Evening star., 1953-05-10
1852 ChaInpiio
Back
Of English Colt /
Ex-HurdIer Scores
Third Stake Victory
In Three SATURDAYS
BY Lewis F. Atchison
Stor Stoff correspondena


Sfor Stoff Correspondent
BALTIMORE, May 9.-Crafty
Admiral, Americas 1852 handi-
cap champion. was just one OF
the boys today as the favorite
and his followers went down with
crash in the first stake of PIN
lico's 21-day meeting.
Mrs. Esther dupont Weir's
Royal Vale, a reformed hurdler
considered unsound for racing
in his native England, made it
two straight victories over the
champ in the Sind running OF
the $25, ,000-added Dixie Handi-
cap, duplicating last weeks tri-
umph in the $50, 900 Gallant Fox
Handicap at Jamaica. Today's
defeat was not as expensive in
dollars for the Admiral, but it
cost him plenty in prestige as
Royal Vale won in convincing
fashion.
The order of the finish was al
most the same as the Gallant
Fox, with Jackie Westrope bring
ing the 5-year-old son of Kings
Way-Cora Deans home a length
and three-quarters ahead OF
Cornelius v. Whitney's Cold
Command, ridden by Dave Cor
man. Golden Gloves, third in the
Gallant Fox, wasn't in today's
race. and Crafty Admiral took
the third spot, 212 lengths be-
hind Cold Command and a neck
ahead of the spent Ancestor.
Weight Shift no Help.
Royal Vale ran the mile and
one-eighth in 1918, a second
slower than Chains five-year- -olo
track mark. The winner paid
$3.50, $3.50 and $3.50 across the
board. Cold Command paid $500
and SO. while Crafty Admiral
returned $3.50 to show.
Most fans thought an eight
pound shift in weights, plus Eddie
Arcaro's presence in the saddle
plus the shorter distance (the
Gallant Fox was a mile and
three ee-Sixteenths) would make a
difference today. They were
wrong. The Charfran Stable star
Garner Of $277,225 last year, car
ried 1875 pounds and didn't have
anything left when Arcaro called
on him in the stretch. Royal Vale
who packed 120, was full of run
at the finish.
A crowd Of 19, 1886 saw the race,
run on a good track in a light
drizzle, and most of them
thought it would be Crafty Ad-
mirals day. They made him
the 6-to-5 favorite over Royal
Vale, who went off at So, putting
$50,937 on the Admiral's nose.
Nick Wall may deserve some
Of the credit for the English
horses triumph for he set a
blistering pace on Ancestor and
took Arcaro and Crafty Admiral
along. while Royal Vale tagged
along behind. Westrope was
fifth in the six-horse field going
down the backstretch, and not
sure that wasn't where he would
be at the finish.
WestrOpe Was PessimiStic.
"He (Royal Vale) was climb
ing in the first part of the race, :"
Jackie said later. II didn't think
we had a chance until he
Strengthened out on the turn and
began to run. Even then, I
wasn't confident. I didn't think
we could win until we got in
'front.'"
Westrope said he thought the
pace was much too fast in the
early stages of the race and it
looked that way from the press
box. Wall and Arcaro rushed
their horses to the front at
the break and dueled for the
lead, which Wall got just before
the first turn was reached. Nick
seemed to let Ancestor 60 with
out much restraint, opening up
a two-length lead on Crafty Ad-
miral.
Arcaro took a slight hold on
the Admiral going up the back
stretch and Ancestor added an
other length to his margin. But
Arcaro urged his horse at the
half-mile pole and took after
the peacmaker.
Meanwhile, German on Cold
Command shook up his mount as
they pounded into the turn and
for a brief moment he got the
Whitney blue a short head In
front. An upset seemed in the
making as they came around the
turn and headed into the stretch
and German said that at that
point he thought he had the race
won. Thought he had it won
that is, until he heard Royal
Vale hot-footing down; the mid
die. The English-bred had tc
come around the field, but ii
wasn't too much trouble with
only three ahead of him.
Wall rode the same 'front.'
(See PIMIICO. Page C.5.)