HANDICAP PERFECTION

(This is the second of a five part series.)

PART TWO: A GOOD YEAR, A TOUGH YEAR

In 1938, Tom Fool’s sire, Menow, had been the top horse on John B. Campbell’s Experimental Free Handicap of incoming three-year-olds.  In 1952, Campbell’s list named 128 sophomores, including several fillies, with Rose Jet the top runner among her gender at 115, and fifteenth overall. The leader of the entire crop was Tom Fool, with an assignment of 126 pounds, three more than Hopeful Stakes winner Cousin, Oh Leo, and Primate. Hill Gail, a four length winner over Tom Fool in the previous year’s Anticipation Purse, shared 122 pounds with Armageddon; next was Jet Master, under 121, followed by Jet’s Date at 120, and Hannibal at 119. Put Out and The Pimpernal rounded the top ten under 118.

Return engagement

Tom Fool vacationed in South Carolina, and didn’t make his three-year-old debut until April 7, 1952 in a six furlong allowance at Jamaica, worth $10,000. Cousin and Primate would also make their sophomore debuts in the race. Two other entries were Everglades winner One Throw, owned by Ogden Phipps, and juvenile stakes winner Master Fiddle. Armageddon, a bay colt who was  blind, or going so, in one eye, and enduring a four race drought, was in. Tom Fool and Cousin carried 120 and the others 117.

The close outcome was deceptive. Tom Fool, favored by many of the 27,000 spectators, took the lead early and easily maintained his advantage as Primate made a brief challenge turning for home. Cousin, who trailed at the start, also rallied well, and these three finished close together with Tom Fool a neck ahead of Primate, who edged Cousin by the same margin. Another two lengths back was Armageddon. Running with reserve, the winner’s time was an uneventful 1:12 1/5, and he pocketed $6,500. With the Kentucky Derby less than a month away, Tom Fool had enhanced his reputation as the leader of the division, and would run back in twelve days in the Wood Memorial Stakes.

The prep

In 1925, the inaugural winner of the Wood Memorial Stakes, called simply the Wood Stakes in its first two years, was a chestnut gelding son of Whisk Broom II, named Backbone. It was run at Jamaica Race Track, where it continued until 1959.  The race began as a one mile, seventy yard affair, and was lengthened to 1 1/16 miles in 1940. Gallant Fox, in 1930, Count Fleet, in 1943, and Assault, in 1946, all won the race before sweeping the American Triple Crown. There would be one other Wood Memorial/Triple Crown winner in 1977, when Seattle Slew achieved enduring fame as an undefeated horse. Four years before Slew, and to everyone’s bewilderment, racing’s greatest horse of the latter century, Secretariat, finished third in the Wood, four lengths back of the winner, only to have an abscess in his mouth later discovered. The Wood Memorial continues to be one of racing’s major Derby prep races and final stops on the way to Churchill Downs.

The players

In 1952, Tom Fool and his peers would be the first class to negotiate the Wood Memorial at 1 1/8 miles, which in the ensuing years has remain unchanged. If everybody showed up, the starting gate would have fourteen three-year-olds, all nominated to the Derby, with Tom Fool, Cousin, and Primate taking most of the betting action. Other runners were Master Fiddle, a grey/roan son of multiple stakes winning /placed First Fiddle out of the Sir Gallahad (Fr.) mare Marsh Marigold, and a runner-up in a division of the Experimental Handicap at 1 1/16 miles. He hadn’t won since a stakes score the previous year, and thus far in 1952,  had dropped six races. Other entries were Jambol, Orco, and Count Flame, the latter a son of Count Fleet, and stablemate of Master Fiddle. Count Flame was out of the mare Morning, by champion American Flag, by Man o'War. Hannibal, who had won the six furlong Experimental, was entered, as was Armageddon, and Florida Derby winner Sky Ship.

Several of the horses had already run the distance, but only two had carried the 126 pound assignment, required in the upcoming classics. Tom Fool, who still needed to answer both questions, worked six furlongs a few days before the contest and appeared ready.

