Between Races: Knight Sees Good Yearling Prices Tomlinson Building Good Stable Marge, Daily Racing Form, 1954-05-26

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m**z.Ljam BETWEEN RACES By Oscar Otis HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif ., May 25.— Henry H. Knight of Lexington is here on his annual summer vacation — if going going a-racing a-racing at at going going a-racing a-racing at at Hollywood Park can be termed a vacation — and tells us that in his opinion, all usually accepted indices point to a continuation of the strong yearling market, both public and private, which has prevailed in American racing for the past two years. "While general business business has has been been soft soft m**z.Ljam business business has has been been soft soft in a few areas, I can see no adverse effect upon either racing or yearling prices," explains Knight, "except maybe for the cheapest horses, and the market for this kind has never been good except in unusual times. But private sales to date, including some of my own, substantiate the stand that this will be a good year. While it is true the turf has lost many good buyers in the last few years, it equally is true that new people have entered the market. I do believe that an educated, critical buyer is the strongest base the market can have. "People who are critical judges of yearlings usually come back year after year, •whereas many who dont know quite what they are looking at wind up with inferior stock at a higher price than the animals are worth, and are thus soured on racing. As for general business, I have close touch with Detroit, and they are still selling all the Cadillacs they can manufacture, and I figure a Cad is in the class with a yearling in that it takes a man of substance to own either one." AAA An indication of private sales to date, always a barometer of the public auction marts, can be made more specific. Knight tells us he has sold more than a dozen yearlings over the telephone since his arrival in California, and Jimmy S. Jones, the Lexington horseman and head trainer for Joe Tomlinson of Canada, remarks that Tomlinson has purchased a Nasrullah colt from "Bull" Hancock for 0,000. "Mr. Tomlinson is definitely interested in building up a formidable stable," explains Jones, "and while he is in the market for made horses, he realizes that if one lacks the opportunity to buy a made horse, yearlings are well worth while. A balanced stable should perhaps have some of both." Jones flew back to the Middle West over-the week end after unloading Back Hoe and Diesel Power, candidate for juvenile fixtures later * Knight Sees Good Yearling Prices* Tomlinson Building Good Stable Marge Lindheimer on Vacation on in the season here. The invasion of the Tomlinson horses into the West is somewhat significant for the excursion is in the nature of a trial, and if the foray proves successful, the Canadian sportsman may have more or less permanent representation on the coast, especially at Santa Anita of a winter time. AAA Marge Lindheimer is enjoying racing here — as a spectator — and has authorized us to say that she has temporarily given up active participation in the operation of Arlington-Washington Parks. For the past j 13 years, Miss Lindheimer has been assistant to the executive director Ben Lindheimer. "Ive never felt better in my life," says Miss Lindheimer, "but the doctors have told me to take it easy and not overwork. So, for the first time in a long time, Im enjoying the races without pressure of business. I kind of look forward to having a chance to visit a lot of tracks I have never seen before, like Longacres up in the Northwest. Of course, if I can be of any assistance in interesting horsemen in the Arlington-Washington programs, I will do so, but that is not my primary purpose in being at the tracks, as it always was before. A A. A "You have asked me about my ideas as to racings future growth, and I. believe it has a far greater potential than the sport has yet achieved, and the key to this growth is tied in directly to public comfort and convenience. My father has the right idea, I am sure, at Arlington and Washington with his tremendous improvement programs and his banks of escalators, all designed to make for a more enjoyable afternoon for the patron. Maybe American racing * in general has been slow to recognize that accommodation of the public has become paramount to the best interests of racing, but if so, this thinking is being rapidly corrected. After all, what other sport is able to attract tens of thousands of fans who must stand for four hours or more while they spend their money? The ideal objective would be a seat, and one that is easily accessible by escalator or elevator, for everyone who comes to the races, and that means building tracks for Saturday crowds, not just average week-day "attendance. A A- A Miss Lindheimers appraisal of the all-over status of racing is interesting, for she is an authority on turf management, having been associated with her father in one of the greatest upgrading operations the American turf has ever seen, the building of Arlington-Washington into meetings of well-deserved pretention. Indeed, there is a segment of opinion, especially among breeders, which holds that in the past, a stakes winner, to qualify for absolutely grade A credentials on the farm, must have won or shown boldly in stakes at New York, Arlington-Washington, plus a few "outside" stakes such as the Kentucky Derby and Preakness. Of course, this situation is slowly changing as other tracks grow in stature, especially those in New Jersey and Southern California, but in the main, victory in an Arlington-Washington stakes confers a degree of prestige quite in addition to whatever monetary value they may have, and most of them are, as everyone knows, extremely valuable. And we dare say that Miss Lindheimers sabat-tical holiday will, in the long run, prove of even additional worth to the specific future of Arlington-Washington in that, by visiting tracks all over the nation, primarily as an "average patron," she will get the viewpoint of the fan and use this viewpoint to good advantage when she does return to official activity in Chicago. ! AAA Harry Curland, who made his first entry into the ranks of breeders with Solidarity, reveals that his second stallion. Gold Capitol, will stand at the Riverside Farm of Dr. Prank Porter Miller and that already Gold Capitol is assured of a worthwhile book. "While Gold Capitol is on the small side," says Curland, "he is still an inch and a half taller than his grandsire, Hyperion, and few would care to fault Hyperion as to size. Gold Capitols good races are exceptional, which, together with his breeding hes by a Roman mare, entitle him to a chance as a California sire." Our own observation of Gold Capitols stakes racing effort was that he ran with a tremendous amount of heart, in this respect, his races reminding us a good deal of De-termines. His courage wal never doubted, he had speed, and could sustain it as far as asked, which was a mile and a quarter. Gold Capitol was never known to quit. It strikes us he may prove a welcome addition to the ranks of California sires, and it goes without saying that such proven Hyperion blood is quite popular in the Far West as* indeed, is the case most anywhere in the world.


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Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800