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• New England By Fred Galiani Scraps From a Scribes Notebook How a Trainer Outsmarted Himself A Couple of Hair-Raising Stories NARRAGANSETT PARK, Paw tucket, R. I., June 10. — The Lighter Side: Anyone who has ever lost his money in a tight finish at one Hme nr another must have said to himself, "gee, if the wire was only moved a coup 1 e of inches I would have had a winner." Well, this story concerns a chap who not only expressed that sentiment, but tried to do something about it. At one of the fair meets a middle Atlantic state, this chap entered his 111 horse, one gifted with an awful lot of speed. The race is on, his horse opens up a big lead and then is whittled down in the stretch, finally being beaten by just a nose. If the race had been a couple of inches shorter, this trainer would have had a winner. This thought preyed so much on the chaps mind that the next time he had his horse entered, he decided to indulge in some skullduggery. In the dead of night, he hied himself to the track and proceeded to dig up the marker where his race was slated to start. . A shift of a few inches would hardly be noticed he felt. And it wasnt. But iate has a way of outfoxing the foxy ones. This time his horse broke slowly, was away last and only turned on the speed in a late drive. He chopped down all the opposition, in what was an agonizing length of time for the culprit of a trainer, except one horse. And youre ~ right. His horse got beat a scant nose. Just a matter of a few purloined inches. This happened at the clubhouse bar the other day. A couple of chaps are standing: there and before a race one of them sells his companion a ticket for . The race is duly contested and the horse wins, which so elates the buyer of the ticket that he lavishly treats his companion to the best in the house, frequently. Which is a very nice gesture, but hardly called for since the winning horse only paid .80 for .1. Then there was the time around here some years ago when one of the jockeys got himself a "baldly" haircut and tffter the deed was performed went all out to disguise it. He wore his cap practically pulled over his eyes. In one race he is involved in a battle to win and in the heat of the drive off flies his cap. He won the race all right, but was so embarrassed he refused to return tothe winners circle and had to be dragged back by the pony boy. This aversion to displaying a lack of hirsute adornment once held up the start of .a race for Buddy Wingfield. One of his assistant starters was quite self conscious over his lack of hair. While in the gate one day with a field of horses, his hat blew out on the track in front of the barrier. Yelling to Wingfield to hold it, he scrambled down out of the gate, ran in front of it to retrieve his hat and! then climbed back into the erector set to handle his horse. And all the while sparks were flying out of an irate buddy up-in the starters stand . . . Harry Krovitz, patrol judge here, during service spent 23 months on an aircraft carrier, after which he was slated for a stretch of shore duty. He got it. Sweeping mines. Oh well, that was near to shore. Irving Schwartz, one of the triumvirate of brothers who own the Lincoln Maintenance Company, returned this morning from a quick trip to Monmouth Park to resume guiding cleaning operations at Gansett . . . Apprentice John E. Smith, leading bug rider at the Suffolk meeting, is expected to make his return to the races here early next week after being out of action with an attack of pleurisy . . . The biggest work tab in many a week was turned in this morn- ing with close -to 135 horses being caught by the split second brigade. River Divide Farms unbeaten Decathlon, who is pointed for the Narragansett Nursery Stakes, went three furlongs in 1:13% ... " R. C. Adams, of Framingham, Mass., who has been out of racing for some time, plans to re-enter the sport. Trainer George Kadra, who will handle the string, is seeking stock for a stable. Grover Noel was injured when he fell * while ponying a horse this morning and was taken to Pawtucket Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for lacerations and a fracture of the nose and later discharged . . . Swift Steve had to be scratched from the eighth race today when he came up with an infected foot . . . Robert F. A. Lawson is a newcomer to the owners ranks through the purchase of Honker, a two-year-old colt bought at the Belmont sales. The juvenile will be trained by W. C. "Mike" Freeman. Star Rover, who just cakewalked in a race here early this week, has been shipped to Monmouth Park to start in. Wednesdays Select Handicap and will be returned after that engagement. When Star Rover won here the other day, it was only because trainer Eddie Anspach employed a little psychology. The bane of trainers in New England is that when one comes up with a good horse, he seldom gets a chance to race him. When its found out a good horse is entered for a race, the opposition is scared off and the event doesnt go. It looked like the presence of Star Rover would cancel the race, so the morning before, in the track kitchen, Anspach let it be known that he was sending the horse to New Jersey. The word fell on fertile ears and it wasnt long before it had made the rounds. In due time entries were being made to the race in question, since it was thought Star Rover had departed from the scene. And wasnt there some surprised faces when the entries came out and there was the big gray colts name on thfr list. And Star Rover did the expected, winning til by . himself. What you have to-do these daygj just to make a ractfgd t x.~i ti*il