The drama

When the gate opened for the 28^th renewal of the Wood Memorial Stakes, Tom Fool quickly went into the lead but was passed by the longshot, Pintor, going around the clubhouse turn, with a quarter in :23 4/5 and the half in :48. The two maintained their positions through the back stretch, and left the far turn with six furlongs in 1:12 and a mile in 1:38 3/5.  Heading down the stretch, Tom Fool saved ground on the inside and eventually regained his lead, and with less than a furlong to run, it looked like he was home free. Master Fiddle, barely uttering a peep during much of the race, was now rallying under Dave Gorman down the middle of the track. He caught Tom Fool just yards before the wire, crossing over by a neck. Tom Fool, after a game effort, finished second, a half-length ahead of Pintor, who in turn finished with a half-length advantage over Hannibal, who was followed by Count Flame. Cousin and Primate checked in eighth and eleventh respectively. Master Fiddle finished the race in 1:52 2/5, well off the track mark, and collected $45,200 of the $63,300 purse. Tom Fool cashed $10,000.

Gorman had been the principle jockey in 1951 on the Count Fleet chestnut colt Counterpoint, who finished eleventh in the Derby when Master Fiddle’s trainer, Sol Rutchick, had sent out another Count Fleet runner, Count Turf, to pick up the roses. Counterpoint went on however to be named Horse of the Year.  Rutchick now had Master Fiddle, in addition to Count Flame, headed to Louisville.

Under the weather

Tom Fool’s loss in the Wood Memorial wasn’t the worst of it. It had been a tough race on him, going a distance he had not covered before. Two days later the colt spiked a temperature of 102, and developed a cough, prompting Gaver to declare him out of the Derby. Two other defections were Primate, who sustained a gash in his leg after the break, and Jambol with a cut to his mouth. It was possible that with a satisfactory recovery Tom Fool could make the Preakness. As it turned out, he missed the Preakness and also the Belmont Stakes, and wouldn't race again until late June; thus, his career had taken a detour, after his illness denied him participation in the most glorious events in American racing. During his absence, Hill Gail won the Derby, Jambol returned to annex the Preakness Stakes, and One Count, also sired by Count Fleet, took the Belmont Stakes.

Tough return

Tom Fool returned on June 26, at Aqueduct, in the six furlong Rippey Handicap. Despite not racing for more than two months, his 126 pound assignment gave an allowance of six to twenty-four pounds to seven other runners. After the break Giorgetti and True Pattern vied for the lead until they entered the stretch. Tom Fool, who had sat mid-pack, advanced but couldn’t come to terms with Hitex, one position ahead of him, and a fitter horse after six previous starts on the year. Hitex was also carrying six fewer pounds. Atkinson went to his whip, but Tom Fool was unable to reach the new leader who prevailed by a head at the wire. Tom Fool crossed next, and two lengths back in third was Duke Fanelli, under a feathery 102 pounds.

Once, but only once

Perhaps still lacking fitness and full strength, on July 14 Tom Fool finished fourth of five starters in a seven furlong allowance at Arlington Park, called the Tazwell Purse worth $6,000.  It was the only time in his career that he finished lower than third.

A busy horse

Tom Fool had many races ahead in 1952. Approximately three weeks after Arlington Park, the colt returned to Saratoga for his next three starts, beginning with the one mile Wilson Stakes on August 5. The surface was sloppy. He had not been at his best under these conditions but having already been pulled from the Arlington Classic due to an off-track, he either had to race or work, and Gaver decided to test him against older horses. He would carry only 106 pounds, and one of his stablemates, four-year-old Northern Star, who had experienced success over wet tracks, was entered with him, under high weight of 120. Tom Fool was the only three-year-old in the mix, and would meet four-year-old Colony Date, under 114, and the previous year’s Pimlico Special winner, Bryan G, a five-year-old, assigned 117. When the jig was up, Tom Fool had scampered away by four and a half lengths. Northern Star, who got the ball rolling, was challenged in the back stretch by Bryan G, as Tom Fool stayed well behind. Northern Star put more than two lengths on the field coming out of the turn, but Tom Fool started to rally in the stretch, keeping near the rail. He passed the leader with plenty to spare, galloped freely to the finish in a pedestrian 1:39 2/5, and collected his second sophomore win and $11,000.

Six days later Tom Fool started in a 1 1/8 mile allowance. The Saratoga track was now listed “slow” and in the process of drying out was more demanding than it had been in the Wilson. After winning on a similar surface, Tom Fool was made less than even odds among the bettors, going off at 4-5. Seven horses started the race, with six of them preparing for the 1 ¼ mile Travers Stakes on August 16. Among the entries was Count Flame, who had recently logged a stakes victory.

