Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-02-21
1O-Yem-OH Sun Beau, World Champion Coin
Winner, May Come Back to Races If Equip
Tops $376,744 Record IN Santa anita Saturday
n Tot even a cycline or a war
nj could have caused SO much ex-
| " element among the stable
hands at Court Manor.

hands at Court Manor.
From the stud barns to the yearling
paddocks this week every man Of them
muses. on the great race. A hundred
thousand dollars and more will change
hands Saturday afternoon at Santa
Anita, Calf. No matter where else
it may go, not a dollar of the mighty
purse will come to MIR. Willis Sharpe
Kilmer. who owns the 1000 rolling
acres of Court Manor and foots the
bills for everything and everybody
esconced thereon.
The tempest around the stalls is not
caused, therefore, by considerations
of ducats, which considerations usually
can work a groom into lather quicker
than M. Henri Cochet can decide what
you are going to do next on tennis
court. It is all a matter of pride,
pride and affection. Both those worthy
emotions are inspired by dignified
old horse named Sun Beau, which re-
tired from the running business three
years Ego with earnings of $376,74 in
cash and $4,000 in trophies to his
credit, the same being the world rec
ord for all Corners since the Roman
chariot races.
The question that stirs up such a
stew in the minds and hearts Of the
horse nurses down near Newmarket
is, will Sun Beau still be the cham
pion money winner of the world after
Saturday afternoon"
And, If Equipoise or Mate should
win the hundred-odd thousand dollars
and thereby surpaSs the Beau's record,
will Mr.. Kilmer send the old boy back
to the races to seek the crown once
more?
The latter problem rather intrigueS
them more than the first, for so con-
WINGED are they of their champions
supremacy not a doubt exists but that
he could make up the 50-odd thou
sand dollar margin which would hang
over his high mark if Equipoise wins
the Santa Anita, the $4,000 he would
need to top Mate again if that stall
wart should gallop down in front Sat-
urday. AS for Mrs. Payne Whitney'S
Twenty Grand, the California handi-
cap purse and another $4,000 would
be needed to make serious contender
Of him. An unsound horse, he does
not yet figure in the speculations at
Court Manor.
Sun Beau is 10 years old, and that
is virtual senility for an active race
horse, middle age for one retired to
the stud. This is his third year out
Of training, and many an old hand
will tell you a runner once in high
training" cannot come back after re-
tirement.
Against these factors are his rec
ord, which shows he won more races
and money as a and year old than
at any other time; his soundness; the
fact he has been galloped regularly
and given light workouts since he
went into the stud, and his remark
able original ability.
Sun Beau was waShout as a q
year-old. He started only four times,
won one race and piled up the mag
nif1cent total Of s1,150 earned cash at
the age when Equipoise, for example,
garnered $156,835. As a 3-year-old
the Beau stepped out and captured
eight flrsts, five seconds and third
for a total of $79,909. The next year
his profits were approximately the
same. But in the last two years of his
career he made more than S100, 900
each season.
Had he not been beaten by inferior
horses IN the Aqua Caliente handicap
OF 1881, after what may be mildly de-
scrloed as an unsatisfactory ride by
frankie Coltiletti, Sun Beau would
have earned in excess Of $4,000 that
year. Well, the Ifs" don't count in
horse racing either.
Today the grand old horse is abso-
lutely sound. He carries perhaps 200
pounds Of extra weight, as any stall
lion will when taking life easy, but
that would come OF with two months
steady work. He may or may not
have lost his speed, but be assured
he once had it. For some reason
casual followers of the bangtails seem
to have the idea that Sun Beau was
merely mediocre stake horse with
lot OF luck and good UNDERMINING,
which combination enabled him to
win more money than merit deserved.
As a matter Of fact, the son Of Sun
Br1ar-Beautiful Lady once beat such
racers as Petee Wrack, Victorian and
Misstep by five lengths in a Maryland
handicap, beat Display and others In
a Washington handicap, won the
Hawthorne Gold Cup three times in
succession and set a track record of
2:01 3-5 for the mile and one quarter
In one Of the victories, ran mile in
1877 with 126 pounds up, and another
mile in 1886 is as 5-year-old, ran
on tracks from Mexico to Saratoga
and won races all over the place.
Your fingers and toes will take care
OF the names Of American horses that
have appropriated such performance.
Can he do it again? His admirers
say eyes" Some wiseacres say mo"
Equipoise, Mate, Twenty Grand and
Mr.. Willis Sharpe Kilmer, the only
four in the world capable of deciding
whether the veteran will or will not
have to try-they say nothing.
As for Mr.. Kilmer, it seems very
unlikely he would want to pull down
that handsome sign over on the man
sion side Of the road to Newmarket.
1t reads: Court Manor, annex to
Sun Briar Court. Home of Sun Beau,
the worlds greatest winning
champion"