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Swaps Scores in Championship Style; Never Really Out of Pull Whole Trip Derby Winner Demonstrates* Flawless Running Ability In Hollywood Park Tally By OSCAR OTIS HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., May 31. — Swaps made his initial California appearance of the summer following his successful Kentucky foray, and he won from his competitors in the Will Rogers Stakes in a manner that could only be described as "awesome." Most everybody was sure before the race that Swaps would win, and the only discussion was as to how he would accomplish this victory. He did it in the manner of a champion, never actually being out of a pull for the whole trip, and finishing out the mile in 1;35, 12 lengths ahead of his own stablemate, Bequeath. The fraction for the seven furlongs was 1:22%. Shoemaker was swinging Swaps early, but in an easy manner, let him run just a wee bit in passing Bequeath on the far turn, and once in front in the stretch, simply widened on his field at will. Shoemaker stood up in the stirrups at the eighth pole, looked around twice to see that nobody was near, then just loafed along to the wire. It was little more than a brisk workout, took nothing out of the horse, and he had a lot of run left at the wire: The Hollywood Park_fans gave Swaps an ovation, for he demonstrated a flawless, machinelike running ability which won him the Kentucky Derby, an ability that met with keen appreciation. Swaps earned but 4,850 in the Will Rogers, a tidy little sum which lifted his earning for the year to 30,550, and his lifetime total to 51,-500. Swaps is not an absolute blessing for western racing, for while his racing here, after beating Nashua in the Kentucky Derby so convincingly, is a great thing for Califprnia, prestige-wise, he may have almost run himself out of true competition Saturday, as .well as costing the track a minus pool of substantial proportions. Because he was by himself most of the time, either on the lead during the latter part of the race, or just off his stablemate earlier, people could get a chance to closely study his smooth stride, and they did. For this reason, the race actually was more in the nature of an exhibition than a contest. Carrying tops of 126 pounds, he seemed to outclass his rivals by such a wide margin that any comparisons are best left unmade. We personally think Swaps may go on to prove himself one of the greats of our times. We arent calling him that — just yet. But we may before the season is over. For Swaps seems to have, as they say on the Coast, "that look of eagles."
