Evening star., 1953-04-26
Vanderbilt Colt
Earns $4,000
In Easy Fashion
Pays Off at I to 10;
Tuhition King Second,
Invigorotor Third
By the Associated Press


NEW YORK, April 25.-Native
Dancer ran his unbeaten string
to II victories in "a row today
when the great gray 3-year-old
uncoiled a powerful stretch drive
to capture the $123,750 Wood
Memorial at Jamaica.
His brilliant performance So
lidifled his chances of victory in
the Kentucky Derby next Sat-,
urday at Louisville. This was the
Dancers richest race and he cas-
lily grabbed the $87 900 first prize
in the richest 3-year-old race
ever staged in New York.
Alfred G. Vanderbilt's speedy
colt was given a superb ride by
his Louisiana born jockey, Eric
Guerin. He overhauled the pace
setting Tahitian King near the
top of the stretch in the 29th
running of this famous Derby
test and drew away with ease to
win with the authority of a
champion.
Entry Only l to 10.
The crowd of 40, 1852 which had
backed Native Dancer and his
stable mate, Social Outcast,
down to 1-to-10, gave a mighty
cheer when the Vanderbilt ex-
press really began to move.
Coming into the stretch, he
edged ahead of Tahitian King,
owned by Ben Whitaker, and
suddenly shot ahead in the final
eighth of a mile to blast under
the wire by margin of AZ
lengths.
Tahitian King, rated right be-
hind Native Dancer among the
1852 juveniles, managed to save
second money of $4,000 by q
head over the Saxon Stables In
vigorator. The latter was the
second choice at 6 to l..
Invigorator, in turn, was three
lengths before Social Outcast in
the field of seven 3-year-olds,
but all the story must be this
sleek, steel gray dancer, who has
captured the American racing
public's fancy with his sensa-
tional winning streak, begun
right here at Jamaica last April.
First Race at Distance.
The time for the mile and one
eighth was 1:503s on a fast track.
The record. held by an older
horse, Bryan G., is 1:49H, set
october q, 1851. Bryan G..
then a four-year-old, carried 1T
pounds, while all the colts in this
race today had 1875. It was the
first time Native Dancer had run
more than a mile and one-six-
teenth in competition.
Native Dancer paid a skimpy
1920. $2.10 and $2.1O across the
board. When Count Fleet won
this race in 1943, and went on
to win the Derby and Triple
Crown, his price was to 4. Ia
hitan King returned $3.50 and
$2.10 and Invigorator paid $2.10.
II believe I could have gone
right to the front, but decided to
watt" Guerin said after the race.
Il hit him just to try him out,
not because he needed it. He
was just playing"
The other jockeys said there
just weren't any excuses for
their horses, except for Conn
McCreary, whose mount, Jamie
K, was left in the starting gate.
Jamie K, owned by Jim Nor
ris' Spring Hill Farm, finished
sixth back of the Rokeby Stables
Magic Lamp. John w. Nizlek's
Mr.. Jameson. the only horse in
the field not named for the
Derby, was last all the way.
Arcar0 Makes Up Mind.
Eddie Arcaro, who came back
from Kentucky to ride Social
Outcast as a favor to Wander
bilt and test the colt as a posi-
BILE Derby mount, said he is go
ing to ride Correspondent at
Churchill Downs next Saturday.
"The others around here (ex-
cept Native Dancer) have no
chance" Arcaro said.
Correspondent is California's
hope for the Derby. He is owned
by Mrs. Gordon Guiberson of La