Guardians of Grail

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A Victory For your loved ones Of Mann
They descended out of the boxes at Arlington Park racetrack, an excited and talkative little throng of folks, all flushed. They pressed through the fans in the rail in noisy yet rather efficient fashion-not unlike schoolchildren inside a fire drill-to crowd within the winner's circle. They were visibly proud and pretty puffed up, yet just a little stiff and bashful, too, unaccustomed as a number of them were to glory. But they kept arriving within the winner's circle until it was pretty much filled with them-perhaps two dozen in most, cousins and in-laws and children and grandchildren and old-fashioned chums along with a family doctor and certain other shirttail relations. This was the family of Mann-John L. Mann of Dallas-here assembled to pose radiantly for pictures, to receive congratulations and certain other more material rewards for the remarkable performance of the one-horse racing stable. "We may have just one," said John Mann, "but isn't he only the one!" Indeed he was,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], for last week the Mann family's pride-a strong and handsome 2-year-old bay named Staunch Avenger, who had been bought at a budget price-went towards the starting gate for that fourth amount of time in his life and came home a success for that fourth time.
They descended out of the boxes at Arlington Park racetrack, a fired up and talkative little throng of folks, all flushed. They pressed with the fans in the rail in noisy yet rather efficient fashion-not unlike schoolchildren inside a fire drill-to crowd inside the winner's circle. They were visibly proud and pretty fat, yet just a little stiff and bashful, too, unaccustomed as a number of them were to glory. However they kept arriving within the winner's circle until it was more or less overflowing with them-perhaps two dozen in most, cousins and in-laws and children and grandchildren and old-fashioned chums along with a doctor and certain other shirttail relations. It was the family of Mann-John L. Mann of Dallas-here assembled to pose radiantly for pictures,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], to receive congratulations and certain other more material rewards for the remarkable performance of the one-horse racing stable. "We may have just one," said John Mann, "but isn't he just the one!" Indeed he was,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], for a week ago the Mann family's pride-a strong and handsome 2-year-old bay named Staunch Avenger, who had been purchased at a budget price-went to the starting gate for the fourth amount of time in his life and came home a success for that fourth time.
The occasion was the 15th running from the $53,400 Arch Ward stakes at gaudy old Arlington outside Chicago,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], where Staunch Avenger has been the talk of the track this year. In the first start there 8 weeks ago the colt won with a widening 12 lengths,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], breaking the history. After his second start, which he won by four lengths, the Mann family's trainer,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], a laconic little Texan using the nicely distilled name of Gin Collins, decided the colt was ready for that $135,000 Sapling Stakes at Monmouth Park in Nj. Staunch Avenger won that by four lengths, pulling away from an elegant field of 13, including six young stakes winners. The Manns quite obviously owned one of the best 2-year-olds in the country.
Thus in the Arch Ward their colt was the resounding favorite, going off at 3 to 10. The field was considered quite hopelessly mediocre when compared to lot Staunch Avenger had conquered within the Sapling. Nevertheless,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], it required an excellent ride by Jockey Dave Whited as well as an impressive display of homestretch heart for Staunch Avenger to win-by a photo-finish neck-over Turn it on, a good horse who had already won two stakes himself this season. With the win Staunch Avenger added $30,900 to his earlier earnings, giving him an extremely staggering accumulation of $117,647 in winnings over those scant four starts.
The colt's sudden success has startled the Manns. "We thought this kind of thing might happen to other people," says Annette Mann, 47, mother of 4, grandmother of 5 and the owner of record of Staunch Avenger. "But my wildest dreams never contained this type of horse as ol' Staunch originates to be." Indeed, as John Mann, son of a Texas cotton farmer and today head of an aircraft-parts company in Dallas,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], puts it: "You know it's a real rarity when little people like us get themselves a great horse, because mostly this sport's controlled by big bucks. We liked cheap horses, and we i never thought to rise above that mark."
The Manns approached the activity of kings with quite genuine common desires. Eight years back they journeyed from Dallas to Hot Springs, Ark. to look at their first horse race. "We thought it was highly entertaining,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," says Mr. Mann. "But we also felt it would be even more fun to ascertain if we had a horse in our own to cheer, so a year later we transpired to Frisco, Texas, where some friends had horses and we bought our first, Trinity River, for $2,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych],500." Since then the Manns have dabbled in horse racing within an almost wholly recreational way. So far they've never owned a horse that may return much better than $1,000 purses, and often they found themselves so awash in family affection for his or her animals which more than once John Mann quietly put up money to maintain his horses from being claimed because a distraught daughter did not want one of her beloved "pets" sold to strangers.
The joy of thoroughbred ownership was a minimum of emotionally (if not financially) fulfilling, and also the Manns continued to buy then sell a few horses in some places. Within the fall of 1969 they gave Gin Collins a "blank check" (not really-for they did not desire to exceed $15,000) to visit the Keeneland,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Ky. sales to buy a yearling. Now Gin Collins' reputation as a trainer perhaps does not rank with men like Allen Jerkens or Elliott Burch, but he has were built with a number of good horses in his keep,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], including Battleground and Swift Ruler. In quest of 1 for the Manns he hoped to buy something with Bold Ruler bloodlines, and thus whenever a colt came up for sale whose sire was Staunchness, a son of Bold Ruler,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], Gin Collins put in his bid. Now,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], as fate might say, this horse was fresh from pasture, and that he was a bit raggedy looking and lean in contrast to the other sleek and well-fattened horses delivered to auction. "Since he wasn't fattened up,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," said Collins, "he didn't seem to attract other buyers so much." He cost only $7,700.
The Manns are not superstitious people. (The only real ritual any of them follows for luck before all of Staunch Avenger's races is the fact that son John,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], 25, always wears a pair of gold undershorts.) Yet they do find themselves hard put to ignore at least the hint of predestined fortune in their relationship with Staunch Avenger. "You see, he's got this pinkish marking on his nose,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych]," says John Mann,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and there is a small tremor of wonder in the voice. "And should you look at it inverted it's shaped an awful lot like the state of Texas. Well, we're from Texas,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], and thus is Gin and so is Dave Whited, our jockey. I don't know if that means there exists a lot opting for us or otherwise, but I'd take it as favorable rather than unfavorable, wouldn't you?"
Perhaps the colt is marked for greatness. Time will inform. "He's the fastest I've ever ridden," said Whited, "and I have been on some fast horses. Yet he isn't speed crazy-he doesn't mind reducing the pace. And also you never saw a horse so easygoing-he's just like a big old cow when he's not running. He drags his feet around and lolls along. He wears out his shoes three times as fast as your average horse. He's got the personality to become one of the best, because he's not washy and he isn't wild."
Gin Collins, someone and profoundly cautious man, has been extremely conservative in bringing Staunch Avenger along. Rather than entering him at the begining of Arkansas races last spring, he waited until summer for that debut.
Collins is noncommittal about Staunch Avenger's future-both near and far-off. There's talk about bringing him to the East again for that futurities at Belmont and Pimlico this fall. And, obviously,[link widoczny dla zalogowanych], there's some talk, early although it is, about Staunch Avenger as a 3-year-old competing within the Triple Crown races. "You just cannot own a horse such as this without thinking about the Kentucky Derby," says Mrs. Mann. "I mean, that is what it's all intended to be for, is it not?"
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