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JUDGES STAND B charles hatton WASHINGTON PARK, Home-wood, 111., Aug. 24. There are no more superlatives in the language. The supply was completly exhausted here last week end, when turfgoers current obsession, Native Dancer, won the American Derby like the "great horse" Eddie Arcaro now considers him. The big gray ran drama tically as he always does. Coming to the head of the stretch, he was some six lengths out of it. One wondered if he could be third, and apparently so did Arcoro, for he was shaken out of his usual poise and pumping hard on The Dancer, who was loafing. Once in the stretch, however, the champinon decided to let them have it. There was a gray blur for perhaps a sixteenth of a mile, and "there he was," jauntily winning with his ears pricked, and looking over the fence interestedly at the photographers on the finish. Carrying topweight of 128 pounds, he traversed the nine furlongs in 1:48, just a fifth off the track record, and Arcaro has not hit him yet. It all happened so suddenly, we went to see the slow motion film of the race this morning. What it revealed very graphically was that when Native Dancer started pouring it on, he was striding many feet farther with every tremendous bound than the hapless Landlocked, Precious Stone and Sir Mango, who were fairly abreast on the lead as he moved to the attack on the outside about the eighth pole. "Man, does this Dancer make up ground when he moves," Arcaro enthused later. Asked if he felt his mount might have broken the record, he replied, "That is for sure. He had plenty left." Clockers estimate he ran the final quarter right at 23 seconds. Frankly, the less said of the performances of other starters the better, al-though Sir Mango, in receipt of 14 pounds, did spin off six furlongs in 1:10 before jumping on a treadmill. There was no visible excuse for any of the beaten field. Dancer Exhausts Rivals, Superlatives Could Have Broken Record Arcaro Champion Timed Move Himself in Derby DublinSales Intrigue United StatesBuyers We suppose it will be proffered by the unbelievers "the winner beat nothing," but after all, Sir Mango had just won in 1:35, fastest mile of the local season, and Stan and Ace Destroyer were coming off stakes successes. But if they need apologists, certainly The Dancer does not. AAA The Sagamoreans irresistible "box office" again was manifest when 37,108 turned up for the Derby, most of them obviously in eager anticipation of seeing him perform. He is infallibly a good show, and did not disappoint them. As he went to the post, swaggering, prancing and tossing his head, a spontaneous ripple of applause followed him up the course. And when he surged inexorably into the lead about the sixteenth pole, the appjause was deafening. It was far better as a spectacle than as a betting race, and that was primarily its appeal for a large section of the crowd. With only win and place pools, the total was 29,161, the Vanderbilt entry 1 to 5. There was no minus pool. More was handled, actually, on the unwieldy field of 18 two-year-olds in the Prairie State, 55,330 going through the "tote." But only for The Dancer it is certain the play on other races would have been less. The Hasty House entry of Sea O Erin and Hasty Road were first and third in the melee of the Prairie State, with Hasty Road running particularly well considering that he broke from number 18 and came out of the race with a cut on one hind leg. To all indications, The Dancer now will be trained with a view to developing sheer zip at the mile distance of the Sysonby. If it turns out he cannot beat Tom Pool, his future activities will be confined to the three-year-old stakes. And if he finally establishes himself as "one of the ones" in turf history during the fall, he will very likely to retire to stud at the close of this campaign. "I do not say he is a super horse," Winfrey observes, "but I do say that we really have no idea even yet as to the depth of his capacity." We are reminded that following the American Derby on Saturday, Arcaro was asked to compare Native Dancer with Citation. "It is difficult," he is quoted as replying. "Citation was easier to ride, in that he responded more readily." But he added that perhaps his unfamiliarity with The Dancer discounted that as a consideration. In the unexepected event Native Dancer appears in Fridays Saratoga Cup, Arcaro may be asked to again have the mount. And there is a possibility he will be versus the gray again in the Sysonby, on either Mark-Ye-Well or Tom Fool, if Atkinson is on the sidelines. We do not think either Winfrey or Arcaro was prepared for Native Dancers failure to respond immediately when urged on the last turn in the Derby. Winfrey declares he is the most obedient of horses, indeed seems to try to anticipate his riders wishes. But in the local stake, he timed his move himself. And, as it turned out, he knew what he was doing. AAA Several choice yearlings offered at Newmarket, "headquarters" of the English turf, this season went to United Continued on Page Thirty-Nino JUDGES STAND s By CHARLES IIATTON Continued from Page Forty-Eight States purchasers. In all probability, Americans will be active also at the Dublin sales, Ballsbridge, which begin September J 21 and entend through September 25. For : in recent seasons, Windy City H., Royal ! Serenade and The Pie King have impressed upon us the quality of the horses reared irr : the lush fields of the Emerald Isle. The Pie, j King, last autumn, went through the Dub- : lin ring for ,000, Paddy Prendergast ac-.j quiring him for Ray Bell, and he now is , regarded by many as the smartest two- j year-old in Europe. Windy City H. was aj ; ,000 yearling, and Royal Serenade cost a ; mere ,800 on the same market. But then, almost any colt or filly one might purchase j , at Ballsbridge, who is a runner, has to bei a bargain by American standards, owing to the fact the market abroad has no such strength as our own. The Pie King will,, one may hope, come to the States to oppose some of our leading two-year-olds in the 00,000 Garden State. He would be at some disadvantages, but his appearance! certainly would give an added fillip of in-; terest to Gene Moris new stake. AAA Turf ana: Anent TVs effect on racing, Hirsch Jacobs observes, "A lot of people like to see a good horse run, and if they are at the track, they will bet, but if they can see it on television, they will stay home j i and watch it." George Widener: "I feel TV creates new interest which, in the long run, will build up better attendance." Bob Kelley: "You have to balance the benefits against the cost." . . . Irish-breds won 12 stakes in three days at Royal Ascot this season. . . . Beachcomber is a stakes win- . ner, but not particularly useful to Native Dancer as a workmate. Quits cold once The Dancer thrusts his head in front. . . . Mrs. Leslie Combs II., has a clever two-year-old filly in the recent winner Palta, a homebred, by Mr. Busher.out of Amiga, and a member of the Myrtlewood family. . . . j I The Dancer is "Daddy-O" to his gargan-i tuan groom, Lester Murray, i
