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New England By Fred Galiani Frank Solimena Saddles First Winner Former Jockey Has Hung Up His Tack Tale of Joe Giamateos Sore Knees KneesLINCOLN LINCOLN DOWNS Lincoln R I May 1 Make way for the new Sam Hildreth Thats what theyre calling Prankie Solimena now after he saddled the first winner of his training career Monday when his Rambling Star the second race by two and a half lengths Solimena who hung up his tack last September after 18 years of saddle activity turned his hand like so many former riders to training After resting up in his Hollywood Fla home for the rest of 1955 Solly obtained a couple of horses this January and set to work as a conditioner Thus far he has sent his lihree horse stable to the post eight times and received five checks which is by no means a bad record Monday was the first fat one though when Rambling Star triumphed triumphedSolimena Solimena rode his first horse in 1938 an animal called Pastry but he didnt get his first winner until later in the year at Agawam the Wigwam as the old Sarge Eddie Mack still refers to that dismantled park when he scored with a fiveyearold maiden called Briarthorn Well Sam er I mean Solly we asked the former rider which gave you a bigger charge Riding your first winner or saddling one Thecraggy f aced rider thought for a minute and answered Its about the same Its a big thrill either way One thing though Im finished with riding definitely A lot of guys thought my retirement was not going to last But I mean it I weigh about 140pounds now can eat what I want and dont have to go through that rough dieting and sweat box routine Im going to sell my saddle and all my tack Thats just in case I go crazy and even for a minute think of riding again Not for me Well if Solimena weeps on putting checks in the office theres no reason why he should entertain the thought of a comeback Incidentally Jimmy DelVechhio who does the riding for Solimena and won with Rambling Star has to report for his Armed Services physical examina ¬ tion later this week weekTrack Track Worker Lends a Helping Hand HandRambling Rambling Star also played a big part in another story Monday Joe Giamateo better known as Puppy and the maestro of the martinis in the Turf Club wound up with a pair of sore knees while one happy customer was 495 slugs to the good After Rambling Star stepped home paying 1340 to win this customer whose bifocals were obviously not focused too keenly on the result board ripped up a 50 win and a 50 place ticket on the horse and tossed them behind the bar Upon being informed later that number eight had won his grief was uncontrollable and exhorted Puppy to recover the torn tickets The wheels of liquid progress ground to a half as the bartender crawled around like an Apache at ambush searching every nook and cranny for the ducats of which he finally recovered all the pieces For 17 years Ive been working for Stevens and Trullisvand these things are always happening to me I stand on 500 and dont even know it said Pup The customer whose spirits were greatly restored by his recovered wealth eased the ache in Pups knees with a fairsized emolument emolumentThere There is a melancholy air in the racing secretarys office Jimmy Picarillo placing judge here and an official at other New England tracks received word of the f death of his mother Mrs Angela Picarillo in Brooklyn N Y yesterday And word from St Josephs Hospital in Providence has it that Lucy Taylor Gordon Morrows secretary is given little chance to survive a recent stroke Jockey Alfonso Coy left this morning for his home in Mt Pleasant Pa to attend the wed ¬ ding of his sister Coy will rest for the rest of this meeting and wont be back in action until the Suffolk Downs session which opens on May 14 Claude Hooper who was grounded by the stewards for 10 days will be back in action on Sautrday and ride Burnt Child for W S Andrews in the New London Handicap HandicapBusy Busy Beauty in the Barn Area AreaNot Not taking anything from Suzanne Zinser but if that TV program last Sunday wanted to show some of racings glamor girls they would not have had to look any further than here where Jane Byron the stat ¬ uesque former Latin Quarter showgirl is training her stable Schooling began this week at Suffolk Downs with Bill Calvert Dino Romoli Eddie Pressy Jack Hen ¬ nessey andAlfie Bellow at work on the gate With the exception of Toes Calvert all the others came re ¬ cently from Miami and most of them were bagged in speed traps on the way Melson who won the third race Monday is a New Englandbred by Kudos out of Mel Cavano CavanoW W F Mannaghs Ebon Maid showed the stuff she is made of Monday The filly broke down and jockey Allen Fairbanks who rode her said he felt her go at the head of the stretch Yet she carried on gamely and still finished fifth Grandma Josie who recently had a filly by Kudos will be bred back to Steel Blue B A Dario has taken over the contract on Tom De Paulo a 17yearold lad from Brockton via Brook ¬ lyn The lad was formerly with Frank Calcagnis stable When Nervous Nell won the other day it was her second victory for owner Paul Richard and in fact the only two triumphs the Wyoming R L owner ever ex ¬ perienced in his two years of racing a small string Richard runs a garage and general merchandise store
