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Seven Slated to Oppose Lotus Eater In ThistleDown7s Discovery Handicap Hamar Gelding Gives Foes Eight to Sixteen Pounds Under His Impost of 120 By RONALD KRANCER Staff Correspondent THISTLEDOWN, Warrensville, Ohio, June 4. One of the most attractive programs in the history of ThistleDown has been arranged by racing, secretary Fred Burton for the first Saturday of the 42-day meeting. Of the nine races to be presented there will be three allowance tests and two handicaps. With the weather expected to clear for the first time at the meeting a crowd of about 10,000 is expected to be on hand for the sport which as usual will get under way promptly at 2:15 p. m. Eastern Daylight Time. Heading the half -holiday card will be the ,500 Discovery Handicap at five and one-half furlongs. This race has attracted a field of eight, and will be run as the seventh race. Secondary feature will be the the nightcap which is the U. S. Grant Handicap at a mile and one furlong. Heading the field in the Discovery is M. R. "Buddy" Hamars Lotus Eater, a recent arrival from Pimlico who has been top-weighted at 120 pounds which will include jockey Freddy Ryan. Slated to face him are Samuel C. Dykes Yea Bama at 109 pounds, Olin Sledges Cross Ring, 112; Mrs. A. M. Creechs Mahplay, 104; John B. Continued on Page Forty-Two Seven Meet Lotus Eater In Discovery Handicap Hamar Gelding Totes 120, Giving Rivals Eight to Sixteen Pounds Continued from Page One Lattas Click-Click, 108; W. J. Sprows Marshal at Arms, 111; R. Fischers Skin Junior, 109, and v Harry J. Newcombes Shamrock at 111 pounds. Lotus Eater, a handsome son of Devil Diver Rare Bloom, last won at Laurel early in April when at a mile and one-sixteenth he was up in the final jump to finish on equal terms with Stars Shine. They were timed in 1:45. Lotus Eater was also a winner during the Gulfstream Park session when on March 10 at a mile and seventy yards he defeated the stakes winner, Sonic, by a length and one quarter in 1:47 over a muddy strip. Marshal at Arms, an Irish import, won here on .opening day when he bested the favored Tin Twist by over two lengths in a five and a half furlongs dash. The winner broke fifth, but by the time the field had reached the upper turn was in front to stay. That was his initial tally in this country, however last summer he won the Stapleton purse while campaigning in England. Cross Ring, a gelded son of Charing Cross, will be making his first start of the session but was one of the more consistent horses here during the fall meeting last year. Cross Ring was shipper here from Suffolk Downs where he won on April 28 when he defeated Soldiers Son by a half length over a sloppy track. Earlier in the racing year, Cross Ring was victorious at Oaklawn Park when" he churned five and , one-half furlongs in 1:05, only a second and one-fifth over the track standard. Skin Junior, who also performed here last year, won during the Hot Springs meeting when he beat a member of this field, Mahplay, by three lengths while being mildly urged through the stretch run. Skin Junior broke second in that race and soon thereafter moved to the fore and was never seriously threatened. Mahplay, before dropping that decision to Skin Junior, won at Oaklawn on February 23. Running in an optional event the-, gelding reached the wire a neck before Miss Wabash. Yea Bama, a winner of over 0,000 in purses last season, has had difficulty finding the winners circle in 1954. The Dykes colorbearef ran here on Wednesday and was unplaced. Click Click, who had run some game races at nearby Waterford Park, is also seeking his first tally of the season, while Shamrock is in the same category. " The U. S. Grant has lured a field of 12 starters and appears to be a wide-open contest. Deux-Moulins, a French import, has been assigned topweight of 117 pounds, which will include jockey Eddie Plesa. Other highweights are Top Command and The Preem, both in with 116 pounds. t The Preem, who won several times while in the Crescent City last winter and only last Saturday was a bang-up third to Some Fun in Ascots Gold Cup, will receive a, big portion of the play and figures to run a strong race. 7
