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Weighing In I By EVAN SHIPMAN BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., May 17. — Excitement in the hinterland was detracted from the less publicized, but nevertheless charming and gracious proceedings at our local park. First the Kentucky Derby and then the Preakness have held the attention of the racing world, but from now on Belmont will come into its own, and the running .of such events as the Coaching Club American Oaks, the Suburban and the culminating Belmont Stakes, our one true classic for three-year-olds, must capture the center of the stage, The Oaks is Americas foremost test for fillies; the Suburban is the toughest handicap to win on the nations annual program for thoroughbreds, and the Belmont is the yardstick by which our breeders measure a generation. Real Delight, a heroine from fabulous Calumet, looks like a solid choice for this renewal of the Oaks. Spartan Valor, who has won more applause from normally discreet horsemen than any competitor in this division of recent years, will be the popular choice in the Suburban on Memorial Day, but we are chary of predictions concerning the Belmont. Our three-year-olds are a well matched lot this season, and anything can happen between now and the big day on Long Island. Real Delight, winner of the Kentucky Oaks and of the Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico, looks to be a top filly, and we cannot avoid calling- to your attention that the Calumet Farms homebred daughter of Bull Lea has been very lightly campaigned, her career following what we have always considered the wise course for those of her sex, our future matrons. She was outstanding at Santa Anita last winter, even though her competition was hardly calculated to extend her. At Louisville, she defeated a good field, and then was even more impressive in her race at Baltimore. Arcaro, who rode her in the Churchill Downs and Pimlico stakes has been asked to compare Real Delight with other champions of this division, racing in previous seasons, but he contents himself with saying that "She is the best we have at present." Comparisons with former generations never mean much, because they cannot be checked, and your guess is just as good as ours as to whether Real Delight is as quick a filly as Bewitch, the fastest trick we ever did see. Speaking of speed, one of the features on this weeks Belmont card is the seven-furlong Roseben, a stake named for one of the fastest sprinters ever seen on an American track. Roseben, who traveled the distance of Wednesdays stake in only a tick beyond 1:22, a record that stood for many, many years, was the original "big train." He belonged to a famous "plunger" of the period, Davy Johnson, and when that owner could not get action in the ring for Roseben against a field, he would bet on his horse against the watch. Roseben was of a stature to carry weight, and you can be sure that the Jiandicappers piled it on as his record became more and more impressive. On one occasion, the late Walter Vosburgh assigned Roseben the almost incredible burden of 145 pounds and it was accepted by Johnson. When we talk about sprinters, Roseben was in a class by himself. When the English colt, Olympic, was narrowly beaten in a sprint by the unsound but classy Jet Master, it looked as if that race was all he needed to reach top form, but Olympic came out again last week at a longer distance, a mile and a sixteenth, and, while showing another promising effort, was again beaten, this time by Grover B. and Old Ironsides. This race was run in time that was only a couple of fractions off the Belmont track record, so it is plain that Olympic was far from disgraced. He gets away well, which is rather surprising for a colt who received his early racing experience abroad, and in Thursdays outing, he appeared to "run in spots," coming on well in the stretch after his partisans were firmly convinced that he was done between the turns. It is too soon to say -that Olympic will not be a serious contender for the Belmont Stakes, his first real objective in this country. He is built on staying lines, and our suspicion is that he possesses class. Jimmy Jones pf Calumet likes a stand-ardbred almost as well as he does a thoroughbred, and he has been, .our guest at the last two renewals of the Roosevelt Two- • Mile Trot, both won by the sensational Illinois gelding, Pronto Don. Jones says that this midwestern son of Donald Truax resembles a thoroughbred in conformation more than any other trotter he has seen. Our own view is that Pronto Don has the same remarkable, co-ordination that distin- . Continued on Page Thirty-Three u xi v 3*2. fc « IT b*ir J jc »h ic 3C3 b ic WEIGHING IN By EVAN S HITMAN Continued from Page Four guished Greyhound 1:55%,. greatest of the tribe, and it is truly hard to guess this present champions limit of speed. He does everything so easily, such grace, such authority. Flying in from California early this week, Pronto Don took on a field of free-for-allers at Yonkers last night, and it was hardly a race. His North Dakota driver, the ex-thoroughbred jockey, Benny Schue, just sat there like a statue, and he cut the finish fine with a gesture that contained no little bravado. This trotter has won the time-honored Transylvania Stake at Lexington three years in succession; he has won the 0,000 Roosevelt Two-Mile Trot two years in succession, and he has captured both last falls and this springs renewals Of the 5,000 Golden West at Hollywood Park and Santa Anita. Believe me, this is quite a horse.
