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WEIGHING IN . by EyAN shipman AQUEDUCT, L. I., N. Y., June 20. — As seen through our binoculars, — Sea Legs was traveling easily, out-jumping the lightly-weighted Errol-ford and with speed in reserve on the flat between the obstacles. Albert Foot, the Montpelier colorbearers jockey, had never really pressed his mount, and even before the Temple Gwathmey field had reached "the homestretch, the race was conceded to the favorite. Then it happened. Errolford, in the run to the final fence, drew level with Sea Legs and passed him, going on to score by half a dozen lengths, but if his burden of 165 pounds had suddenly began to exact its due why was Foot not driving? Sea Legs, who a few brief moments before had seemed assured of victory, was clearly beaten, even if he was still able to stave off the rather weak, challenge of Oedipus. The many admirers of this fine chaser were dazed by the unexpected turn5 events had taken. A few yards past the finish line, they understood. Sea Legs, appearing perfectly aware that the race was over, pulled himself up without any help from Foot, and when the boy immediately slipped off and bent to examine the geldings left front ankle and tendon, it was clear that he had broken down. On examination, it was found that he had bowed a tendon, and the leg must have gone as he made his landing, at the next to last obstacle, but this dead-game horse continued on his courage to the end. AAA A bowed tendon is a serious injury, one from which only a few horses recover and continue racing. Either the firing iron and a long rest, or just a plain long rest, are the remedies. It is a rupture of the sheathe that contains the tendon, and that sheathe rarely if ever regains its original strength. And so we may have seen the last of Sea Legs, just when he had clearly established his position Errolford Lucky to Have Scored in Steeplechase Sea Legs Bows Tendon at Next to Last Fence Made Horse Represents Years of Effort Oedipus Under High Weight Is Rated Off Pace as leader of thd steeplechase division. He won the Belmont Grand National last fall, but he was not heavly weighted in that race, and it was not until this spring that his great merit became clear to one and all. For our part, we had missed all of Sea Legs best 1952 races, being on the sidelines ourself during that period, and it was not until we saw him defeat Oedipus in the recent renewal of the Meadow Brook Steeplechase Handicap, a rape in which he looked as if he could have conceded Mrs. Phipps good horse weight instead of receiving any advantage, that we realized what an outstanding horse this was. On the basis of what we have seen of him this spring, we are not afraid to rank Sea Legs with the fine chasers of Jbhe past, nor have we seen his equal since the retirement of Rouge Dragon, the undisputed champion of the early forties. AAA It has been frequently pointed out in this space how dependent the steeplechase division now is upon the talents of a few good horses. You can count the really good one on the fingers of one hand, and that is not a healthy condition. It takes a long time to develop a horse such as Sea Legs, his fine performances literally representing years of effort. This one was bred and developed by a stable, the only stable perhaps, that deliberately plans for steeplechasers, elsewhere this r type of horse being a "by-product." Mrs. Marion duPont Scott, who bred this son of Battleship, winner of both the English and American Grand Nationals, and Ray Woolfe, who developed and trained him, never had another thought in their minds but that Sea Legs should be a chaser, and his record shows how long they had to wait before their plans and their work were justified by his performance. In a sense that is totally different from the flat, every good steeplechaser is a "made" horse, and the time required is measured by years, not months. AAA Everyone connected with Sea Legs was deeply affected by the misfortune that befell him yesterday. He gave the impression of being an easy horse to ride, easy to rate and "safe as a church" over his fences, and he certainly did everything right for Foot. That boy, who is hardly the emotional type, was in tears following the race, and he spoke of Sea Legs as if he were referring to a close friend. In a way, Sea Legs was all of that; he was going to win a lot of important stakes this season with Foot up, and for both the stable and the jockey he will be impossible to replace. "Scotty" Riles, who was up on Errolford and who rode a well planned race on the lightweight winner of the Temple Gwathmey, also could not conceal the affection and respect he felt for Sea Legs when he told of seeing the favorite suddenly in trouble after appearing to have the stake at his mercy. Neither boy could quite understand how Sea Legs was able to take the final fence, nor what enabled him to finish out in front of Oedipus. It was the same kind of courage that. Battlefield showed in Florida last winter when he hung on to Crafty Admiral right to the end, even though he, too, had bowed a tendon, or that, years ago, Dark Secret when he crossed the finish line first in the Jockey Club Gold Cup with a fractured leg. AAA Behind Errolford and the unfortunate Sea Legs, Oedipus was third, and he was attempting to concede the winner 34 pounds. In contrast to his usual style of Continued on Page Forty-Three I WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Four running, Oedipus, this time, was rated, and it didvnot look as if "Dooley" Adams, whose mother saddled the winner, was having any difficulty in restraining Mrs. Phipps horse slightly off the pace. We did not think that Oedipus jumped as well as he usually does. He did not exactly make any real mistakes, but he was grabbing at some of his fences, lacking the smooth, bold assurance shown by Sea Logs. Whether or not a new track record was set in this race, and Errolfords official time is disputed by Daily Racing Forms private dockers, Errolford, pressed by Sea Legs, really began to turn on speed as the field took the turn above the clubhouse. From that point to the finish, the pace was "extremely fast,, but from the time they left the backstretch it was clear that Oedipus could not win and was not likely to be second. Sea Legs out-jumped Errolford when they were running close together, and he could have pulled away from his rival had foot turned him loose, but the jockey was saving the run he knew he had for the stretch. By that time, fate had struck its ugly blow.