During the race, Tom Fool sat in second, close to the early leader, Golden Gloves, and went ahead approaching home. Count Flame, in fourth, was now advancing to his outside. Tom Fool tried to maintain his advantage but was unable to keep the new threat contained, and at the wire, Count Flame had him measured by a nose. Another half-length back in third was Golden Gloves.

Travers Stakes

Tom Fool, on only five days rest, would now attempt 1 ¼ miles in the 83^rd running of the Travers Stakes, and the Saratoga strip was still off, having gone from sloppy in the Wilson, to slow in the allowance, and now back to sloppy again. Rain had deluged the area and reappeared intermittently throughout the day, but didn’t deter more than 22,000 fans. Ten three-year-olds were slated to go but Quiet Step decided to skip it, leaving nine including One Count. The Belmont winner had been laid up with a foot bruise but had since demonstrated good form in workouts. Riding him was Eric Guerin. Two races earlier Guerin piloted a big, juvenile grey colt named Native Dancer to his fourth win without a defeat, in the six furlong Saratoga Special.

One Count and Tom Fool would break next to each other in posts three and four respectively. Armageddon won the Withers over One Count, and also captured the Peter Pan Stakes, and parked himself a few doors down. Count Flame returned to try and make it two in a row against Tom Fool.

When the gates opened Tom Fool quickly took the lead under Atkinson and maintained it swinging out of the far turn. He weakened in the stretch and the stalkers, One Count and Armageddon, ran him down. One Count, saving more ground near the rail, arrived first followed by Armageddon, three lengths behind. Another length back in third was Tom Fool, who measured Flaming Prince by a half-length. Count Flame, after settling in third throughout most of the race, ultimately faltered and finished sixth. Owned by Mrs. Walter Jeffords, One Count collected $16,450 of the $20,000 added purse. For his third place effort, Tom Fool picked up $2,000, and would head back to Belmont Park .

Jerome, Sysonby, Roamer

It was now mid-September, but Tom Fool still had plenty to do.  In the one mile Jerome Handicap, on September 17, he would face Calumet Farm’s Mark-Ye-Well, a Bull Lea standout, who had already posted six wins in eight starts, including victories in the Arlington Classic and American Derby. He took favoritism, followed by Tom Fool and Armageddon. Mark-Ye-Well was also asked to carry 130 pounds, giving a generous allowance of ten pounds to Tom Fool; however, Mark-Ye-Well would have “the Master,” Eddie Arcaro, on his back.

Despite Arcaro’s lofty reputation and success, he and Mark-Ye-Well were no match for the resurgence of Tom Fool, who after three straight races on an off-track, finally got the fast surface he relished. Before approximately 20,000 spectators, Tom Fool romped home by seven lengths, with Golden Gate Derby winner Marcador just edging out Mark-Ye-Well by a neck for second. Atkinson had kept Tom Fool in proximity to the early leader, Quiet Step, before taking over the leadership coming out of the far turn. Mark-Ye-Well was stationed in third but when the real running started, he didn’t change gears.Tom Fool kept going, covering the mile in 1:37, and earning $17,000 of the $20,000 purse.

Tom Fool raced again less than two weeks later in the one mile Sysonby Handicap tackling older horses in a field of eight, which included Argentinian-bred Miche, the horse who snapped Citation’s sixteen-race winning streak in 1950. Unfortunately Miche would leave the track lame after finishing last. As the race unfolded, Tom Fool stayed back in third while Cyclotron and Greek Ship set the pace. Finally, in the straight for home, the Menow colt breezed to the front, keeping four-year-old Alerted at bay by one and a quarter lengths in a nice time of 1:36 4/5.  His performance was even more remarkable with the 126 pound load he carried, way over scale, and giving his elders, in second and third, actual weight of eight pounds each.

