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Show SPORT LIGHT Big Name Horses Are on Trial By GRANTLAND RICE HE NEXT FEW days and weeks of racing will find a flock of celebrities in the headlines. Their names will Include Citation, Coal-town, Coal-town, Capot, Ponder and a few more. There have been three big feature fea-ture races with the same weights so far the Derby rXC" the Preakness -lA and the Belmont. a' Capot not only ipXgJ two out of I . I three but also ran ffv -f 1-2 in each start, fe, Capot's on top but he still has a L.VCt$l battle left. L-.il.J The ls no lonS-er lonS-er a n y question Grantland Rice now that 0lympla won the Derby for Ponder. Capot could pick his own pace in the Belmont, but some horse with speed had to go after Olympia in the Derby. Capot was the only horse with the speed to challenge which in turn cost him the race. If the Grerntree horse could win the Trcakness and Belmont because there was no pacemaker pace-maker to kill off first, he could surely have taken over the Derby under similar circumstances. circum-stances. But for all that, Ponder was the surprise horse of both the Derby and the Belmont. He will still be dangerous over any stretch of ground beyond a mile, especially at a mile and a quarter or a mile and a half. His form from two-year-old class nas bounded far up and if Capot falls away later on, it is quite likely that Calumet's stretch runner run-ner will move up. In the meanwhile it will be interesting in-teresting to see when and where Citation will run again. Jimmy Jones says the champion is ready. "We have been in no hurry," Jimmy says, "to get him working too soon with Coaltown on hand. There is nothing to be gained by running Citation against Coaltown." Whether or not Citation Is ready, Calumet has no great worry with Coaltown, Ponder and Wistful on hand. It is only natural that Chicago should get the call with these standouts, due to the matter of weight assignments. If Calumet can get her stars in at 330, it would be rather foolish to take higher weights. In the meanwhile Hollywood Park ls quite anxious to know what Calumet will do about the $100,000 Gold Cup race on July 16, where Coaltown and Citation can get in at 132 pounds. The hitch here may come from Ben Jones' statement that 130 pounds is all that any horse should carry. The extra two pounds would make little or no difference, but It might leave an opening for increased weights later on. In any event the next few weeks should be replete with Interesting In-teresting turns, now partially covered by the fogs. Citation, especially, is due to break Into the headlines soon. Make The Target A Barn So far this has been a formless baseball season in the main and the main reason is quite evident the pitching. It isn't so much a matter of the base hits and runs that have been accumulated. It isn't so much a matter of the home runs driven in winning flight over the fences or into the stands. It has been largely a matter of bases on balls. I can't recall a season where so many passes have been issued day after day. Eight 10-15-18 or 20 have been on the menu. Teams get 13 hits and 20 runs. They get 8 hits and 11 runs. There isn't any reason why a big league pitcher shouldn't be able to get a pitch across the plate at least a reasonable number of times. But It is nothing to see some pitcher open up any given Inning by filling the bases on passes. Pitchers will tell you that if they give the baiter a good ball to hit, he'll probably hammer It out of the lot. But isn't it better to have him do that with nobody on than to fill the bases first and then hand the batter a grand slammer? I do not remember another season that has ever yielded so many grand slammers, a home run with three on, as 1949 has offered with the campaign only a quarter over. Lack of control has also been responsible for so many home runs. The pitcher rapidly works himself into a hole and then has to split the plate. At least he has to try. The order of march today is to first fill the bases or walk at least two men. After this the home-run ball, squarely over the middle with little on it, is served up. |