Foreigners First

SWAPS TO STUD

No report of California racing doings would be complete without a word or two on the recovery of Swaps, who came so very close to death following a double linear fracture of his left hind leg last fall. Swaps, at the moment, is back at home on the Ellsworth Ranch at Chino. He is being ponied (a riderless jog accompanied by a pony) between a mile and a half and two miles a day and is, says his trainer, Mish Tenney, "slightly spoiled but very cheerful." The plans for him call for a limited breeding season in 1957—his book has not been announced but will probably include several of the good mares purchased from the Aga Khan last year.

Naturally there is considerable interest in whether or not Swaps is to return to the races. "Well, I'll say this," commented Tenney. "We don't know if he will come back, but I'm convinced he would be capable of coming back. If this was the case, however, he wouldn't return to action until 1958. It ordinarily takes about 90 days to get a horse back in racing form, but with Swaps it might take four to five months. In any case, no decision will be made until we see what results he has at stud. One thing about this horse. It is native with him to be clever and he does everything very neatly."

This comment set me to wondering if Tenney was reneging slightly on his widely quoted comment of two years ago to the effect that horses have no intelligence whatsoever. "That's not so," replied Mish. "I said a horse is a dumb brute, I still think a horse is a dumb brute, but Swaps is a clever dumb brute."