view raw text
* On the Trot I By MORRIE KURLANSKT 1 . Handicap Pacers Clash Tonight Sea Eagle Threatens Own Mark j Meggitt Seeks to Avenge Defeat £ MAYWOOD PARK. Maywood, 111.. May £ 10. — Handicap pacers will be in the spot- light at Maywood Park on Saturday night. • when again a ten-race j» card will be presented. CM. Saunders" sea- 1 sons champion Sea 3 Eagle, a two-minute - performer by the will-% ful but extremely fast Goose Bay. heads the £ lineup in the pacing * feature, fashioned in £ handicap style by racing secretary John 2 Jenuine. Only four - sidewheelers will op- ■j pose the five-year-od gelding, who is * trained by Harry Fitzpatrick. a man recognized timong the outstanding harness j horse trainers of all time. Sea Eagle will be driven by Jim Fitzpatrick. who has ac-3 complished the remarkable feat of winning 10 of his 18 starts at this meeting. A convincing victor in a similar handicap event two weeks ago when he defeated his then stablemate Scotch-lite, Miss Creedabelle and Jake Rodney among others in the seasons record time of 2:024.-,. Sea Eagle is batting .500 so far this season. Prior to his Maywood victory the well-bred pacer triumphed twice at Santa Anita and was a very creditable fourth to Dotties Pick, Diamond Hal and BHaven in the splendid time of l:59-f.. Sea Eegle will have the outside post position, of course, but as his forte is his finishing power anyway, this shouldnt prove too much of an obsetacle for him. It is another question, however, if he can cope with Saturday nights field in the same authoritative manner as he did two weeks ago. Lou Meggitts iron-hearted stallion, Jake Rodney, among the party. It is a foregone conclusion that Meggitt. stilll smarting from the defeat handed his pacing ace by Sea Eeagles stablemate. Buckeye, a wee kago. will trp even herder to win this race. Sherrys Honor, the only distaff pacer in the field, made her seasonal debut a week ago and became a victim of the three-cornered battle between Scotch-lite, Buckeye and Jake Rodney. That race, however, should have served a useful purpose anyway as the black speedster undoubtedly will be much more of a factor in this week ends mile dash. Chi-cagoland fans well recall the Indiana mares exploits of the 56 Maywood Park spring meeting when she shared signal honors in the free-for-all division with Jerry Baiers Selkas King and on subsequent occasions trounced excellent fields at Sportsmans Park where she acquired a mark of Z:0Z-:.. Plutocrat. Dr. J. Howard Youngs two-minute stallion by Ensign Hanover— Miss Pluto Scott, sprang somewhat of a surprise in his 57 bow last week end when he raced to a brilliant 2:04 3 victory over Hi .Los Bomb and Rapid Goose. Gifted with enor-, mous early foot, which enables him to get a favorable position on the rail in the early stages of a race. Plutocrat this season is under the care of trainer Robert Scott, who in but ten starts here to date has visited the winners circle four times. Like Plutocrat the Hollywood Hermes stallion Hi Los Peppy, owned by James E. McWonald and Marston R. Fowler of Washington, Ind., is a graduate of Dee Stovers training school. While Plutocrat, however, acquired his 1:59-r, under Stovers handling, Hi Los Peppy actually came into his own when his present trainer, Gene Sears, took charge of him. Since then the now seven-year-old stallion has been a formidable member of the free-for-all pacing division. Whether he will reach the heights of another Sears-trained pacer, the ill-fated Red Sails who originally was developed by Gene Riegle, is doubtful but he was good enough last year to earn an invitation to the 5,-000 American Classic at Hollywod Park. It was his tough luck that he met a Dotties Pick in super form, but nevertheless was individually timed in l:594/5 though finishing 11th to indicate the class of company he was moving in last fall. However, when meeting a field of Saturdays class Hi Los Peppy must be accorded a fine chance. What might be against him is the fact that he hasnt started this year yet arriving here only a week ago from winter training quarters at Indianapolis. If the addition of some other Sears pupils is a true indication, Hi Los Peppy can be counted on to be there or thereabouts when they enter the homestretch.