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" m Weighing In By Evan Shipman . Atki nson Shows Great Form at Aqueduct Removal of Blinkers Aid to Gold Box Pacing Match Excites Keen Interest AQUEDUCT, L. I., N. Y.f June 20. Greentree achieved an agreeable double on Saturday, Gold Box, well behaved for once, scoring a handy victory over a good erood field field of of fchrpp- three- year-olds vpnr-nirlc in in good erood field field of of fchrpp- three- year-olds vpnr-nirlc in in the seven-furlong Shevlin, and the four-year-old Devil Diver colt, Diving Board, just getting up to nose out Icarian in the secondary feature, the mile and a sixteenth Kings Point Handicap. Incidentally, Ted Atkinson, Greentrees rider, who never looks better than at Aqueduct,- had himself a whale of an afternoon .-Atkinson took the curtain-raiser with Mrs. Phil Bie-bers bers plater, plater, Standee, Standee, was was incnn- " m bers plater, plater, Standee, Standee, was was incnn- inconspicuous in the next three races, and then swept the remainder of the card, racking up four in a row aboard Hilarious, the previously mentioned Gold Box and Diving Board and Midwest in the nightcap. There is nothing novel, of course, about Ted reaching the winners circle, but this popular veteran has never looked .better than of recent weeks, nor is it just a matter of his having the luck to get good mounts. Sent out this time Without blinkers, Gold Box at last showed the kind of race of which his connections and dockers who watch his fine moves in the morning have long known him to be capable. Kept within hailing distance of Georgians smart early pace, the chestnut Heliopolis colt had no trouble disposing of the faint-hearted Kentuckian at the head of the long homestretch, nor was Atkinson put to any pains to repel the closing bids of Dark Ruler and Blue Quest. First Proof of Colts Stakes Ability Just what this pleasing success portends for Gold Box, we would hesitate to say. His Shevlin, with the distance accomplished in 1:23, first six furlongs in 1:10, was a thoroughly respectable effort all the more so when we recall that the others were incapable of pushing the Greentree colt after lie had reached the furlong pole. Last year as a juvenile, Gold Box occasionally looked to be a good one, but he never fulfilled that promise in his stake engagements. We have known some daughters of Heliopolis who had difficult temperaments. As a rule, however, the colts of this famous tribe show generous dispositions, and we will not be quick to say .that Gold Box is asulker. If the removal of blinkers is responsible for his vastly improved showing on the week end, one cannot help wondering why they were ever employed in the first place. As the time for the annual yearling sales draws closer, trainers are giving more and more thought to replenishing their stables, and we would urge them if they can possibly afford to take the time off from their other duties at this season to make a tour of the farms in which they have a particular interest. We thoroughly agree with Connie and Frank Bishop of California Laguna Seca Ranch, visitors here for the Belmont Stakes who remained over for another week of the local sport, that you cannot know too much about the youngsters whose pedigrees appeal to you, and that there is no substitute for intimate knowledge of them as they appear in home pastures. Ideally, the relation between breeder and trainer should be close, the aim of both, of course, being to furnish stake winners, but we have had the feeling at times that they were working at cross purposes. Unlike many breeders, the Bishops, who do not race a stable, take the keenest interest in racing, following faithfully the careers of all Laguna Secas marketed products. Sulky Feature Attracts Overflow Crowd With match races a particularly "live" subject right now, we were particularly interested in the publics eager reception of the Adios Harry-Adios Boy duel at Roosevelt Raceway la"st Saturday night, and we can truthfully repoft that the association has never in its ..history promoted a more popular feature than this encounter of the two well-matched four-year-old pacers. Over 30,000 were on hand, taxing the capacity of the grandstand and clubhouse, while both before arid after the race, the merits of the pair were the subject of heated discussion. So evenly, divided was the partisanship that both. Adios Harry and Adios Boy went to the post at identical odds of 3-to-5, this vividly illustrating to one and all just what is meant by "the take" at pari-mutuel tracks. In contrast to the excitement aroused by the match however, the total sum passing through the machines was small only a little over 0,000 but on every side, people were making wagers with friends, most of them, we gathered, at even money. As a race, the match was superb. Adios Harry cut out all the pace, and then had plenty left to resist the ultimate bid of Adios Boy, winning in world record time of 1:59. The plan followed by the winner was simplicity itself. He made the clip so fast and so sustained from the start that Adios Boy was left with no "brush" at the end. From the time they leftHhe mobile starting gate in front of the stands, the order did not change. Adios Harry was out in front, his rival tucked tight behind him, but never able to get closer than his wheel. As we have said, no four-year-old has ever shown equal speed over a half-mile track, but to a critical horseman this was an even better showing than that statement would indicate, Adios Harry "breaking the wind" for "the entire mile. Had he been "covered up," as Hi-Lo-Forbes was when he paced Roosevelt Raceway in 1:58 two years ago, Adios Harry might well have set a new record without respect to age. These are two superlative young pacers, but Adios Harry, on the evidence of Saturday night, is clearly the best.
