International Laurels

International horse races, like the weather, are something that people talk a lot about but seldom do anything practical about. In recent years, attempts to lure European and South American entries into big U.S. "specials" have proved a bust. The few whose owners took the $50-75-100,000 bait were either not good enough, or they ran far below their home form. Last week, at Maryland's Laurel Park, the job finally got done--in good, if not conclusive, style.

The first running of the 1 1/2-mile, $50,000 Washington International drew three first-class European horses--England's Zucchero and Wilwyn, Germany's Niederlander --and Indian Hemp, a Canadian-owned hopeful which had raced in England. The U.S. opposition, which might have been better, consisted of Brookmeade's handicap star, Greek Ship (ridden by Eddie Arcaro), Ruhe (third in the 1951 Kentucky Derby) and a favorite Maryland router named Pilaster. Although the distance and the turf course favored Zucchero (touted as "the greatest four-year-old in Europe") and Wilwyn (winner of ten straight), all three U.S. entries had good turf races to their credit, and Laurel's record crowd of 26,000 patriotically made them 1-2-3 choices.

The walkup start was European style, and so was the finish. The winner: 13-to-2 Wilwyn, a good-looking, four-year-old bay colt, ridden by English Jockey Manny Mercer. A length and a quarter behind. Ruhe closed fast to nip Zucchero, with Niederlander fourth. Greek Ship, the 6-5 favorite, was a faded sixth. Explained Arcaro: "The other horses just ran past us too fast."

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