Hasseyampa Tops Peabody; Twelve Named for Suburban: Royal Vale Carries 125 in Belmont Test, Daily Racing Form, 1954-05-31

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Hasseyampa Hasseyampa Tops Tops Peabody; Peabody; Twelve Twelve Named Named for for Suburban Suburban v Royal Vale Carries 1 25 in BelmontTest Gives Straight Face Seven Pounds in 0,000 Distance Event; Find to Have Support By BOB NORWOOD Staff Correspondent BELMONT PARK, Elmont, N. Y., May 29. — Mrs. J. R. H. Thourons Royal Vale, who was beaten inches by Tom Fool in- one of the great races of American turf history in last years Suburban, heads a field of 12 in Mondays sixty-eighth running of the 0,000-added mile and a quarter event.* The big English horse is asked to carry 125 pounds, one more than he carried last year and one less than the burden under which he finished third to Wise Margin and Find in the recent Massachusetts Handicap, and will again have the services of Jack West-rope. There is some doubt that Royal Vale is quite as good as he was a year ago when he forced Tom Fool to the utmost at the end of a mile and a quarter in 2:00%, the fastest New York race at the distance with the exception of Whisk Broom n.s disputed 2:00 Suburban back in 1913. However, the son of Kingsway has been racing well all spring and has trained impressively since his Suffolk Downs invasion, though he was merely galloping when he breezed five furlongs in 1:05 this morning. Jack Westrope, as usual will be in the saddle. Straight Face to Command Play The. topweight will receive considerable backing Monday but strong support is certain for Greentree Stables Straight Face, who gets in with 118 pounds, and Alfred G. Vanderbilts Find, the four-year-old who is subbing for the "ouchy" Native Dancer and •carries 122 pounds, including Eric Guerin. Ted Atkinson will again pilot Straight Face. The Greentree ace, who will be trying to give John Hay Whitney and Mrs. Charles Shipman Payson their third straight Suburban, is currently in the best form of his career, which includes victories in the Breeders Futurity and Kentucky * Jockey Club stakes at two, and the Flamingo of 1953. After scoring an easy victory in fast time in the Dixie Handicap at Pimlico, the son of Count Fleet came back to give Native Dancers innumerable admirers a chilling fright by coming within a neck of "stealing" the Metropolitan and forcing Continued on Page Six — 1 ROYAL VALE — English-bred, heads the Suburban Handicap field. Twelve Slated to Compete in 0,000 SuburbanHandicap at Belmont Monday Royal Vale Topweighted at 725, Giving Straight Face Seven Pounds in Route Test Continued from Page One Guerin to flail the gray champion solidly at the eighth pole. Straight Face stepped a mile in 1:35and, just a fifth off the track record in that Metropolitan and, though he has never won at more than a mile and a furlong, must be accorded a splendid chance of carrying his speed all the way on the holiday, especially if the early pace is slightly slower. He picks up one additional pound and showed his present fitness by breezing five furlongs in 1:01% under a light hold this morning. Finds, best races have been at Jamaica, where he captured the Grey Lag and Empire City handicaps last fall and the Excelsior this spring, but he has trained well here at Belmont Park, with a handy mile in 1:39% yesterday morning, his latest move. After winning the Excelsior, Find was a disappointing third in the Jamaica Handicap won by Magic Lamp, then finished unplaced in the. Valley Forge at Garden State, in which Royal Vale was second to Pet Bully. His race in the Massachusetts indicated a return to top form, however, as the son of Discovery only succumbed by inches to the lightly weighted Wide Margin and held Royal Vale safe through the final furlong. While Straight Face, Find and Royal Vale are the "big three" in this Suburban, there are several threats among the lightweights capable of duplicating the surprises sprung in recent years by Greentrees One Hitter, Vanderbilts Loser Weeper, the fillies Harmonica and Busanda and the late A. C. Ernsts Aletern, all of whom turned back the highweights in the last 10 years. Armageddon May Proye Tough The most dangerous lightweights in this Suburban appear to be Cain Hoy Stables Armageddon, 109; Valley Farms Impasse, 110, and Hampton Stables Alerted, 108 pounds. Armageddon, who is now a five-year-old, has been a Belmont Park specialist since his juvenile year, when he won the Champagne here. The following year, he captured the Withers. Unable to win a stake last year, the one-eyed son of Alsab has indicated a return to form by winning his last two races on this strip, both at a mile and a sixteenth. While he meets much sterner opposition Monday, Eddie Hay-wards charge appears the most likely outsider in the field. He will have the services of Hank Moreno. Impasse was a tiring fourth in the Metropolitan, finishing eight* lengths behind Straight Face, but was much closer to the early pace than is good for him. The son of Contradiction followed that race by coming from far back to dead-heat for second money vith First Aid, while lapped on the brilliant White Skies at the end of the seven-furlong Rqseben. Impasses best distance race was a close second to Find in the Empire City Cap at a mile and [three-sixteenths last fall. He was getting eight pounds from Find in that race and was gaining steadily through the short stretch. He gets 12 pounds Monday and will be ridden by Gene Rodriguez in ptece » of his regular pilot, Jim Nichols who cant make the weight. Alerted has been racing himself into condition, refusing to work in the mornings and trainer Ray DeStefano feels that the son of Bull Lea had no chance in the recent Thomas J. Healey Handicap at Garden State. In former years, Alerted has turned in many fine races here and may still be capable of an upset. George Glass-ner will pilot the "iron horse." Smalls Impulsivo, 109; Isidor Biebers No-thirdchance, 107; Mr. H. P. Christiansens Mandingo and Ogden Phipps Bassanio, 106 each; Joe W. Browns Matagordia and J. W. Nizleks Count Cain, 104 apiece. Impulsivo is an Argentine horse who has the confidence of his connections. He is reported to have suffered a minor injury shortly before his recent race in the Massachusetts Handicap, in which he finished fifth, and may improve. The up-and-coming Angel Valenzuela will ride. Matagorda and Count Cain were beaten by Golden Gloves in an overnight event this week. Bassanio, who seems to be improving, comes from a good race in the Thomas J. Healey at Garden State, while Mandingo turned in a good race at a mile for his recent seasonal debut. The Suburban field is completed by J. M. highlights of the entire racing season and Mondays renewal should not be an exception, despite the enforced absence of Native Dancer. In recent years, it" has gone to such handicap champions as Devil Diver, Armed and Assault, while not too long ago, Eight Thirty and Market Wise beat fine fields. In the somewhat dimmer past, the Suburban went to such memorable thoroughbreds as Ben Brush, Imp, Hermis, Beldame, Fitz Herbert, Whisk Broom n., Grey Lag, Crusader and Equipoise. The imposts carried by the winners range from the 139 pounds on Whisk Broom H. in 1913 down to the feathery 101 on the then three-year-old Friar Rock in 1916.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1954053101/drf1954053101_1_4
Local Identifier: drf1954053101_1_4
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800