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Weighing In InBy By EVAN SHIPMAN BELMONT PARK Elmont L I N Y May 12 Ten years ago Alsab repeated his Champagne Stakes triumph and that is the right word for a colt who created a stake record in each event in the mile Withers and now his son Armageddon has accomplished an iden ¬ tical feat Alsab was a sensation when he scored in the Cham ¬ pagne but Armaged ¬ dons race hardly earned any superla ¬ tives Nevertheless Ar ¬ mageddon had overcome severe handicaps during the running of the Champagne He was knocked about at the start returning to the winners circle with an injured eye Later he lost sight of it Such an accident might well have finished the career of any but a dead game colt and we have noth ¬ ing but praise for his pleasing effort last Saturday Before the Withers the race had appeared to depend on Charles Mc Adam Primate and One Count This trio had all smart recent form while Arma ¬ geddon had hardly repeated his excellent races as a juvenile When it came to run ¬ ning the Cain Hoy Stables son of Alsab was much the best and although One Count made a brave bid between the turns Atkinson could never reach real conten ¬ tion the winner being in hand Charlie McAdam after racing with the pace for a half mile dropped out of it when it came to the drive and Primate always well placed had little run through the final quarter One Count for his part was forced to come a little wide as he bent for home but he never looked like catching Armageddon who must have a real liking for the Belmont strip Horses for courses coursesAlsab Alsab was a top horse over any track but he may have liked Belmont better than any Other strip Certainly lie al ¬ ways was impressive over the Westchester Racing Associations sweeping oval and the greatest admirers of the Chicago owned horse were probably our local horsemen We recall well that John B Campbell handicapper for The Jockey Club and a conservative judge if there ever was one told us that in his opinion Alsab Was the best since Man o War That statement came from the Metro ¬ politan racing official before the advent of Citation bat it was made with convic ¬ tion Campbell explaining that Alsab had done more things than any horse with ¬ in his immediate memory We believe that he was referring to the horses weight carrying ability in handicaps to the outstanding opposition that he en ¬ countered and often whipped and to the rather erratic training methods that Al ¬ sab surmounted as a race horse This last remark is no criticism of Sarge Swenke whose name was always on the program as Alsabs conditioner but rather of his owner a man with highly indi ¬ vidual ideas where preparation for a stake campaign was concerned concernedArmageddon Armageddon was not pushed to win this renewal of the timehonored Withers and it may well be tht he will have a lot to say concerning the result of the Belmont Stakes crowning feature of the current meeting In addition to the staying blood inherited from his sire the Cain Hoy Stables representative is also strongly bred on his dams side she being Fighting Lady a daughter of Sir Gallahad HE Now that Calumets Hill Gail is out of the Preakness and the Belmont the situation appears to be wide open and Armageddon may prove to be as good a colt as either Sub Fleet or Blue Man the two most prominent con ¬ tenders for classic honors at the moment At the head of the stretch in the Withers it was already evident that Armageddon was going to win and the time of 137 for the race over a fast track does not mean that he could not have shown more speed had he been pressed From the final curve until the wire jockey York was indulging his opponents nor is there any doubt that Armageddon possesses stamina staminaThe The stewards at Belmont were in a generous mood last weekend Claims of foul against Hoplite in the second event and Jet Master in the seventh race were not allowed although many experienced spectators considered both to be justi ¬ fied Hoplite of course was merely a plater and the race was of little moment but Jet Master was meeting a good field including the imported Olympic third in the English Free Handicap ratings last season Leaving the quarter pole Jet Master came extremely wide in this dash carrying Tripoli and Vincent X F out with him and ruining any chances they may have had Taking full advan ¬ tage of the incident Jim Nichols skimmed the rail with the Englishman saving many lengths and he finished well a head off Jet Master at the wire They were spread across the track so far apart that it was impossible to judge the finish I Continued on Page ThfatyEtaht t WEIGHING IN INBy By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Four Fourbut but the infallible Camera showed Jet Master Then came the objection and there was a long delay while the moving pictures of the event were examined Frankly one didliot have to see a mov ¬ ing picture of that race to know what happened it was clear as crystal The ultimate decision may have been based on the fact that Olympia finishing sec ¬ ond and who would have benefited from a disqualification had not been bothered at all On the contrary had Jet Master not gone out the imported colt would hardly have finished better than third or fourth fourthTrainer Trainer Ivan Parke has done a good job with Olympia We all know that it is a tough assignment getting any European horse ready for American engagements and to show as good a race as this fellows Saturday outing on the initial trip to the post is quite something Highly regarded at home Olympia was ranked 10 pounds under Windy City II and now he is a promising candidate for the Belmont Stakes In the paddock we found him a rangy longbacked individual very much on the British pattern and hardly likely to be suited by six furlongs Sure enough it took Olympia a good quarter of a mile to find his racing legs but once steadied to his task he responded willingly closing with very pleasing action One thing in his favor is that he appears to be a handy colt negotiating our footing well and hug ¬ ging the rail Nichols we thought handled him well in this first outing and Parke may have chosen the lanky Westerner for the mount because he rides with a style that somewhat resembles that of an Eng ¬ lish or French jockey a long stirrup and a rather long rein i n D v t n a y i j i
