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On the Trot By MORRIE KURLANSKY * - Outstanding Feature for Tonight v Fifteen Await Split A. T. Gait Trot - Darneau, Model in Same Division I MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., May £ 7. — The outstanding trotting event of the £ current meeting will take place Friday * night when 15 top £ trotters will vie in two J divisions of the ,500 f Arthur T. Gait Trot. Though the lot decided t which horses would go j in what division, the l. two fields could not 3 have been more evenly r matched had it been 5 left to racing de-£ partment to seed cer-£ tain main contenders _ after separating stable entries like Darneau J and Bengazi, Louie Yates and Future Hope, X. Dorothy Sky Raider and Lady Iosola Mil-3 ler. The way luck or coincidence, or whatever one might call it, would have it, the 15 aspirants were split up as if the race were conducted under classified conditions, with virtually all faster-class trotters meeting in the second division. In this much tougher section, Ralph H. Kroenings steadily improving Darneau must be considered not only as the strongest candidate, but as an ultimate post favorite. The chestnut colt drew -a favorable post position in the middle of the eight-horse field, a fact that is certainly not detrimental to his chances. The high esteem of the Quel Veinard is entirely justified and solidly supported by the four-year-olds fine races at this meeting. The Milwaukee-owned and Georgia-bred trotter with the Franco-American pedigree started here five times to win three races. In his other two starts, Darneau just missed beating Rex-all Boy and had ample excuse for his being unplaced in an A-class event in which he suffered severe interference to break stride at a crucial moment. Darneaus latest victory in 2:04%. best clocking for a diagonally-gaited performer at this meeting, was achieved in facile, manner, the colt romping his final quarter in a breezy :30% seconds to make him a natural choice to add to his growing stature as a serious aspirant for free-for-all honors later in the season. Tonights mile dash, however, will not be in the nature of a walk-over for Darneau. Among his seven rivals is Mr. and Mrs. William E. Sopuseks filly, Model, one of the nations outstanding juvenile trotting fillies last-season. Where it not for the fact that Model, a brown daughter of Darnley from Gay Sonata, has to concede Darneau a year and that she drew the seventh post, the filly on 58 form actually, would seem to have a slight edge over Kroenings successor to Lord Steward. The filly, a charge of trainer Gene Riegle, was bought at the Tattersall Yearling Sales for a very nominal sum, but turned out to be one of the best of her genera-tio from the very outset of her career. A • stakes winner on the Grand Circuit, • Model late last summer had the tough luck to be racing against the ill-fated wonder filly, Merrie Annabelle. But for the great Rodney daughter, who trotted a mile in 2:00 before suffering a fatal accident shortly after this world championship performance, Model probably would have been acclaimed as the best two-year-old trotting filly of 1958. How good Model is, she proved in her first start of the young season at Hazel Park a week ago where she won a classified race in 2:05%, an effort that amply demonstrates her readiness for tonights eariy-closing event. Such good old trotters as Rexall Boy, Almiras Worthy and Lady Iosola Miller, however, cannot be counted out, to make it unlikely that this second division will result in a match race between Darneau and Model. As an interesting sidelight, it might be mentioned that this second division is a great tribute to Darnley, one of the outstanding trotting sires of modern times. While Darneau is out of a Darnley mare, Model and Lady Brookwood are daughters of the Scotland stallion who also sired the two great brothers, Lord Steward and Darn Safe, winners of over 00,000 between them. . In the first division, Valentina, owned by Louiso and Fox, on the strength of recent fine efforts and favored by the Inside post position, seems to have an excellent chance to turn back her six rivals, of which Bengazi, a stablemate to Darneau and the leading money-winning horse competing at this meeting, and the improving Queens Gandee must be regarded as the Kilroy daughters most dangerous foes. Trainer Tom Wilbum for the third time in a row scored a double Wednesday night. Most impressive was his triumph with the three-year-old pacer Yankee Chip, who lowered his record by almost three seconds to win by six lengths in 2:10%. Co-owned by David Gulley, the youngster won his second race within 10 days as an even-money choice. A son of Yankee Hanover from Proficient, Yankee Chip trained on the trot as late as last March when Wil-burn noticed the geldings preference for the lateral gait. Yankee Chip acts and looks like a real comer and should be heard from frequently as the season progresses. Wilburns other winner on Wednesday was his own four-year-old pacer, Tecumseh Mike, who chalked up his third consecutive win; timed in 2:08%, while held at 3 to 5. The haltermen were busy in Wednesdays claiming pace when Judy Jewell and Forward changed barns after the mile dash. Judy Jewell, a well-bred mare and winner of the race in 2:09, was claimed by John L. Waner of Chicago, who turned the daughter of The Widower over to trainer Stan Stucker. Forward Vic was taken by Arthur Rosecky and given to trainer Everett Jefferson to join the Cicero patrons good pacing mare, May C. Byrd, a ,500 claim last season that proved more than profitable for the I Rosecky-Jefferson combination.
