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— ■■■ " "■", ■ " — — — ■ ■■ ■■ ■■ I On the Trot By MORRIE KURLANSKY I Bomb Sight Not Disgraced in Loss Earls Pied Piper at Peak of Form Lively Lady Retired to Walnut Hall MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., May 25. — Bomb Sight could not make his farewell performance a winning one. After an exciting race, the game Cincinnati - owned colt had to bow to the Austin Brothers Cliff Win by a length and a quarter in 2:07%. Although Bomb Sight again was a prohibitive favorite at 1 to 5, few people were disappointed by the four -year -olds showing on that damp and cold Friday night. Having ing drawn drawn post post position position ing drawn drawn post post position position No. 3. Bomb Sight, alert as ever at the start, had his head right in front of his nine opponents. Steve Tell, however, also left the gate at full steam, hugging the rail, and when the clubhouse turn was reached, the Hinsdale trotter had a clear advantage over Bomb Sight. It was not before well into the backstretch that Bomb Sight could overtake Steve Tell and, to do this, he had to go in the middle of the track that, although labelled "fast" on the board, was nevertheless, rather rough from the middle to the outer rail. Bomb Sight, once on top, did not get 1 i one single second of relief. Steve Tell ■ I stuck right with him to keep Lou Hubers p horse trotting at a rapid clip, and the f stop watches are the best proof for it. The first quarter was timed in 30% seconds and the half-mile mark was reached in 1:02%. While Bomb Sight maintained his speed, Steve Tell showed signs of weakening and Cliff Win moved in the spot behind Bomb Sight. It was clear to see that this had to be an all-out effort for Bomb Sight rather than an exhibition mile. " Passing the three -quarter pole in 1:35, 4 Bomb Sight still had a two-length lead, but it was obvious that he must slow down just a little bit before the final question would be asked in the homestretch. Although by no means in danger of breaking stride, Bomb Sight appeared a little bit choppy in his gait, a sure sign of the great strain. Still a length ahead of Cliff Win, Bomb Sight entered the homestretch, but as soon as they straightened out for the drive to . the wire, not only Cliff Win, but Flaxeys I Colby, Volora, Cady Song and Steve Tell . launched their massed attack on the valiant » leader. A sixteenth from home, Cliff Win was on even terms with Bomb Sight and it was apparent that the Bombs Away trotter, if not at the end of his tether, did not have that extra ounce of speed left to withstand his older rival. While Cliff Win deserves much praise for an excellent race, Bomb Sight was not disgraced. Not during any part of the race did he have a chance to relax for just a few strides and the first three furlongs took from him what he needed in the last 100 yards. What Bomb Sigh could not accomplish, Earls Pied Piper did with authority in Friday nights free-for-all trot. William Butler*s eight-year-old gelding seems to have undergone a miraculous process of j rejuvenation, for this trotter never was ■ better than he is this year. On Friday I night, The Piper stomped to his fifth vie- tory in succession, although he had made a break soon after the start. Maybe it was in The Pipers favor that Little Steve was not setting too fast a pace, giving him an opportunity to catch the field again. What The Piper showed afterwards, however, was good enough not to doubt that he would have won even more easily had he been with the pack all the time. A lot of people were presumably disappointed by Lingo Directs failure to put up a real contest. The old horse Lingo Direct is 13 years old needs much more racing than he had in the past few weeks. As a matter of fact, L. N. Meg-giK. his owner and trainer, could not start the gelding, whose earnings have passed the 0,000 mark, for two weeks, since there are not enough free-for-all trotters at Maywood Park right now to have a race for them every few days. Another thing with Lingo Direct is that he, as many other older horses, is at his best when the weather is warm or hot. Meggiu. of Clyde, Ohio, is racing for the first time in Chicago. For the last four years he has been a regular at the New York tracks, and his successes on the "Big Apple" have been numerous. The reason why he made Chicago his headquarters for his 1953 campaign is that he has more young horses in his stable this year than in previous seasons. For these, he gets better opportunities here than in New York where the emphasis is on fust-class, aged performers. So far, Meggitt has done all right here, with six wins, eight seconds and seven thirds out of 45 starts. For Wednesdays kindergarten pace, he has entered his promising two-year-old pacer, Gay Goose, one of the first foals by Goose Bay. side -wheeling star of a few seasons back. Meggitt is a rotund man in his fifties, probably the fastest talker on the • grounds, and his stable is always to be 1 reckoned with because his reflexes in the ■ sulky are as quick as his tongue. Lively Lady, an outstanding two-year-old trotter in 1952 with a record of 2:05 and earnings of 0,793 in 21 starts and considered the winter book favorite for harness racings richest race, the Ham-bletonian, has been retired to Walnut Hill stud. She was trained in Florida this winter, but did not seem able to withstand the rigors of her contemplated three -year -old campaign. The Nibble Hanover filly arrived last week at the famous Kentucky nursery to join the illustrious broodmare band there.
