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1 Between k Races J By OSCAR OTIS- Royal Serenade Unplaced on Coast Lady Cover Up Now Stake Winner Del Mar Gets Twenty-Year Lease DEL MAR, Calif., Aug. 17. The great Royal Serenade balloon was not exactly collapsed, but nevertheless was somewhat deflated when, in one of the most stunning upsets of the year on the western turf, he was unplaced to the improved claimer, Goose Khalj a somewhat shopworn Chanlea, and Bernwood in the mile and a sixteenth San Diego Handicap here Saturday. While it is true that Royal Serenade toted top weight j of 127 pounds, it is also true that he faltered under a sustained drive in the stretch, and it may be that his planned Eastern excursion is off. However, that will have to await developments, as Royal Serenades owners, the Alberta Ranches, have their heart set on tackling Tom Fool and perhaps Native Dancer come fall. Not that there was anything boastful about their thinking, but they felt they had the kind of a horse that was entitled to try at such big game. After the race, jockey Longden said that he felt his horse bobble under him, not once, but twice, and we definitely saw the horse falter and take what we thought a bad step just nearing the eighth pole. Something: happened, for sure. As for Goose Khal, he was, you may remember, - voted the most Improved plater of the recent Hollywood Park meeting after having started last winter at Caliente in a ,000 claimer. He "was unplaced in the Sunset Handicap to Lights Up, but there was a mixup in that race that hurt his chances, and he later ran second to Indian Hemp in an overnight handicap. We dont maintain that Goose Khal is a really good horse, but as a converted plater, he is far better than the proverbial empty stall. The San Diego earnings of ,375 lifted his total for the year to the tidy sum of 1,100. Lady Cover Up, who raced so smartly in Hollywood Park stakes, but who nevertheless came to Del Mar a maiden, graduated into the ranks of stakes winners in winning the 0,000 Junior Miss Stakes by the convincing margin of four lengths from Mary Lovelace and Hassle. Lady Cover Up seemingly has no early speed whatsoever, but she does have a stretch run that is little short of sensational, and, as far as the crowd is concerned, most dramatic as well as endearing. Lady Cover Ups victory in the Junior Miss conferred some long overdue prestige to her sire, Cover Up, for while Lady Cover Up had never won a stakes at Hollywood, all hands realized that her efforts stamped her as of stakes calibre. Lady Cover Up is owned by Stanford University student Bill Black, Jr., who is in Paris at the moment and unfortunately was not on hand to see- the momentous score. Black is a young sports enthusiast who is starting out modestly with horses until after his diploma from Stanford. Once that is in his possession, his close friends expect him to expand his momentary, one-horse stable into one of real consequence. This corner learns that long negotiations between the Del Mar Turf -Club and the 22nd Agricultural District, owners of the Del Mar property, for a renewal of the lease currently held by the "Surf and Turf" club, have about jelled, and that the new deal calls for a lease if 20 years, expiring in 1973. This is really important news to West Coast race fans, for with the new lease in effect, Del Mar officials can go ahead with plans which are not exactly grandiose but not far from it, to make much needed expansions and improvements. Prior to the agreement on a new lease, the club was in an unfortunate position of not being able to plan ahead with an absolute degree of confidence even though it had a moral right to assume that its lease would be renewed. But with 20 years to look forward to, the Surf and Turf people now feel justified in spending millions to make for a bigger and more comfortable turf plant. As far as the HBPA is concerned, its leaders here in the West on more than one occasion have told they realize as well as anyone else that racing associations must have certain sums of money set aside each year for capital improvements lest the sport become static and said leaders also remark they realize the ability of a track Continued on Page Forty-Three " , f c 1 I j : BETWEEN RACES I By OSCAR OTIS Continued from Page Three to pay purses is directly tied in with ability to properly care for its public. At the moment, Al Hart, president of Del Mar is busy conferring with architects envisioning an expanded plant which will include more of everything, elevators or escalators arid the like, but which expansion will not alter in one whit the cozy intimacy of Del Mar, an informality dear to the hearts of its public and which has caused Del Mar to be termed in some circles, the "Saratoga by the Sea." When Tom Gray of Tulsa named a yearling acquisition Oil Capitol, after his home town, he started a chain of events which was far-reaching: and seemingly hasno end. He also opened up a broad new field on nomenclature which is as yet far from. being completely exploited. After Oil Capitol, Harry Curland came along with a homebred whom he named "Gold Capitol" after the state of California, a colt who lived up to his name by earning more than 00,000 as of the moment. Then Mervyn LeRoy, president of Hollywood Park jumped on the bandwagon with "Film Capitol," named after Hollywood. Comes now the fishing clan of the Madruga boys of nearby San Diego, who have applied for, and received, the name of "Tuna Capitol" for a homebred colt by Free America Happy Issue, she the first mare ever to win ihe 00,-000 added Hollywood Park Gold Cup. This is the first thoroughbred the Mad-rugas have ever owned who has no Hyperion blood, but they purchased Happy Issue in foal in order to breed her to Radiotherapy and they figure they can keep at least one non-Hyperion horse in their barn even though said horse does not fit into their meticulous bloodline program centered exclusively upon Hyperion blood. Incidentally, offhand we can think of dozens of cities which could be open for similar names like Providence jewelry capitol, New York coin capitol, Washington oratory capitol, Chicago Breeze capitol , etc. People hard pressed for names might take heed, especially in view of the item that, the last time we talked with Lillian Brennan, registrar of The Jockey Club, she remarked thatliterally oceans of place names were open to yearling owners and that place names as a group -had the best chance of immediate acceptance.
