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H I On the Trot I By MORRIE KURLANSK Y Sport Headed for Banner Season Bomb Sight Proves Crowd Puller Young Trotter Gains New Friends MAYWOOD PARK, May wood, 111.. May 11. — If the enthusiasm shown by the large crowd attending Friday nights races, one of the best Maywood Park had in many a month, is a true indication, then harness racing in the Chicago area is headed for a banner season, which doubtlessly will result in a further upgrading of the sulky sport that entered its eighth year here a few weeks ago. We daresay the success on Friday night, which brought out the biggest turn-out and accordingly the highest mutuel handle of the still young season, for a good part is due to the start of a young trotting colt, whose great reputation proved to be a crowd puller of the first order. To be sure, Bomb Sight, the horse in V question, lived up to his advance notices and Maywood Parks management can be confident that his splendid performance not only reassured long-time followers in their love for harness racing, but gained many new friends for this exciting sport. Friday night also proved definitely that the Chicago fan is as discerning as his 1 brethren in New York or anywhere else ■ ■ and that he is on hand only when good, P clean sport is offered. On this pre-week- P end program there were several occasions when generous applause burst forth to express the fans gratitude for performances that will not be forgotten very soon. The Cincinnatian, Alvin A. Goulds homebred trotter Bomb Sight with Lou Huber, Jr., in the sulky made his first start of the year in The Gold Coast Trot, where he met several diagonally-gaited performers that J had already distinguished themselves at * Maywood Park this year. Billy Corbitt, Last i Call and Victory Emmett each had won two races, while Buster Volo had been triumphant once at the westside oval. But all this did not deter the public from installing Bomb Sight as an overwhelming 4-5 choice. Many probably derived their confidence in the four-year-olds abilities, not from just the past performances lines in the program and the fact that he had the fields fastest record, but from the sheer i sight of the colt in the parade and during ; his warming up. The medium-sized brown -trotter went through his paces with machine-like precision and the white suspenders on his forelegs gave him the appearance of a mechanical toy, such was the accuracy of his movements. Until the field moved up to the gleaming starting gate on the backstretch, Bomb Sight seemed immensely interested in all the going-on and gave the crowd in , the grandstand and the clubhouse a good once over, alternating with a scrutiny of i the odds-board in the infield and everything else which was entirely new to him. Once picking up speed nearing the wire, the colt was all nervousness and pressed his nose against the starting gate and no sooner came the word "go" than Bomb Sight was already a step ahead of his j opponents. Getting the rail position was a . matter of two or three seconds and before he reached the top of the turn, Bomb Sight was already a length in front, going with the greatest of ease. Trotting down the backstretch, Bomb Sight passed the quarter pole with 313/5 seconds being flashed and Huber having a strong hold on his horse. The rest of the field at that stage already kept in respectful distance, only Billy Corbitt trying had not to loose connections with ■ the Ohio colt. With a margin of two lengths, Bomb Sight passed the finish line the first time around and when the timers flashed 1:02% everyone was aware that this was not a race as far as Bomb Sight was concerned, but an exhibition of trotting speed. i All Bomb Sights driver did was to look at the stop watch in his hand and otherwise sat still enjoying the ride behind that perfect racing tool. Behind Bomb Sight, positions in the field changed constantly with Billy Corbitt clinging stubbornly to second and Last Call, who had made a break immediately after the start to loose more than ten lengths, gaining ground steadily, and the others showing the exertions of the fast pace set by the leader, the brown speedster passing the three-quarter mark timed in 1:33%. widening his advantage to six lengths. By now, Lou, who had figured on an effort t in 2:08, gave his colt his head and Bomb 3 Sight, apparently as fresh as at the start, let loose with a last quarter in 31% seconds to cross the wire eight lengths in front of Billy Corbitt and put in one of the fastest trotting miles ever seen at Maywood Park. Bomb Sights time of 2:05% remained just t four-fifths of a second off the track record d set by Lord Steward and Rose Song in the e 1951 Maywood Park Trotting Derby. Nothing could Illustrate the sustained d speed performance of Bomb Sight better x than a breakdown of this outstanding effort t i t 3 t d e d x t in fractions for the four quarters, which were timed in :31%, :31, :Slft and :31%. Spectators were given an opportunity to compare the value of Bomb Sights effort with that of seasoned campaigners when the best aged trotters came out in the eighth race. Earls Pied Piper, who made it four in a row for an unblemished record in 1953, was credited with all fractional times in this free-for-all race since he also had the lead right from the start. His mile was timed in : 312/5, :31%, :31% and : 31 -.-, for a most creditable aggregate of 2:06. Earls Pied Piper, however, is a mature horse that had the "feel" of the Maywood Park track for many weeks, while Bomb Sight started for the first time here, coming directly from his win-s ter training quarters in Florida. More-f over, Earls Pied Piper had all the com-t petition in his race he could ask for, while Bomb Sight was never pressed and most probably could have set a new track mark had he been forced to do his utmost, Maywood Park fans will have two more opportunities to see Bomb Sight in action before he moves on to other tracks to try r to conquer new worlds.