Tom Fool would make his remaining four starts of 1952 at Jamaica, beginning with the 1 3/16 mile Roamer Handicap, worth $47,100, on October 11. With his impressive wins in the Wilson, Jerome, and Sysonby, his reputation was on the move again, but the Roamer wouldn’t be a walk in the park. He’d carry 126 pounds over a distance that was just a half furlong short of the classic 1 ¼ mile real estate. Tom Fool would have to concede twelve to twenty-eight pounds to eight opponents, including Brush Burn, winner of the 1 1/8 mile Turf Club Handicap at Laurel the previous week, and Saranac Handicap winner Golden Gloves. Marcador, second to Tom Fool in the Jerome, would also run.

When the gates opened Quiet Step jumped ahead and set a brisk pace, maintaining his position around the clubhouse turn and down the back stretch as Marcador advanced into second. At the far turn, Marcador slipped briefly ahead but Quiet Step regained his leadership role entering the stretch. Tom Fool, who had been back in fifth, began to rally, advancing closer, but he was giving fifteen pounds, and at the finish Quiet Step was in front by two lengths, with Tom Fool a length ahead of late charging Risque Rogue, under a feathery 105. After fractions of :23 1/5, :47 2/5, 1:11, and 1:36 1/5, the final clocking was a speedy 1:55 4/5, very close to the track mark. Quiet Step cashed $32,600, Tom Fool $8,000, and the two horses would meet again one week later.

Tom Fool’s next two races were Jamaica’s Grey Lag and Westchester Handicaps, both at 1 1/8 miles. He would meet an opponent who spent his career flirting with greatness, and one whom Tom Fool would likely never forget.

Battlefield

Whoever named this horse certainly got it right. Bred in Kentucky by John A. Bell, Jr., George Widener’s Battlefield was a Two-Year-Old Male Champion in 1950.  A chestnut colt, sired by War Relic, Battlefield was a paternal grandson of Man o’War, and his broodmare sire, Preakness Stakes winner Display, was also a son of Fair Play, making Battlefield inbred 3Sx3D to Man o’War’s sire. It is unknown to this writer what Battlefield’s temperament was, but he was inbred 4SX4D to Hastings, Man o'War's paternal grandsire, and one of the meanest horses on record. Battlefield also had a strong connection to English Triple Crown winner Rock Sand (GB), through Man o’War’s dam Mahubah, a daughter of Rock Sand and again through War Relic’s dam, Friar Carse, a paternal granddaughter of Rock Sand, through her sire Friar Rock.

Conditioned by Bert Mulholland, Battlefield started his career with four consecutive victories at age two. He had won or placed in several key stakes races, and among his many victories were the Youthful (Div 2), Tremont, Sapling, Saratoga Special, Hopeful, Belmont’s Futurity, Withers, Dwyer, Travers, and New York Handicap.  He must have enjoyed giving his connections near heart failure because in his entire career, Battlefield’s biggest winning margin was two lengths, achieved in the third start of his juvenile season; and before meeting Tom Fool, he had either won or finished second by a head or nose seven times. Perhaps the Hastings blood gave Battlefield the tenacity and grit he possessed on the racetrack. Any racer who encountered him had to be ready for a fight, because under no circumstances was Battlefield backing down. He did not win all of them but he often came very close and his rivals had to earn every speck of dirt to win.

Throwing it down

Eleven went to the post for the $50,000 added Grey Lag Handicap, in front of more than 37,000 spectators. Tom Fool, the favorite under 119 pounds, was sharp out of post ten, while Golden Gloves had early dash for a half-mile. As the frontrunner started to fade, Tom Fool went ahead into the far turn. Battlefield, carrying 118, with jockey Albert Schmidl in the irons, and out of post three, was close to the pace in third, before advancing on the final turn to engage Tom Fool, and both horses threw the gauntlet down. After fractions of  :23 1/5, :47 1/5, and a six furlong split in 1:11, the two dueled furiously in the stretch, screeching a mile in 1:35 4/5. When they were done exchanging blows, both still standing at the wire, the decision went to Tom Fool by a nose, in a stakes record time of 1:49 2/5, and with it a nice $42,200 paycheck. Battlefield received $10,000 for his gallant effort. Also of merit was Alerted, under the high weight of 121, who after being a half dozen lengths back at the half mile, roared home only a neck behind the runner-up, to the tune of $5,000. Just over a length back in fourth was the game five-year-old Oil Capitol, who was rewarded with $2,500.

