King of Calumet

"It's too bad," grumped Trainer Jimmy Jones. "Why couldn't a fellow have these two horses in separate years?" The two wonder horses--Citation and Coaltown--were the same age (3), had the same daddy (Bull Lea) and the same owner (Calumet Farm). Apparently, each was the other's only competition: it seemed a sheer waste of horsepower to put both of them on the same race track.

Last week the Jones boys (Jimmy and father Ben) were spreading their horsepower around a bit. Jimmy took Citation down to Camden, N.J., to run in the $50,000-added Jersey Stakes. Father Ben was back at Belmont Park saddling Coaltown in the $25,000-added Withers Stakes.

The Goose. Coaltown was a horse the horseplayers really loved. A walnut-brown with a pert personality, he had been beaten only once (by Citation in the Kentucky Derby). His admirers were certain that it could never happen again. Because he ran with his head cocked on one side, his long neck outstretched, they called him "The Goose." At the post, his odds were 1 to 7.

He broke like a shot and led into the stretch. Then 41,877 fans saw a sight they had trouble believing. Instead of pulling away, Coaltown was staggering. Vulcan's Forge caught up and passed him. A stunned audience had to wait for a photograph to make sure The Goose had finished even as well as second.

The Gangbuster. It was a different story at Camden. Jockey Eddie Arcaro (TIME, May 17), who came down to ride, said of Citation: "It's fun. I didn't have much confidence in him the day he won the Derby. Now I play a little game--I let those other horses sneak up pretty close, then I cluck to him. Wow! You can feel the power. What a gangbuster!"

As a gangbuster, Citation is an unspectacular mahogany bay. When he moves from behind, he seems to draw a bead on the pacemaker and the power is turned on slowly. When Citation sets the pace (he runs just as well that way), he looks lethargic and uninterested. Once he gets in front, the jockey has to keep reminding him that he is in a horse race. With the odds 1 to 10, Arcaro played his little game again with Citation, to the delight of the fans. He let other horses sneak up on him, then clucked. The gangbuster won by ten lengths--clipping if seconds off Garden State's mediocre mile-and-a-quarter track record.

If there had been any real question about which horse was king of Calumet, the question was answered. There had never been any doubt in the mind of wise old Ben Jones. Says he: "Unless he has a bad break, I believe you may see the greatest horse of all time before Citation is through."

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