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vwvm ; , 1 1 — *J« On the Trot l By MORRIE KURLANSKT 1 Shipmans Death Deeply Mourned Recall Writers Last Visit Here Easter GrattanBreaks Leg in Work SPORTSMANS PARK, Cicero, 111., June 25. — For several weeks now, it has been our habit to open our copy of Dah,y Racing Form with the hope of vwvm finding Evan finding Evan Ship-mans column in its regular place. Knowing ; only too well that our , friend of many years standing and our predecessor in this space had been critically ill for quite some time, we ■ still hoped that again he would pull through 1 with that great cour- 1 and and — *J« age iriepressible will to live. However, this time the Grim Reaper got the best of this outstanding man to whom both harness racing and the thoroughbred sport owes so" much for his unique contribution. We were shocked and grieved when we got the sad news of his death Monday morning. It was our pi-ivi-lege to work again with Evan Shipman in Florida last winter, but what came to mind last night was the memory of his last visit to Chicago almost two years ago. It was the eve of the match race between Nashua and Swaps, which he was covering: for this newspaper. He paid us a visit that night, climbing* the stairs high up to the top of the judges stand at Maywood Park. Although he hadnt been in this area for many years, he was so well informed about the outstanding trotters and pacers racing in Chicago as if he had never stopped writing his "In The Sulky" column as he did 10 years ago. We talked about BHaven, who a few weeks later set a sensational 2:00 record at the old Sportsmans Park half-mile track, and we were so engaged in this conversation that we almost forgot to" call the race coming up. A little later in the evening, a trot race came up and Little Steve was a starter in it. .Even perused the program for a little while and then said, "I think Ill make a bet on Little Steve. I remember him from Santa Anita a few years ago. He stays trotting all the time and he is as game as can be." Little Steve, a 10-to-l outsider, finished second, lost the heat in a photo-finish. Though Evan had lost a bet, he was full of praise for Little Steves fine performance. However, Evan didnt lose any money that night. He hit the winner in the following race and took victory just as graciously as defeat. He made/ a legion of friends while in Chicago in those first few seasons when night racing was introduced here. He gave freely of his wealth of knowledge and, while hard to shake once he formed an opinion, he was the greatest guy with which to argue and, no matter how it ended, you learned something from it. He was a great sportsman; a writer with the touch of genius. It would be a wonderful thing if his columns about the Hamble-tonian arid other great harness races would be collected and republished in book form. We ran into Doc Maher in the track restaurant yesterday and the good doctor gave the sad bit of information that his pacing stalwart, Easter Grattan, had broken a leg in his final workout before shipping to Sportsmans Park from his Wisconsin winter training quarters. Easter Grattan, now a 14-year-old and, therefore, slated for his final campaign, was, a prime favoritein this area for many seasons. About five or six years ago, Easter Grattan was almost invincible in sprint events. Following a siege of lameness, the rangy gelding made a sensational comeback two years ago to win five of 17 starts. Last year, Easter Grattan seemed better than ever to win his first five races in a row before the classification system caught up with him. Altogether, the gelding, who was possessed of great speed and gameness as well as intelligence, won 0,355, most of this sum gleaned in races at a time when a ,000 purse was a lot of money. Wilbur Beattie, capable Hoosier trainer, who hasnt been in the winners cix*cle in a regular betting race this season, scored his first victory of the season in a non-wagering event for two-year-old pacers Monday night. His mount was Ralph and Jack Goss homebred, Poplar Byrd colt, Little Byrd This half brother to Little Miss, Judy 3, 2:02*/s; Little Miss Queen 2, 2:045s, and the promising Newport Judy 3, 2:03%h, won convincingly in 2:11%. "His dam, the outstanding race mare, Little Judy, 2:00%, has been bred to Good Time this spring. The stables trained by Del Cronk, Phil Rocchio and William Bailey have arrived here from San Francisco following the conclusion of the Bay Meadows meeting. Also, Jacques Grenier returned to Sportsmans Park with three head to join his main stable that had been in charge of trainer Stan Stucker during his absence. A number of untoward incidents and an accident spoiled matters for several heavily backed public choices here Monday. In the first race the highly regarded Darn Peggy was thrown off stride soon after the start by a breaking horse, while the favored Hootway succumbed in the final stride to the 17-1 outsider, Leeta Wil. In the second race, odds-on favorite, Victory Star, tired badly after half a mile to finish last, while the 13-1 longshot, Blaze Volo came from behind to win this C-class pace, and combined with Leeta Wil for a 23.20 Daily Double. In the third race, a maiden event, the 1-5 favorite,* Golden Miss, was involved in a spill on the first turn which enabled the outsider, Abbie Whitney, to score her first victory in a six-race career.
