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r— — ■ — .. i . i.: . i *— Judges Stand By Charles Hatton : Derby, Tim Tam Thrill Prince Aly Khan Silky, Julius Try Again on Old Hilltop Preakness Course Favors Lincoln Road PIMLICO. Baltimore. Md.. May 5.— The odd thing is how swiftly* the scene shifts in racings passing show. Several hours ago, we were caught in the vortetf r— — ■ — .. i . i.: . i of of the the crowds crowds at at rollicking rollicking Derby Derby of of the the crowds crowds at at rollicking rollicking Derby Derby town, down where the razz-ma-tazz flows. But even before Tim Tarns roses faded, it had returned to its normal, slow pulse and the deadly monotony of daily life. The show, racings annual spring spectacular, has gone on the road to Pimlico. And the peace of the scene on the hilltop now is charged with the same tremulous and exciting significance one felt felt at at the the Downs. Downs. The The first first eight eight *— felt felt at at the the Downs. Downs. The The first first eight eight in the Derby, plus Silky Sullivan — the pied piper of the punters — who spread a shoe Saturday; now are tempted by the Preakness. That is the equivocal sort of race the Derby developed, run as it was on fly paper. You may say a really good horse runs on anything, and we could not agree more. Tim Tarn is a good horse, very possibly the next Triple .Crown winner. He may conceivably be a great one, as "Milo" Valen-zuela, the hottest tamale in turfdom, impulsively calls him. But different tracks, different times. While the Derby was conclusive in the sense it asserted the gentlemanly Tim Tarns profound class and versatility, it was inconclusive as a comprehensive study of Silkys and Julius capacities, under other conditions. That is the way we saw it. And so, we take it, did Bill Hartack. the hapless young man who sat out this Derby in the "tribune de la presse" when he might have been sitting on Tim Tam. Valenzuela, who . impersonated him at Louisville, may again in the Preakness. Parke Feared Muddy Strip Tim Tam always rings true — which is the admirable thing about him. But there were several aspects of the 84th Derby which do not to the backers of Jewels Reward and Silky Sullivan. These keep referring to the track, and want convincing at Pimlico. We are not the colts apologist. And yet it is perfectly possible that had the race been decided in fast going, or eyen at 9 a. m. instead of 4:30 p. m. they would have made more impression. The track was light slop over a firm bottom then. At Julius" camp, Ivan Parke said: "I hope it stays sloppy. Julius is so straight in front. If that stuff out there stiffens up and gets muddy it could go against him, on those pasterns, even though he has run over every track he has found so far," So much for the opinion, almost an attitude in some quarters, conformation is immaterial. When Silky Sullivan breezed through the front stretch at 9 a. m. he could fly. At 4:30 he looked like .sparkle plenty — mired down in mosquito bog. lore-over, the atmosphere then was extremely humid and "close." In such: weather horses whose respiratory* organs are suspect often are scratched. They tend to ♦ choke up. Then, of course, there is the story of the plate he does not wear the usual aluminum variety, and "for want of a shoe. ." Now one may accept any or all these extenuating circumstances, or take .the view, as we do, that the best horse Saturday won. It will not, at all surprise us if Mrs. Markeys colt goes right on being the best horse; Unless — and here again .conformation enters into it-he has two hard races too close together. We .think this. may safely be left to the Joneses discretion. But Tim Tam really is light about the flank and quarters. He is not the biggest doer" in training, and customr arily is tucked after onev of these searching; hundred, granders. It is in his favor- that he recovers readily and has a two weeks refresher before the Preakness. Pimlico Course Big Factor * If we may judge the future by the recent past, .which is infallible only 33 per ceht.-of the time, Tim Tam "is the-one-to-beat for the upcoming Preakness. The mile and three-sixteenths distance on Pimlicos very1 turning course tends to make Lincoln- Road even more formidable. Perhaps he should be taken more seriously than either Julius or Silky. The conformation "of the MJC course is fully as disadvantageous to the Cali-forniau as it is suitable for Lincoln Road. Nor can we thipk it will benefit Noureddin. Putting on our harking jacket, to borrow a phrase from Admiral Markey, it is harked that Julius is no stranger here. He won last fails Pimlico Futurity from end to end. Hourly iriow, the actors in the drama of thetAmeri-can Triple Crown will commence arriving on the scene. "The circus is coming to town." We. shall be especially interested to note if they love. Silky on the hilltop as they did on the Downs. Never in our experience have we kno-yn, a horse who so completely captivated, not to say bewitched, so large a section of the turf going public. Among his species, he. is ah unexampled showman. His myriad fins haunt his stall, like rock-and-roll addicts and autograph hounds stalking Elvis the pelvis. Hundreds converged on the Downs each morning, following him to the track to watch him at exercise.. They It * ; Continual on Page FtHy-Ont JUDGES STAND By CHARLES I1ATTON Continued from Page Fire- write loim fan maiL and: send him baskets of oranges. They identify with him. When he appeared oiv post parade Saturday, the jcheering almost equalled in volume, and surpassed in spontaneity, the applause given Tim Tam.for actually winning the race. It is fantastic — and heartwarming— and good for racing. ; Silky is the answer-to those cynics who-regard the sport with fish-eyed skepticism •as a-sort of outdoors numbers game, at-.tendedJay people who cannot see the horses for the tote board. There still are horse lovers- around, happily for racing, and Silky is merchandising the sport on the soundest possible-ground- Strength to him! While Silky was flesine his*"muscles for ;the crowd, and "Jewels Reward was looking ja picture he is the handsomest of his generation, Tim-Tam was being his well tared self throughout the now historic proceedings on the Downs. Prince Aly Khan observed: % thought- Tim Tam completely the one when I saw them come to the paddock. He looked- a. classic horse; I agree with you, his beauty comes from within |Ie has so much intelligence- and is so poised. It is marvelous the way he can maneuver during a race, and accelerates on-call. Tim Tarns qualities epitomize good breeding. 2. was so sorry the Markeys could not atiend. And glad that Lucille* Mrs, Mar-key does not have pneumonia, as everyone at first feared. She had a heavy cold ;and"I am .happy to say seems to be recov-j ering nicely. I was their guest at Calumet, for my first Kentucky Derby. It is a bril-tliant affair, a great, thrill, and it struck me as a good test of a-fine race." Aly regrets that diplomatic affairs now afford him little time to go racing, but observed that in Amante and Princes Lora he has the two second favorites to Bejla ,Paloa. In the Epsom. Oaks. Princess Lora I won the Princess Elizabeth, and has defeated Neptune II., and Amante was a bang-up second to Bella Paola in the .Gui-neas. forcing that brilliant-filly to extendi I herself to win by a length and a half while 1 the third to finish was five lengths farther back and quite out of touch. It is incidentally disappointing to learn, from a visitor to Newmarket, that Harry , Guggenheims American-bred Nasrullah ! I colt sulked in the 2;000.1Guineas. |
