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Review of Derby Happenings Since Release of Entries Varying Fortunes of More Promi ¬ nent Candidates and Final Analysis of Chances LOUISVILLE Ky May 16 Lese majesty in its most aggravated form might be decreed at the court of King Horse against those who in either loose or lucid moment would utter a syllable which could be translated as a disparagement of Americas outstand ¬ ing turf event of the year the Kentucky Derby Yet when the nomination list of 14D there was then one missing in the mail to the Derby that is to be run tomorrow was announced there were those subjects of his equine majesty some even who dwelt in Ken ¬ tucky who gravely deprecated the absence of Derby class in the list and profoundly predicted that this fiftysixth running of the classic would be lesc interesting than any of recent years yearsBut But such is the greatness of the Derby such is the publics attachment to it and an ¬ nual yearning for it that on the eve of this contest which late in February seemed so devoid of class there is not only the usual widespread interest in it but an interest that promises fairly to establish new records in attendance new records in speculation and will certainly uphold in all respects the tra ¬ ditions of the race raceENTHUSIASM ENTHUSIASM TfEVER WANING WANINGNothing Nothing it seems can retard the growing enthusiasm about the Derby not for a single season Last year gave a striking illustra ¬ tion of this Adverse weather conditions to which the Derby has been subjected in recent years were present again and yet the vol ¬ ume of play on this single race amounting to 675106 exceeded that of the previous year by more than 50000 and was within 1500 of the record which was established in 1927 It has not been fair weather when the greatest threeyearolds got together for the Derby not as a rule in recent years but the Derby has not failed for the lack of sun shine to present the greatest scene that it is possible to witness on the American turf Even the great new tracks of New York arid Chicago which have forged a step farther in the matter of financial rewards to winners of certain fixtures still must respectfully and do in sportsmanlike spirit doff the hat to Louisville and Churchill Downs for main taining Kentuckys Derby as a race thepopu larity of which has not been approached by any on this continent The early disappointment in this years array of talent was due more than any other one thing to the absence of two young race ¬ horses which had achieved such success in their first season Vhichone and Boojum These juveniles had pretty well monopolized the spotlight in 1929 and the widespread de ¬ sire to see them in the Derby was quite nat ¬ ural but in one sense the idea that a Derby without them could not be a Derby up to the standard was a reflection on the rest of the juvenile field that was not deserved and one which it has been demonstrated placed a too low valuation on the contemporaries of Whichone and Boojum if not a too high valuation on the two Whitney racers them ¬ selves To this day neither of the Whitneys has gone to the post as a threeyearold for Continued on twentieth page GENERAL RETROSPECT Continued from first page the reason readily admitted tliat neither is absolutely sound The Derby of 1929 suffered somewhat so far as the early interest fn it was concerned from the failure of the colt High Strung to go through his training without mishap yet long before Derby time came High Strung had been virtually forgotten There was enough talent left to make the race a great one enough in fact to bring about the de ¬ feat of Blue Larkspur which in later races proved himself to be the best in his division This years development of Derby stars starst t which were in partial eclipse as twoyear olds has been highly satisfactory and the situation today is far better than could have been expected two months ago This in face of the fact that there has been at least the usual quota of withdrawals of prominent candidates such as those of Flying Heels Desert Light and Dedicate DedicateOnly Only a few weeks ago these three were along with Gallant Fox and High Foot prac ¬ tically equal choices in the future book This fact alone gives an idea of the condition brought about by the failure of Whichone and Boojum to enter Their remaining out meant an open field and an open field it re ¬ mained until racing having been resumed on the major circuits along came the inev ¬ itable successes and failures of the more prominent candidates and at the same time certain more or less spectacular bids for at ¬ tention from the ranks of the obscure eligibles either in their racing or in their training in Kentucky Maryland and New York YorkThe The first development which served to take the minds of the Derby fans whose number is in the millions from the WhichoneBoojum disappointment was that of High Foot one of the few really prominent Derby candidates which ran during the winter High Foot though very highly regarded in certain quarters had not received general attention as a twoyearold for he was too many times beaten but when he began to literally run away from the best that it was possible for him to meet in New Orleans racing in one of his races beating by six lengths the colt which afterward won the Louisiana Derby it was plain that in him the Valley Lake Stable had a factor