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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 10. Winner or loser, those who love a fine horse left the track happy yesterday, Sunshine Nells splendid victory in the Top Flight Handicap being the kind of race that justifies our devotion to the thoroughbred, and that fully compensates for many and many a dreary afternoon filled with routine events. This observer enjoys placing a wager on a race as well as the next one, but on the occasion of this Top Flight renewal, we resolved to leave the mutuel window strictly alone; in this case, our appetite for a keen contest did not need to be whetted by any financial interest in the result. Last fall at Bowie, when Sunshine Nell got the better of La Corredora after a brilliant stretch duel in the Barbara Frietchie Handi- cap, we had ranked the Maryland feature among the best exhibitions of speed and courage seen during the entire season. The resumption of this pairs rivalry fulfilled its premise of being every whit as exciting as their earlier encounter. Estimating their present merit, handicapper John Blanks Campbell was unable to separate the chestnut mare and the beautiful bay, assigning them both 125 pounds, or one less than Atalantas burden. All the others in the large field, despite thoroughly respectable credentials, were in receipt of large weight concessions from this distinguished trio. AAA Our opinion had been that Campbell, with these severe assignments, had dealt somewhat harshly with the three highweights in the Top Flight. The thrilling race we were to learn completely sustained the "Old Masters" flattering estimate of Sunshine Nells and La Corredoras value, the lightly weighted Spinning Top splitting them :at the finish, and a breathtaking finish it was. The run- Thrilling Top Flight Justifies Handicapper Sunshine Nell Handles Her Weight Superbly Mare Receives Tribute From Eddie Arcaro Bred at Calumet Great Maternal Line ning of this filly and mare feature, again as fine a race as the Westchester Association has offered us during this notable spring meeting, has already been vividly described, and we have no wish to gild the lily, but wemay say, neverthelss, that of the three who shared in the pay-off, La Corredora had the most difficult trip. Sunshine Nell, as we saw it, richly deserved her victory, dominating Spinning Top in the final yards no matter if the margin was extremely close, but La Corredora had been forced to lose considerable ground on the curve for home. Her effort was very nearly as praiseworthy as that of the dead-game chestnut mare who added this coveted trophy to a rich accumulation of honors. AAA One of Sunshine Nells greatest assets is the lease with which she can be rated and placed in a field. This Calumet-bred daughter of Sun Again Nellie Flag, by American Flag, has the foot to leave the gate with the fleetest, but, once away, Sunshine Nell can be taken back, her "point" nursed for the propitious moment. That was exactly the race Eddie Arcaro rode with her yesterday. The swift Canadian filly, Canadiana, and her stable companion, Lillal, winner of the recent Colonial Handicap at Garden State, cut out a sizzling early pace, stepping the initial six furlongs in 1:10. All this time, Arcaro kept "Nellie" discreetly in the offing, but always well clear of the pack and in perfect posture to launch his bid once he sensed that the leaders had raced themselves dizzy. That time had come at the head, of the stretch. From there to the wire, Sunshine Nell had to deal with the challenges of first Gainsboro Girl and then Spinning Top, but, under one of Arcaros characteristically vigorous drives, she proved fully equal to the task. Class, manners, speed and, finally, courage, all contributed to her victory. AAA On dismounting in the winners circle, Arcaro, who had never been up on Sunshine Nell before, said that her resolution in that long drive had reminded him of her dam, Nellie Flag. As we have often pointed out in our references to her daughter, Nellie Flag went to the post the favorite for the Kentucky Derby of her year, one of the many events in which Arcaro rode her, so he should know whereof he speaks. Omaha won that 1935 Derby, but Nellie Flag was certainly the best of her sex that season, while if you go back still another generation, Nellie Flags dam, Nellie Morse, did succeed in winning the Preakness. The Blue Grass horseman, Alex Gordon, who trained Nellie Morse for the noted cartoonist, Bud Fisher, has said that she was absolutely the best filly with whom he has ever had to do, and that flat statement covers wide territory. AAA Through the good offices of John Hertz, the late Warren Wright, just then assembling Calumet Farm, obtained Nellie Morse as a broodmare. Over the years, she has proved fully as remarkable as a producer as she was on the turf as a campaigner, her name prominent in the pedigree of many a fine thoroughbred who has carried the "devils red and blue." Nellie Flag, of course, furnished the same rare and wonderful combination of racing class and productivity at the farm, and now we cannot help but wonder -what future awaits Sunshine Nell as a Continued on Page Forty-Two WEIGHING IN By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Forty-Eight matron. How often Calumet must regret having sold her! As a filly, Sunshine Nells knees presented a problem that made her training difficult, a weakness associated with the get of Sun Again, and she" was discarded for a derisory 0,000. It is easy enough to be wise "after the fact," but we honestly believe that, knees or no knees i we would have retained Nellie Flags daughter and Nellie Morses granddaughter as a prospective broodmare; there are not too many of that kind floating around, you may be sure. ; . ii. a j o.f o.EL . nrort alji :
