view raw text
I — i New England 1 By Fred Galiarii Lincoln Meet Closing on High Note Handicap Championship Is at Stake Mourn Passing of George Krehbiel LINCOLN DOWNS, Lincoln, R. I., May 11. — A bad beginning means a good ending says the old aphorism, once again demonstrated by the successful meeting here which comes to a close on Saturday. Storm battered during the early part to such an extent that 11 days were lost from its complement of 60, the final phases of the meeting have registered strong gains. With two days remaining there is every in dication that both handle and attendance will surpass that over the entire two meetings of 1955. For the major part of the session the weather has been far from seasonable, making the gains registered all the more impressive. High spot on the final days offering will be the Connecticut Day Handicap, a mile and one-sixteenth event which may well decide the handicap championship of the meeting. Rose Robidoucs Deep Thought and Joe and Pat Venutis Pipe of Peace top the field and appear to be the best. They are the only double winners of handicaps at the meeting: and victory for either would give him the title. Deep Thought won the Newport and Springfield Handicaps, while Pipe of Peace registered successive week-end scores in the Hartford Handicap and the New London. Deep Thought will carry 120 pounds, giving two to Pipe of Peace. The Destino colt finished fourth - in the Rhode Island Special behind some of the nations top performers and will be the choice. But Pipe of Peace appears to have finally found his winning stride and from this seat is given the edge. He has demonstrated sparkling, form, winning at a mile and one-sixteenth and coming back to score at seven furlongs and is obviously fit. Burnt Child, runner-up to both Deep Thought and Pipe of Peace at different times, and Opera Light, victor in the Bridgeport, must be considered. Gordon Morrow has managed some mighty tight finishes in his handicaps and the valedictory one promises to be of the same sort. Pardon a personal note, but there will be less joviality in the press boxes of Detroit, Florida and Kentucky these coming years with the death of big, bluff, hearty George Krehbiel, who may well be said to have succumbed on the job as he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage shortly after covering the Kentucky Derby. George "was a veteran turf reporter but bore the jaunti-ness of youth in his. assignment and was the first to lend an eager, helping hand to the newer and younger men in the trade. This reporter can attest to it from personal experience, having made a few trips to Detroit where George was -the king. Besides being a veteran reporter, he was also an owner and breeder of horses and a devout beater . for Kentucky-breds. A great kidder, he loved nothing more than a wisecrack and humorous stories, so perhaps it is not irrelevant to remark what one of his long-time colleagues said this morning. "George was such a staunch supporter of Kentucky-breds, that the shock of the Florida-bred Needles winning the Derby must have been too much." George would not only have laughed at that; he would have topped it in an instant with ■ a riposte. Conrado Enrique, the Cuban rider who was hotter than Perez Prados band in Havana, so far has been getting the Back Bay shuffle in his effort Continued on Page Forty-Six NEW ENGLAND By FRED GALIANI Continued from Page Five to make good in the U. S. Hes only had three mounts and in his last was knocked out at the gate when he fell from Some Scamp in the fourth race Thursday. He was removed to the track hospital in the ambulance but was found to have suffered no serious injuries. He hurt his left leg and will rest until next week . . . Ray Garvey, the mayor of Central Falls, R. I., made his second appearance of the season. His honor had to resign his position as president of the Bachelors Club when he was recently married this past month . . . Lcnore Mulcahey, of Harmon, Newfoundland, was a turf club visitor in her first trip to a race track. Originally a Rhode Islander, Lenore had to come back from the Canadian province to see her first glimpse of the thoroughbred sport. Mike Freeman-made a quick visit from Pimlico where he has his string to inspect his division here under "Red" Ness. He returned to Maryland after renewing acquaintances here . . . Belle Chanteuse gave the crowd an added attraction when she threw her stifle while being walked off the track after the first race. About 1,000 patrons gathered on the rails to watch the filly and her aids try to get the leg back in place. At last the ambulance was called but just when it hove into view before the clubhouse, the leg went back into place and she calmly walked off the track. Kenny Godkins has been engaged to ride Sam Tufanos Wise Margin, the top-weight with 120 pounds in the Paul Revere Handicap, opening day feature at Suffolk Downs . . . The first issue of the condition book for that East Boston meeting is being distributed to horsemen moving on to that town . . . Departures for other sections are Art Dishong for River Downs and Bob Showalter to ThistleDown . . . Jockey Mike Mafale will leave Tuesday for Cincinnati where he will ride at River Downs for Dishong, while Bobby Wall will perform the same chores for Showalter . . . Roy Seamans next destination is Waterford Park ... The HBPA committee traveled to Boston during mid-week to meet with the commission concerning some of the proposed amendments to the laws of racing in . the Bay State. There are over 16 pages of proposed changes, but the HBPA is concerned only with those directly affecting the horsemen, mainly the claiming and apprentice rules. The commission, after hearing the horsemens views, reserved decision, but it is likely they will go along with the HBPA until the meeting of the NASRC this summer, where it is possible a uniform set of rules for all the racing states in the U. S. may be adopted.
