Evening star., 1953-07-05
Grecian Queen Takes
S121,2OO Handicap
AT Delaware Park .
Continued from Page BID

Continued from Page BID
a hot, sunny day and the 30.-
ITO fans present made the most
of it. They established a new
one-race betting record for Della
ware Park by wagering $303,149
on the feature. The. old mark was
$284,9O1. The total for the day
was $2,O08, 1854, missing the rec
ord of $2,106,927.
The triumph was worth $84, 800
to Mrs. Whitaker out of the purse
of $121, 200. It raised Grecian
Queens earnings for the year to
$178.185 and brought her total
in less than two years of racing
up to $685. .O25.
Kiss Me Kate Hurt.
The withdrawal of Kiss Me
Kate, Walter M. Jeffords' for
midable 5-year-old mare, took
some of the edge of Grecian
Queens victory. Trainer Oscar
White scratched Kiss Me Kate,
last years New Castle winner,
after the daughter of Count Fleet
came back from an early morning
workout with sore right ankle.
It's an old injury and White
said that although the mare
could have raced, he preferred
not to risk more serious injury.
Atkinson didn't think it would
have made any difference if the
JeffordS' mare had run. Grecian
Queen got in with ia pounds,
13 less than was assigned to Kiss
Me Kate, and Ted's ride plainly
bespoke the confidence he had in
his mount. It was not one of his
flasher rides, but the shaking
up he got yesterday in an acci-
dent at Aqueduct obviously didn't
help. Atkinson got Grecian Queen
off in front, then pulled her back
to second between calls, went to
the front again and stayed there
to beat off the challenge of Devil
kin and My Celeste.
Still Full of Run.
"She ran Spottily, but that's
the way I rode her." Ted ad-
mitted in the Jockeys quarters
after the race. when I asked
her to go, she went. took her
back and then went to the front
again at the half-mile pole. I
think she could have gone an
other three quarters of a mile
and still won."
After Grecian Queen broke on
top, Hedley Woodhouse brought
Meyer Kaplan's Sunshine Nell
over quickly from the outside
post position in the field of 10
and took a head lead going into
the first turn.
A Washington entry got into
the scramble briefly when Mrs.
Marian w. O'Connor's La Cor
FEDORA, piloted by Jimmy Lynch,
moved up from seventh to third
at the first turn, only half
length behind Grecian Queen.
Atkinson got in front again
going into the backstretch. but
took a strong hold on his horse
while Sunshine Nell, Grandma
Josie and Devilkin scrambled
for position. Going into the far
turn, Grecian Queen had the
lead. a head in front of Sun
shine Nell, with Grandma Josie
third and Big Mo fourth, but
fading after making her one
move.
Ted Takes Things Easy.
An eighth of a mile from home.
the Queen definitely had the race
won and Atkinson was not work.
ing overly hard. Devilkin, with
Bennie Green driving hard, was d
head in front of Grandma Josie,
who got a good ride from Gerald
Glassner but didn't seem to have
the staying quality. Sunshine
Nell was fourth and tiring.
1t was sweet day for Grecian
Queen who, even though she is
a horse, may remember the
! licking she took from Cerise
Refine in the slop here on Decora-
ton Day. After that the daugh-
ter Of Heliopolis-Qbania won the
Coaching Club American Oaks
and Gazelle Stakes to re-estab-
lish herself as the top member
0f her claSS