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■ i ■ California I— Otis 1 —By Oscar — — Plan Mister Gus Test in Rich Californian Llangollen Western Operation to Expand Weight Helps Level Rather Than Penalize HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., June 4.— Hollywood Parks first 00.000-added race of the season, the mile and a sixteenth Californian, will have ■ i ■ its its second second running running come come Satur- its its second second running running come come Satur- Saturday, and at this point, it would appear that a fairly substantial field will compete. The Californian is Hollywood Parks major effort to offer at least one major race under allowance conditions with scale prevailing for the best horses, three and up, with concessions ranging downward to nine pounds, and with a possible penalty of three over scale, which, at at this this time time of of the the year, year, is is 126 126 at at this this time time of of the the year, year, is is 126 126 for voider, 115 for three-year-olds. The inaugural running saw a flashy Imbros under 118 pounds set a new track record, and equalling the then existing worlds record of 1:41, and which Imbros, eight off the scale, proved the better of his stablemate, Determine, in at scale of 115 pounds, in a race which would have been one of the most exciting of the season had the two horses raced in different interests. "Well find out about Mister Gus in this race," Charlie Whittingham of Llangollen Farm, remarked as we watched him graze the -speedy son of Nasrullah on a field up near the training track. "I dont know about Swaps, but if he goes, hell have to give Mister Gus nine pounds and that is attractive enough for us. Mister Gus, is, I believe, as fast a horse as Imbros, and the people who witnessed his duel with El Drag in the Argonaut, and his gameness in sticking to the very -end even though beaten by Alidon, had a fair sample of his courage. He is a Nasrullah, who, though high strung, has none of the mental quirks that supposedly go with the breed.. In fact, he is one of the few spirited horses who could be termed at once of placid disposition. Anyway, well have a pretty good idea of his ability, for the first time since he was returned to training this year, when the Californian is over." Regards Breeders Award Very Attractive Whittingham surprised us by saying that Llangollen was considering expanding its broodmare band in California, for we didnt even know the famed Virginia establishment had any broodmares here. We discovered that there is a two-year-old racing called Social Climber, by Your Host out of Wisteria, a worthwhile race mare of a few years back, who is currently at the Rex Ellsworth farm near Chino where she was bred to Khaled, Californias only current sire with a ,000 stud fee. Wisteria has a yearling foal by Radiotherapy. Llangollen has one other mare in the state at the moment, Repent, also bred to Khaled, and with a suckling at side by Sullivan. "If you are racing out this way, and have some California-bred stock, that 10 per cent breeders award can become mighty attractive," explained Whittingham about the contemplated expansion of the present modest broodmare representation in this part of the world. Hollywood Parks official explanation of the Californian is hard to understand, for it says in part, "Since horse racing is unique in that it penalizes ability, owners of proven champions often feel that they must pass up many leading handicaps because of sever weight concessions that must be made to horses of lesser accomplishments. To avoid this, Holly-park officials established the Californian, a weight for age event with certain penalties and allowances based on earnings, thus encouraging horsemen to keep their top stars in training and not retire them prematurely." . We have never agreed with those who hold that weights are a penalty as such, rather regard them as equalizers quite necessary to insure competition. Mai uvius Withholds Gold Cup Weights Fundamentally, racing is a soprt of checks and balances, and in general, the more a horse earns, the less his chance of increasing those earnings by reason of added weight, the less he earns, the easier it becomes through allowances. This premise is quite as true in claimers as in handicaps. The only basic exceptions to this rule of thumb are the so-called classic races for three-year-olds, plus true scale weight stakes for three and older without either penalty or allowance. Whether or not the Californian will induce any older horses to remain in training and avoid "premature" retirement remains to be seen, but it is significant that handi-capper Johnny Maluvius is discreetly withholding publication of his weights for the more firmly established 00,000 net guaranteed to winner Gold Cup after the Californian running. Horses and People: The most recent issue of the Thoroughbred of California contends "stud fees are too high." This we contend is dubious, for services are regulated by the ever-present law of supply and demand. Folks aire paying what they think is proper and merited, a long step forward in the improvement of California breeders, not to mention the breed... But Harry Curland, manager for Mrs. Nat Goldstones sire, Solidarity, one of Californias top stallions, has refused to raise the fees from ,000 to ,500 or ,000 even though he could easily get the higher figure. "It is all straight income, so if I went to ,000 instead of ,000, Id only make 00 extra," explains Curland, "and under that circumstance, Id rather offer a bargain than charge a higher fee. And Solidaritys book is full for 1956, with a waiting list."
