. True, he was on the horse, Hill Prince, and should know what he is talking about. But it is hard to believe that he is correct and hundreds of others in error in saying that Your Host did not interfere with Hill Prince. Arcaro used the word "blocked," but we have yet to see any newspaper report which used other than the word "interfered." It has been .said that English jockeys are more generous in their praise of an opponent who rode brilliantly than jockeys in this country. We have often been questioned whether that is true, especially since the Derby, when Bill Boland gave such a superb exhibition on Middleground. Just before leaving Louisville, Johnny Longden paid high tribute to this lad. Since coming east, Arcaro, Doug Dodson, Ovie Scurlock and Eric Guerin all have had kind words to .say for this youngster who became the second apprentice to win a Derby renewal. Dodson has been especially articulate in his admiration for Boland and, we might add, for his mount, Mr. Trouble, who ran third. There are many people who believe that beyond Middleground, Mr. Trouble was the most impressive horse in the seventy-sixth running, and that he is going to be a tougher one to beat in the races ahead. As we said in this column yesterday, Mr. Trouble was the horse who "cooked" Your Host, but we doubt in future races if the Whitney colt will be sent out to try early conclusions with the California speedster. Following every Derby running, there is speculation as to the number who will oppose its winner in the Preakness and also the Belmont. It is still our guess that nine or 10 will go to the post at Pimlico on May 20. In the early years of the Preakness, it was seldom that more than eight answered the bugle, but from 1919, when Sir Barton was the winner, until 1929, when Dr. Freeland entered the charmed circle, the Baltimore event was contested by 11 or more. It is natural after the Derby and Preakness have thinned out the sophomores that a smaller number should contest the more searching Belmont Stakes, which is at one and one-half miles. Back in 1943 only two opposed Count Fleet in the Belmont, but since then no less than seven have gone to the post in the event which is the third and last leg of the "Triple Crown." A total of 102 three-year-olds were named for this years running, but it seems safe to say that a field of eight will be a good-sized one. Should there be that many, they will be the cream of what now looks to be an average group, as compared with the crops of former years. Regardless of how many answer the bugle for the Preakness and the Belmont, there will be many opportunities for three-year-olds at shorter distances in the months ahead. On the week-end, the 5,000 Withers at one mile will be run at Belmont and sandwiched between the Preakness and Belmont on May 30 will be the 5,000 Jersey Stakes at Garden State Park, but this event is at one and one-quarter miles. The same day, Lincoln Fields in Chicago will offer the 5,000 Peabody Memorial, a race at one and one-eighth miles, and this is likely to attract the best sophomores now in the midwest area. The 5,000 Peter Pan Handicap, which came into existence in 1940, is- at one and one-eighth miles and will be run as a prep one week before the Belmont Stakes, which is scheduled for June 10. The same day as the Belmont, Delaware Park will offer the 5,000 Kent Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth. Although that particular day will complete, the "Triple Crown" events, the competition for three-year-olds will still continue, for the 5,000 Shevlin, on June 17, is hut a forerunner to the 0,000 Dwyer, which will be run at Aqueduct June 24 at one and one-quarter miles. Into July and through August, the three-year-olds will continue to be busy.
