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W E I G H I N G I N By EVAN SHIPMAN BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y June 1. George Poole, assistant trainer to John Gaver at Green-tree and the irian. who has been directly responsible for the stables Straight Face ever since the colt was first broken, must have been a happy man yesterday as he stood in the Belmont winner s circle iouowmg the running of the Suburban Handicap. Straight Face had at last justified the capable young horsemans confidence, but it had been a long road leading to this attractive destination, a road encumbered with disheartening obstacles and often appearing to terminate at a dead-end. This four-year-old gelded son of Count Fleet Expression, by The Porter, should by rights, have played an important role in last seasons classics. Because of repeated mishaps ? J encountered both in training and in competition, it was not until this spring that he has manifested the form of which his connections have always known him capable; now, with a Dixie Handicap, a second to Native Dancer in the recent Metropolitan, and, finally, yesterdays handy Suburban score to his credit, excuses need no longer be made for Straight Face, and he takes his place close to the top of the handicap division. In contrast to his race in the mile Metropolitan, Straight Face was rated off the pace in the 10-ftfrlong Suburban. Running in the middle of the pack, he met with occasional trouble, and was forced to come very wide entering the stretch. Just the same, he answered Ted Atkinsons appeal so willingly that his victory must be described as easy. Even at the weights, none of the others were in the Greentree geldings class. AAA Back of the winner, there were no valid excuses. The lightweights, Bassanio and Mandingo, earned the place fS - and show awards, this pair preceding Mrs. J. R. H. Thour- Straight Face Rewards Trainer Poole Excuse No Longer Needed for Colt Ailment to Dancer Remains a Mystery Claiborne Juveniles Are Racing Wei: ons Royal Vale to the wire, the latter many, many pounds below the wonderful form he had shown in this same fixture a year ago, when he had run the champion Tom Fool to a nose. Count Cain, Armageddon and then Man-dingo were the pacesetters in this sixty-seventh renewal of Americas oldest and greatest handicap, but despite the considerable pull they enjoyed in the weights, the clip at which they carried the field was never severe. Between the quarter pole and the furlong pole, Mandingo did pull away to a distinct lead, Count Cain and then Armageddon having discreetly retired by this time, but Mandingo never loooked like holding Straight Face, even when three open lengths separated him from the eventual winner, with only an eighth of a mile to go. The final quarter of the 2:03Vs trip was clocked in :25 off the leaders, and Straight Face, who, we repeat, came very wide into the stretch, must have stepped his final two panels right at 25 seconds flat--the same rate exactly that he had shown in his excellent second to Native Dancer in the Metropolitan. AA A What a shame that Native Dancer could not have gone to the post in this Suburban! The holiday crowd was the largest in years, and it saw lovely, gracous Belmont Park under ideal conditions. Only the absence of the gray champion marred what was, otherwise, a nearly perfect afternoon of interesting sport, and it was small compensation, indeed that, without the presence of Native Dancer, the Suburban became a much better wagering affair. This, mind you, is all in the realm of supposition, but we believe that had Native Dancer been in condition to start under the 133 pounds that handicapper John Blanks Campbell has assigned him 15 pounds over Straight Faces burden, by the way the gray would not only have been an odds-on choice, but we also believe he would have won, and won with comparative ease. Alfred Vanderbilts superb colt had his difficulties with Straight Face, as we well remember, in the Metropolitan, but in the Suburban it was a question of an added quarter mile, and that should have been all to Native Dancers advantage. AAA Still no definite news from barn 20 as to what caused Native Dancer to pull up in pain following his breeze last Thursday. The X-ray plates have eliminated the possi- bility of any kind of a bone injury, and it seems to narrow down to another stone bruise the same mishap that befell the gray last fall at Washington Park or, perhaps, injury or strain to muscle or ligament. Since Native Dancer unfortunately cannot talk to us and describe his symptoms, it is necessary to proceed by the process of trial and error. If, say, the damage is not in the foot at all, nor in the leg, but is located much higher up toward the shoulder and is the result of some severe muscular strain, the evidence might be identical with what we have heard. "The reassuring part of all this is that neither a stone bruise nor muscular strain is at all permanent. They are completly outside the realm of unsoundness, , a t;ure being only a matter of time. AAA Claiborne youngsters continue to show well, in the dashes down the Widener chute. We have expressed our admiration for two likely Nasrullah fillies, Delta and Continued an Page, Forty-Five WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Forty-Eight Courtsey, who have already carried these old and famous colors to victory locally, and now we welcome a promising colt in Ambiguous, a son of the imported Ambiorix from a Menow dam. Ambiguous gained a narrow advantage over Harry LaMontagnes Brookville at the end of a four and a half furlongs sprint, this pair drawing off from a large field and fighting out the issue with pleasing determination. Racing against the wind, Ambiguous was timed in an ordinary :52, but it was how he went about his task that earned this well-bred juvenile from Kentucky many compliments following the finish. Both Ambiguous and Brookville may be of stake caliber, and we expect to see something of them come August at Saratoga.
