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On the Trot By MORRIE KURLANSKY 1 Fritz Appearance Interesting Victory Credit to Beissinger Riegle Goes Great Guns Here MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., June 29. The first appearance of Fritz, four-year-old pacing gelding by Bombs Away Libra, this year at the River Road oval met with considerable interest. The result of the race, which saw Fritz win in 2:07, was a great credit to Howard Beissinger, owner and breeder of this pacer, as a trainer and a driver. The Bombs Away gelding started his 1953 campaign early in the year at the new Florida Ponce de Leon Raceway harness track, chalking up four victories in six starts and getting a mark of 2:06Vs, which for a while was a seasons record for age, gait and sex, or rather unsexed four-year-old pacers. After the arrival of Beissingers stable here, most of his horses , started coughing and Fritz was among the afflicted horses. Barely recovered from the cold, Fritz suffered a hoof injury in training at Aurora Downs and again was on the sidelines for several weeks. These facts were well known Friday night and Fritz, therefore, was only third choice in the betting, especially since he started from an outside post position. Beissinger, however, unruffled by all this, kept his horse under wraps for most of the way and reached the homestretch in fifth position. He then took the overland route and came tearing down the stretch in the fourth lane, almost brushing the outer rail. Fifty yards from the wire it was clear to see that neither Hollis nor Truman Counsel could match the four-year-olds speed and Fritz was one and one-half lengths in the van when he crossed the finish line. Roy Riegle, who won but three races during the whole Hazel Park meeting, performs something of a miracle with his horses here. On Friday night he guided his own Victory Drive, an aptly-named five-year-old gelding by Spud Hanover, to his third consevutive victory here within a period of nine days. Roy also reports that son Gene is currently at Northville Downs. Red Sails, former star performer for Gene now is in care of Bob Walker at Roosevelt Raceway . . . Mrs. Gussie Leone of Elmwood Park, a harness racing enthusiast of many years standing, finally became an owner when she acquired the three-year-old pacing colt, Butch Wingay, by Erwin F. Dygerts stallion, Alamode recently exported to Japan out of Miss Parnella. The grand -looking youngster will be trained by Dee Stover and is scheduled to make his first start at Sportsmans Park. . ."William Wick,, horseshoer. at. Maywood. Park, passed the cigars this morning. His wife, currently at St. Annes Hospital, gave birth to an eight-pound boy, who will be named Paul Thomas Wick. Paul S. Dougherty, last week apointed as a member of the Illinois Harness Racing Commission for a six-year term, effective Wednesday, had the satisfaction of seeing his five-year-old trotting mare, Volora, win a BB-Class trot Thursday night. Joyce Hankins drove the Volstadt mare to a new mark 2:07 for the second victory of Volora this year. Husband Jack Hankins came right back Friday night with Doug-ertys Coot Case, a three-year-old Biarritz gelding, who broke his maiden in 2:10. ...In Thursday nights third race, three horses with the. name "Ethel" as part of their monickers started in that 25-class pace and Ethel Martin won it in 2:09. It was the first start this year for the five-year-old Guy Martin mare, owned by Joe Duman, of Gettysburg, S. D., and driven by Ralph Wheaton, after being winless in ten starts last year... Carl Fishers filly, Precious Lady, a winner of her last eleven races in 1953, could not make her seasonal bow a victoroius one, but finished dead J last, breaking stride en route. . .Art Berry, the Fort Dodge, Iowa owner-trainer, races no less than six horses out of the same mare, Sally Mc I Win, here. They are Robert French 2:05, Ethel French 2:10, Ruth Counsel 2:10, Earl Widower 2:06, Stanford Chief 2:08 and Louise Widower 2:12. Robert and Ethel are by Guy French, Ruth Counsel and Stanford Chief are by Chief Counsel, while Earl Widower and Louise Widower are by The Widower. The combined earnings of the produce of the unraced Sally Mc I Win amount to over 0,000. Hickory Chuck, the horse operated on by Dr. Pierce, famed surgeon of Kansas City, was again in the winners circle for a triumph in 2.11. It was the twenty-third win for Ralph Ayou, who later chalked No. 24 with Miss Marilyn in 2:08, a new mark for the Scotland filly, owned by O. F. Brady, of Payne, Ohio. This owner, incidentally, must have a clock at his home synchronized with Maywood Park time, for five minutes after Miss Marilyn had crossed the wire Friday night, the phone rang in the press box and Brady inquired via long-distance about the outcome of the race v. .Tom Mills four-year-old Darnley filly, Filet Mignon, is a model of consistency. In ten starts this year she was first four times, second four times and third twice for earnings of ,594, appreciably more than the ,888 she won last year. Royal Vickie, six-year-old trotting mare owned by E. L. Garrison and C. L. Stinnett, of Peoria, and trained by Bob Parkinson, scored her fourth victory of the season in the Norman C. Towne Stock Farm Trot Stake, with a purse of ,180. The bay mare again trotted the mile in better than 2:07 for the third consecutive time, and with her share of the purse, brought her earnings up to ,737, which is almost 00 more than she garnered last year in 26 starts. If a race where she would meet Shorty De Ponti could be arranged during the last week of the Maywood meeting, this would undoubtedly be one of the trotting highlights of this meeting.