that had been underrated or at least overlooked Even had one or both of the Whitney stars been in training for the Derby there still would have been room for High Foot in the spotlight spotlightHIGH HIGH FOOTS DEVELOPMENT DEVELOPMENTN N High Foots development served splendidly too to keep up interest in the future betting while eligibles of the caliber of Flying Heels and Desert Light began to drop out Even before these two passed out of the picture and before a diseased knee brought the with ¬ drawal of Dedicate High Foot had been in ¬ stalled favorite at G to 1 1Here Here the Derby had after all a favorite of western ownership in a colt that had only lately loomed into prominence at a time when it had seemed that the western front was very weak weakAs As if this were taken in the East as a I direct challenge to that section things began to happen in New York Sarazen II Mrs Vanderbilts Fair Stable companion of Desert Light won the Paumonok Handicap from a lot of highclass older handicap horses and one or two other Derby eligibles Interest in this sector soon was dissipated however by the announcement that Sarazen II would not start in the Derby Desert Light was beaten in the Calverton Handicap Hopes had risen in the East only to fall again againBut But late in April came the event that indi ¬ cated that the East after all would provide the Derby favorite This was Gallant Foxs victory in the Wood Memorial at Jamaica It was the cleanest cut and most convincing of all Derby eligible performances up to this time for the Wood Memorial field was com ¬ posed in its entirety of Derby candidates and Gallant Fox won by four lengths from these Crack Brigade Desert Light Gold Brook and Spinach The victory established Gallant Fox clearly as favorite for the Preakness Stakes and caused him to be made equal choice with High Foot for the Derby DerbyThe The only winner of a winter Derby which had been nominated Michigan Boy was just about this time sent out to show to what degree lie could hold his own with some of the eastern candidates of what might be rated the second class and he performed handsomely enough in the Chesapeake Trial Purse when he defeated Crazy Coot the most prominent Whitney eligible Ned O and one or two others Momentarily this Louisiana Derby winner attracted a little attention but after he failed to win the Chesapeake Stakes in which he was beaten by a colt which was not a Derby eligible it was announced that he would not be shipped to Kentucky KentuckyIt It was time the West was displaying some more of its goods and two races on the same day at Lexington served to attract attention to Buckeye Poet one of the two E R Brad ¬ ley nominees and to Tannery owned by E F Prichard Buckeye Poet defeated at a mile Sydney Dedicate Ray Blades Breezing Thru and Dick OHara Dedicate had won his first start earlier in the Lexington meet ¬ ing so Buckeye Poets conquest was not to go unheeded There already had been some play for him in the future books and when he beat Sydney and Dedicate his odds dropped further It is doubtful if there was a more pronounced drop in odds against any Derby cadidate from the time of opening of the future books to the first of May than the Buckeye Poet drop He went in that time from 401 to 101 but in his next start the Bradley colt was beaten and of course the demand for him fell off offTANNERY TANNERY IN LIMELIGHT LIMELIGHTTannery Tannery won his race that day by eight lengths but it was against a field of less class That same day Dark Entry repre ¬ senting the Headley Stable went off into more remote fields and won the Golden Jubi ¬ lee Handicap at Wheeling The race in which Buckeye Poet failed was won by Tannery which at equal weights of 115 pounds beat both the Bradley candidates Thus the Prichard candidate assumed an importance in the West almost equal to that of High Foot He had in fact proved the only prom ¬ inent eligible up to that time to win right back and beat better company in the bar ¬ gain gainThis This however was a feat that Gallant Fox was to perform when he went into the Preakness Stakes StakesSo So good had been Gallant Fox race in the Wood Memorial in which he outran four other Derby candidates that against the larger though hardly more pretentious Preakness field the representative of William Woodwards Belair Stud Stable was backed into even money favoritism This is in ¬ deed a short price against a single horse in a field of eleven stake horses The only other combination that could muster up any support to speak of was the W J Salmon pair of Swinfield and Snowflake and this entry stood to pay 9 to 1 Swinfield had won the Hill Top Purse at Pimlico from pretty fair company and was probably de ¬ pended upon to a greater extent than was Snowflake but it was the filly which car ¬ ried the Salmon colors farthest to the front finishing third She thus demonstrated that although she was not eligible for the Derby she was perhaps better than either of the colts Mr Salmon had nominated since Swin ¬ field seemed to have been held in more favor than the two others Battleship and Perfect Play PlayCrack Crack Brigade as in the Wood Memorial was second to Gallant Fox in the Preak ¬ ness and made a better showing in this than in the Wood being beaten less than a length The Cassidy representative forced the pace and at the mile had his head in front of Gallant Fox but at the finish of the