view raw text
mbii New England ; — ■ By Teddy Cox * Prickett Taking .Shot at Massachusetts Motor Line, With Mercier Up, Big Hope Rugged Son of Bimelech Fit and Ready SUFFOLK DOWNS, East Boston, Mass., June 25.— Fuller Mclvor Prickett, a gentleman sun! from St. vMatthcws, S. C, isnt at all allergic to the quality of the the damn damn Yankee Yankee green green stuff stuff and and the the damn damn Yankee Yankee green green stuff stuff and and he has been hauling in purses, mostly of the five-and-dime variety, here for a number of years. Hes had an occasional shot at the heavier loot, but never has he appeared to have such m a clear thrust at 0,000 as in tomorrows Massachusetts Handicap, mile and one -quarter tussle - that highlights the closing week of the banner meeting presented by Judge John John C. C. Pappas Pappas and and his his associ- associ mbii John John C. C. Pappas Pappas and and his his associ- associ ates in the Eastern Racing Association. Motor Line, an excitingly handsome and rugged bay son of Bimelech — Adversaria, by Albacea, will be on outsider in the field that will include invaders from Canada, Chicago, New York and Delaware. Its a weil-matched band and racing secretary Gordon W. Morrow apparently has done a splendid job in assigning the imposts. The fact that so many were wiling to accept is testimony to their satisfaction. Motor Line is one of the few Prickett colorbearers . here who were not bred at his farm. He obtained * Motor Line for ,100 at the yearling sales of 1954 and the colt has long since justified that price. At the mo- -*" ment, however, you couldnt purchase Motor Line for many, many times that price, and the general feeling is that he has finally come to his own. Slightly more than a week ago, Prickett sent the big fellow down to Garden State to participate in what amounted to a prep for the Massachusetts Handicap, which is quite an unusual move. M. J. "Junie" Bresnahan saddled the colt for the event and brought back superlative, glow- ing reports. He said that he didnt think there, were many horses around capable of matching strides with the Prickett star and that he thought he would give the visiting firemen abundant trouble when they faced him in the_"Masscap." One Man Best Suited for the Job Bresnahan made one reservation, however: That the rider must be Norman Mercier, a veteran from Rhode Island, who at times displays indications of being a first-rate performer in the saddle. It was Mercier who * handled Motor— Line in his Garden State victory and Bresnahan stated that he appeared to display a mastery over the colt from start to finish. In the past, under other riders, Motor Line has been something of a curmudgeon and raced as if he was totally oblivious of the . direction or restraining signals of the man, or boy, on his back. In his most recent race here, as a matter of fact, he appeared entirely too much horse for little Georgie Gibb and dashed about the course like an uneducated juvenile in the process of being broken. Apparently it was through Bresnahans recommendation that Mercier is slated to ride the cantankerous stallion and we must confess that Junie finds himself well out on the limb. And, tod, we are inclined to go along with Bresnahan, who is generally regarded as one of the most accomplished horsemen here in New England. Motor Line has a pair of races over the track this year. He has not missed "any of his works because of varied reasons, or ailments, which cant be said of most of the others. The change in pilots most certainly should make a difference. He has these points in his favor. Program Scribblings: Judge William "Bunny" Almy Jr. reported for duty in a rather battered condition this, morning. The steward w.as riding one of his horses at his South Westport Mass. farm when he was knocked from the saddle by a low branch of a tree. He was fortunate to have escaped serious injury. . . . Bill La Rue returned from Monmouth, where he saddled B. A. barios -brilliant star, Venomous, for the Regret Handicap. He reports the filly came out of her race in good shape and that she would be pointed for a seven-eighths of a -mile stakes at Belmont Park. . . . Mrs. E. H. Ellison Jr., whose Golden Sun captured the Governors Handicap here Saturday, made her initial visit to Suffolk Downs for the race. She is the former Mrs. Willis Sharpe Kilmer, whose Sun Beau at one* time was the worlds leading money-winning thoroughbred-. Mandatory Impost May Be Abandoned Reports have it that Morris H. Leff, chairman of the Massachusetts Racing Commission, and his associates, Richard J. White Jr., Terrance J. Lomax Jr. and Lawrence J. Lane, will entertain a motion to abandon the rule that decrees all top weights in stakes handicaps must carry a minimum of 126 pounds. This rule •was the target for much fire after Gordon Morrow affixed the Greentree Stables Riley with 126 in the Massachusetts. Morrow said he didnt think the weight shouldhave been that high, but that Riley appeared to be the best horse in the field and that the rule made the weight mandatory. Riley did not accept. Matter of fact, Frank R. "Jimmy" Kilroe told this observer via phone that the* rule isnt being respected to the letter in New York, where it was conceived, for the brilliant official scales his races for fillies and mares below the 126. . . . The jockey, Henry Wajda, suffered an odd and painful accident during the running of the final race Saturday, when the router, Imprevu, tossed his head back and loosened several pi tfcte, riders ,teeth.
