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11,1 I On the Trot I L By MORRIE KURLANSKY 1 Galt-Mapes Combine a Happy One Havent Started Horse Here Yet Fayette Hanover Due for Debut MAYWOOD PARK. Maywood. 111., May 22. — Oscar Mapes, trainer for the Arthur T. Gait stable of Chicago, occupies a fofVnT rather uTiinno unique nncifrirm position fofVnT rather uTiinno unique nncifrirm position among his fellow horsemen. He houses his stable in a private brick barn on May-wood Parks back-stretch and, although having wintered at the River Road oval, hasnt started a horse of his yet. In spite of the fact that he has, at present, six horses in his care, he ire intends iiiLciiua to ijij race littc only U111.Y he ire intends iiiLciiua to ijij race littc only U111.Y j one of them this year, the filly Fayette Hanover. Regarding his unique position, Mapes "boss" is the Maywood Park landlord, Gait also being on of Chicagos foremost real estate brokers. The Mapes-Galt combination has existed for more than a decade, a reflection on both mens attitude towards harness racing. Gait primarily is a sportsman. More than anything else, he enjoys driving his own horses in his spare time. In Mapes, he has found a trainer who sees eye to eye with him in all matters pertaining to pedigree, and he thoroughly approves of Oscars training methods and the slow but sure way he develops a colt. Mapes is an old-fashioned horseman with an open mind to changing times. Gifted with almost inexhaustible patience, he is a stickler for what he calls "position" in a horse. While the trainer of a thoroughbred does not have to worry about any gait problems, this is the key to success for a trainer of harness horses. A horse that is not safe in its gait, be it trot or pace, no matter how speedy it might be, will not go very far By the same token, a trotter or pacer is never safe in its gait if the horse is not balanced properly. In order to find out what kind of shoes size, weight, angle, etc., toe -weights and aU the rest of the balancing paraphernalia, a trainer has to spend many, many hours before he has the horse in a condition that it can freely trot or pace without being hindered by too much or too little weight on his hoofs. Oscar will go to extremes in this regard, and the success hes had with some young horses speaks for itself. Right now, it is Fayette Hanover, a four-year-old filly by Dean Hanover out of Fay, -dam, among others of Scotch Fez, first-class trotter colt in this country and later stakes winner in Europe Prix dAmerique at Paris . Fayette Hanover started only 13 times last year and won six of her engagements. At Lexington, Fayette was started against the rail and came up with the remarkably good time of 2:0245 for that trial, and as Oscar says, he never even "spoke" to her. Fayette will see action at Maywood Park in the near future, and, after that, Mapes will go with her on a jaunt of the eastern tracks to conclude the season again at Lexington. It is his fond hope that he can give Fayette a record in 2:00 or better and then she wiU be retired to I the broodmare ranks. Gait already has had some tempting offers from leading nurseries for her, but he has not yet decided whether he will seU, lease or breed her after she is through racing. Last year, Mapes bought another high-priced yearling for Gait at the Walnut Hall Farm auction by the name of Dresden. This filly is interesting not only because 1 she cost 3,000, but she is the last foal 1 sired by Volomite, regarded as the great- ] est sire of standardbreds in the last 40 years. Dresden, as is the custom in Mapes stable, will not be raced as a two-year-old, and only sparingly after that. Even if Dresden never gets to the races for one reason or another, her value as a broodmare is immense and should Gait decide to sell her, he can realize her purchase price even if Dresden does not win herself out on the track. Another well-bred horse in this stable is Huntress Hanover, by Nibble Hanover, out of Emerald Bay. She is a three -year -old filly, and will be given another year to grow before she enters competition. Another member of the stable, the eight -year-old Mighty Way, by Scotland — Princess Mite, has leg troubles and his chances of getting back to the races are dim. Two weeks ago, some agents for a well-known European racing stable visited the oak-panelled Mapes barn, which has modern living quarters above the stalls, to look over Mighty Way. Since he has an excellent trotting pedigree, the Europeans would be willing to pay a very decent price for him, but Gait seemingly doesnt care too much about j money. He is a gentleman that can afford to let his sentimental attachment to his horses cost him a pretty penny, and Mapes is a trainer for sporting rea- 1 sons rather than fnaneial ones, though s 1 1 ] j 1 s he cannot complain about making a good salary at his profession. Racing secretary Ted Leonard, since the opening of the regular meeting here, twice wrote a claiming race in his weekly condition sheet. Horsemen apparently want no part of it; both races chd not fill. No sooner had Billy Rouse won leadership of the drivers here with his victory in the seventh race on Wednesday night for his tenth win of the meeting, than he was involved in a spill in the very next race. The six-horse field was tightly -bunched coming around the last turn when the leading Juanita Logan made a break and almost every horse got involved, with Easter Bunny Rouse and Roddy Red Ross getting the worst of it. These two horses went down and Rouse sustained some cuts on his faee and body bruises, but otherwise escaped serious injuries, as did Ross and the two i horses. The favorite in that race, Fair- i banks, who was just going to make his move, was thrown off stride and finished third, beaten 23 lengths. Highlawn Cor-bett and Cedric B. Grattan, which were in the rear when the accident occurred, had an easy time after all that to decide the race, between themselves in that order. Wayne "Curly" Smart, the Delaware, Ohio, reinsman, who trains the charges of Castleton Farm, Lexington, is sweeping the feature events at Hazel Park, Detroit. He won 14 out of 17 races through last Saturday and was second once for an average of .856. In 1952, Smart was the national leader with .469. In money-winnings, his stable ranked seventh with 91,155.14.
