Judges Stand: High Gun Bidder for Seasons Honors Success in Belmont Stakes Well Merited Upsurging, Daily Racing Form, 1954-06-15

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JUDGES S T A N D auKB HATT0N The Belmont Stakes may have looked somewhat less important than usual on paper, but it revealed the King Ranchs High Gun as one of the seasons leading aspirants for three -"ear-old honors, along with Determine and Hasty Road. This grandson of the marvelous Hyperion, beau tifully ridden by Eric Guerin, outpointed the resolute little Fisherman as the climax of a long stretch drive and richly deserved the honors. It is quite possible the last of the "Triple Crown" events may have, as Alex Robb likes to think, marked the emergence of a new champion, and the result tended to focus more interest on proceeding here in Chicago, for the winner, Determine and Hasty Road all are eligible for the rich Arlington Classic. As a spectacle the Belmont was reminiscent of the Preakness, without the crowding, very appropriately developing one of the keenest horse races of the season. Correlation was much more aggressive than he had been in the Jersey Stakes, but he simply could not cope with Fisherman, who went to him at the end of the backstretch and cooked him to a turn within a quarter mile. AAA There is a theory that only for the early use made of him, Fisherman might have repelled High Gun when he challenged. But then it is an inexpensive thing to play the Monday morning quarterback" after the fact, and it was clearly high time one of the field forced Correlations pace when Fisherman challenged him. High Gun advantaged from this skirmish, but he was a very formidable colt Saturday and it is possible he was going High Gun Bidder for Seasons Honors Success in Belmont Stakes Well Merited Upsurging Interest in Chicago Sport Belmont to Have Escalators Next Year to win in any circumstance. The veteran Max Hirsch had him in perfect fettle, with every muscle supple and attuned, and he was "full of beans," as the English say, en route to the post. Chevation was a disappointment to many, including this observer, and we must think that he simply does not carry classic weight. Altogether it heightened the significance of later races for the three-year-olds, and there will be nothing anticlimactic about this summers stakes for them. AAA Racing out here in what Prince Mike Romanoff calls "The Interior" is marked by an upsurging interest as Lincoln nears its climax and Ben Lindheimer prepares to unviel resplendent Arlington. A number of horses pointing for stakes on the air-conditioned North Side are expected to be seen under colors during the final days at this course, and in this way Lincoln Fields benefits through dates just preceding those allocated the Arlington club. Though the patronage thus far in the Chicago season has not been spectacular, the conventioneers and vacationists will spark up business during the weeks ahead. Arlington attracts racegoers from as far away as Milwaukee and has a clientele all its own, many of whom never attend other meets in Chicagoland. Clearly its sport this summer is going to be of more national significance than ever, with Hasty Road already on hand to re new his rivalry with. Determine, Native Dancer a candid date for the 00,000 Arlington Handicap, and. aa increased number of fashionable strings from other areas. The Classic is sometimes rather anticlimactic, serving largely to show Chicagoans a champion developed in the "Triple Crown" events. But the Derby, Preakness and Belmont have not identified the leader at all conclusively, so that the Classic will have an unusual importance. In fact we found a good deal of interest in the forthcoming renewal back East, with everyone anticipating another such sizzling mile as the Derby Trial produced. That was the sort of thing the most dispassionate horse lover would like to see over again. AAA -Belmont Park may be less flossy than some courses of more recent vintage, but it is functionally one of the most efficient and it plans to continue so. Jack Needles was telling us the other day that it is proposed to install escalators with the conclusion of the meet next fall. "We could hardly accomplish this between meetings," he said. "And the plans for situating them in the stands have been changed since Memorial Day, when the crowd of 56,736 indicated the original arrangement might be improved upon." Escalators and elevators, or both, are rapidly becoming a must for tracks which have any pretensions to modernity. And in New Jersey, Chicago and elsewhere track managements have found it pays to spoil the public. We never cease to marvel at the strides racing has made in its appointments in the past decade or so. It was only a few years ago those of us working in the cramped Empire City press box were interrupting the throes of com- Continued on Page Forty-Four JUDGES STAND By CHARLES HATTON Continued from Page FiftyzTwo- position to draw straws for the chore of carrying a waterbucket the length of the stand to refill it. AAA Turf ana: The East has no monopoly on those promising Nasrullah two-year-olds. There is the filly Lea Lane here at Lincoln. . . . Mr. Fitz is having a large season with the Belair and Wheatley horses. Led the trainers at Belmont. ... Is The Mast becoming hypersensitive to atmospheric conditions? ... So far as we know, Charlie Wacker has the only son of the French Brantome racing in this country, the four-year-old colt Eugene II. . . . Wagering on chases was disappointing at Belmont, though the form through-the-field "was closely observed. . . . Imbros is an Arlington possibility, though all of his races have been hard, and Calif ornians tell us he has less bounce than he did at Santa Anita. . . . Bruno Pagliai now is vice-president of the telephone company in Mexico. . . . Level Lea may join the thin ranks of top handi-cappers soon. . . . Wise Margin is an interesting proposition for Chicago racing. . . . Extra Points has progressed to 164 pounds for The Hitchcock on Thursday. Most improved fencer in years. . . . Joe Hernandez was a recent New York visitor. One or two horses may follow him back to Hollywood Park.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1954061501/drf1954061501_52_1
Local Identifier: drf1954061501_52_1
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800