view raw text
REFLECTIONS *y NELS0N dunstan NEW YORK, N. Y., May 29.— Tomorrows Suburban Handicap is one of the greatest races for three-year-olds and older horses on the American turf. While it has been won by comparatively few three-year-olds, its beadroll from 1884 down down has has been been highlighted highlighted with with the the down down has has been been highlighted highlighted with with the the names of many of the most famous horses that ever raced, including those of Salvator, Henry of Navarre, Hermis, Beldame, Whisk Broom n., Grey Lag, Crusader, Equipoise, Eight Thirty, Armed and Assault. While he may not have been the greatest of all, Whisk Broom n., in 1913, performed one of the most remarkable feats in our racing annals. Brought back from Europe in the year when racing was revived in New York State, he won the Metropolitan, Brooklyn and Suburban Handicaps, a feat that is just as difficult, if not more so, than a three-year-old winning the "Triple Crown." The name of Whisk Broom II. is seldom heard today. In the three races, he was ridden by Joe Notter, one of the great jockeys of the present century. From that day to this, no horse and no jockey has been able to win these three famous old events. AAA In recent years, many world records, especially those created in California, have been questioned. In all the history of racing, there probably has never been such a heated dispute as that occasioned by the mark of 2:00 flat, created by Whisk Broom n. in the Suburban Handicap of 1913. He carried 139 pounds and for years veterans of the turf maintained tha.t the official clocker made Suburban One of Americas Greatest Races - Whisk Broom II. Performed Rare Feat in If Record of 2:00 Flat No Longer Disputed Battlefield Gets Longer Test in Peter Pan a mistake and that the actual time was between 2:04 and 2:06. Notter has stoutly maintained for 38 years that his mount was correctly timed. While the time of Whisk Broom H. is still exceptionally fast for one and one-quarter miles on any mans race track, in 1948, Shannon II., who is now in stud at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky, was timed at Golden Gate Fields in California in 1:59%. Some of the time records made there were questioned by racing fans, but in 1949, the Calumet Stables Coaltown, as a four-year-old and carrying 128 pounds, was timed at Gulfstream Park in Florida in 1:59%. Last year in the Golden Gate Handicap, Noor defeated Citation in the record time of 1:58%. If these marks are accepted, we wonder why there was so much controversy about the 2:00 flat made 38 years ago by Whisk Broom n. AAA Call the three-year-old division good, bad or indifferent, as you will, there is no denying that it is the most interesting group in racing at present. There is still suspicion in some quarters that Battlefield will not negotiate the one and one-half miles of the Belmont Stakes. Not long ago there was some talk about whether the Widener colt would be at his best over the mile route. He stopped all that when he defeated Jumbo and Nullify in the Withers Stakes last Saturday, running the distance in 1:35%*. In all probability, Bert Mulholland will start him in the Peter Pan Handicap on June 9 and that race will indicate his capabilities at a mile and a furlong. Jumbo, who ran second in the Withers, is not eligible for the Peter Pan, but every other good three-year-old now in training in the East has been named. This test will determine whether Battlefield will go to the post in the one. and one-half mile race on June 16. Uncle Miltie is in New York and may oppose the Widener colt for the first time since the running of the Prospect Purse, after which Battlefield was placed on the sidelines for more training. On paper, -the Peter Pan shapes up as one of the most interesting three-year-old events to date. AAA Not in years can this writer recall when there has been so much interest in a renewal of the Coaching Club American Oaks, which will be the feature at Belmont on the week-end. Kiss Me Kate, the Count Fleet miss who won the first running of the Acorn Stakes by 12 lengths last Wednesday, is the most discussed of the eligibles. She is owned by Walter M. Jeffords, whose fillies have established something of a record in this race. His Florence Nightingale was the winner in 1925, followed by Edith Cavell in 1926. The first trophy for the Coaching Club was the Singleton Cup, one of the oldest cups in American racing. It had to be won three times, .not consecutively, to be retired. In 1928, the Jeffords colors were carried by the crack filly, Bateau, and she retired that trophy, which in the old days was the property of the South Carolina Jockey Club. All of the Continued on Page Thirty-Seven ! REFLECTIONS I By NELSON DUNSTAN Continued from Page Forty-Eight Jeffords winners of the Coaching Club were by Man o War. Another filly of considerable interest in this years renewal Is Herman B. Delmans How, who won the Kentucky Oaks from a fine field of fillies and then ran fifth in the second division of the Acorn Stakes last week. It was discovered after the race that she had lost a shoe in the early stages. The distance of the Coaching Club will be much more to her liking and it would not surprise this writer, who witnessed her victory in Kentucky, to see a much improved effort. AAA Our Acorn is often compared to the One Thousand Guineas in England, and the Coaching Club is the nearest counterpart of the Oaks at Epsom. The latter is the oldest race for fillies in the world, it is, undoubtedly, the premier stake for three-year-old fillies run in this country. Besides the three Jeffords fillies mentioned, it Jias been won by such outstanding members of the weaker sex as Cleopatra, Plambette, Princess Doreen, Nimba, Top Flight, Black Helen, Dawn Play, Level Best, Vagrancy, Twilight Tear and others who were top-notchers in their particular years. This race provides an interesting study for those who often argue, "Do good race mres make the best broodmares?" There are two schools of thought on this subject. While some of the Coaching Club winners have failed when sentUo stud, others have produced fine horses. Vagrancy, winner in 1942, is the dam of Black Tarquin, who was a winner of the Gimcrack Stakes at York, England, and also the St. Leger back in 1948. Regardless of what they accomplish when sent to the breeding farms, it takes a real good filly to win the Coaching Club American Oaks in the same year. I
