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colors. colors. George George D. D. "V WEIGHING IN By EVAN SH1PMAN BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y.f May 27.— With both the three-year-old and the handicap divisions holding intense interest this season, we confess to having so far largely rTeglected the juveniles, and yet the future will probably remind us that several excellent two-vpar-nlris Tiavfl colors. colors. George George D. D. "V already been seen hereabouts under Wideners homebred, Islander, a son of Polynesian, from the Jamestown matron, Dine n Dance, was indicated in this space on Wednesday as the chief prospective rival for Mrs. Russell Firestones tried and tested Summer Tan in yesterdays renewal of the National Stallion. The Jockey Club chairmans handsome bay colt turned out to be all of that, defeating the odds-on choice, 9 Summer Tan, with something to spare, his five furlongs against a stiff cross wind clocked in :58%. This was a significant performance and Islander now ranks with William Woodward, Jr.s, Nashua as the most interesting of the newcomers, at least the most interesting seen in this neck of the woods, since the undefeated Royal Note, now campaigning across the river in Jersey, has been very much in the limelight wheiever he has put in an appearance this spring. It was common knowledge locally that trainer Bert Mulholland held Islander in high regard, and - this colt may well go on to emulate the record of that remarkable filly from the same barn, Evening Out. AAA Suburban Handicap weights, released by handicapper Jack Campbell yesterday, contain no surprises for horsemen. Guesses as to just how the veteran official would treat the champion Native Dancer ranged, as we heard them voiced, from 132 to 134, the actual figure landing - exactly in the middle. When last year, Tom Fool was V National Stallion Winner Makes Fine Impression Islander May Prove as Good as Evening Out Campbell May Be Trifle Harsh With Royal Vale English Horses Are Handicapped on Best Form dropped from 130, the weight he carried successfully in the mile Metropolitan, to 128 for the subsequent Suburban, we may be sure that Campbeli was taking into, account the fact that the Greentree colt had never previously raced at a distance beyond a mile and three-sixteenths. At that time, Tom Fools ability at what we term the "classic" distance of 10 furlongs had never been tested, while his prospect of staying that route was seriously questioned in many quarters. Native Dancer, on the other hand, has never looked so good as in winning the mile and a half Belmont Stakes last June. From that time on, nobody has ever mentioned distance as a bugbear for the great gray colt. AAA Much as we have always admired Mrs. Thourons imported horse, Royal Vale — Tom Fools runner-up in the greatest Suburban renewal the present generation can remember — we do feel that Campbell has been a trifle harsh in assigning him 125 pounds for this, his second attempt. It is no secret that Royal Vale has "gone back" in the interval. When we watched him last week, for instance, in the-Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs, we were aware that, had he been the horse he was when he met Tom Fool a year ago, he would have caught Find in the stretch and staved off the closing bid of Wise Margin as well. The Royal Vale we saw at East Boston was still a powerful thoroughbred, mind you, but he lacked the keen edge of 1953, and, given his age, it is very doubtful that he ever acquires that edge again. • AAA In the case of Royal Vale, Campbell seems to be following English rather than American practice. In England, once a horse has shown a certain form, that horses position is fixed in the handicaps. Nor can a succession of inferior efforts change the. handicappers judgment. In this country, it is customary to handicap strictly on a basis of current form, and there are many examples of horses beginning the season at a rating, say of 125 pounds, and winding up the year with a feather of 110 or 112 in the saddle at the identical distance and in with the same company. To illustrate the contrast, we can imagine an English horse carefully prepared for one of the important spring handicaps, trained as is the English custom in private and his form only known to his immediate connections. When the big race comes up, our English horse finishes third, beaten a couple of noses for it all. He has lost the purse and most of the money wagered on his chances, but he has also lost something much more important than that; his true form is now a matter of public record, and Jie will never again receive any indulgence from the handicapper. Should we imitate that particular English custom, the value of our handicap horses would immediately drop by more than 50 per cent. AAA If it is permitted to imagine the Royal Vale of last year as meeting the Native Dancer of this season, we believe that a difference of eight pounds in the grays favor would bring them right together at a mile and a quarter. Today, the situation would be quiet different, and frankly on Monday we would not expect Mrs. Thourons representative to menace Native Dancer. More probably the threat would Continued on Page Thirty-Fivt " WEIGHING IN 1; By EVAN SHOPMAN Continued from Page Forty-Four come from Greentrees Straight Face,; favorably placed her,e with 118 pounds and the one who all but succeeded in making a;j runaway of the recent Metropolitan. Then, among the lightweights, we encounter a horse like Cain Hoys Armageddon, always! at home over this particular strip and never i quite as sharp as trainer Eddie Haywardt has him at present. Armageddon, blind in| one eye, has always been a "hard luck"t horse, never giving the measure of which his friends believe him capable. Citation tried to concede Noor 22 pounds in the most memorable of all Santa Anita Handi-, caps — tried nobly and failed. Native | Dancer was being asked to concede Arma- geddon 24 pounds next Monday. Well, Ar-j mageddon, no matter how much we mayj like him is no Noor. But then, Native Dancer is not Citation either. j
