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Weighing In By EVAN SHIPMAN HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., May 26. What can you say about Mrs. Eddie Laskers colt, Forelock, beyond the . fact that he is a nice colt and that he was very lucky last Saturday? Forelock won the 5,000 added Will Rogers St a k e s for three-year-olds, nosing out Alate and the favored War cos, but there is a lot more to the story than a bare recital of the result would indicate, and you can take our word for it that Forelock was fortunate to get the decision. You see, Tiger Sir, a serious contender in the field, had dumped jockey Henry Moreno at. the start and was continuing guideless for the remainder of the dash. Forelock, hugging the rail, was away on top, and was never bothered by the riderless horse, or, at least, not seriously bothered. But Tiger Sir raced as if he had a jockey on his back despite Morenos absence, he was right with the pace all the way, and when Warcos moved up on the outside to challenge Forelock, Tiger Sir was directly in front of him. Ralph Neves did not know what to do. He could have taken a desperate chance and gone to the outside of Tiger Sir for his drive, but he probably thought that if Tiger Sir bore in to the slightest degree, Glisson aboard Forelock, would drive him off with the whip, and that he himself, would be bumped out of con- tention. In this unusual predicament, Neves was content to bide his time, but, although the issue was close, he could never overcome the handicap of pulling his horse up twice to escape interference. It was a moral victory for Warcos, perhaps, but the tickets on Forelock paid off. Warcos, the short-bred Calif ornian who has come to prominence in. recent weeks, may not be long: on pedigree, but there is no doubt about it that he can run, although one may have reservations about his staying ability. In the Will Rogers, first of Hollywood Parks important stakes for three-year-olds, Warcos who had established an enviable record in the North and who had defeated older horses of class in his last start here, was right with Forelocks early pace, and would have settled the hash of the early leader had it not been for Tiger Sirs determined self-imposition into the proceedings. As it turned out, Alate was also unlucky. This colt had also been bothered, his difficulty occurring on the turn for home, rather than in the stretch itself, as was the case with Warcos. Once free, Alate was in a running mood, and, as matters stood, on the outside and clear of Tiger Sir, he would have taken it all in another stride. You can put down the Will Rogers Stakes as a race that simply was not true, and the official finish will not have much future relevance on the performances of these colts. Unhappy as we were at the misadventure encountered by. young Henry Moreno and , Tiger Sir, we could not help recalling a similar incident at Goshen some 20 years ago, when the great pacing mare. Widow Grattan, lost her driver at the start and continued guideless throughout the heat. It was a free-for-all, and the Canadian mare was not racing any set-ups, and she knew it. With nobody behind her holding the reins, relying on her racing instinct alone, Widow Grattan tucked in behind the leader, waited patiently until midway of the stretch as the large field swarmed around her, and then pulled out to challenge the top horse. She crossed the finish line first, just as Tiger Sir did on Saturday, at Hollywood Park, but, of course, that feat did not win either of them the race. Both the pacing mare and the thoroughbred followed their trade to the letter, but the rules say that you have to have the weights up, and the rules of racing are, at times, hard I for most of us to understand, let alone horses. Tiger Sir and Widow Grattan are a pair who have the racing instinct in its most pronounced form; apart from her record at the track, the mare has given ample evidence of her quality at the farm as a matron. As for Tiger Sir, with or without Moreno, you can set it down that he likes to race. Before the fireworks of the featured Will Rogers, we had two important overnight events to consider at Holly-. wood last week-end. The first was an 1 event dubbed the "California Mission Trails", bringing out Calumets fine mare, Two Lea, at six furlongs, and the second was the Claremore at seven furlongs, a dash that attracted both Moonrush, winner of the Santa Anita Handicap in 51, and Miche, placed first in the same rich California stake this season when Intent was disqualified for crowding. Two Lea, who had scored the week before and wh is probably on her way to a remarkable recovery, did not win her engagement, her stablemate, Jennie Lee, taking the race on suff ranee, while Two Lea was a Continued on Page Thirty-Five ! ui..uat.i fill i 0 1 y u -- I WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Four good second, but Miche turned in one of his top races, the South American gray swarming over his field from the head of the stretch to score "going away" and by himself. Not many horses and we mean not many have ever run seven furlongs in less than 1:22, which mark was for a long time Rosebens worlds record, but Miche covered the distance in 1:21 on Saturday, and we did not think that jockey Longden was particularly busy aboard Mrs. J. F. Adams imported stallion.. He lagged behind, as usual, for nearly a half mile, but when Longden set him rolling, Miches rush was irresistible, and Moonrush, despite an eight-pound pull in the weights, could do nothing to stop him. After Two Leas race, Jimmy Jones said, "I am more pleased by what she did today than by her precious win. Today, she was in trouble a couple of times, and she was quick, alert enough to overcome it. I told Henry Moreno not to punish her if he saw that Jennie Lee was safe, but Henrys brother, Pete, was up on Jennie Lee, and I guess there is a certain amount of family rivalry between the brothers. Henry slapped the mare a couple of times at the head of the stretch, which he didnt need to do, but I do not think it did her any harm. Maybe she could have won if Henry had driven her out, but we had the race sewed up with Jennie Lee. Two Lea cantered back sound enough after the dash. You say she may have been nodding when she walked away from the weighing-out ring, but she always has a winging kind of walk. I still have my fingers crossed, but I think shell do. Shes all I have to count on out here."
