view raw text
Reflections ~ By Nelson Dunstan Recent Races Send Derby Jnterest to Peak Swaps and Guggenheim Pair Gain Stature ; All Divisions to Be Busy in Months Ahead * NEW YORK, N. Y., May 5.— While most Derby interest has centered in Nashua and Summer Tan, the recent victories of Swaps, Racing Pool and now Plying " Fury in the Derby Trial sent the Louisville fever to a peak that will hold until- after the running on the week end. It could be that the largest throng in Churchill Downs history will be present to see these horses fight it out in the "Run for the Roses" and that is just another way of saying that it would be the greatest throng ever to witness the running of a horse race in this country. The Derby - has always been a milestone in i three-year-old competition but this is the first time in racing annals that a strong contender will, answer the, bugle as the winner of three 00,000 events, a feat accomplished in the period, from late" February to early May. On May 28, the Preakhess will be run at Pimlico and on June 11, the Belmont Stakes, both of which have. 00,000 added, iWilr complete the-Triple Crown. And it remains to be seen- whether a new name is to be etched on the roster of these classics. Sophomores will be a busy group in the weeks to come for, before the Belmont is run, there will be rich events staged all over the country for members of the division. Much Activity in Handicap Ranks Three-year-olds and older horses will be even busier than the sophomores during the remainder of the year. This week end, the Roseben Handicap at seven furlongs will be the feature at Belmont and a week later the time-honored Metropolitan at one mile will be the first race in New Yorks own Handicap Triple Crown; the two others being the Suburban and the Brooklyn. It. takes a real horse to win all three events and. the_ proof is that only Whisk Broom n. in i9I3 and Tom Fool in 1953 were able to do it. Weights for the Metropolitan will be announced Monday and it will be interesting to note how Jimmy Kilroe measures the top five eligibles, William Helis, Jr.s Helioscope, Alfred G, Van-derbilts Social Outcast, C. V. Whitneys Fisherman, the King Ranchs High Gun and Mrs. "Ethel D. Jacobs Joe Jones, who has been assigned the top weight of i26 pounds for the Roseben Handicap. A race bringing put these five horses would be worth going miles to see but there are many other capable rivals, including Bobby Brocato, winner of this years Paumonok; Parlo, the three-year-old filly champion of 1954; Calumet Farms Mark-Ye-Well, Clifford Mooers Cyclotron and J. W. Rodgers Due de Fer. On paper this shapes up as a whale of a horse race. The two-year-olds naturally do not have as many opportunities at this stage of the season as older horses but every time the subject of juveniles is mentioned Nasrufiah enters into the. speculation. Nasrullah has the Derby favorite in Nashua and on April 21 his daughters Insouciant, Courtesy and Lea Lane accomplished a rare feat when they ran one-two-three, in the Ashland Stakes at Keeneland. In this years two-year-old events he is strongly represented, and in the Juvenile at Belmont Park next Wednesday, he has Nan-tallah and Megaton, both from the Starmount Stable of E. B. Benjamin, representing him. It was the Juvenile in which the Belair Studs Nashua won his first stake victory a year ago. While it is too early to pass . judgment on the division as a whole,, or individual members, there will be many watching the progress of the juveniles who will represent Nasrullah in the many stakes in the offing. His son Noor will also be well represented and between the father and son there seems a splendid chance for that male line making great impressions in 1955 racing. Spotlight on International Steeplechase No branch of racing has come forward with such speed as grass racing and that, along witlrsteeplechas-ing, serves to give variety to our racing programs. On May 21, the secondary feature to the Withers for three-year-olds will be the International Steeplechase Handicap with 0,000 added. This event is international in every sense of the word as jumpers will be shipped here from England, Ireland, France and Italy to compete against the best in this country. Belmont has always been a pillar of hurdling and steeplechasing. Although the association has no rich stakes for grass horses, it offers excellent attractions. Balmoral, which has joined Arlington and Washington Parks in Chicago, will offer attractive events for horses on the turf and with 97 days of high-class sport, Chicago becomes the center of grass racing in this country. Atlantic City has raised the value of its events, the Foreign and American Bred Stakes, and the first four horses in these will meet in the United Nations Handicap. Then, of course, Laurel will renew the Washington, D. C, International at its fall meeting. These events of high values should go far in inducing American owners and trainers to point top horses for turf racing.