mile and threesixteenths only a six ¬ teenth shorter than the Derby route Gal ¬ lant Fox was drawing away As it turned out Crack Brigade was the only other start ¬ er in the Preakness whose showing was considered good enough to carry him on to the Derby Michigan Boy Gold Brook and Woodcraft were declared out of the Derby and Swinfield finished so far back as to forfeit further consideration considerationCLEARLY CLEARLY ESTABLISHED ESTABLISHEDThe The Preakness clearly established Gallant Fox as the Derby favorite but just how strong a favorite was not to be revealed until the next day after the decision of the South Louisville Purse at Churchill Downs This was a race in which High Foot was to make his first start since leaving New Orleans and in which he was to prove a dismal disappointment to the thousands who had become almost fanatical in their en ¬ thusiasm over his chances in the Derby so fast had been practically all of his morn ¬ ing trials trialsThe The South Louisville was another race in which a noneligible defeated a flock of Derby candidates High Foot wasnt the only one of this classification to go down in defeat before Pansy AValker a filly There were Gallant Knight Alcibiades Busy Syd ¬ ney and Brother Rank A very inconspicu ¬ ous Derby eligible Prince Atheling a 100 to 1 shot was second all the way of the six and a half furlongs Gallant Knight finished a good third and High Foot about whom Kentuckians had been so optimistic was eight lengths out of the money moneyThis This was discouraging indeed to High Foots supporters for in his best races he had shown a tremendous lot of early speed His backers had simply taken it for granted that he could go on and when he had worked the fastest mile done at Churchill up to May 1 it seemed that there was sufficient ground for the assumption that High Foot was more than a sprinter His effort in the South Louisville however was a difficult one on which to base any judgment one way or the other He met with some early interference reached third place under pressure and tired in the stretch stretchSo So while Gallant Fox still may have ruled the betting roost as a result of his two fault ¬ less races in the East even had High Foot won the South Louisville Purse the fact that High Foot made such a poor showing brought Gallant Fox into the clear as an outstanding favorite With indications too that regardless of what might happen in the Derby Trial Purse in which only a few of the secondrate eligibles would be expected to start the son of Sir Gallahad III would go to the post the shortest priced favorite in several years though Blue Larkspur last year stood to pay only 171 to 1 Reigh Count in 1923 only 206 to 1 and Whiskery in 1927 only 240 to 1 1The The result of the South Louisville also appeared to establish Tannery as the second choice in the betting and as the leading candidate of the West The least that could be said for the son of Ballot was that he had done everything that had been asked of him in the way of qualifying for the Derby and had done it in handsome fashion Backing up Gallant Fox as the chief hand of the East the most prominent seemed to be Crack Brigade whom Gallant Fox had beaten in both starts of this year and Ned O The latter was held in high regard early in the year and was one of the second choices at the opening of betting but he performed indifferently in his early races If he re ¬ ceives much support it will be from those who disregard his races of this year in the belief that he is strictly a route runner which will be suited by the Derbys mile and a quarter quarterThe The Derby Trial at a mile did not attract the best The chief purpose it served was to eliminate several that had done little of note anyhow and to bring into some promi ¬ nence the colt Uncle Luther as an outside possibility in the event of another muddy track The Derby Trial was run in the mua Some of the Maryland support of Ned O doubtless found solace in the possibility that Ned Os bad races are behind him and that once again cast at a route he will have a fine chance of winning especially if he can find a hole in the field when he makes his run in the stretch or if he can maneuver his way to his favored position next the rail Dark Entry and the others were left far behind behindThe The Kentucky Derby scheduled so early in the year does not always decide the threeyearold champion but it certainly sep ¬ arates the wheat from the chaff if any chaff there be at Churchill Downs on Derby Day and it usually is the Derby winner against the field in the great stakes that follow it some of which are more valuable valuableWhatever Whatever the value of these later stakes however and whatever their importance in determining the champion there is not an owner in the broad land who would say that he would rather have his horse win another race than the Derby nor is there a trainer who would prefer to saddle the winner of another or a jockey who would be as proud at having ridden the winner of another anotherLittle Little Clyde Van Dusen did not go on last year to win the threeyearold championship but the son of Man o War achieved fame that will linger longer than that of those that beat him later on A Kentucky Derby winner he was and always his name will be one of a list of the horse immortals that did win the Kentucky Derby Greater glory in a single season can come to no American horse
