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A,,,. v „,, ■■■■Jm New England I By Fred Galiani Narragansett Off to Usual Slow Start Certain to Pick Up as Meet Progresses Horace Wade Has Good News From Florida NARRAGANSETT PARK, Pawtucket, R. I., June 7. — Years ago a favorite horse of the fans in this sector was Brass Monkey, who used to come from way off the pace pace with with a a tremendous- tremendous- surge, surge, v „,, A,,,. pace pace with with a a tremendous- tremendous- surge, surge, usually getting up in time to snatch victory. =• It appears as if Narragansett Park is ever destined to be the "Brass Monkey" of the New England race tracks. Invariably their meetings start off on a low note, gradually building up to a crescendo of success. Mondays inaugural ran true to past performances, with only 10,046 attending and wagering 34,985. The The first first Monday Monday of of the the cor- cor- The The first first Monday Monday of of the the cor- cor- ■■■■Jm responding meeting last year saw 15,037 turn out and bet 18,478. But that was early in August, which in this area makes quite a difference. The last part of July and early August is an industrial holiday in the state, with most all of the big plants giving their employees vacations during that time, not to mention the fact that Rhode Island does have a sizable tourist vacation element. Take that into consideration and you will see that the opening was not too discouraging. A well tanned Horace Wade, accompanied by Billy Nichols, arrived from Florida for the opening day activities, his visit here being the first in exactly 10 years, or since he left as Narragansett announcer, a post he had held since the track opened in 1934. Spending a busy day renewing old acquaintances, he remarked that it felt as if he just left yesterday. Before leaving Florida, Wade noted that Hialeah and Gulfstream entertained the newspapermen in Tallahassee in a joint venture, sign of a new day in the Sunshine State racing picture. The feud between the two tracks, which usually spilled over into legislative sessions in dates battles, appears to be at an end, all of which augurs well for the future of Florida racing, in that 83 days of concerted sport appears in the offering, possibly with a conjunctive stakes program. Newsmen covering the state capital this year were reported to have termed the recent legislature the most peaceful in years. Drayton and Young Among Visitors Spencer Drayton, of the TRPB, and Sterling Young, of the Jockeys Guild, flew up from New York for the opening and then winged their way back after the races. . . . Billy Hinphy has been around race tracks since 1910, yet he was sporting the biggest grin" ever seen on his usual smiling kisser when he sent out Roysie R. to win. The colt was the first winner ever bred by Hinphy and he heartily agrees with all those folks who have stated the greatest thrill in* racing is to see a horse you have bred win. Even tops that of riding your first horse to victory, remarked Bill B. A. Dafio, impressario at Lincoln Downs, was over for the opening as was Judge John C. Pappas, of Suffolk Downs, who came on from Boston. Charles Cohen, owner of the Charfran Stable, shipped his Cascanuez to Washington Park for the Balmoral Turf Handicap there Saturday. Charlie felt that his South American-bred would have fared better against Maharajah in the recent Macomber Memorial at Suffolk if there, had been a better spread in the weights. Bobby Ussery, Cascanuez regular pilot, will travel to Chicago to handle the riding assignment as usual. . . . Sam Garfield, who used to race a strong stable around these parts until a few years ago, flew in from Miami, where he now makes his home, and will stay around for a spell. . . . Frank Ring has taken over the book of Harold Keene and will make the riding engagements for the redhead. Keene got off to a good start by booting home both ends of the Daily Double on Monday. Jockey Boucher Begins Comeback Campaign Jimmy Boucher, who was badly injured in a spill at Rockingham on July 5 last year and hospitalized for some time, accepted the first mount on his comeback campaign in the nightcap Monday. It was in this same smashup that jockey Vernon Smith was tragically killed. . . . Tony Carraci has taken over the training of Bracero and Count Pur for the C and S Stable while he still has Yor Optician for his wifes account. . . . Mrs. Bill Resseguet and children, Lillian, Bill, Jr., arrived from their New Orleans home and will spend the summer in the New England clime. Young Bill got on the job right away as assistant to his father. . . . Maury Gross was an observer for the inaugural day proceedings. ... Ed Simpson, president of the Crowley-Jones Camera Corporation, completed a business parley Monday, making sure the equipment was functioning as usual here and, in the evening, hit the trots at Foxboro for the same purpose. Mr. and Mrs. Lou Smith came down from Rockingham Park to help the Gansett session get under way. The latter distributed an illustrated pamphlet depicting the activities of her Crippled Childrens Non-Sectarian Fund, of which she is the founder and prime mover. Over 5,000 from contributions was spent on aid to these children in 1954. The date for the eighth annual party at Rockingham Park, at which all proceeds go to the fund, has been set for July 24 by Archbishop Cushing. Mrs. Smiths private party for the childen in the Kennedy Memorial Hospital, Boston, will be held on Fathers Day. Usually it is staged on Mothers Day, but she had to forego being hostess this year
