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► 4 New Jersey By William Phillips Decathlon Fails in Favorite Role Mr. Patrick Runs Splendid Race Eastgate, Itobe Also Disappoint j GARDEN STATE PARK, Camden, N. J., j May 7. — Bonnie Heath and Jackson Dudleys Needles overcame all prejudices and forebodings to win the eighty - second Kentucky Derby on Saturday; Leslie B. Combs n. and syndicates Nashua repudiated his last performance in Florida to win the Grey Lag, but here at Garden State Park the River Divide Farms Decathlon failed. Disregarding the betting odds, which as any wagering man knows is not always a true criterion, Decathlon probably was the most "solid" of the trio to win his engagement. Yet, he was the one who disappointed. Such is racing. The only reasons he was beaten were that he carried 124 pounds and that he did not run fast and far enough. The winner of the 0,250 Delaware Valley Stakes was Dixie McKinleys Mr. Patrick, a three-year-old gelded son of Rico Monte — Ann Boyd, by Pharamond II. who paid a whopping 2.80. Joe Culmone rode him expertly and Mr. Patrick won going away by one length .under his 115 pound impost to complete the six furlongs in 1:094,£. The time was excellent, especially in view of- the fact that I Appeal ran the preceding race under 116 pounds in 1:10%, and that the latter five-year-old is the holder of the 1:08% Garden State Park track record. When Mr. Patrick closed down the middle of the track to wrest command from • Decathlon in the last 70 yards, nearly everybody turned to the past performances to see "who is Mr. Patrick, and where did he come from?" He was what is termed in wagering circles as an "overlay." His Delaware Valley trumph was definitely the best race of his career. Jn 12 previous starts, two of them as a juvenile, Mr. Patrick won only three races. In the best of these he ran six furlongs at Hialeah last winter in i:10% and beat Busher Fantasy, but had a 14-pound pull in the weights. He won his last race at Kecneland, beating King o Swords over a slow track. On Saturday, Mr. Patrick broke poorly, being unprepared as reported by Culmone after "the race. Joe cut him to the rail on the stretch turn for a saving of ground, then steered him outside the leaders in the stretch and shifted his stick to the left hand, which tactic produced the final surge to victory. Kenny Noe, who trains Mr. Patrick, was a topnotch jockey 20 years ago, and he has been a successful trainer in the intervening years. Kenny has seven horses here and when we asked him recently if he had "any running stock," he replied, "I have one or two that might cut loose." Apparently, Mr. Patrick was one of them. Kenny has been here only a little more than a week, but laready he reports that he is very impressed by New Jersey racing and racetracks and, even before Mr. Patricks triumph, said he was glad to be here. gecathlon, reputed to be the best sophomore six-furlong speeder around, was put to a stern task in the Delaware Valley. He was giving away nine pounds to Flight History, the horse who did more than any to bring about his defeat. Sammy Boulmetis kept "sending" Flight History at Decathlon and the favorite was not able to shake off this rival until he settled into the stretch. Decathlon never quit. Mr. Patrick came on and got him. Decathlon was next to the rail, and separated by several yards from Mr. Patrick in the middle of the track. Perhaps most important about the Delaware Valley were the dissapointing efforts turned in by Calumet Farms Eastgate and Brookfield Farms Itobe. The former, as we predicted, was "lost in the shuffle." More than that, he was all over the track, and as jockey Henry Moreno later said, "would not try and run." He either still needs more education, or will be a problem horse his entire career. Itobe, contrary to Robert Louis Stevensons report "had no excuse," did have. He broke slower than might have been anticipated. Stevenson, through no fault of his own, ran Itobe up behind a solid wall of horses midway the turn and had to swing him out sharply for room. When he did this Itobe practically bolted, going out beyond the middle of the track. He naturally showed nothing thereafter.
