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H | - ■ . J ] j , J ■ . j , . ] c , , = Wuticl There on the Turf j Head Play Lasted Long Troubled Since Preakness Win Cost Only 50 as Yearling Discovery Has Easy Chance i Persons who had known the true state of Head Plays condition all along had wondered how he had been able to last as long as he did and the fact that J. Thomas Taylor had kept the five-year-old son of My Play and Red Head, by King Gorin, through a busy campaign during the first half of this year is an indication of his training ability. A horse with a bowed tendon is like a person with heart disease, he might last a month and he might hang on for a year. Head Play was brought back to the races with the 00,000 Santa Anita Handicap in mind, even though he had suffered a bowed tendon in his left foreleg. That leg did not give way, but the other did, having been unable to stand any longer the additional strain put upon it. Many other horses have suffered the same fate as Head Play, their tendons having bowed after having suffered constant trouble in the other leg. Equipoise was one of these. Head Play was bred by Robert L. Baker and was sold in the Lexington yearling sales in the fall of 1931 for 50 to William Crump, the former jockey who had just begun to branch out as a trainer. Under Crumps direction, the colt developed rapidly and as a two-year-old he captured the Cincinnati Trophy and the Hawthorne Juvenile Handicap, earning 6,590. In the following spring, he was regarded as a strong candidate for the Kentucky Derby, especially as he trained smartly for the engagement. Almost on the eve of the race, negotiations between Crump and the late Thomas P. Hayes, then training for Mrs. Silas B. Mason, were completed for the purchase of the colt, the price being 0,000 and a percentage of his Derby winnings. The son of My Play did not win the Churchill Downs classic but he was the hero of the race, being beaten only a few inches by Brokers Tip after a stretch battle in which the respective jockeys, Herb Fisher and Don Meade, paid more attention to each other than to their mounts. After barely losing the Derby, Head Play moved to Pim-lico to score a clean-cut triumph in the Preakness Stakes. He did not have such good form for the remainder of the season, a foot ailment forcing him out of training in July. After the death of Hayes and he was returned to training, Max Hirsch had the colt, getting him back to the races during October when he showed a gacic etfort to finish a close third behind War Glory and Sun Archer in the Maryland Handicap. A bowed tendon forced Head Play out of training once more and he was turned out at the Mason farm in Kentucky until the following August, when Taylor took charge of him at Saratoga. The Kentucky horseman took his time with Head Play and did not return him to competition until the Santa Anita meeting, which began Christmas Day. After several preparatory races, the Mason colt jumped up to capture the San Antonio Stakes, which caused him to be highly regarded for the rich Santa Anita Handicap. However, he was unable to show to advantage but came back later at the same track to take the San Juan Capistrano Handicap. Moving up the west coast, Head Play made a runaway of the 5,000 Bay Meadows Handicap and then returned to the other side of the country where his notable victory was at the expense of Discovery, King Saxon and other good horses in the Suburban Handicap. Previously he had beaten Cavalcade in an overnight event and had finished second in the Dixie Handicap. His last effort brought him victory in the Derby Week Special at Detroit, where he was in preparation for the Detroit Chal-legc Cup. Head Play probably will go into the stud to replace the ill-fated Victorian at the Mason farm. Head Plays defection completed the destruction of the Detroit Challenge Cup, which had started out with only eight nominees and gradually lost attractiveness as Cavalcade was unable to be ready in time, Roman Soldier came out of the American Derby rather the worse for wear, Time Supply was detained on the waiting list and Bazaar and Mr. Khayyam were not ready for such an engagement. This left Discovery, Azucar and Head Play, but even this trio was expected to put on some sort of spectacle, especially the Vanderbilt and Mason colorbearers. With Head Play unable to appear, the Detroit management found itself without a show and through the consideration of Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt and Fred Alger, Jr., owners of the remaining starters, it was allowed to reduce the added money to 2,500. The winners share of this should be a pickup for Discovery.
