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BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis : HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif. May 27. Cowboy trainer Mickey Tenney shoves off late this week for Chicago with 15 head, owned by Rex Ellsworth, and among the 15 are some of the most promising California-bred two-year-olds of the year. All of the juveniles are well staked in Chicago, save one, this being the Caliente sensation Ali Khal, a sleek filly who equaled a track mark which had stood since 1935 at the border course. Ali Khal will counfound the critics of inbreeding, for she is by Khaled, a son of Hyperion, from Ali Litt, an Alibhai mare, and Alibhai is by Hyperion. Thats drawing it a little close for the bloodline experts, who hammer away year after year against line breeding, and throw fits of horror at actual inbreeding. Ellsworth tells us that he had planned to send Ali Litt to another stallion, but decided against it for a number of reasons, and finally took a chance on Khaled, merely wondering what he would get. As it turned out, he got almost an exact replica of Alibhai, with certain feminine refinements, and most certainly a filly who can fly. Ali Litt is a most unusual broodmare, in that she never raced, due to a broken neck and a broken nose. When four days old, as a suckling, she ran into a fence and there was no doubt about the broken nose, and vets said that if the neck wasnt actually broken, it might as well have been, as the bone was pushed out of place, and finally solidfied into a "v" shape. That the filly lived was a matter of amazement to all hands, but live she did, and because of her lines, Ali Litt, being from Flitting Feet, the dam of the Chicago stakes winner, Flitting Past, She was bred at three, and at four produced her first foal, Ali Khal. AAA Most everybody has the former Arizoriian, Ellsworth, tabbed as a major California breeder, and in this assessment, they are correct. But it might surprise many of our good friends in the Rocky Mountain empire to discover that Ellsworth also has become the leading breeder in the state of Colorado, at least insofar as numbers are concerned. Inasmuch as he is just starting, Ellsworth Division Chicago Bound Ali Khal, Caliente Star, in Unit Expands Colorado Farm Operations Anita to Continue Optional Races the quality will have to prove itself in the future. Ellsworth has two cattle ranches in Colorado, one, a 3,000-acre establishment near Elbert, about half-way between Denver and Colorado Springs, and a 15,000-acre place at Agate, southeast of Denver. The Colorado bloodstock operations are being carried on at Elbert, where Ellsworth now has 25 mares, and the stallion Gladiolo and Pere Time. Gladiolo is an import from Italy, and Pere Time, as his name would indicate, is a son of Beau Pere. Ellsworth is replenishing the broodmares in Colorado "from the bottom" of his California operation in Riverside County, and, in a few notable instances, brings a few mares back from Colorado, if their offspring race well. While the Colorado mares might be deemed the culls of the California farm, it is true that even this represents a distinct uplift for Colorado breeding, and we can find no fault with either the blood or racing performance of either Gladiolo or Pere Time. The former raced well with the best in stakes in Italy, while Pere Time established his right, to siredom in California stakes. A AA With the announcement of the tentative dates for Santa Anita which, undoubtedly will be approved soon, for next winter, Los Angeles Turf Club is at liberty to go ahead with plans for the next season of racing, plans which will begin to take definite shape the return to this country from Europe of Dr. Charles Strub on June 3. The Doctor will tarry in New York for about 10 days before his arrival at his Pasadena home. It will not be surprising if Strub had news of the shipment of some top flight European hroses to California, and he will definitely have a report on response to continental breeders to nominating their weanlings to the Santa Anita Maturity". The merits and demerits of the closing of stake entries has been widely discussed in American racing circles in the past jear, and we find sentiment on the subject well divided. Many argue that the early closing of nominations often finds the best horses on the sidelines, while others insist that the old fashioned ways acts in the long run for thebest interests of American stake racing. The future of the Maturity may go a long ways to prove the point, one way or the other, although a noticeable trend away from early closings has been discerned in some areas, as for instance Maryland and its Preakness. One thing that is certain for Santa Anita, however, will be the continuance of its optional claiming method of carding most overnight races. Other tracks throughout the nation have not adopted the Santa Anita system, but New Yorks Jimmy Kilroe tells us thatthis does not surprise him, as the peculiar circumstances attendant upon the aSnta Anita meeting, during the winter when good horses converge in Arcadia from all over the counrty, make possible the success of the optionals there whereas they might not prove as practical at a summer meeting. Horses and people: John De Blois Wack is pointing the filly Tonga, stunning winner of the Sea Breeze Stakes, for the 0,000 Westerner. He has such faith in her inherent ability as to have no fear of racing her against the colts. . . Classowa was rated at 118 pounds, as against 126 for Intent, 124 for Lights Up, and. 121 for Greek Ship in ! the 00,000 added Gold Cup, but he is a doubtful starter. Classowa was imported by Joe Falmisano from the Antipodes this spring, has been galloping steadily under the care of trainer Don Cameron, arid will probably make his American debut in New York early this fall. He was a good horse i 1 j Down Under, and his training to date in-, dicates he should make good in this country, too. . A A A After a years vacation from the studios, horse owner Betty Grable is back at work, gets to the track only infrequently. . .Dave Heddington, veteran pari-mutuel manager and formerly ringmaster at Caliente, is reported seriously ill at his home in Chula Vista . . Eddie Read and Walter Dauchy r Associates have taken over the public relations for the Fresno district fair, a big time move for the saucer in the heart of ; the raisin belt which, my fair operative tells me, is destined to become within the next few years, not only one of the major j fairs in the nation but also one of Calif or- J 1 nias major race meetings. Able manage-, ment by Tom Dodge, Jr. and an enthusi- 1 astic drawing area are cited as the reasons for Fresnos Upsurge. I
