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V w ■ New England By Fred Galian, LaRue Enjoys Singular Success With Fillies Dandy Blitzen, Rose of Serro Set Records Tfainer for Dario Hopes to Land Classy Colt SUFFOLK DOWNS, East Boston. Mass., May 5.— Since Bill LaRue took over the stable of B. A. Dario, managing director of Lincoln Downs, he has had phe- nomenal success with fillies. Each year, he has come up with a corker, starting with Lassie Lea, then Venomous and, finally, the latters half sister, Dandy Blitzen. Venomous and Dandy Blitzen have, at one time or another, taken the measure of every crack filly and mare in the country. Now, it looks like he may continue his success with fillies, and this season he has a fleet one in a bay daughter of Errard — For ever Thine, called Rose of Serro. Track records do not fall with any great degree of rapidity at Suffolk Downs. On the main track in recent years, there have been only a few new ones established. Until this meeting, the newest was Toulouses 2 : 58% for the comparatively little used mile and three-quarters. Before that, it took a pair of champions to fracture existing standards. They were the crack sprinter Decathlon, who etched out new 4Vfe- and 5-furlong records, and the classy Helioscope, who carved lYt miles in 2:01 in the Massachusetts Handicap. So on no account can you accuse Suffolk Downs of being a speed-crazy track, with the surface scraped and packed merely for the sake of records. Yet, on the first Saturday of the meeting, LaRue sent out a pair of fillies that accomplished a unique feat. Dandy Blitzen, who is eligible to beat any mans horse any time, won the John Alden Handicap in 1:09%. The daughter of Bull Dandy won by three lengths and had in her wake such good flyers as Bumpy Road, Mrs. Hellen and Tinkalero. Her clocking equaled the track mark set by Appealing in 1937, and Appealing was by no means any sluggard. In 22 years, his mark was only tied once — by Higher Cloud one year later. For more than a decade, it had withstood onslaughts by some pretty fair horses until Dandy Blitzen turned it on. Lowered Box Trades Mark Five races earlier that afternoon, Rose of Serro, making her fifth start, put a record into the discard when she went 4 furlongs in :46%. The mark she shattered did not have the longevity of Appealings, but had existed since 1951 when Box Trade went the distance in :47. Rose of Serros race was more noteworthy in that she did more than just run straight. On the turn, she drifted out; then, leaving the quarter pole, veered sharply and had to finish on the outside. At that, she still won by a length and a half. Suffice to say, that race terrorized trainers of other two-year-olds around here. LaRue has the filly eligible for the Rancocas Stakes at Garden State and the Pinafore here, both to be run on May 16. He hasnt decided yet where to put the filly, but hopes to get a prep race into her no matter which stakes he chooses. Whether any opposition will be mustered against her seems dubious. Rose of Serro was bought at the Saratoga sales for ,700. One of Darios good friends is contractor Santi Campanella. who asked New Englands top breeder to name a horse for his fathers home town in Italy. The name Serro was first rejected, so it was submitted again as Rose of Serro. The first time the Errard filly started was at Hialeah. Unhappily for Dario, a domestics solicitude for him proved to be a mistake. LaRue called his boss at his surfside home that morning to tell Dario his filly was in at Hialeah that day. The maid, however, didnt wake Dario until late in the day, so that there was no time to get to the track. Rose of Serro promptly won her debut and paid 6.60. After that, she was beaten a head by Niequest, finished fourth in the first division of the Hialeah Stakes, beaten a length and three-quarters by Bally Ache, and was out of the money at Gulfstream Park. In the latter race, she broke badly, was rushed to the lead, then finished out of the money. After that, she shipped to New England, where she cracked a track record. Buys Half Sister by Dukes Lea Her Gulfstream race showed LaRue that he had a filly of blinding speed. She burned out the first quarter in :21%. Right after that, he hopped a plane to Mereworth Farm, breeder of Rose of Serro, where he promptly bought her half sister at private terms. The yearling is by Dukes Lea, a Calumet stud. Her purchase price was probably in the same vicinity that Rose of Serro went for at the sales. Rose of Serro gives every promise of following the sparkling careers of Venomous and Dandy Blitzen. It wont make LaRue mad if she does. However, the Dario trainer is hoping that he can get his hands on a top colt. He has yet to come up with one that sparkles as his filly charges have done. If this keeps up, LaRue will just have to accept the charge of being a ladies man.
