Evening star., 1954-04-25
SS-to-1 Shot Second
AsCrowd Of 1881
Turns Out al Bowie
By Lewis F. Atchison
BY o Sfor StofF Correspondent

- BOWIE, Md, April 24.-The
combination of Brookmeade
Stables First Aid and Jockey
Nick Shuk, leading rider of the
meeting, proved too much for IL
rivals here today as they GAL
loped of with top honors in the
18th running of the $15,000-
added Southern Maryland Han
dicap.
In giving Brookmeade, owned
by Mrs. Dodge Sloane, its sec
ond straight victory in this stake,
First Aid beat r. r. McClarin's
Spring Grove, an 88-to-1 out
slider, by three lengths. Mrs. Ada
L. Rice's Mr.. Paradise was an
other length and one-half back,
with w. E. Browns Bank Coal
trailing by a similar margin in
fourth place.
The largest crowd of Bowie's
spring meeting, 1881 fans, liked
First Aids chances we'll enough
to send him off as the 2-to-1
favorite. He didn't diSappoint,
covering the mile and one-six-
teenth in lass, the fastest time
yet recorded for the Southern
Maryland. The time was only
one-f1fth of a second off Mis-
steps 26-year old track record.
Best Day of Meeting.
First Aid paid $640, $3.50 and
$3.50 across the board. Spring
Grove, ridden by Bernie Hewitt,
returned $47.80 and $3.50, while
a show ticket on Mr.. Paradise,
with Bill Hartack in the irons,
was worth SIS.
It was an overcast day and a
trif1e chilly in the brisk wind,
but it was the best day of the
meeting in attendance and bet
ting. The crowd Wagered 81 1885,
395 on the eight races. OF this
sum, $219,006 went in on the
feature race.
A promising 3-year-old last
year when he won divisions of
the Hibiscus and Bahamas Han
dicaps at Hialeah, First Aid won
his first 1854 victory today. add
ing the winners $11,950 end of
a gross purse of $17,625 to the
$1,000 earned in three previous
races this year.
Last year First Aid, 4-year-
old gelded son of Bernborough,
won five races in Is starts, four
of them stakes victories. He paid
$134.40 in capturing the Sara
nae Handicap and $36.60 in TAX
ing the Aqueduct Handicap. win
ming both races with Augie Cat
alamo, a Washington youngster, !
in the saddle. The crowd evi-
IDENTIFY remembered those per-
formances in making him the
favorite.
Buck N Gee Scratched.
Three scratches, including
Harry B. Cohen's Buck N Gee,
who was expected to be the ia
vorite, gave the Jockeys trifle
more racing room but it is doubt
full if it made any difference in
the outcome. Buck N Gee. who
dislikes an off track. would have
had trouble with First Aid today.
Shuk, who was riding his sec
ond straight winner of the day
and increasing his lead over
Hartack to 18 to 13. broke the
gelding alertly from the gate,
kept him just off the pace and
took command On the far turn
to win easily. Nick tucked his
whip away and coasted the last
so yards.
M. r. Hamar's Lotus Eater,
who dead heated with Stars
Shine at Laurel in his last race,
set brisk early pace, with Sam
Serpico's The Spaniel and First
Aid Tapped on him midway
through the backstretch. Spring
Grove moved up to third as they
started around the last turn.
This 4-year-old son of Charing
Cross made the most of his 1O4-
pound package in getting into
the second slot. but simply
didn't have enough to challenge
the winner.
Mr.. Paradise, trying for the
third stakes victory of the sea-
son for Mrs. Rice and Trainer
Tommy Kelly, was well placed
by Hartack in the early running,
but evidently found the distance
too far for him.