Evening star., 1939-01-01
Failure of $4,000 TemuIoc
And Triumphs of Bargain
FL Chico Are EXAMPLES
BY MAX HILL,
Associated Press Sports Writer.

-A|'
Associated Press Sports Writer.
NEW YORK, Dec 31.-A sleek but
frightened yearling colt went to mar
ket in the Saratoga sales ring one
sultry August night a year ago, and
men to whom winners and turf glory
mean more than money bid hotly for
him, for he was royalty bred, brown
son Of Sir Gallahad III-Marching
Along.
Aristocrats of the thoroughbred
world were there tS match their
bulging pocketbooks and their wits
one against the other-brokers from
Wall Street, sportsmen from Long
Island and Maryland, f1nanciers
from Chicago, traders from the blue
grass of Kentucky.
The brown colt trotted nimbly
around the ring as the bids shot up
his price tag with incredible swift
ness. Thousands piled on thous-
ands, merely by slight nod of the
head or the gesture of q hand.
Warren Wright of the baking pow
der clan was in the thick of the bid
ding from the first. He wanted that
colt. The auctioneer wheedled for
another offer.
Then, with a rap of his gavel, he
barked:
Sold! For s26,ooo."
That was the top price of the sales.
Wright was so elated that he named
the colt Temulac, which is the name
OF his Kentucky farm, Calumet,
spelled backward.
The ticket on yearling doesn't
mean he will be race horse, though.
It's almost as bad as pulling numbers
out of hat and hoping for winner.
And so Wright found out.
Not one of the three experimental
handicaps in which 2-year-olds are
rated by three astute judges of
horsef1esh even mentioned him.
Doubtful If He'll Develop.
Temulac, in fact, didn't win a race
until this fall at Keenland and spent
most OF his time chasing lesser lights
around one track or another. He
may yet develop into a good 3-year-
old, but the chances are against this.
It wasn't until Mrs. Ethel v. Mars.
with her candy millions, got around
to buying yearlings at Saratoga that
anybody went in for wholesale pur-
chases.
In 1886 she spent approximately
Sl5O,OoO, most of which she got back
the next year in purses. She has
taken on some lemons, just the
same as the others, two prize ex-
amples being Warbridge and Far
rel. They cost $4,000 each and
haven't earned her much more
than a plugged nickel.
On the other hand, Tiger was
led out of the ring for a $4,000 bid
and earned $4,000 as juvenile.
That more than makes up for a
couple of mistakes.
There was another, Sir Gallahad,
Sd, colt, bay dropped by One
Hour, led into the bright lights of
the sales ring when Wright made
his high-priced purchase, and be-
fore John Hertz got him for his
own he had to shell out $4,000.
He called him Gala Hour, and sent
him to the races high on his
chances. Gala Hour did some fu-
tile chasing, too, but finally won
a minor race.
Alfred Vanderbilt picked up Dis
covery several years ago at a bar
gain price and found himself with
a handicap champion, one Of the
sturdiest horses of recent years.
Naturally he wasn't adverse to own
ing full brother of the stout
hearted stallion now down in Mary
land on his Sycamore Farm. Hadn't
Discovery spilled $3.50 in cold
cash into his Golfers, made him
leading money winner one year?
Bust as a 2-Year- Old.
Well, 1t took a deal of bidding
before the young sportsman could
call this chestnut colt by Display
Aradne his own, for others, too,
remembered Discovery.
Twenty thousand dollars was the
price he paid, but Adventurer, the
name he chose for his colt, didn't
even get to the races as a 2-year-
old. Nobody knows yet whether he
can run. The test comes any time,
though, for Adventurer is out at
Santa Anita with j. H. (Bud) Stot-
Ter, Vanderbilts trainer.
Enough for the fancy-priced year.
lings which paraded into the ring.
Let's take look at an ugly duck
ling, youngster whose legs weren't
straight, and who didn't appear he
could run lick.
William Ziegler, jr, got him for
S2,700 without much competition.
and many of the dinner -jacketed
turfmen there shook their heads
sadly over the abandon with which
Ziegler was tossing his money
around.
Ell Chico got around to showing
how good he was in Maryland first
out and continued his unbeaten
ways through seven stakes, one of
the few 2-year-olds never to take
a licking as Juvenile.
He won $84,100, which certainly
gave Owner Ziegler the last laugh.
Just how little any one thought
of the little chestnut son of John
P. Grier-La Chica is indicated by
the non-payment of fees to make
. him eligible for the Belmont Fu-
turity.
That race turned up another bar
gain colt-Porter's Mite, who was
shipped to California by John Hay
Whitney last winter for sale at a
price reported to be $500. w. E.