Evening star., 1955-02-27
poona Il Triumphs
by y Lengths in
Santa Anita Handicap
Continued from Page CID

the moon.
Poona II covered the mile and
% quarter in 2:03 over a track
that was slowed by last nights
rain. The diversified entry paid
OF at So. 1920 and So across
the board. Joe Jones. whose
stretch-riding Jockey. Conn NC
Creary, few here from Florida
for the race, returned $6.40 and
$50 after being bet down to
6 to /. Porterhouse, ridden by
Bill Boland. went of at nearly
20 to l and paid $9.70 to show.
Skeptical Of Poona III.
In many ways, it was one Of
the strangest of all the Is Santa
Anita Handicaps. for there was
no real solid favorite on which
the crowd and the experts could
agree. Poona II, whose breeders,
the Aga Khan and Ally Khan,
named the son of Tudor Min
strel for a town in India, seemed
to have what it took, all right,
but. there were many Skeptics
among veteran horsemen who
couldn't forget those two bad
races.
Rejected, who made a great
stretch run under Shoemaker to
beat out Andy Crevolin's feet
Imbros a year ago, got the most
pre-race votes among the horse
men because Of his closing abil-
ity, but others belittled his
chances because Of Eastern fail
ures last summer. Then, too, the
King Ranch star, who went of
the second choice at nearly Z to
2, was burdened with 126 pounds,
just three less than the game
Determine.
Determine Runs Calamity.
The California crowd surpris-
ingly forgot its State-conscious-
ness in the case of Crevolin' S
Determine, for the little gray
Derby winner opened at z to l
in the betting and never went
much lower. Yet he ran a GAL
liant race and only the weight
kept him and Ray York from
finishing closer to the leaders.
The order of finish after Deter
mine was Impulsivo. Gigantic,
Rejected, Six Fifteen, Novarul-
iah, James Session, Cyclotron,
Ole Travis, Dawn Lark. Corre-
spondent and Star of the Forest.
Joe Jones. who won the first
running of Bowie's John B.
Campbell Memorial last fall, ran
a powerful race to finish second.
but the HirSch Jacobs five-year-
old couldn't give Poona II four
pounds and beat him. Oddly
enough. before Joe Jones won
the Campbell at Bowie his stay
ing qualities had been under
question, even at a mile and an
eighth. Today he provided the
big thrill Of the race when little
McCreary shot him through on
the inside shortly after the big
field reached the top of the
stretch.
McCreary Disappointed.
After the race. McCreary said
he thought that when Joe Jones
moved on Poona II at the eighth
pole that he was on a winner,
for Correspondent and Johnny
Longden had long since had it
and Porterhouse. the other pace
maker, was all set to call it a
day.
But when I got up to the win
ner an eighth out and it looked
as if he was staggering. he just
took of again." little Conn said.
1t was a truly run race and
there weren't more than half a
dozen horses that figured at any
stage. When the break came
after brief delay at the post.
Determine and the old sprinter
Cyclotron were the first to get
a call. Then Longden rushed
Correspondent to the front and
the one-tirne Kentucky Derby
hopeful led by two lengths going
up the backstretch, with Poona
II and Determine never far back.
Correspondent was through at
the far turn and Boland had no
choice but take over with Porter
house and hope for the best.
Meanwhile. cool little Shoemaker
had dead aim on his second
straight Santa Anita as he sent
Poona II to the front turning
for home. At that point, it was
all over, although Joe Jones gave
the crowd a big thrill with his
heroics during the stretch battle.
Shoemaker, who rarely has
anything to say, was particularly
elated by his victory. for he had
stuck his neck out by passing
up the mount on rejected to ride
the Irish colt. Naturally. Willie'S
decision was made after Poona
II broke a worlds record last
month,
Joe Hernandez, the colorful
announcer who has called each
of the nearly $500 races run
since Santa Anita opened late
in 1884. had to give his voice
an unScheduled workout between