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I On the Trot By MORRIE KURLANSKY Little Ralph Keeps Excellent Form Finney Refuses Offers for His Coll Maestro Pick Brown Jug Candidate SPORTSMANS PARK, Cicero, 111., June 26. Ralph Finneys homebred colt, Little Ralph, in his first outing here since his sen- sationai mile in 2:oj at Maywood Park, justified the high expectations of horsemen and racing fans alike for he won his third straight race in the excellent time of 2:04. In his race on Tuesday night the four-year-old son of Paul McPherson met tougher oppbnets than in his last Maywood engagement, but tfie J small colt again proved conclusively that : he has too much speed for sidewheelers classified in group B. Starting from the j fourth post position diminutive Billy Shuter : was not in too much of a hurry with the J free-legged pacer but rather allowed Nibble to take command rounding the first turn. The Saunders Mills colt, however, driven by Don Hall, set a somewhat leisurely pace and since Little Ralph was parked out he had to get to the top. Once in the lead Little Ralph under a tight hold did not accelerate and reached the half-mile in 1:03, which was almost two second slower than his May-wood race. The field was still tightly bunched going: into the clubhouse turn the second time and while Little Ralph continued at an even clip all of his adversaries with the exception of Nibble began to drop back steadily. At the three-quarters, Little Ralph had a lead of one and one-half lengths over Nibble while the rest of, the field was already beaten at that point. Shuter now loosened his tight grip on the colt a little bit and Little Ralph responded with a last quarter in :30 to win by better than a length in 2:04 without ever being touched and by no means extended. According to owner-trainer Ralph Finney several enticing offers for the colt have been made, all better than 0,000, but as yet the Ohioan hasnt decided whether to sell or keep Little Ralph. According to U.S.T.A. classification rules Little Ralph, in spite of his fast times, cannot be moved higher than one class at a time and therefore he is still eligible for B class events, the group being subdivided in four divisions. However, if Finney desires he can race Little Ralph in the free for all class should there be difficulties to fill in an overnight race in his classification for him. Little Ralphs fine effort overshadowed Thursdays feature race, a 14 class trot stake, which was marred by repeated breaks by a majority of the seven starters. A great disappointment was the Detroit invader, Jamie, who was in a jam in the first turn and broke stride soon after the start in the second heat. Maywood Park track record holder, Daisty Astra, also involved in the collision in the first heat, was offstrided thereafter to finish sixth, while she lacked her finishing power in the second heat and could not resist the fast closing Steve Tell. Black Worthy, with Harold Snodgrass in the sulky, won the first dash, but was disqualified in the second for repeated gaining breaks. Little Brown Jug candidate, Maestro Pick, driven by Dee Stover, paced to his third victory of the year in a three-year-old event on Thursday and lowered his half mile track record by a full second to 2:07 . . .Mel Harmening got his first Sportsmans Park victory behind Hassayampa, a seven-year-old pacing mare not to be confused with the three-year-old runner of the same name, who finished third in both Kentucky Derby and Preakness. The Iowa-owned Chief Counsel daughter made her debut n Chicago and won her race in 2:07.. Ed "Casagranda, youthful trainer from Wisconsin, who started eight times during the Maywood Park meeting, and won five races, still has his small stable in fine form. Dusty Lotus, a triple winner at Maywood, won the first time out at Sportsmans Park in 2:08 although being moved up to B class . . . Counterport Hanover, seven-year-old pacing gelding, owned by Norman C. Towne Stock Farm of Liber-tyville, seems to be in the form of his life. In his race on Thursday, the pacer made a break at the start and dropped far back during the first half to circle his field the second time around to win in 2:07. Dan Peacock was at the reins and obviously enjoyed the televised interview with Joe Wilson. Jake Rodman, the noted California trainer, well known in Chicago for his many victories with Charles Coburns fast pacer, Rush Hour, and other horses owned by the movie actor, arrived here. He expects great things from the three- : year-old pacer, Ensign Lad, a winner at 1 Roosevelt Raceway last year and for- 1 wardly placed in several Grand Circuit events for juvenile pacers. The colt is owned by Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Peter- 1 son of. Limon, Colo.. . .Everett Osborn and .Edgar Leonard, two trainers re- nowned for their success with two- and : 1 1 1 three-year-old trotters and pacers, sent several younger members of their respective stables for racing at this half-miler. Osborn currently races two divisions of his stable in the East, while Leonard has his aged campaigners at Northville Downs . . . Gene Riegle, the young trainer from Greenville, Ohio, shipped his public stable to Detroit. He won 10 races during the Maywood Park meeting . . . Marcia D., a winner of six races at May-wood Park, was shipped to Detroit for a stakes engagement but is expected back here by end of next week. A total of 11 races will be presented on Monday when the Chicago Downs meeting at Sportsmans Park moves into the second week. With the exception of a schooling race for 25 class pacers, which will be held before the regular program, there will be wagering on the other 10 races. Two ,500 events for Illinois-bred harness horses are co-featured on the mammoth card. Six three-yeajr-oid pacers and seven two-year-old trotters wilTcontest Hie 1w6 niife das- " es, which are sponsored by the Northern Illinois Colt Association.
