view raw text
Rockingham Park Ushers In Nine-Week Meeting Soldier Son, Algasir Among Even Dozen in Memorial Day Headliner By AVERY BROWN Staff Correspondent ROCKINGHAM PARK, Salem, N. H., May 29.— Thoroughbred racing begins a nine-week session at this popular track at the foothills of the White Mountains on Monday. A dozen of the top sprinters in this area have been named to contest the opening day feature, which is to be run at six furlongs for a purse of ,500. Named the Memorial Day, the event is styled for three-year-olds and. upward to compete allowance conditions. Irving Gushens Soldier Son. jvinner of the Governors Handicap at Suffolk Downs in his last outing, is the highweight of the Memorial Day line-up with 122 pounds, three .more than that to be carried by Henry A. Kimballs Algasir. Phil Schwartz Charleston and Melpet Stables Noch Eins get in the dash with 117 pounds; K. W. Short, Jr.s Thomas Pepper, 115; L. W. Johnsons Den-Cal, A. V. Lionetts Partido II., each with 110; B. A. Darios Nancy Clare, 105, with a five-pound allowance, and C. H. Bocks Twig Lee, at 103 pounds, Comprise the field for the dash. Soldier Son will have the services of Tony DeSpirito and looms as the logical choice in this well-matched line-up. The Irish-bred son of Montgomery has been returned to racing in excellent condition following a series of incidents which took place last fall and was cause for him being taken out of training. Before shipping east, Soldied Son defeated Money Broker among others in a classy band of sprinters at Keeneland. The Gushen stallion climaxed his comeback trek with a convincing score in the Governors at the East Boston track. Algasir is another former prime favorite of New England racing fans who is on the comeback trail. In Florida during the past winter, the son of Sir Gallahad HI. suffered numerous setbacks in training. He recently defeated a good field in an overnight allowance test at Garden State Park to annex his first score of the 1954 season. Prior to that outing, the Kimball ace performed creditably against the top sprinters in Maryland and New Jersey. Charleston recently made his seasonal bow at Suffolk Downs in successful fashion defeating a representative field. The win-ningest horse in the Memorial field is Thomas Pepper. That four-year-old Flaunt colt has started 16 times since the first of the year and has been returned the winner of eight, finished twice second and three times has been third. Noch Eins needs no introduction to local patrons as a sprinter. The five-year-old son of Bless Me — Honored Miss wound up his 1953 campaign at Lincoln Downs with four straight and extended the skein to five in his initial outing of the current campaign. Nancy Clare, Den-Cal, Rush Prince, Nutmeg Lad and Mahatma U. have been impressive winners this season and none of that group can be eliminated in Mondays field. The supporting events on the opening day program are worthy of the competition to be expected during the long period of the New Hampshire meeting. There is no dirth of thoroughbreds. The 1,000 stall accommodations at The Rock are completely filled and an additional 300 thoroughbreds will be stabled at Suffolk Downs and neighboring barns in the Rockingham area. Post time for Monday and continuing throughout the meeting will be 2:00 p. in. As in past seasons, the Rockingham Racer will entrain daily from the North Station, Boston, in time to enable the patrons using that service to have ample time to participate in the Daily Double wagering which closes at 1:45.
