New Jersey: Oddity of Scratch in Salvator Mile Event Kept Helioscope from Having Walkover Frank Mackle Anent Running Ifabody, Daily Racing Form, 1955-06-24

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. fc gand HHHyKb-JHI New Jersey I - - By Fred Galiani : Oddity of Scratch in Salvator Mile Event Kept Helioscope From Having Walkover Frank Mackle Anent Running Ifabody MONMOUTH PARK, Oceanport, N. J., June 23. Odd as it may sound, a scratched horse prevented the Salvator Mile, in which William Helis, Jr.s, Helioscope cakewalked cakewalked home home over over Elkcam Elkcam . cakewalked cakewalked home home over over Elkcam Elkcam Stables Ifabody, from being a walkover, the first in New Jerseys racing history since the sport was revived. You see it happened this way. Originally three horses were entered to test Helioscope in the Mile, but Artismo was withdrawn at scratch time. At 3:25 in the afternoon, Brbokfield Farm declared their I Geegee, according to to the me rule ruie which wnicn allows allows withdrawals with- drawals up up to to 45 45 minutes minutes before before to to the me rule ruie which wnicn allows allows withdrawals with- drawals up up to to 45 45 minutes minutes before before fc gand HHHyKb-JHI post for a stake. And it jvas this late scratch which paradoxically kept Ifabody in the race. In the paddock before the Mile, Frank Mackle, one of the brothers who owns the Elkcam Stable, and trainer Ray Metcalf , told the following story. Both admitted their horse had no chance against Helioscope, as they had tried him twice before this year. But the day before, when the entries were drawn, there were some comments about their Ifabodys presence in the race against the likes of the champion and I Geegee. It was the comparison of Ifabody with the latter that rankled the Elkcam forces. They were sure they could beat I Geegee and that was all they wanted. Early in the afternoon, Metcalf and Mackle went into the racing secretarys office and asked John Turner, Jr., if I Geegee had been scratched. Both said that if I Geegee came out they would withdraw also, giving Helioscope the honor of being the first horse to win a stake in a walkover in New Jersey since the great Salvator, for whom the race was named, cantered around to take the old Monmouth Cup. They were advised that I Geegee was still in the race, and the pair left for their barn. Too Late to Declare Ifabody The first Elkcam and Metcalf knew about the Brookfield Farm horses withdrawal was when they were coming over with Ifabody to the paddock. By then it was too late to take out. As Mackle said in the paddock: "We are in racing for the sport. We know we dont have a chance against Helioscope and would have eagerly scratched. All we wanted to do was to finish second if I Geegee ran, because we know we could have beaten that horse, regardless of what other people say. But thats the way things turned out and now we have to run." And it was because of this lower case feud, that Helioscope is not listed with those horses who have won a stakes via the walkover method. As it was, he set a track j-ecord of 1:36 for a mile, though there is no telling what he could have done had he been pressed. It is not mere conjecture to say he could have gone in 1:35 or better. The strip was lightning fast as proved in the succeeding race, when War Age stepped six furlongs in i:09 to equal that mark. Claude Feltner, who recently arrived to take over the string of his patrons, Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hecht, reports that First Cadet, who broke a bone in his foot at Garden State, is recovering at Mrs. D. N. Lees farm, in Middleburg, Va. The colt, who finished second to Pollys Jet in a race at Belmont, will probably be ready to return for. the winter meetings. Feltner set an enviable record at the recent Pimlico meeting. He saddled 18 horses and everyone of them brought back a check, five of them the large variety. . . Jack Boylan stopped by for a visit en route to Atlantic City race track, where he serves as admissions manager, to con-. f er on plans for the coming meeting. Mr. and Mrs. John C. Purcell were among the large crowd to take in the running of the Salvator Mile, following a trip to California and a stop off at Delaware Park. He is president of the Puett Starting Gate Company. . . . Walter Blum, who was sidelined for a fewv days with an attack of boils, came back to the races on Wednesday. . . . Ernie Myatt, of the Darby Dan forces, left today for Delaware Park with the stables Clear Dawn, who will run in Saturdays New Castle Handicap. . . . Frank Dailey, whose Meadow-brook was world famous in the era of big swing bands, was a recent spectator. . . . Couple of birthdays were noted Wednesday. Nate Gladstone, of John Turners secretarial forces, and jockey Joe Regalbuto were the calebrants, but whereas the rider gave out his age at 22, the former was most reticent in the matter. Veteran Joiner Drops Dead on Track Joiner, a veteran campaigner, dropped dead in a workout at Narragansett Park last week, which was sad news for young trainer Joe Piarulli. Joiner was the first winner ever saddled by Joe and was the breadwinner and foundation stone of the Piarulli stable for almost three years. Joe recalls that Joiner was a horse that could do anything, and would do it, if treated with kindness. If you tried to fight him though, he wouldnt run at all. Joiner was claimed from Piarulli two winters ago in Florida. When asked why he didnt take the horse back, the young, trainer answered: "I was going bad at the time and couldnt afford it. In fact, the reason I ran him so cheap was that I wanted to win a race. I often wished I could have bought him back and retire him, but I just lost track of him." Piarulli, at some date, may come along with a stake horse, but it is doubtful if he will replace Joiner in his memory.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1955062401/drf1955062401_5_3
Local Identifier: drf1955062401_5_3
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800