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I On the Trot I 1 By MORRIE KURLANSKY J Week-End Features Take on Lustre Knox Hanover Makes Debut Tonight Hall at Helm in Jimmy Creed Stakes MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, HI., June 3; With slightly more than two weeks of this meeting remaining the week-end fea- tures here become more and more interesting, and a contest far above the usual fare can be expected in Friday nights pacing stake named for Jimmy Creed, outstanding pacer who set a worlds record for the mile and one-sixteenth here a few seasons back. A bulky field of UU.1C OIUCWIICCICIl WC1C entered for the two-dash event, which is endowed with a ,000 purse. The debut of Knox Hanover owned by Saunders Mills, Inc., of Toledo, Ohio.and driver Don Hall in Chicago is sure to attract a record crowd of this popular westside oVal, because both horse and driver come here with reputations that border on the sensational The four-year-old Knox Hanover is a son of the great Hoot Mon, winner of the Hamble-tonian Stake in 1947 when he pegged the record for the worlds most famous trotting race at 2:00, with the late Sep Palin of Greyhound fame in the sulky, out of the Dean Hanover mare, Lucine Hanover. As a two-year-old, Knox Hanover won five out of his 12 races, and was a stakes winner on the Grand Circuit where he paced to a record of 2:03. During his three-year-old tenure, Knox Hanover was almost exclusively raced on the Grand Circuit and in several races, when narrowly beaten, was separately timed in better than two minutes. Garnering four races out of 31 starts, he doubled his two-year-old earnings of of 6,000, to be credited with more than 3,000 for his first two racing seasons. r Winter-trained in Florida with the rest of the pretentious Ohio menage, Knox Hanover returned to actual competition the end of April at Hazel Park and won against free-for-allers Rilmas Widower, Freeman Hanover and other seasoned campaigners. Pn May 8, the Hoot Mon colt beat Freeman Hanover and Red Sails over a muddy surface and five days later was beaten but a neck by Chuckie Scot, the Illinois pacer, timed in 2:03. This was the first heat of a 12-class stakes event. Although Knox Hanover quickly avenged this defeat in the second heat, winning by iYz lengths in 2:04, luck was not with him, for his driver, Hall, in the early stage of that race had interfered with Chuckie Scot, and Knox Hanover was disqualified, while Hall drew a 15-day suspension. During Halls grounding, Robert Aid-rich drove Knox Hanover to victory in an Open Pace on May 22 and last Saturday, with Hall again in the sulky, he paced to his best mark of the year, a rapid 2:04, when he defeated Red Sails, Rilmas Widower and Poplar Dell, each of this trio a two-minute pacer, and Miss Billie in the ,500 feature at Hazel Park. In six starts this season, Knox Hanover was first across the finish line five times and . second in his only other start. Hall, 28, a native of Bucyrus, Ohio, "although being around horses since his childhood, didnt hit the big time until last summer when he caught on with the powerful Saunders Mills stable during the Wolverine Raceway meeting. His claim to glory came only a few weeks later at the Hollywood Park meeting, where he drove three of the stables horses to records under the fabled two-minute mark, namely Scottish Chief in 1:59, Mr. Dean in 1:58, and the trotter, Nancy Song, in 1:59 in a time trial. In 1952, the small and wiry driver started only 35 times to hit the winners circle but once, but he had 78 wins last year, his mounts earning the nice sum of 3,631. At the Hollywood Park meeting Hall had 65 driving assignments and won 20 races, was second 14 times, and third nine times. But for his long suspension at Hazel Park, he would be among the five leaders there, too. In the post-position drawing for the first dash of the Jimmy Creed Stakes, Knox Hanover was luckiest, for he will start from the rail, while Easter Flowers Billy Rouse ; John Lee Harry Bur-right ; Dominion Boy Gene Riegle ; Miss Shine-A-Mite Red Ross ; Gay " Order Howard Beissinger ; Countess Vivian Mel Harmening; BHaven Wilbur Long and Dale Wingay C. F. Rumley will be lined up behind the starting gate In that order. . Francis Mc, five-year-old trotting gelding by Eton Frances Potempkin joined the big three, Maria D., Daisy Astra, and Clever Tee after a splendid double victory in Tuesdays Hoof Beats Stakes, named for the official publication of "the TJSTA. Clarence Curtis, successful reins-man who drove Francis Mc, had an exceptionally good night, for prior to this top trotters two-dash victory he guided his own four-year-old trotter, Francis Eton, full brother of Francis Mc, to victory in a CC trot. Both sons of Eton have shown fine performances this year, especially the older and faster Francis Mc, who is a jewel of consistency. Including Tuesdays event, this five-year-old has started nine times this year for four victories, three seconds and two thirds, and seasons earnings of ,032. The leading money-winner at this meeting, however, is the Ohio-owned Clever Tee, who, by virtue of his placing in Francis Mcs race, garnered 75 to bring his 1954 total to ,271. It was the first time this year that Clever Tee finished farther back than third, although still getting part of the purse. The slow, sticky surface was not exactly to his liking, but nevertheless, he trotted, his usual honest race although he seemed to falter in the stretch drive. Taylor Ridge, another speedster who definitely prefers a fast track, was second in both heats, but never a menace to Francis Mc.
