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-J W E I G H I N G IN By EVAN SHIPMAN I BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., June 11. Here we are at the Belmont Stakes, last and most important of the great scale weight specials for three-year-olds. For many months we have looked forward to the running of this traditional mile and a half test, confidently fidently expecting expecting that that a a victory victory -J fidently expecting expecting that that a a victory victory here would crown the career of one member or another of this unusually interesting generation. That possibility, of course, still exists, but we confess that it is with a sense of anti-climax that we will mount to the roof Saturday to watch this Belmont renewal. For one reason or another, those who, until just recently, looked like our top three-year-olds have encountered setbacks difficult to explain, and seriously compromising to their chances in this their paramount engagement. As recently as a week ago, Mrs. Elizabeth Persons little Endeavour n. colt, Porterhouse, appeared to be on the road to justifying all the compliments paid him by this observer and many other horsemen throughout his juvenile campaign and on the occasion of his first two starts this season. Correlation, another who has always possessed a strong appeal for professionals and public alike, was also much in view for the Belmont until repeated failures convinced us that he is actually many pounds below his true form. Complete rehabilitation for Porterhouse or Correlation cannot be dismissed as an impossible eventuality Saturday, but should this occur, we would have to look on it as something of a minor miracle. Sad as we are to say it, all signs point the other way. AAA Porterhouse was soundly trounced a week ago in the nine-furlong Peter Pan Handicap, a race won by King Belmont Stakes Looms as Wide Open Contest Current Form of Choices Seen as Doubtful Porterhouse Has Been Treated for Bad Back .. All Fans Can Expect Here Is the Unexpected Ranchs Heliopolis colt, High Gun, in ridiculously slow time, the entire field, with the lone exception of the winner, being pulled double for the initial mile and then found unable to go from "a pull to a drive." Before the start of the Peter Pan, Mrs. Persons colt had not looked to be in top condition, and, a few minutes later, that was the way he ran. As to what ailed him specifically, we. do not know, and we believe that his skillful trainer, Charley Whittingham, is almost-as much in the dark. He did suspect that the trouble might have been a recurrence of Porterhouses back injury, suffered as he left the starting gate in the Pimlico Futurity last fall. For the last few days, Porterhouse has been receiving diathermy treatments to relieve such a condition, while his final work for the Belmont engagement yesterday morning was pronounced "thoroughly satisfactory." Some quarters profess to doubt Porterhouses capabilities at a real route. We have never shared these doubts, but we could wish that Mrs. Persons fine colt was coming up to this test in condition that was not highly questionable. Excuses are a dime a dozen for Belmont Stakes failures, and we do not like making excuses for Porterhouse; when the little fellow is himself, he does not need excuses. AAA As for the brilliant Californian, Con-elation, his present status is fully as equivocal as that of Porterhouse. The big son of Free America, after winning the Florida Derby and Wood Memorial in fine style, has been successively a hot favorite and a keen disappointment in the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Jersey Stakes at Garden State. While he was a close second to Hasty Road at Baltimore, Correlations downfall in both the Churchill Downs classic and the New Jersey Stakes was complete. In all three races, he indulged his dangerous habit of lugging in, running as if he were trying to escape pain. When we speak of Correlation now, it must be emphasized that we are talking about the colt as he is, not as he was a couple of months ago, or as our fondness for him suggests that he might be. If a return to form on the part of Porterhouse would border on the miraclulous, it would cause us even greater surprise were Correlation to run straight and true Saturday in the Belmont, the only way " he can run if he is to win and erase the memory of what appear as highly significant failures. AAA Discussing this Belmont earlier in the week with our friend Alex Robb, secretary and treasurer of the track, that official appeared pleased that the feature now looked like a wide-open race, assuring a large field. Frankly, we could not agree with Alexs point of view, and we actually had been on the point of commiserating with him because the great race had lost its customary role of establishing the seasons championship. The Belmont, as we see it, can always be a "close" race. That is all to the good. It is also somewhat irrelevant. What we expect of the Belmont Stakes is not necessarily a close contest, bufr it is a brilliant performance. There was nothing close about the Belmonts won by Count Fleet or Citation, but, in each case, this mile and a half classic crowned the three-year- Continued on Page Nineteen WEIGHING IN I By EVAN SHIPMAN Continued from Page Sixty-Four old career of a great thoroughbred, thus fulfilling its purpose. Assuming as we must that Porterhouse and Correlation are both seriously handicapped as they approach their .great objective, we find ourselves compelled to look in totally unexpected quarters for a prospective winner of tomorrows race. High Gun catapulated into prominence by his surprising score in the Peter Pan, has always enjoyed the confidence of his shrewd trainer. Max Hirsch. In view of the many good ones uncovered by this astute horseman, this is no small recommendation, and yet we cannot persuade ourselves that this big Heliopolis colt is actually of Belmont caliber. We have been compelled to revise all our thinking on the subject of the Belmont to conform with the actual condition of the two colts we have always fancied, and now, on the eve of the big race, we find ourselves leaning strongly in the direction of Mrs. J. H. Thoiirons imported colt, War of Roses, and of Fox-catcher Farms homebred son of Alibhai Fairy Chant, Chevation. This pair thoroughly inconspicuous until just recently, have the advantage of perfect condition, a factor that wins many a race. War of Roses and Chevation are oh the upgrade and they should give a good account of themselves. As to their route-running ability, that remains to be seen. A possible outsider, if you care for that sort of thing, is Hill Princes younger brother, Prince Hill. Prince Hill is bred on classic lines, but his victory here would constitute a major upset. Summing up, it looks like the kind of race in which the unexpected is all we have a right to expect.
