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LAST MINUTE DERBY NEWS * Prospects Excellent for Ideal Weather and Fast Track Review of Candidates and Incidents in Connection With Race LOUISVILLE, Ky., May 15. It is assured the early pace in the Kentucky Derby will be faster than was the pace at Pimlico in the Preakness. Eddie Watters will be instructed to carry the field tomorrow and he will surely see that a fast six furlongs is run. It will be fast enough to keep Ladder or any other that attempts to go with him exceedingly busy. In this way it will be a question of elimination to the fiist mile, when the really solid colts of the company will come into the picture. This is the way in which the Derby may be decided and there does not seem to be any colt of the company that will be able to take the lead and show the way from end to end of the long, gruelling mile and a quarter, as did Flying Ebony in 1925 under Earl Sande, or when "Pony" McAtee just skirted the water that flooded the inner rail in 1929 to enable such a gelding as Clyde Van Dusen to be winner, while the mighty Blue Larkspur could only finish fourth. It is a safe prediction that the colt that makes pace and the one that chases after him will not garner much tomorrow. There is abundant speed in the field, but the "speed" colts have not shown the ability to stay for the mile and a quarter. Of course, there has come many a surprise in the long history of the Kentucky Derby, but it will be one of the greatest of surprises if it so happens that the winner makes every post a winning one. In this James Rowe is particularly well equipped with three colts to bear the silks of the Greentree Stable. He has no worry about catching Surf Board. Thats the worry of the others, and just so long as the blaze-faced chestnut is able to speed along in front he can afford to wait with both Twenty Grand and Anchors Aweigh until the sprinter of the trio has thinned out the field a bit with his sprinting speed. Assuredly had the same tactics been employed in the running of the Preakness at Pimlico a week ago it would have been much more to the advantage of Twenty Grand. Instead of sending Surf Board out to carry both Ladder and Clock Tower along, McAtee waited with him back of their pace. As a result Ladder was not put to any excessive effort to hold Clock Tower and he was enabled to save third. It is safe to say that had Surf Board been used to sprint with Ladder and Clock Tower through the first six furlongs the result would have been different. By this it is not meant that Mate would have been beaten, but that Ladder would not have finished third and that it would have been a running of the race that would have been much more to the benefit of Twenty Grand. When Mate, Twenty Grand, Surf Board, Anchors Aweigh, Insco, Ladder and Up had their final Derby preparations between races Thursday, only the concluding short speed trials of some of the western colts and Equipoise, among the sextette of invaders, remained on the training program. Equipoise and the Kentucky colts were under saddle very early this morning and came in for final conditioning over a dull, cuppy track, which offered the best footing some twenty feet from the inner rail. Trainer Fred Hopkins sent out Totem with Equipoise and they had a very light assignment to breeze three-eighths in :38 after the usual mile gallop. Harry Shillick was astride Equipoise, with Kenneth Russell, on Totem. Both riders maintained strong restraint after permitting the colts to settle into stride and they were timed in :25 for the quarter. Pittsburgher and Sweep All, generally regarded as the best of the westerners, had fine speed in their closing trials, the former going a half in :48%, five-eighths in 1:02 and he was eased up three-quarters in 1:16%. Sweep All, on the track shortly after daybreak, went five-eighths in 1:04%, breezing. Deemster accompanied Sweep All for the first three-eighths and Rain Cloud essayed to run along with Pittsburgher, but was under brisk urging to keep on fairly even terms with the crack son of In Memoriam. Boys Howdy, the Canadian owned son of a Derby winner, Bubbling Over, exhibited a nice turn of speed at a half mile, for which he was timed in :48% and eased five eighths in 1:02%. Accompanied by Bosafabo, the "Sentiment" starter, The Mongol, worked five-eighths in 1:03% under mild pressure. Twenty Grand, Surf Board, Anchors Aweigh, Ladder, Insco, Mate and Up came out of their Thursday trials in fine fashion and were seen in light gallops during the morning. At Douglas Park, where fast footing prevailed, Prince DAmour was sent three-eighths in :36% and went out an additional eighth in :50. Prince Tell worked with the Leiter hopeful. Spanish Play had his final preparation over the three-quarters distance and looked his best as he sped over the ground in 1:15%, hard held. Willie Fronk was in the saddle, and he had difficulty preventing the son of Spanish Prince II. from putting more effort into his work. The Knebelkamp and Morris candidate went into the final trial at the five-eighths pole and, after going the first quarter in :24, clicked off the middle one over the rather holding track in :25. Mrs. James N. Croftons Up, a certain starter for the Derby if the classic running is over a muddy or heavy track, was on the track late Thursday afternoon and breezed one mile and an eighth in 2:02%. The three-quarters was made in 1:20% and the mile in 1:47%. The trial completed his preparation for probable performance in Saturdays race.
