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Weighing In By Evan Shipman Unsoundness Dims Straight Faces Chances Atkinson Often Outwits Aqueduct Opponents Adios Harry Adios Boy Meet Again in Feature AQUEDUCT, L. I., N. Y.,june 24. With the stars of the handicap division held in reserve for the imminent Carter Handicap, the "second team" goes into action Saturday, the occasion being the far-from-negligible, nine-furlong Edgemere, a local fixture, that usually offers a bang-up contest. As highweight, we will see last years Suburban winner, Greentrees Straight Face, the Count Fleet gelding assigned 123, while following this unsound veteran at a respectful distance is Fabulist, successful here recently in the Queens County and penalized for that smart score with 119; the fast and consistent Heliopolis colt, Red Han-nigan, and Southarlington, both with 116; the erratic Paper Tiger, 114, and finally, Bassanio and Lychnus, the latter pair tossed in with 108 and 107, respectively. As you can see, its a small field, but there is good quality here, nor is the puzzle offered by handicapper Jimmy Kilroe easy to untangle. As we see it, the question reallyhinges on whether or not Straight Faces underpinning will stand up to a gruelling race. He has worked well recently, his morning moves impressing the dockers, but the one glimpse we have had of Straight Face this season was hardly reassuring, causing us to wonder how he could run with such ankles. Hilarious Sprint Score Entertaining Sultry weather reduced yesterdays attendance to one of the lowest figures of the entire season, but those who did brave the heat were treated to one of the prettiest sprints we have watched in many a long day, when Hilarious, always partial to the Aqueduct strip outgamed the Paumonok winner, Bobby Brocato, and Squared Away in a stretch-long drive. This modest feature was an overnight handicap, and ordinarily we take care not to say that a handicap winner who is benefiting from an eight-pound pull in weights, j as was Hilarious, "outgamed" his opponents. There are, however, extenuating circumstances for the loose phraseology in this particular case, the big Bimelech five-year-old always racing under a disadvantage that would automatically eliminate a less stout-hearted horse. Ever since his remarkable series of four straight wins here at Aqueduct as a two-year-old, Hilarious has been, as we say, "touched in the wind." Had it not been for this unsoundness, he would undoubtedly have made his mark, both in the important juvenile and three-year-old stakes and, later, in the handicap division, because this well-bred son of a Belmont Stakes winner from the good Johnstown dam, Laughter, has great intrinsic quality. As it is, Hilarious more than pays his way, and when we see him dust off a field of yesterdays caliber, we can do no more than salute this veterans courage, even if the weights did offer him something of a helping hand. Ted Atkinson comes in for a good share of the credit in the matter of Hilarious pleasing score. His handsome mount, who would be the "hunting sets" beau ideal of a heavyweight hunter were he in Madison Square Garden condition instead of stripping light for race track competition, responded willingly to one of Teds most energetic drives. Just for curiositys sake, we would like to know how many times the busy jockeys whip arm rose and fell between the furlong pole and the wire yesterday, but Teds keen sense of pace was also an important factor. He was in front all the way, and while the final time of 1:11 for the six furlongs was identical with what Hilarious had shown in a winning effort here last Week, this time, the last, quarter, caught in :24, was quite a bit .better than in the earlier performance, this evidence that Ted was well aware that if the strong finishing Bobby Brocato was to be staved off, Hilarious would have to keep a good deal in reserve for the drive. Such a- skillfully I planned .ride reminds us that the partiality Atkinson appears to have for the Aqueduct strip is due more to this jockeys intelligence than anything else. Aqueduct, with its comparatively flat turns and extra long homestretch, differs radically from any other race track. Many jockeys are confused by the novel conditions they encounter here, but Ted, thanks to a quick brain, is able to adapt his style, outwitting rather than outriding his rivals. Some Sulky Fans Still Not Convinced Despite the evidence of last Saturdays highly successful match race, many harness racing fans continue to believe that Adios Boy is a better colt than Adios Harry. As far as we could see, Adios Harrys win in a record 1:59 was as clear-cut as anybody could wish, but then, some people take a lot of convincing. Saturday night at Roosevelt Raceway, this pair will come out again, this time as members of the field in a mile and a sixteenth pacing free-for-all. The presence of three or four additonal sidewheelers is almost certain to complicate the situation, and if Adios Harry and Adios Boy indulge in anything resembling another match, overlooking their competition, they may find some patiently reserved member of the field coming on in the stretch to defeat them both. If we could be sure that Adios Harry will be skillfully driven, our preference would lean strongly in his direction. As it is, we will advise a cautious approach to what may well turn out a wide-open pacing, battle. ;,
