Look Back: Tom Fool All Business in 1953 Met Mile

In conjunction with Tom Hall's Throwback Thursday features in BloodHorse Daily, BloodHorse.com each Thursday will present corresponding race stories from the pages of the magazine. 

This week is a column that included the headline, "A Low Curtsy for Tom Fool," written by George F. T. Ryall followed by a stakes report of the 1953 Metropolitan Handicap won by Tom Fool. Both stories ran in the May 30, 1953 issue of The Blood-Horse.

Frankly, I can't remember when I've seen a horse so well turned out as the Greentree Stable's Tom Fool was for the Joe H. Palmer Handicap at Belmont Park last week. Also, I've seen few smarter performances this season, for although he carried 130 pounds and gave big weight to everything, he simply toyed with what might loosely be called his opposition and won by a length and a half from Tea-Maker, to which he gave 16 pounds, in 1:11 3/5 for six furlongs. 

As was expected, he had a harder time winning the Metropolitan Handicap on Saturday from Mrs. Esther du Pont Weir's *Royal Vale, but he's still the top horse in my book—and I fancy in Handicapper Jack Campbell's, too.

Thanks to the wonders of television, I caught the Metropolitan at Pimlico while waiting for the Preakness, and, though *Royal Vale made a good try, I was confident all the while that Tom Fool would come through beautifully. Which he did.

While we're on the subject of television, this brings up an interesting situation. Duval Headley, who bred Tom Fool and sold him to the Greentree Stable, has seen Tom Fool in action only twice, and the colt was beaten both times. Naturally, he wondered if he wasn't a jinx, and when I met him at Pimlico last Saturday he was trying to make up his mind as to whether hoodoos rode the wavelengths. He decided to take a chance. From now on he's going to watch Tom Fool run whenever his races are broadcast.

Getting back to Tom Fool, however, he should be done by some top-notch sculptor, and the statue offered as a trophy for some important race instead of some of the silver cups one sees around.

METROPOLITAN HANDICAP, Belmont Park, May 23, $30,000 added, 3-year-olds and upward, one mile. Time 1:35 4/5, track good. Stakes division, $25,800, $6,000 $3,000, $1,500.

TOM FOOL, 130 (Greentree Stable)_______________________________________________________1

*ROYAL VALE, 127, h., 5, Kingsway--Cora Deans, by Coronach (Mrs. Esther du Pont 

Weir)________________________________________________________________________________2

INTENT, 125, h., 5, War Relic--Liz F., by Bubbling Over (Brookfield Farm)__________3

  Margins: 1/2; 81/2; 11/2. Others, Cold Command 117, Rae's Reward 105, Count Turf 109, Mr. Turf 103, J. J. Amiel entry, Count Turf and Mr. Turf. Winning jockey, Ted Atkinson.

Tom Fool, champion 2-year-old of 1951 and a contender for handicap honors this year, got his third win in three starts this year in Belmont Park's Metropolitan Handicap. 

The son of Menow took the lead from Mr. Turf after the first four furlongs and stayed in front to the end of the Metropolitan mile. *Royal Vale closed strongly to be only a half-length behind at the wire. Intent, which finished third, kept just off the pace during the early running, and was carried out as Tom Fool ran wide at the stretch turn. Intent, however, could not keep up as the first two drove to a finish more than eight lengths in front. 

Only three other horses have won the Metropolitan with as much weight as Tom Fool's 130 pounds. By the scale he was giving four pounds to *Royal Vale and six to Intent, both 5-year-olds.

Foaled on Duval Headley's Manchester Farm, Lexington, Tom Fool was sold privately as a yearling of 1950 to Greentree Stable. After winning the Futurity, the Sanford, the Grand Union Hotel, and the East View Stakes at 2, he was put at the top of the Experimental Free Handicap with 126 pounds. Bothered by a cough during his 3-year-old season, he still managed to win the Wilson Stakes, the Grey Lag, the Empire City, and the Jerome Handicaps. He was second in the Wood Memorial, the Roamer, and the Westchester Handicaps; and was third in the Travers Stakes.

On March 9, Gaga produced a sister to Tom Fool and was returned to Menow. One of the 27 stakes winners by Menow, which stands at Hal Price Headley's Beaumont Farm, Lexington, Tom Fool is the second for his sire this year. The other is King Pin.