At the Post: Ben and Jimmy Jones Recount Training Tenure with Calumet, Daily Racing Form, 1957-06-27

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1— I I— . 1— I I— PAUL EBELHARDT— Calumet Farm manager since 1944, who presently is hospitalized in Lexington, with injuries suffered when struck by lightning, while playing golf last Saturday. ; . At the Post , Ben ana Jimmy Jones Recount Training Tenure With Calumet By JOE HIRSCH ARLINGTON PARK, Arlington Heights, 111., June 26. — An Anniversary: "It was right here at Arlington Park 18 years ago that Mr. Wright first came to me and said he wanted us to go to work for him." Ben Jones was reminiscing over a cup of coffee in in his his tack tack room room on on the the occasion occasion of of the the 25th 25th anniversary anniversary of of Cal- . . in in his his tack tack room room on on the the occasion occasion of of the the 25th 25th anniversary anniversary of of Cal- . Calumets first victory. " We were supposed to take the horses over at Saratoga on September 1, but we got up there about 10 days before and started right in. The first Tiorse .we started for Calumet was at Aqueduct a few weeks later, and he finished second. Then we moved over to Belmont and had seven winners in a row. "That winter we went to Florida," B. A. continued, "and Whirlaway was one of the yearlings that we took with us. He really put us in business. He was an awful tough horse to handle; very high strung. I remember that we had him here as a two-year-old when he made his first start. He got a bad break and then ducked outside and actually got to the lead but couldnt hold it. "I spent a lot of time with him in the mornings because I knew he he could could run. run. I I took took him him all, an, around around the tne track tracK and ana the tne paddock paaaocK and ana he he could could run. run. I I took took him him all, an, around around the tne track tracK and ana the tne paddock paaaocK and ana the grounds, while Jimmy handled the other horses and I let him graze wherever he wanted to. He got so that he wouldnt even look up when other horses came by. He ran a lot of good races for us, but I guess the Derby was his best, and it probably gave me as big a thrill as Ive had since Ive been" with Calumet. "When Mr. Wright hired us, the Mrs. came over and introduced herself and told us how glad she was that we were with them. Then she said they had been in racing 10 years and wanted to win the Derby more than anything else. Well, Whirly ran a big race. I told Arcaro that he could pass any horse if he timed his move light, and he took the lead just after they passed the quarter pole. Whirlaway must have shaded :24 for the last quarter and ran the biggest kind of race. Ponder Won Diamond Jubilee Derby - "There was another Derby that I remember, too; the year that Ponder won. That was the Diamond Jubilee of the Derby and they had a big cup with 48 diamonds for each of the states. It was a good looking trophy and Mrs. Wright admired it very much. She came to the paddock and asked me what the chances were. I told her, I cant say well win it for surei but Ponder looks better than he ever did in his life, then the horses started walking around and I told her, We can beat that one, and that one, and that one, and by the time they all had passed the only horse I was worrying about was Fred Hoopers Olympia. Ponder flew through the stretch and just passed those horses as though they were standing still. "Weve also had a lot of pleasure from the grand mares weve raced, such as Mar-Kell and Twosy and Miz Clementine and Bewitch and Real Delight and Wistful. Twilight Tear may have been the best. She had human intelligence and had big, stout legs and could really run. She won the Triple Crown for fillies — the Kentucky Oaks, the Pimlico Oaks, and the Coaching Club Oaks. Then she beat Devil Diver in the Pimlico Special and was named Horse of the Year. "Bull Lea, of course, has been just a great stud. Tha first winter, we took him to Flox-ida and he was five and fat and bowed. The tendon went soon after and we sent him home, and from his first crop he gave us Armed and Twilight Tear and Durazna and Harriet Sue. Mr. Wright bought some fine mares and weve raced a lot of grand fillies who turned out to be great broodmares. We knew the charac- . teristics of these mares when they raced and they pass them on. So we know the colts weve got coming up pretty well. "I guess the greatest satisfaction that Ive gotten from this job is keeping the stable on a paying basis. We never had a losing year. These 13 years have been a wonderful experience on the whole! Weve had a few disappointments, but then you have them in life. Weve been fortunate enough to do well and so we could give our "young horses a chance to grow, which is probably the key factor. Weve worked hard with them and when theyre ready to run, we run em." Sysonby Most Satisfying Win by Citation For Jimmy Jones, of course, the high point in his association with Calumet was handling Citation, one of the really great horses of all time. "I think the Sysonby at Belmont in the fall of his three-year-old year was probably the most satisfying race Ive seen him win," Jimmy observed the other day. "You have to win in New York to gain that final stamp of approval, and he was facing older horses in that race at a mile. I told Arcaro not to go to the front until they turned for home, but i " he was a running horse that day and at the four and a half furlong pole he just boomed by everyone. He passed horses with the most ridiculous ease. I think it-was the greatest example of a good horse going by other good horses." Aside from Citation, Jimmy got a tremendous kick out of winning his years Derby with Iron Liege. "Bold Ruler had been beating him all spring, and of course we were quite disappointed the morning of the race when we found that Gen. Duke wouldnt be able to make it. But Iron Liege came up to trie Derby well, and in the paddock I had a hunch he might make a good showing. Still, winning it was somewhat unexpected, and it was a real thrill. "I got a big kick, top, out of Barbizon winning The Garden State last year. I was on something of a" spot because there was the decision on whether to put up the 0,- • 000 supplementary nomination. You have to think twice when youre spending other peoples money like that. And then he drew an outside post position, so when he won , it, we felt pretty good. "Mr. Wright was wonderful to us and bought the best mares available. He never hesitated to spend when it came to good bloodstock. Mrs. Markey has been wonderful, too. When we had that slow period a few years ago, she showed real gameness ■» and never expressed disappointment. Weve never had interference on this job and -have always been able to make our own decisions, which is important. Sometimes, things people say make you go one way T when you might have gone another. j* "Its been a great experience, being part » of the success which Calumet has enjoyed over the years. You think of it happening y to someone else but you never think it can happen to you. Were very proud and were very thankful."


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1957062701/drf1957062701_6_2
Local Identifier: drf1957062701_6_2
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800