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■■,.... , F-"1 j, — ::: ":: v: Weighing In • By Evan Shipman — -— — — — Marking Time Before Running of Derby Lalun Scores Clear-Cut Victory in Oaks Present Three-Year-Old Filly Crop Weak CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky.. May 7.— Marking time before the running of "the big one." the world and his wife have taken over Louisville, and this ■■,.... , already already sizable sizable city city is, is, as as usual usual F-"1 already already sizable sizable city city is, is, as as usual usual on Derby Day, bulging at the seams. One scarcely needs to add that the mood is festive, but we can report now, some hours before the field parades to the strains of "My Old Kentucky Home," that the, customary hectic search for a winner, sparked by every known method of divination from astrology on downwards to somebodys "little green card," is is for for once once totally totally in in abeyance. abeyance. — ::: ":: v: is is for for once once totally totally in in abeyance. abeyance. The answer to the inevitable question, "well, who do you like? has become so monotonous that it is proffered simply through the force of habit, while any reply other than "Nashua, of course! is immediately set down as willful eccentricity. Recalling vividly just how close the Belair colorbearers series of duels with Mrs. John Galbreaths splendid Summer Tan have been, some of us professionals are astonished at this unanimity of opinion, although when it comes our turn to meet the same query, we lamely fall into line with the crowd. Even the perennial local patriotism of the California contingent has been somewhat hushed this week, the native sons loyalty to Swaps perfunctory in contrast to the glittering predictions ordinarily forthcoming where a California entry of reasonable ability is concerned. And so, from our vantage point here on the grandstands roof, we watch the twisting serpent of traffic unwinding its coils in the sparkling May sunshine, disgorging now the first of the thousands who soon will fill this park ; the distant murmur in our ears will rise steadily and imperceptibly through all the gradations of tone until, later in the afternoon, it will settle and concentrate on a name, a colts name. What name? They all think they know now. but can we be sufe? Defeated Three Daughters of Nasrullah Young Loyd Gentry, who has done so well with the powerful Cain Hoy string, earned sincere compliments from local and visiting horsemen when he. saddled the stables neat little Djeddah filly, Lalun. to capture yesterdays renewal of the time-honored Kentucky Oaks, a stake that is somewhat dwarfed by the proximity of the Derby but that nevertheless carries considerable prestige with breeders. Lalun s clear-cut victory was scored at the direct expense of Lea Lane, one of a trio by the ultra -fashionable sire, Nasrullah, the others being Claibornes Delta and Dr. Eslie As-burys Insouciant. Lea Lane, slightly favored in the wagering, flattered her backers for most of a mile and a sixteenth trip, running easily on the head-end. Once the resolute little Lalun caught the pacemaker however, Lea Lane went completely to pieces, and the winner was "going away" at the wire. As for Insouciant and Delta, both highly regarded, the first named miss stopped cold at the head of the stretch, and Delta, contradicting the good form she had shown last season, was far back all the way. More than once last year, Captain Harry Guggenheim had told us that Lalun, who is out of Be Faithful, one of the late Colonel Bradleys excellent Bimelech matrons, might prove to be a really good one. but she was unlucky as a juvenile, her sexual cycle conflicting with her stake engagements. Yesterday, Lalun went far toward compensating her entourage for those earlier disappointments. She ran in the middle of the pack until the five sixteenths pole when her jockey, Henry Moreno, began a long drive on the rail. Fortunate in that she saved much ground, Lalun responded willingly, and already at the head of the stretch, it appeared likely that she would overhaul the fast but rather faint-hearted Lea Lane. In justice to the latter, we may remark that Charlton Clays homebred was carrying five pounds more than the Kentucky Oaks conditions demanded, and her connections probably feel that this difference between 121 pounds and the 116 that Lea Lane ought to have carried, and Lalun did carry, meant defeat. Five-Pound Difference Didnt Matter Our own view— for what it is worth— is that Lalun was going to catch Lea Lane, five pounds or no five pounds. Lea Lane, and Delta, too, gives the impression of dazzling speed, tout we thought last year, and this race appears to confirm it, that Lea Lane and Delta would find any distance beyond our shortest sprints too far. That said, we must confess that this seemed to be a distinctly ordinary Oaks renewal, far below last years standard when Maine Chance Farms strapping Fascinator defeated Hasty Houses swift and game little Roman filly, Queen Hopeful. Had anything of the stature of either of those misses been included in yesterdays field, the result would have been a foregone conclusion. In general, this does not strike us as a good year for the three-year-old filly division, only the recent Acorn winner, High Voltage, suggesting real quality, while we will also make a reserve in favor of Alberta Ranchs In Reserve, one who, according to all accounts, had an extremely rough trip in the recent Acorn at Belmont Park, and who remains a serious candidate for that tracks imminent Coaching Club American Oaks.
