view raw text
BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif./ June 2. — "Ill be pleasantly surprised if Haunted can win the Cinderalla Stakes this afternoon," trainer W. J. "Buddy" Hirsch remarked to this writer before the five-furlong stake. "Haunted is speed doubled up in her pedigree, and I havent too much confidence in how far she will go." It might be added that Hirsch was more than pleasantly surprised, for Haunted not only won by three open lengths from So Regards and Fleet Kahl, but she did so in a manner not usually associated with true speed horses. In other words, she was content to be rated and take a breather early in the race and thus have something left for- the finish. Haunteds time was :58%, and while that was a second removed from the track record, it was fast enough to win, and that was all that was necessary. Haunted had set a track record at Golden Gate Fields, :52 for four and a half furlongs, but everyone had their doubts as to how far she could , sustain her admitted tremendous burst of speed. She answered the question in no uncertain terms in the Cinderella. AAA Haunted is by Depth Charge from the Livery mare, Bruja. Depth Charge is a sire noted for extreme speed, Bruja, a really fast mare in her racing days, has been best known until now as the dam of En-cantadora. Livery may not strike a bell with a lot of breeding pundits, but this son of Friar Rock was better than an empty stall in his day, and but for a misfortune, no doubt would have been one of bur top-ranking handicap horses. But let Walter F. Hoffman, Jr., former president of the California Breeders Association, tell the story. "I was racing in Chicago at the time," says Hoffman, and entered into negotiations with John E. Madden to purchase a pretty good horse. The deal was closed, for 0,000. I motored leisurely to Saratoga, and upon my arrival, found that Madden had been offered 0,000 for the horse by South American interests and that he even then was on the Atlantic southward bound. Madden, a good fellow, told me he would give me an ever better one for my 0,000, * Haunted Surprises Buddy Hirsch Speed Galore Wins Cinderella Filly Indicates Rating Ability A Gleam Sets Mark in Milady and suggested Livery. He told me that I had all the best of it, as Livery, while he had never started, was a fine two-year-old. He cited the instance that he Madden, Colonel Bradley and two other owners had entered into a friendly argument anent the merits of their two-year-olds, and, wagering a champagne dinner upon the result, decided the only way they could determine the wager was by an actual race. They chose a late Sunday morning at Saratoga when no dockers or anyone else was about, and had the race at five furlongs. Livery won it by a head. The other starters were Blue Larkspur, Jean Valjean and Jack High. Liverys time was :57%. AAA "Naturally, I was delighted," adds Hoffman, "inasmuch as Livery was engaged in j the Hopeful, and was to be given one pre- j liminary race prior to the Hopeful in a maiden dash. Madden kept 10 per cent of all stakes engagements, and I left for the West. The next day, Livery ran into another horse on the track while training, and I did not get him to the races until he was a five-year-old. He won easily in his first start at five, but did not stay sound long, and I retired him to stud at my Ventura ranch. I finally sold him to Johnny Dial in Texas, who wanted a sire of Liverys qualifications to replace Chicaro. - Livery went to Texas, and that is the a last. I saw of him, except to hear, from time to time, that some of descendents can run." To return to Haunted, Hirsch says that he expects to keep on trying her as long as she succeeds, he will keep her in training. But if the time ever comes when she does not prove she will go the distance, she will be returned to King Ranch to become a matron. Under no circumstance will she be raced in claimers. Haunted picked up 7,050 in first money hi the Cinderella, which brings, her lifetime earnings, in four starts, to 2,475. In her four starts to date, she is undefeated. AAA The Milady Handicap, a new stake on the Hollywood Park roster, was the vehicle ►chosen by Calumet Farm to start a three-horse entry of A Gleam, Two Lea, and Wistful. A Gleam had 112 pounds aboard, and she beat her stablemate, Two Lea, by two and one-half lengths in new track record time, 1:21%, a mark which lowered by a fifth of a second the one held by Californias greatest filly of modern times, Honeymoon. The Milady proved little except that A Gleam has perhaps begun to find her true form. Chicagoans will remember that at two, A Gleam was not entirely dependable", but in some of her races, she showed real flashes of brilliance. This year, in seven previous starts, she was able to win only one race, but was .five times second. A Gleam is a candidate for the Hollywood Oaks this coming Saturday, when she will meet Princess Lygia and the Sea Breeze Stakes winner, Tonga. It is a bit too early to give A Gleam a three-year-old-filly championship of the meeting, but a win in the Hollywood Oaks would clinch that title. Two Lea, who finished second, had six lengths to spare over Spanish Cream, making the dominance of Calumet in the Milady outstanding. Wistful, the third part of the entry, found the seven furlongs a trifle too short, and we suspect she will show to better advantage at a longer distance. AAA Two Lea is now six years old, and she was away from the race for more than a year until Jimmy Jones brought her back to the races -at Golden Gate this spring. Jones explained her training with the word that Calumet at the moment needed a handicap horse or so more than it needed a new broodmare at the farm* and Calumet has proven in the past that when time with a horse is indicated, time it gets. Personally, we dont think Two Lea is anywhere near her form which saw her run third to Noor and Citation in the 00,000 Santa Anita Handicap, a race which will remain outstanding for the fact that Jones had three horses in the race, all ran in better than 2:01, and still could not win. However, Two Lea has been campaigned only lightly since her comeback, and we believe that Jones will have her at her best when the 00,000 Gold Cup rolls around. She has been running with a willingness, which is encouraging, and she tried her best to beat A Gleam in the Milady, but was not good enough.
