Horse of the Year

There were only five horses in the race and Cornelius Vanderbilt ("Sonny") Whitney's Equipoise, the 1 to 5 favorite, had beaten most of them before. So there was not a great deal of betting on the Hawthorne Gold Cup Race at Cicero, Ill.., last week. Nonetheless, because victory would make Equipoise the fourth largest money-winning horse in the U. S. track history, the crowd at Hawthorne--which has failed to attract its share of Chicago's visitors this summer because of Cicero's unsavory Capone reputation--was larger than usual. At the post Equipoise, instead of fidgeting as he used to do two years ago, waited calmly for the barrier to go up. Mr. Khayyam broke fast, got off to a length's lead, with Gallant Sir a length behind and Equipoise running a confident third. Down the stretch, around the turn, down the back stretch, into the far turn the first three horses ran in the same positions. Then, on the far turn, something unexpected happened. Mr. Khayyam swung wide at the turn. Big Brand, an outsider, came up from fourth place along the rail. Gallant Sir, to pass Mr. Khayyam, had to swing out to the middle of the track, and Equipoise at his shoulder and trying to pass him at the same time, had to swing out even further. For a moment, it looked as though the two horses were glued together: as though by shouldering Equipoise, Gallant Sir might throw him off stride and keep his half-length lead. While the crowd roared at the rail, Equipoise got back to his stride, drew even, then ahead two full lengths at the wire.

As a two-year-old, Equipoise, sired by Pennant out of Swinging, was a scrawny, excitable horse, brilliant but undependable. He threw his jockey, Sonny Workman, who rode him last week, in his first start. He fell in the Pimlico Futurity. The next season, after being a winter book favorite for the Kentucky Derby, he ran badly in the Preakness, developed a blind quarter crack (hidden bruise) that made it look as though he might never run again. Last year, heavier (1,080 lb.), more composed, he lived up to his promise by winning ten of his 14 starts, setting a world's record for a circular mile race of 1:34 2/3. This year he has won all six of his races. The $17,230 he won last week made his total winnings $314,420--only less than Sun Beau's $376,744. Phar Lap's $332,250, Gallant Fox's $328,165. Two more races this season will give him a good chance to pass all but Sun Beau before he is retired for the winter. Grown docile, almost sleepy in demeanor, Equipoise gets a dinner of carrots before a race. On other days he is satisfied with ten quarts of oats, unlike gluttonous Man o' War, who had to wear a muzzle to prevent him from nibbling sticks between meals. Jockey Workman finds riding him "as easy as sitting in an arm chair." Sonny Whitnev's small daughter Nancy considers Equipoise her own horse.

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