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, — .!.... , DODGE HARDENING FAST IN TRAINING. Covers a Mile in 1:45 at Douglas Park Without Showing Any Distress from It, Louisville. Ky.. April 4. — So far the best work of this spring by any candidate in the Kentucky Derby is to the credit of Dodge, now in the training barn of his owner. J. K. Ward, at Douglas Park. In company with his stable companion Franklin, as pacemaker, the latter also being eligible to the Derby. Dodge worked a mile handily in 1:45. covering the first three-quarters in 1:16%. He was apparently going easily all the way and eased up at the end without showing the least signals of distress. The work seems to indicate that leoth he and his stable companion are much farther advanced in their preparation than many cithers of the locally-trained Derby eligible*. There is no reason to doubt that they will sure be fit to go the mile and a quarter of the Derby. In the mud at Churchill Downs trainer William Wallace let Rig Smoke go seven-eighths in 1:37%. The son of Duke of Ormonde did was was asked of him generously and cooled out superbly. He is now ready for a good mile, when track conditions are favorable. Trainer Albert Simons has Slipshod. H. P. Whitneys half-brother to Buskin, going right along in his Derby preparation and. no matter the condition of the track on the day of his regular work, the son of Rroomstick is put through his paces. The local turfman. C. F. Ruschemeyer. who owns Hawthorn, which he bought as a two-year-old in 1912. with the hope of winning the Kentucky Derby with him in 1913. thinks highly of Slipshod and is credited with having made trainer Simons, as representing Mr. Whitney, an offer of .0. MM for the gelding in the last few days. Simons had priced Slipshod at 0,000, it is said, but intimated to Mr. Ruschenieyer that Mr. Whitney might take 5,000, though his instructions had lieen to price Slipshod at the larger amount. A friend of Mr. Ruschemeyer stated yesterday that he believed the Louisville turfman would really pay 2.5 H for the son of Burgomaster, which is the price he paid for Hawthorn, as a two-year-old. Mr. Ruschemeyer is anxious to awn a horse that can either win or show well in the Kentucky Derby. In his opinion. Slipshod has a good chance in the Derby. There is no doubt that the half-brother to Raskin showed better as a two-year-old than he was expected to do on account of his size and all agree he has improved constantly since he first carried colors. His stake win last year was the Eastern Shore- Stakes at Havre de Grace, Md. In that race he- beat that extra good two-year-old King Neptune. Pesky and a big band of other starters. The opinion prevails that, in holding the gelding at 0,000. trainer Simons really does not care to sell him. until it is demonstrated that some other of the Whitney eligibles to the Derby are his superior. Mr. Ruschemeyer had quite a band of two-year-olds in training last year in the stable of J. C. Milam, hut none of them turned out good enough to be nominated to the event this year. He has set his heart on winning the Kentucky Derby and. believing that Slipshod has a good chance in the big race, he may finally conclude to increase his offer for the gelding and thus become the owner of another Derby candidate. Mr. Ruschemeyer will always think that, had he not been taken sick on the eve of the race. Hawthorn would have won the Kentucky Derby in 1913. The son of Hastings could not even start on account of his illness and that is the race which Donerail. a rank outsider won. and lowered the colors of Ten Point. Hawthorn was the winter and early spring favorite for the Derby that year and, though he has since won a number of races, his early spring sickness left him a wreck as far as being able to afterwards cover a considerable distance of ground. The famous old gelding was recently sent to Lexington by Mr. Ruschemeyer to train for racing again this year, he having been turned out here all winter. He is said to be looking better than ever and when he left here for the Milam training quarters at Lexington he weighed 1.375 pounds. The filly Julia L. is looking grandly in the training stable of J. Livingston and trainer H. R. Brandt does not hesitate in his talk of claiming her to be the winner of the Kentucky Oaks. She is also eligible to the Kentucky Derby, but will hardly start in that race unless all the other Livingston entries, which are colts and geldings, should go wrong in their training. Julia L. has not raced since her two-year-old form at Juarez, when she won four of her five starts and was only defeated in the mud. She now stands full fifteen hands, three inches high, covers a wonderful lot of ground in her bodily make-up and has. in fact, developed into one of the best looking three -year -old fillies ever in training here, comparing favorably in her appearance with Regret. Trainer Rrandt will give her as a preliminary race to the Kentucky Oaks, a start in the Ashland Oaks at Lexington and he is confident that no local filly of her age in training will prove her superior this year. At the Argyle Farm of W. F. Schulte. the former good race mare. Zienap, is now daily expected to drop her first foal and this colt or filly will be by the good horse Solar Star. Schulte says, that no matter if it is a filly instead of a colt, he expects to win with it the Kentucky Derby of 1919. Though Zienap won such events as the Lynbrook Stakes and Hunter Handicap, her biggest inoney winning in any race was her second in the Great Filly Stakes. She is one of the choicest bred race mares now in the stud. She comes from a family that raced with rare distinction for the late William Cottrell. and everything from it could run. One of its early winners was Ronaventure. which won the Ladies Stakes at Jerome Park in 1S74, the year when such good fillies were out in the east as Regardless. Countess and Madge. Schulte has not decided just to what horse lie will breed Zienap this year, but it will probably be either Jim Gaff-ney or Free Lance.
