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R E F L E C T I O N S by NELS0N dunstan NEW YORK, N. Y., June 8.— The writer has always been sympathetic to the just demands of the Horsemens Benevolent and Protective Association. We cannot, however, be the least bit tolerant of the_ current movement in Illinois to create a dispute with the Arlington Park management. Benjamin F. Lindheimer, executive director of Arlington Park and Washington Park, has announced a program which promises to give the Chicago area the finest and richest summer racing on the American continent. The horsemen will only create ill-will against their organization if they develop any opposition to this liberal program. Cooler heads within the HBPA should immediately lend their counsel and avoid what may prove to be a serious setback to their organization. A A A Not within the recollection of this writer has there been a season when the three-year-olds flattened out so quickly. When the Chesapeake Stakes and the Wood Memorial were run, it appeared as if Repetoire, a son of Happy Argo, would be the horse that would fight it out with Uncle Miltie, who had defeated Battlefield by half a length in a race at Jamaica called the Prospect Purse. When Derby Day rolled around, Count Turf proved the winner, followed by Royal Mustang, Ruhe, Phil D., Fanfare and Battle Morn. From that day there has been only confusion. This writer looks for Battlefield to come into his own tomorrow in a race, the distance of which will prove him worthy to oppose the best in the three-year-old division. Count Turf will undoubtedly come back in the Belmont Stakes and, as we said above, this is the colt Illinois Horsemen Should Avoid Dispute Peter Pan Real Test for Battlefield -Count Turf Colt to Beat in Belmont Filly, How, May Start Against Colts they will have to cope with in the "Test of the Champion." Admitting that there could be further upsets, we expect the Peter Pan to be the race that will bring forth one or two horses of true Belmont, timber. If Battlefield shows well, the Belmont field could be composed of Count Turf, Battlefield, Battle Morn, Pur Sang, Royal Mustang, Nullify and possibly a few others. AAA In this column the other day, we expressed the opinion that six, or possibly seven, would start in the Belmont Stakes. Bold is now out of the picture and there is doubt in this writers mind, even though he were a starter, whether he could negotiate the one and one-half mile route. Tomorrows Peter Pan Handicap will undoubtedly decide the status of Battlefield for next weeks Belmont. Battlefield will be ridden by Eddie Arcaro in the Peter Pan and also in the Belmont should the Widener contingent decide to start hima Should Battlefield be withdrawn, there is a chance that the filly, How, will be a starter in the Belmont. Hows owner, Herman B. Delman, said, "As I told you a day or two ago, the matter is entirely in the hands of my trainer, Horatio Luro. How. has many races ahead against members of her own sex, and I would not want to see her knocked out racing against colts at this point in the season. George D. Widener has first call an Arcaro, but, should he decide not to start his colt in the Belmont, we could get Eddie, who rode How in "the Kentucky Oaks and the Coaching Club American Oaks. I would prefer that How be reserved for f illy-and-mare races, but if Luro can get Arcaro, and he feels she should start in the Belmont, I will go along with him." A A A The mid-week feature at Belmont will be the colt division of the National Stallion Stakes. As in the filly division, this event is at five furlongs, and it may bring to the front a colt who will make his presence felt in the two-year-old ranks this season. Jet Master, who was the fastest youngster in Florida, is one of the eligibles, and so, too, is the Starmount Stables Primate, who has performed" well at the New York tracks in the early part of the season. It is much too early to be speculating on what two-year-olds will be fighting it out in the East and Midwest in the coming months in events which will lead to such important races as the Hopeful and Saratoga and the Belmont Futurity in the fall. But such races as the National Stallion point out the colts and fillies who are contenders for juvenile honors, even though season after season it has been demonstrated that the two-year-old situation may change entirely at Saratoga and at Washington Park, where many of the most important stakes are run before the Belmont Futurity and other events In the fall finally decide the two-year-old championship. AAA Six" stakes will be staged at various tracks in the country tomorrow, and the interest here in New York will center in the Peter Pan Handicap which, at one and one-eighth miles, will point out some of the three-year-olds who will compete in the Belmont Stakes a week hence. Count Turf, the Kentucky Derby winner, and Bold, Continued on Page Thirty-Five REFLECTIONS I By NELSON DUN STAN Continued from Page Forty-Four winner. of the Preakness, are absent from the Peter Pan lineup, but Battlefield, winner of the Withers Stakes, will answer the bugle and on this race depends whether the Widener colt will be a starter in the Belmont. In previous years, the Peter Pan has been in much the same position as it is tomorrow. Inaugurated in 1940, not one of its winners has been able to make,, it a double in the Belmont Stakes the following week-end. Two years ago, Ponder was the Peter Pan winner only to run. second to Capot in the race which is the third leg of the "Triple Crown." Last year, Lights Up and Mr. Trouble were first and second, respectively, but in the Belmont Middle-, ground proved the winner, with Lights Up and Mr. Trouble second and third. The pattern of former years is very likely to be followed this season. Although Bold will be absent from the Belmont Stakes lineup, Count Turf, winner of the Derby, shapes up as the horse they will have to beat in the 00,000 race.
