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New England I By Teddy t Cox Mundorf ChambersOld FoesDisplay Skill Former Gained Attention as Flyweight Boxer BoxerBears Bears Watching at Suffolk Dojvns Meeting LINCOLN DOWNS Lincoln R I May 6 While Lincoln Downs has sorely missed the appearance of a redhot apprentice to emulate the feats of Dick Winant last season and the loss through injury of Dave DeRoin placed a deeper dent into the fenders of the local riding colony among the more refreshing aspects of the saddle profession here has been the skill displayed by a pair of old foes Robert Frank Mun ¬ dorf and Wayne Chambers Both cut their eye teeth in the Middle West and both have been battling for the honor of heading the list at such tracks as AkSarBen Oaklawn Park and other courses There seems to be little to choose between the two There are some horse ¬ men who rate them head and shoulders above most of the other boys here Chambers is a tall angular lanky lad who specializes in conserving the energy of his mounts until well into the stretch Mundorf isnt ex ¬ actly a whoopdedo type but he is more inclined in the direction of Willie Hartack who prefers to allow horses to roll right along when they happen to be in the mood moodMundorf Mundorf 27 hails from Valentine Neb and had it not been for the fact that the earning potential of a flyweight fighter borders near the zero mark hed probably be among the betterknown TV pugilists ap ¬ pearing on Wednesday and Friday evenings Mundorf attracted a great deal of attention in the squared circle He won numerous amateur titles lost only one battle in 60 that being a split decision and was about to turn professional when he was sold aNbill of goods one eve ¬ ning in the dressing room while he awaited his turn to compete in the Ten State Amateur Athletic Union Tournament in which he emerged with the flyweight championship championshipHangs Hangs Up Gloves Picks Up Saddle SaddleWeighed Weighed about 103 pounds soakin wet says Bobby and I was spotting my opponents eight and nine pounds every time we went to the post But I liked the sport even though I knew there was no future in it for a little guy One evening a horseman named Dick McKay asked me if I wouldnt be interested in riding thoroughbreds and as there wasnt much else to do after the tournament I decided to give it a try for a couple of months You see I had been raised on a ranch and had been around horses since I could re ¬ member Rode in some of these friendly short races and it seemed that I had always been on a horses back when I wasnt fighting so the idea of becoming a jockey didnt seem to pose any problems McKay took me on the Nebraska bushes and it wasnt long before he had me riding Less time than I like to admit seven or eight weeks But he had some good stock and around Madison Neb I caught on and it seemed like I was heading somewhere Liked it a lot too Much better than boxing and it wasnt so hard on the nose and ears even though later I had a couple of spills that almost cost me my life Well just about when it seemed that I was about ready to make another Sande Shoemaker Hartack and Arcaro rolled into one my uncle called me Uncle Sam that is and all the other riders in the room said that theyd never take me that they had ALL been turned down because of their size and I was one of the smallest boys in the jocks room The next morning I awakened in an army uniform and they sent me to Germany and France and all over There werent any horses to ride so I went back to the ring I was a good way to get out of KP and other menial duties and training was a great deal more fun I boxed on my outfits team and won a lot of fights But it was in the big one that Ljost for the first time I thought it was a bad decision Was shooting for the European theater title titleNear Near Fatal Spill Interrupted Career CareerMundorf Mundorf served in the Army for two years and was discharged with honors in 1954 It was back to the race track and once again he seemed to be in high gear when a series of spills interrupted his progress On one occasion he lay in a hospital for 18 days hover ¬ ing between life and death and another tinie he frac ¬ tured a leg that forced him to the sidelines for many months monthsDuring During the last two years however Mundorf has been more fortunate and this has enabled him to com ¬ mand attention Last winter he joined forces with Clyde Locklear who had his horses quartered at Oak lawn Park Ordinarily he would have moved from the Spa course to Sportsmans Park and then on to Ak SarBen but Locklear prevailed on him to join him in an invasion of New England The combination has functioned well and Locklear has never enjoyed so much success at this meeting In addition to handling Lockyears horses Mundorf quickly caught the eye of other horsemen He was among the late arrivals at Lincoln Downs but in recent weeks has clicked beauti ¬ fully During the coming Suffolk Downs meeting he will start from scratch with the others and there are those who are quite willing to wager that he will be the top rider or thereabouts of the East Boston meeting Continued on fage FortySeven 1 NEW ENGLAND ENGLANDBy By TEDDY COX Continued from Page Seven SevenProgram Program Scribblings The veteran Dick v I Gottsman who formerly operated a riding academy is noted for the neatness of his shedrow We havent got Calumet horses s in the stalls says Dick but my horses are just as tfell treated and fed and we keep our place just as clean B A Dario received a setback when the three yearold Dandy Sultan fractured a shoul1 der and was humanely destroyed St Marks one of the stars of last season seems1 ready to resume winning ways after a fine seasonal bow r
