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Weighing In I By EVAN SHIPMAN BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., May 29. In the old days, speculation on the result of the Suburban Handicap be- . gan when the weights were announced in mid-winter, continuing with a market varying according to rumor or the results of earlier races until the bookmakers on the lawn took over on the afternoon of the great event, feature of the Sheepshead Bay program until 1913, when it it was was transplanted iranspianteu to w it it was was transplanted iranspianteu to w Belmont Park. The value of the Suburban was never more than 0,000 until Your Chances renewal in 1941, and during the lean years of racing, it actually dropped below ,000, but the importance of this stake could never be gauged in terms of dollars. Today, the Suburban shares its prestige with a number of rich handicaps I in other sections of the country, but that i is a fairly recent development, dating back only a couple of decades. Almost without exception, Americas greatest aged thor-; oughbreds have competed for this race, we never having shared the prejudice against handicaps that exists in England and on the Continent. England, of course, has its Cambridgeshire, its Ceasarewitch and its own City and Suburban, and these events have always enjoyed a great popular success, greater than any of the classics, with the lone exception- of the Epsom Derby but the fact is that, over there, the leaders of a generation are seldom if ever entered in handicaps. With us, it is a different matter. Unlike our weight-for-age cups, the Suburban rarely falls to a three-year-old. Africander, Fitz Herbert, Friar Rock, Paul Jones and Crusader were successful at three, and Hill Prince, Granville, Fair Play, King James and Richmond are among those who tried at that age and failed. Coming: in the late spring, the Suburban must compete for three-year-olds with the most important stakes specifically for that age, stakes that, by their conditions, are easier than the - Suburban. Hill Prince, for instance, was i Horse of the Year in, 50, but Loser j Weeper and My Request beat him in the big handicap. Granville was a truly remarkable colt who later went oh to. capture the Belmont Stakes, but Belairs three-year-old dropped a torrid Suburban to Firethorn. Mares are occasionally successful in this mile and a quarter test. Last year, Busanda, lightly weighted, it is true, defeated the important horse, Lone Eagle, while in 29, the Man o War mare, Bateau, won a great Suburban from Petee-Wrack and Toro. Going way back, Imp, the "coal black lady," defeated Bannockburn and Warrenton in 1899, and in 1905, Beldame, carrying a remarkable 123 pounds, won from Proper and First Mason. In the long history of the race, no other mare has even approached this feat of Beldame. Although Tahitian Kings margin at the finish of yesterdays National Stallion was only a half length over Romantic Roman, j most observers thought Eddie Arcaro was I holding a little in reserve. This colt by Polynesian Carolyn A. by Questionnaire, i unbeaten now in three starts, made a distinct impression in this last victory down the Widener chute, and his first encounter with Alfred G. Vanderbilts Native Dancer, another juvenile who possesses a world of ! speed, will be eagerly awaited by horsemen. , Arcaro kept Tahitian King just off the pace set by Tidewater and Romantic Roman in the National Stallion. The leaders sped the initial quarter in :22, and there was no slackening of pace to the half, reached in :44, or about as fast as horses travel, the final furlong, with Tahitian King now taking command, was run in :12, the time for the four and a half furlongs :56, or a full second off Jet Masters track mark set last year. The sire of the winner, Polynesian, will be remembered as one of the fastest horses ever to race down the Widener chute, a strip for which he always showed a marked preference. Carolyn A., for her part, was a good stake winner for B. F. Whitaker, the New Orleans sportsman who bred and races Tahitian King. Despite a value .of 7,680, only five colts went to the post for this renewal of the National Stallion, the explanation being -the epidemic of coughing that has afflicted so many stables in this area. Somehow it seems as if it is always the good juveniles who start coughing, and if you think that is just imagination, contrast the number of fillies in the curtain-raiser yesterday, a claiming race, with the field for the featured stake. There were 25 platers in that first race. We heard the same complaints about coughing on our recent trip to California, racing secretary John Maluvius telling us that there were over 350 two-year-olds on the grounds at Hollywood, but that he was having much trouble filling races. Continued on Page Forty-Five 1 WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Four "When and if the Grayson foundation, now conducting- research on this problem, finds an answer to the spring cough, it will be an inestimable boon to all horsemen. Tulyars victory-in the Epsom Derby must have been anticipated by many, judging by the short odds at which the Aga Khans colt went to the post in the big field. A flood of late commissions made Tulyar an 11 to 2 choice, and yet we, on this side of the Atlantic, had heard little or nothing concerning the Tehran colt until the report of his victory. The rench threat failed to materialize, the best any of the eight invaders could do being Faubourg Hs third, the place going to another English colt, Gay Time. As usual, the two thousand Guineas winner was prominent in the Derby running for a mile, and then gave way. The Derby demands a different type of colt than the speed specialists who excel at Newmarket. The Aga Khan had tried for the Derby, the "Blue Ribbon of the Turf," many times before he finally scored his first victory with Blenheim in 1930, but since Blenheims year, the Indian sportsman has had phenomenal success at Epsom, Tulyars win bringing his total of Derby victories to five.
