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TOP RIGHT ENTERED IN THE KENTUCKY DERBY Unbeaten Whitney Filly Among Nominations for 0,000 Prize . Practically All of Best Juveniles of Last Year Ar Named Top Flight Well Qualified to Strive for Derby Honors LOUISVILLE, Ky., Feb, 3. C. V. Whitneys record-breaking filly, Top Flighty unbeaten champion of the two-year-olds of 1931, heads the list of the 0,000 Kentucky Derby entries, which closed today. This inf ormation came from Col. Matt J. Winn, executive director of Churchill Downs, who stated that the complete list of Derby entries would not be available until the latter part of the month. All nominations in the mail by midnight of the current date will be acceptable and it will, be a week or more before the mail with entries from far distant points will reach here. Colonel Winn further 1 stated that practically all of the best two-year-olds of last year have been entered in the Derby and he was anticipating one of the greatest races in the history of Americas outstanding contest for three-year-olds. The nominanation of Top Flight will be pleasing news to the general run of turf fans, who while surmising that the filly-would be entered for the Derby anxiously awaited word confirming such belief. Only a few weeks ago Major Louis A. Beard, manager of the Whitney breeding interests, made a statement to the effect that trainer Thoma3 Healey was planning to enter and start the great filly, providing she trained satisfactorily for- such a -gruelling contest so early in the year. Naturally, everyone expected young Mr. Whitney would like to try and duplicate the success of Regret, the only filly to ever win the coveted Derby. Regret was the property of his father, the late Harry Payne Whitney, who twice won the blue ribbon of the American turf. The other Whitney Derby winner was Whiskery. Top Flight is well qualified to strive for Derby honors. She was the largest money winner of the year for all ages and, incidentally, the greatest juvenile money winner of the American turf and of her sex in the world. SPLENDID QUALIFICATIONS. Top Flights first season of racing, in the course of which the daughter of Dis Done Flyatit shattered all juvenile money-winning marks of the past, was not attended by bandflare or spectacular occurrence. Her quality was apparent at the beginning, and, although she was not heralded as one that would go through the year with a perfect score and with a worlds record for juvenile accomplishments, she had not many races to run before she was accepted as the two-year-old champion of the year, and with this evaluation of her came the expectation that she would hang up a new money record for her successors in future years to-shoot at. The only race of the seven she won in which Top Flight was actually extended as the finish line was reached, was her last, the Pimlico Futurity. In this, equally weighted with Tick On, a colt which won the Hopeful Stakes, the filly did not reach the lead until well in the stretch, and then she was hard urged by jockey Workman. Tick On, making a gallant effort, came up almost to her, and they drove down to the end of it with Top Flight only a neck in front. ALWAYS IN FRONT. In her early races in fact, until the run. ning of the Futurity Stakes, which was her sixth Top Flight was never headed after once getting well under way. The filly made her debut in the Clover Stakes, five-eighths of a mile, at Aqueduct, and with one exception she was the only first-time starter in the field. Many had been winners, but Top Flight was so highly rand garded that she, coupled with Pintail, was favorite at 2 to 1, closing betting. She carried 107 pounds and had jockey A. Robertson up. She was always in front by at least a half length and defeated W. R. Coes top-weighted Polonaise, 122 pounds, by a full length. This race was run on a muddy track in the good time of :58. Top Flights first money prize was ,775. She next made her appearance in the West, starting in the Lassie Stakes, foi two-year-old fillies, at Arlington Park. The five and a half furlongs was run on a fast Continued on seventeenth gagejj m TOP FLIGHT ENTERp IN DERBY .Continued from first page. track, Top Flight carrying 120 pounds and winning by five lengths from H. P. Head- : leys Modern Queen. The time was 1:05. J. Leiters Princess Camelia was third. A. Robertson again had the mount on Top Plight, but this was the last time he rode her. The stake was 9,125. Jockey R. Workman became Top Flights pilot after that. Her third race was the Saratoga Special, three-quarters of a mile, on a fast track, Top Flight winning by a length and a quarter from H. P. Headleys Indian Runner in the time of 1:12. Again the Whitney racer was the leader throughout. She dwelt slightly at the start, but had a clear advantage after going a quarter of a mile. She carried 119 pounds. In the beaten field were Curacao, Sweeping Light, Osculator, Laughing Queen and Prince Hotspur. The victory was worth 1,000. The Spinaway Stakes, for juvenile fillies, at Saratoga, was next to fall to the Dis Done miss. She won this three-quarters sprint by five lengths from W. R. Coes Dinner Time, with Brocado third. Workman was again in the saddle, and the weight was 127 pounds. Top Flight was a bit fractious at the post on this occasion, but she broke fast and was always in command; finishing the distance in 1:12. Value, ,400. Trainer Healey by this time probably knew that, barring misadventure, the Whitney filly would have a new money record to her credit at the end of the season. Top Flight had so impressed all in the East that when she started in the Matron Stakes, at Belmont Park, she, again coupled with Pintail, wasl to 6 in the betting. Carrying 127 pounds, Workman riding, she won by a length and a half from the Greentree Stables Parry after Parry had strenuously contested it up to the final sixteenth. The running time was 1:11. Mr. Whitneys share was 3,750. The first time that Top Flight was not in the lead at the end of the first quarter was in the valuable Futurity Stakes. The Futurity, at about seven-eighths of a mile, is run " on the Widener course. Morfair, which had a spectacular streak in the East, set the pace, and the Whitney filly had to be urged by jockey Workman to get up with him. Then, under pressure, she drew away and was winner by two and a half lengths, W. J. Salmons Mad Pursuit finishing second. In this event Top Flight, coupled with Mad Frump, was favorite at 6 to 5. She carried 127 pounds, and her running time was 1:21. The Futurity was worth 4,780 to the win- : ner, the most valuable race of the year, except the Agua Caliente Handicap, a stake for aged horses. Mr. Whitneys representative clinched her championship and money record in the Pim-lico Futurity, which added 6,170 to her total and brought her gross earnings to 19,000, more money than was won by any other horse during 1931.
