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Between Races By OSCAR OTIS Rejected Wins Westerner Cleverly Sentimental Story Behind Haggin Betty Grable Really Loyes Horses HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 29. King Ranchs Rejected, who broke his maiden in an ,000 claimer at Tanforan this spring, raced to a convincing victory in the 00,000 Westerner at a mile and a quarter here Saturday, and while he had the advantage of light weight, the Westerner being raced under allowance conditions, his score was nonetheless impressive. Rejected, carrying 110 pounds, covered the 10 furlongs in 2:01, but a fifth of a second off the race record. Rejected won his Westerner, the Hollywood version of a Derby, the hard way, for, outrun early, he worked his way up between horses from the five-furlong pole, lacked any place to go for a brief spell on the turn for home, but when clear, wore down the Californian Fleet Khal in a prolonged and furious drive, then drew clear in the final stages. Rejected earned 4,500 for King Ranch in the victory which brought his lifetime earnings to 8,750. Rejected did not win as a two-year-old in four starts. As we mentioned before the race in Saturdays column, trainer W. J. "Buddy" Hirsch told us that training Rejected was to a large degree mental. The Westerner weights, ranging from 110 to 126 pounds, was open from a wagering aspect, and its outcome on Saturday gave rise to the notion that maybe the conditions of the race should be reconsidered to bring it more into line with a scale weight affair. Perhaps the time is not right for scale itself, but an approach might be more desirable. However, it was a corker of a race from a press box view, with contention being evident at every step of the way. That Fleet Khal, at 117 pounds, should make such a bold showing for homebreds, was most pleasing to California folks. Imbros, the fast son of Polynesian, was third, and had no valid excuse that we could see, although it did take a lot out of him to tame Laughin Louie for the first mile of the torrid early pace. Fleet Ithals placing was what might be termed a "moral victory." The failure of some of the best known three-year-olds on the grounds was unexplainable. It is an indication that the crop of three-year-olds in the West is evenly balanced, and that from here on, they will beat one another, depending considerably uron weights and their shift. The Calumets, Right Bright and Chanlea, showed little. Right Bright never was of classic cut, while Chanlea is obviously far from his Santa Anita - winter form. The Haggin Stakes of last Wednesday uncovered a story of sentiment paying off in an unusual manner when James Session won the five-furlong, 5,000 added affair from the best two-year-olds on the grounds in a sizzling :58, flat. Seven years ago, Harry James presented his wife, Betty Grable, with her first horse, a fleet mare of other days, Lady Florise, who was in foal to Special Agent. The foal, upon arrival, and the very first horse ever bred by Mrs. James, was named Night Special. She developed into a filly of tremendous speed, but could not sustain it, and a close check revealed that Night Special had a bone obstruction in her head which interfered with normal breathing. Bather than risk hurting the horse, Betty Grable ordered her retired, and bred her to Kings Abbey. This colt was named James Session, who made an educational debut at Santa Anita, but who did not begin to show signs of real ability until the pre-Hollywood Park training. Indeed, he was so highly regarded, his Hollywood race debut was made in the Junior League Stakes, in which he was third to Larks Music and Carolos. James Session had the novel, nevertheless valid, excuse in the Junior League that he had never been hit with the whip before, not even in a workout and when Regelio Trejos tried with the whip, the horse responded by buck jumping. "I still cant get over winning the Haggin," confides Betty, "for we only have six horses in training, and two of them are stakes winners and another races in stakes. For small breeders as we are, that is something. As breeders, we are having our Continued on Page Forty-Three BETWEEN RACES By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Three downs as well as ups, too. Of our six mares, live of them have been barren for the last two years. But we think we have this corrected. Night Special has been bred back to Kings Abbey and we believe she is in foal." Hack Ross, who used to train for the Jameses, came by to add, "Betty wont tell you because she wont admit she is so soft hearted, but she loved that first foal of hers, Night Special, so much that she wouldnt even hear of allowing her to race with that wind impediment, even when competent judges thought that racing would not be harmful." Anyway, it was a happy climax to a heart that really loves thoroughbreds, and Betty has a solid contender in three stakes yet to come, the C. S. Howard, the 0,000 Starlet, and the rich Del Mar Futurity. Incidentally, the Haggin always has been accepted as a good class yardstick by western breeders, an item which gives James Session considerable stature at the moment. One indication was that soon after the Haggin, an offer of 0,000 was made for the horse which finished second, Don McCoy, but, of course, no bids were made for James Session. Betty simply doesnt sell, and a mere request that she price a horse like James Session would be considered a severe breach of racetrack etiquette. Sort of like asking Alfred Vanderbilt to price Native Dancer. Some idea of the growing worth of California horses was indicated by the fact that the first eight horses across the line in the Haggin, an open race, were homebreds. The Haggin, too, was the first of the major stakes on the Hollywood-Park program for two-year-olds, and proved the merit of the idea of offering so-called primary stakes in considerable quantity early in the meeting. Three Primary winners were in the Haggin field, and, while they didnt get into the money, their reputations gave the Haggin an added bit of prestige which it had lacked in previous years. This writer has always had, along with many others in California, a deep respect for the Haggin, because it does provide a severe test of class, as mentioned, and also because of its name. In all California breeding annals, the best known name is still that of James Ben Ali Haggin, whose 40,000-acre place near Sacramento once was the showplace of the American thoroughbred breeding industry. In this respect, and to settle a few arguments, we checked some ancient records and found that, so far as our research could take us, Haggin never had more than 26 thoroughbred stallions on the farm at any one time. Those who talk glibly of 40 and 50 sires on the farm are incorrect.
