view raw text
Banjoist Clicks on Turf at Suffolk 28,623 Fans Out For Bargain Card Fosters Veteran Gelding Is Head to Good of Indubitably After Stout Stretch Charge By FRED GALIANI SUFFOLK DOWNS, East Boston, Mass., May 31. — Bargain day at Suffolk, in the form of free admission plus an opportunity to win a new car in the raffle conducted by the plant, brought out a surprisingly large crowd of 28,623 here today. Coming as it did on the heels of a Memorial Day attendance of 35,202, the figures were short of astonishing. The bargain hunters bet with fervor and were treated to a variety of weather, ranging from sunshine to periods of fog that completely blanketed the course for two races. The first and sixth heats were run in a shroud, the horses being visible only in £he last sixteenth of a mile or so. By the time the feature race came around, the fog had lifted enough so that the horses could be discerned for most of the journey. Oscar Fosters Banjoist closed with a determined surge in the stretch of the turf course event to snatch victory by a head over W. J. Beatties Indubitably. The latter was three lengths before Mrs. Q. A. S. McKeans Solar Clipper, who set most of the pace. Not Highly Regarded by Patrons Banjoist was not highly regarded and returned 3.60 after covering the about a mile and a sixteenth over the firm strip in 1:48. He was piloted by Henry Wajda who won earlier in the afternoon on River Divide Farms Yearn. Herb Ehrlichs favored Lofty Legion was unplaced in the race while jockey Bobby Ussery fell from Major Event on the far turn when his mount stumbled. Eocene and Solar Clipper showed the most early speed at the start of the feature, with Solar Clipper eventually taking complete command on the clubhouse turn. Indubitably was a close third, while Banjoist was not far back. There was little change in the order down the backstretch, but, going around the far turn through the murk, Ussery was seen to fall off his horse as the mount bobbled. Indubitably rushed up alongside Solar Clipper at the head of the stretch and the pair went at it hammer and tongs. Banjoist had hugged the hedge and was running strongly when Indubitably, in his bid to put away Solar Clipper, came over for the drive. Wajda quickly steered Banjoist to the outside and set sail for Indubitably, who now had the lead. Although the distance was running out fast, Banjoist ate up the ground in rapid strides and nailed Indubitably right on the wire. Immediately after the seventh race the drawing for the car was held, and the winner turned out to be Marie Leahy of. Lynn, Mass. It was reported that she is the mother-in-law of jockey Alfonso Coy.
