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BET W E E N R A C E S * «c« ore HOLLYWOOD PARK, Ingelwood, Calif., June 1. — Mighty Citation remains an enigma of the American turf following his placing on Memorial Day to a brilliant Be Fleet, and whether he atatins las coveted million dollars in earnings remains, just as much a mystery as it was before Wednesdays Areonaut Handican running. In the Argonaut, Citation made a bold bid and rush on the turn, then could not improve his position materially in the final run to the wire. It was a creditable effort, and it may be added that "Big Cy" came out of the race sound, and perhaps he will run a bit more kindly ► in his next objective, the 5,000 added Inglewood Handicap scheduled for June 23. The Inglewood, like the Argonaut, is at a mile and one-sixteenth. Trainer Jimmy Jones remarked after the Argonaut that it was obvious that Citation was not the champion of yore, adding that "the remark that they never come back is true." Explains Jones, "When Citation was fired for the osselet, his leg never was as sound as it had been before the trouble. I believe the firing hastened his other trouble, a low bow, for which he was sent to the farm for an extended period. Under the circumstances, we didnt expect Citation to return and race as well as he did during his three-year-old form. However, he is sound enough. If he wasnt, we wouldnt be racing him." Citation did earn ,000 in running second in the Argonaut, which lifts his lifetime earnings to 44,460. In addition to the 5,000 Inglewood, he is eligible for the 00,000 guaranteed mile and a quarter Hollywood Gold Cup, the 0,000 added America _ can. Handicap, on July 4, a mile and a furlong affair, and Citation Shows to Advantage in Argonaut Chances of Earning Million Dollars Bright Fred A. Smith Riding Well in California Ruth Lily Rules Choice in Hollywood Oaks the 0,000 added Sunset Handicap, closing day, July 21, at a mile and five furlongs. AAA Jockey Fred A. Smith rode Citation in the Argonaut and did a workmanlike job of it. His riding for Calumet Farm here came as a surprise to some West Coasters, but it develops that Smith has ridden for the Jones for almost 20 years. Matter of fact, Ben had his contract at one time, and the boy was galloping horses for him at the Parnell Farm. When Jones signed to train for Herbert M. Woolf, he told Smith that he couldnt do him justice by starting a green boy with a big stable, and advised him to go to the bushes to get experience, then return. Smith chose Wyoming as the. logical place to get started, Wyoming then, as now, being one of the kingdoms of the horse. He was lucky enough to hook up with owner C. »B. Irwin and his then stable foreman, Tom Smith. At the time, young Smith weighed but 75 pounds. The racing at Pine Bluff, near Cheyenne, was at catch weights, and Smith won so many races that the officials decided, in the interests of more competitive sport, that weights be allotted either by conditions or by handicap. It became necessary for Smith to get some lead pads, but there were neither pads nor saddle pockets available. Tom Smith solved the problem by sewing, some canvas sacks, and hammering some iron pipe into sheets. Even under the lead handicap, Smith continued to ride winners, and soon graduated to the major thoroughbred tracks. He did return to trainer Ben Jones, and rode the first stakes winner Jones ever saddled for Calumet Farm, Little Risk. Throughout later years, he often has ridden for Calumet, usually on the alternate, or entry. AAA Smith has ridden consistently well through the last 16-year period, and moreover, has ridden cleanly. His being in the irons for Calumet in the Argonaut was not a matter of stable strategy, but rather chance. Jimmy Jones gave Steve Brooks, the first string stable pilot, his choice of the three-horse entry, and Brooks selected Bewitch. Jockey Willie Shoemaker also has been doing some saddle chores for Calumet here on the Coast, and inasmuch as he had ridden Cpaltown rather smartly at Bay Meadows, he was the logical assignment for the pacemaker. This left Smith with Citation. His ride in the Argonaut was flawless. Citation did lose a bit of ground on the final turn, but this was compensated for by his being free of any trouble. After analyzing the race, our personal guess is that Citation will attain his million-dollar objectiw, * , and that Bewitch, who finished fourth, has somewhat more than a chance of surpassing Gallorette as the leading money-winning mare of all time. Bewitch picked up ,500 in finishing fourth, which elevated her lifetime earnings to 14,255. AAA West Coasters will find out whether Ruth Lily is a candidate for three-year-old feminine honors of the year, or whether she is just a sprinter, in tomorrows Satur- Continued on Page Nine BETWEEN RACES I By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Forty-Four day sixth running of the Hollywood Oaks. Ruth Lily is being asked to travel a distance for the first time. If she is successful, owner Elwood B. Johnston will try her against older members of her sex in the Vanity Handicap, then ship to Chicago to attempt to prove her up against the best in the Middle West. She is liberally engaged at both Arlington and Washington Parks. Ruth Lily originally had been destined for campaigning the other side of the Rockies this spring, but she was injured in the Santa Susana Stakes running at Santa Anita, and was taken out of training for a matter of eight weeks. The injury, of course, forced a cancellation of the spring foray. In 13 starts, Ruth Lily has been out of the money only once, this being when she finished fifth in a three-furlonger at two after falling to her knees at the start. - AAA The last week has been a big one on the American turf, with huge throngs cramming most of the nations parks. My Colorado operative informs that at Brush, "the Belmont of the bushes," the play has been up some 25 per cent over last year, which has brought a. lot of happiness to the townspeople, who are, as we reported in a previous column, justifiably proud of their natty little plant some 90 miles northeast of Denver, in the heart of the cow country. One of the most encouraging items anent Colorado racing was the lir censing for the Brush meeting of about 25 new owners, all of them residents of the Mile High State. This is an auspicious sign of increased interest in the coming season at Centennial Park, plus, of course, Colorados infant but already lusty breeding industry. We also learn that the Brush track has been renovated and modernized at a cost of about nothing. Seems that the local townspeople did the work themselves, in their spare time, and the citizens refused to accept any pay for their services. The Brush race track is a source of civic pride. It also can be reported that the quality of competition at Brush is the best in history, and it well may be that the track, in future years, may draw increasingly good horses if only for the reason that the large stable owners of Colorado are beginning to consider it a matter of prestige to race there regardless of the size of the purses.
