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WEIGHING I By EVAN SHIPMAN BELMONT PARK Elmont L I N Y June 8 There is not much to little Grecian Queen but she is a trim trick can run and is thoroughly game Her victory in Saturdays re ¬ newal of the Coaching Club American Oaks most important event for fillies on our racing calendar came as contradicted the form of the recent Delaware Oaks but this score was well deserved Both last year and this spring Mrs Ben Whitakers homebred daughter of Heli opolis Qbania by Questionnaire has shown remarkable consistently in the best company her record including victories in the Astarita Demoiselle Marguertie and Prior ¬ ess stakes as stepping stones to this last triumph Along the way Grecian Queen failed dismally and rather un ¬ accountably in the Acorn while in the Delaware Oaks on a sloppy strip she was soundly trounced by Cerise Reine the strong choice for Saturdays fixture winding up be ¬ hind Script in third place We are not going to attempt an explanation for these two defeats All we can say is that one cannot demand the same fidelity to form for fil ¬ lies in the spring that is expected from the other divi ¬ sions We will repeat that on her big day as on many other occasions Grecian Queen ran well The finish of the Oaks gave the illusion that the winner was lucky to have lasted Belairs handsome Sabette closing with a rush that almost took her to the top but as the race was run Mrs Whitakers colorbearer deserved the honors honorsA A A A AIf If there had ever been any intention to send Cerise Reine for the Belmont Stakes it was quickly evaporated during the running of the Oaks She is not and never was that kind of a filly Some of us were deluded by the apparent ease of her score at Wilmington Cerise Reine being a dozen full lengths to the good of the runnerup in Grecian Queen Vindicates Self in Oaks Guerin Was Forced to Make Premature Move Fillies Present Pleasing Picture in Paddock Jamie K Will Be Razor Sharp for Belmont Belmontthe the Delaware Oaks and the field including Grecian Queen and Calumets highly regarded Bubbley she the winner of the Kentucky Oaks The truth seems to have been that Cerise Reine always a frontrunner stole off to a long lead in the sloppy going such a commanding lead that the others were completely discouraged As for Bubbley one now recalls that trainer Ben Jones has never been really satisfied with the Calumet fillys condition all spring and if Jones shipped to Chicago following her showing in the Delaware Oaks it was not so much to duck another meeting with Cerise Reine as it was to give his charge a short rest and bring her back to form again againA A A A ACerise Cerise Reine had every intention of duplicating the Delaware Oaks here at Belmont last Saturday Once again and despite the sensibly longer route the chestnut daughter of Requested lost no time in going to the front But in the Coaching Club Oaks Cerise Reines early lead was seriously disputed by the King Ranch pair Mac Bea and Script and by Grecian Queen At the end of an initial mile caught in 138 the oddson choice had had about enough and this was also true of the eager stable mates At the top of the stretch Grecian Queen detached herself opening up who looked like a safe margin It was not safe because Eric Guerin had been forced to make a premature move with the Whitaker filly She began to shorten stride noticeably at the furlong pole while Sab ¬ ette carefully nursed for this emergency was making a powerful run one that almost succeeded Guerin was quite aware of the danger while under his urging the little Heliopolis filly found exactly the resources neces ¬ sary to contain this bold challenge Sabette was eating up ground in the final strides but the Alsab miss could not quite make it Had Grecian Queen not been severly taxed by earlier brushes with Cerise Reine and the King Ranch pair Sabette and Ming Yellow who wound up a good third would hardly have been as close as they actually were at the wire wireA A A A AIn In the walking ring before the start of the Oaks these fillies made a pretty group Grecian Queen is hardly im ¬ pressive as an individual although she is neatly turned and has a particularly fine shoulder On conformation and condition Belairs Sabette would certainly have earned the blue ribbon A chestnut by Alsab from the Johnstown mare Segula this is a large filly with strong round quarters and generous lines but exceedingly grace ¬ ful and with great refinement On the track Sabette has perfect action her style at the finish of the Oaks being most impressive Both the King Ranch pair are daughters of Bimelech They inherit the good looks that this sire usually imparts to his get They showed plenty of speed during the running although a mile was their limit As for Cerise Reine our first glimpse of the Ashland Stakes and Delaware Oaks winner was something of a disap ¬ pointment She lacked any particular distinction to our eye and if we had not been aware of her record we might well have overlooked her The sight of trainer Howard Hoffman tying down her tongue in the paddock was a warning that the favorite would take a strong hold of the theContinued Continued on Page FortyFive WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page FortyEight FortyEightbit bit and she is probably difficult or im ¬ possible to rate in a long race such as the Belmont fixture fixtureA A A A ABecause Because of Jamie Ks presence in the field an overnight sixfurlong handicap immediately preceding the Oaks received almost as much attention Saturday as did the feature Six furlongs is not at all Jamie Ks distance but the colt who does not ex ¬ tend himself generously when worked Alone was started in this dash as a public trial for the imminent Belmont Stakes a race in which he is expected to prove Native Danc ¬ ers must serious rival Suited or not by the conditions Jamie K only missed taking this sprint by a scant nose and there is no doubt at all that he is very sharp Conced ¬ ing five pounds on the scale to as good a sprinter as Belaif s Hyphasis and 15 pounds to Brookmeades Safety was no easy task but Jamie K caught Hyphasis and would have caught Safety in one more stride The six furlongs were run in 110 and individually times Jamie K ran his final two furlongs in a shade better than 24 He is at his peak now and those who think he was unlucky not to have quite reached the gray colt in the Preakness will see their theory put to the test this week end They will hardly deny that Native Dancer under similar weight conditions would have won the sprint
