Between Races, Daily Racing Form, 1951-05-18

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r BETWEEN RACES * o*m om PIMLICO, Baltimore, Md., May 17. — Brookmeade Stables Bold has gained a lot of support in Saturdays Preakness and, should he be the winner, he will prove himself more on his own merits than most classic winners we could name off hand. Preston Burch, trainer for Brookmeade, meade, informs informs us us that that Bold, Bold, whohas whohas meade, informs informs us us that that Bold, Bold, whohas whohas started only five times in his life, has had more misfortunes than most colts his age, and has raced well on less training than almost any colt in competition. But to start the story at the beginning, it may be said that Bold owes his existence to two things, the one being the importation back in 1913 of a French mare named Red Cross, and the other the astuteness of a Brookmeade * Farm aide de camp. Here is the way Burch tells it: "Our farm vet came to me one day and told me there was a mare for sale over at the Walter P. Chrysler farm, a mare named Little Rebel. I asked why she was for sale, and he replied that they couldnt get her in foal. I told him if they couldnt we didnt want her either, and why did he want us to take her under the circumstances, Because we can get her in foal, he replied. So we purchased Little Rebel, and gave her some treatments, sent her back to the Chrysler farm, where By Jimminy was standing then, and she conceived. Bold was her first foal. Of course, once our vet said he could get the mare in foal, I checked her pedigree, and found that she traced back to Red Cross and the family of Sweetheart. Little Rebel is by John P. Grier from Warrior Lass. Red Cross was obtained in France as a yearling for the highest price ever paid for a yearling filly up to that Bold Gains Support for the Jubilee Preakness First Foal of Unwanted Little Rebel Starter Eddie Blind Adopts Unusual Measures Fans Inspect Model of New Pimlico time, and was a good horse. She did not get to race because of the war. A A A . "Bold got to coughing a lot, and had bucked shins when we put him in training," continued Burch. "For that reason lie didnt get to the races until November last year. He won his first out with the action of a good race horse, and we thought he might do. We worked him six furlongs one morning and he did it so fast that- we tried him in the Pimlico Futurity, in which he finished second -to Big Stretch. We worlced him next for the Bowie Endurance, and again he showed us something. He won the Endurance, but was disqualified. He bore out a trifle, which I attribute to a splint that was bothering him. He was fired, and turned out for the winter. This spring, we wanted to start him in the Kentucky Derby, but he was not ready. Not long ago, we worked him a mile and asked the boy to do it in about 1 :45. The boy couldnt hold him to that, and he did the mile in 1:40. It was enough indication that he was ready, so we ran him at Pimlico, and he won by 12 lengths. The colt has enough breeding to entitle him to stake consideration. By Jimminsr was sent to Kentucky to enable him to get a book with better mares and, as I pointed out, Little Rebel comes from an excellent producing family. West Coasters will be interested to know that Brookmeade is toying with the thought of sending one of its three nominees to Hollywood Park for the 00,000 Gold Cup. The horses are Greek Ship, Chains and Why Not Now." AAA Starter Eddie Blind is leaving nothing to chance in getting the field away in perfect alignment for this, his fourth Preakness. As Repeteire broke through the gate and le-ped down the track a couple of times at Churchill Downs, he thought it might be a good idea to school the horse. He invited trainer Al Jensen to send Repetoire to the gate for a little skull practice, and the horse behaved like a scholar. Blind was scared out of his wits one time at Havre de Grace when it looked as if it would be impossible to get the starting gate off the track, and he has gone to unusual lengths to guard against the possibility of it happening here. "There is a fallacy around the race -. track that horses or mules are a sure way of getting the gate off the track," explains Blind. "Those who say this point out that the motor of a tractor can fail. That is true. But at Havre de Grace, we had six mules, and I asked the association to buy a standby tractor just in case. It was delivered one day, and our mishap occurred the next. The mules, all six of them, did not fail, but their harness did, and if we did not have the tractor, I shudder to think what might have happened. At Pimlico, we have two tractors, so if one fails, the other is immediately available. Both motors are kept running. The tractors are stationed in the infield, so the sound of their motors cannot be heard by the starters. The gate is pulled by a long steel cable." Blind again will make use of his combination recall flag siren, unique, so far as we know, on an American track. If for any Continued on Page Thirty-Four 4- - - . , .. . . -BETWEEN RACES I By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Four reason there should be a false start, the recall man will wave down the horses with a yellow flag, and sound a siren that can be heard for miles. AAA Horses and People: Since 1939, the Maryland Jockey Club has been sending beer as well as champagne to the stable of the Preakhess winner. . .When Challedon was the first Maryland-bred to win a modern running, the champagne arrived as per custom, but the grooms lifted their noses at the bubbly, and asked for beer. . .The Pimlico surface is better perhaps than it has been in recent years. . .It would be rather ironic if Repetoire, who failed in the Derby, as did Hill Prince, came back to Win the Preakness. Ironic because Repetoire is not supposed to be bred to go more than six furlongs, and he ran a good nine furlongs in the Derby. . .Pedigree and all, Repetoire has the backing and good will of ythe* Virginia delegation, which always shows up in force on Preakness Day. A. A A The "New Pimlico," the model of which is on display in the clubhouser has some interesting points. It will have both elevators and escalators, and a tunnel to the infield. It will be built to accommodate 28,510 people with the maximum of comfort, large enough for the biggest crowds at the track save on Preakness Day. In future years, the big day will see the. track taking full advantage of the infield via a tunnel from the grandstand. Foundations will be of such strength that additional tiers of the stand can go skyward if improved attendance warrants. Pimlico will be rebuilt to be "fire resistant." Since the Hollywood Park conflagration, race tracks have hesitated to style themselves "fireproof." The present Pimlico will have to do, of course, until building restrictions are lifted. The paddock, to be erected back of the grandstand, will be of the proscenium type, which is a highbrow way of saying the terrace or amphitheatre type. The track is again taking out rain insurance for Preakness Day, which it hopes it does not collect. Pimlico has been lucky in such matters in the past.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1951051801/drf1951051801_44_3
Local Identifier: drf1951051801_44_3
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800