De’ja’-vu

Two weeks later, 35,000 people came out to see Tom Fool and Battlefield go at it again in the Westchester, with a $56,400 purse. The two horses were among a field of nine, including Alerted and Oil Capitol. In the weight-for-age contest, Tom Fool, well over scale, and sharing actual high weight with Alerted of 125 pounds, broke from post three, while Battlefield, under 123, left post seven. Oil Capitol, coupled with Ruhe, got in with 112.

Off they went with Hull Down doing the early bidding, while maintaining his position around the clubhouse turn and into the back stretch. Tom Fool was next, near the rail, and Battlefield, under Schmidl, closely followed these two, while in a good spot on the outside. As they reached the far turn, Hull Down called it an afternoon, leaving Battlefield to assume responsibility. Tom Fool, still inside, was impeded, forcing Atkinson to check. As he turned into the stretch Atkinson steered him out on the track, giving him running room. Tom Fool moved steadily closer but the son of War Relic was just out of reach and hit the finish, a nose in front. Tom Fool, finishing second, was a length ahead of a contending Alerted, who was one and a quarter lengths to the good of Oil Capitol. After way station clockings of :24 1/5, :48 4/5, 1:13, and 1:37 4/5, the 1 1/8 mile affair stopped at 1:50 1/5. Battlefield earned $38,350, Tom Fool $10,000, Alerted $5,000, and Oil Capitol $2,500.

Tom Fool and Battlefield never met again. Battlefield returned in 1953, as a five-year-old, made seven starts, which included four handicaps, and never finished lower than third, while racing from six furlongs to 1 ¼ miles. In the three races he won, his longest winning margin was a neck. He finished second three times, falling short of the winner each time by a neck. He ended up third in the 1 ¼ mile Widener Handicap, when Oil Capitol won by a head over Alerted, who was a mere head in front of Battlefield.  Although he was never a genuine weight carrier by that era's standards, Battlefield did carry 126 pounds twelve times, with the lowest weights he was ever assigned, a 117 pound load in his second juvenile start, and the 118, when he first met Tom Fool. When Battlefield retired, he had a resume of 44 starts, 22 wins, 14 seconds, 2 thirds, and $474,727 in earnings. Battlefield was a warrior par excellence.

One more for the road

One week later, Tom Fool returned in the 1 3/16 mile Empire City Handicap, worth $55,700.  As the seeds of greatness were starting to sprout, the colt once again demonstrated what was inside him. Carrying 128 pounds, he gave seven other three-year-olds seven to twenty-three pounds.

Leaving post four, Tom Fool took command, and repelled a challenge by Armageddon around the first turn. He was then dogged by Marador, under 109, in the stretch. Marcador’s jockey, Headley Woodhouse, and Atkinson on Tom Fool urged their mounts on, and hitting the wire, it was Tom Fool prevailing by a head in a time of 1:58. He picked up $37, 650. Brookmeade stable’s brown Bull Lea colt, Roaring Bull, under 105, had stayed close to the pace but was no match for the first two, and finished third, two lengths behind Marcador.

Tom Fool had run his last race of 1952. For the year he had recorded thirteen starts, eight of these in stakes, for 6 wins, 5 seconds, 1 third, and $157,850 in earnings to boast a two-year total of $313,810.  He returned to South Carolina for a winter break, with the tentative plan to begin his four-year-old campaign in April at Jamaica.

Closing in on greatness

Tom Fool had defeated older horses three times, while giving them weight on two occasions. He had shown strong character, resolve, and courage, despite being weakened by illness and missing America's biggest races; and as his season progressed, he gave signs of the greatness ready to surface. Had he been able to participate in the Triple Crown, it might have meant the difference between a truly stellar season and the season it actually was: a very good one, which showcased a superstar waiting to happen. As the son of Menow-Gaga departed for a long, deserved break, he did so without another championship. Instead, he saw One Count named Three-Year-Old Champion Male, and take a share of Horse of the Year (Daily Racing Form), along with the two-year-old sensation Native Dancer (Thoroughbred Racing Associations), who was also voted Two-Year-Old Champion Male.

If Tom Fool was not a great racehorse yet, he was as close as a horse could be without actually being one; but a new day and a different year were coming. In 1953, Tom Fool would conquer the racing world, and reach his place among the greats. 

To be continued…

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Copyright 2013 by John Califano