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j j jfiere and There i on the Turf j I j"When in Doubt, Play Bradley" J This Saying May Echo Soon j J Banister, Bien Joli Doing Well J J Bow to Me Hardly Dangerous J A.. .. . ... I How often in recent years just before Derby time have you heard this saying, "When in doubt, play Bradley?" But for some indefinable reason, this years candidates from Idle Hour Farm have been in the background, as attention has been centered on Brevity, Hollyrood and a few others, even though H. J. "Derby Dick" Thompson, E. R. Bradleys trainer and only man to saddle four winners of the Churchill Downs classic, some time ago said: "Well be ready." Your correspondent looked in on Idle Hour the other day and inspected Banister, Bien Joli and Bow to Me, the Derby eligibles Thompson is training, and their general appearance bore out, within its scope, that statement, so it will not be surprising that within the next few weeks well be hearing more frequently that easily repeated counsel, "When in doubt, play Bradley." Thompson has not done as much with his Derby candidates as he wished because of the inclement weather prevailing in Kentucky so much of the time during the winter and spring, but with any sort of opportunity during the next two weeks he expects to take some well hardened colts to Churchill Downs on April 23. That he will have a good chance to give his Derby hopes exacting trials within a very few days was indicated by clearing weather in the Blue Grass during the early part of the week. Whenever the mile training track at Idle Hour has been too muddy for satisfactory work, the Bradley conditioner sends his charges through extended gallops through the fields, up hill -and down, and changing paddocks almost daily so the horses would have new scenery. This custom has been used successfully in the past in the muscling up process, so necessary before a horse is ready for hard speed work. The Derby futures have shown very little fluctuations in the prices against the Bradley hopes, because the so-called smart money hasnt shown, but if any sharp changes downward are noted during the next few days it will mean that Banister, Bien Joli and Bow to Me have demonstrated satisfactory advancement in their conditioning through good speed trials. Very little support may be expected for Bow to Me, a son of Epinard and Beginners Luck, and therefore a full brother to Blind Bowboy. The latter has been the only son of the noted French horse to win as far as a mile and one furlong in anything approaching first-class company, and very little hope is entertained that Bow to Me will be any better than Blind Bowboy. If Bow to Me cannot win at a mile and a furlong over stout opposition, then he cant be expected to cut any wide swath in the Kentucky Derby, which is at a mile and one-quarter. Banister and Bien Joli therefore remain Bradleys best Derby hopes. Banister remained a maiden after seven trips to the post as a two-year-old, but Bien Joli was a stakes winner of three races and a smashing second to Red Rain in the Hopeful. His main victory was in the East View Stakes at Empire City last July. Yet, despite the wide variance in their showings as two-year-olds, the feeling seems to exist around Idle Hour that Banister is the better prospect. One of Colonel Bradleys four Kentucky Derby victors was Brokers Tip, a maiden before and since the 1933 running of Americas most popular horse race. Both colts, however, appear in fine fettle, well bodied with convincing lines beginning to show in the shoulder, quarter and arm muscles. The Bradley connections had high hopes of winning the Belmont Futurity with Banister last fall, but the son of Blue Larkspur and Silver Hue was unable to deliver in the nations most important two-year-old event a race yet to be won by a wearer of the white, with green hoops. He came out of the running lame from ankle trouble, after having been in the thick of the action during the opening half mile. In his previous race the half brother to the good filly Bazaar had been a fast-finishing second to Hollyrood in an overnight handicap over the Belmont straightaway, losing by only a neck to the colt that was such a good second to Tintagel in the Futurity. Banister is endowed through breeding to carry his speed over a greater distance than Bazaar, as he is by Blue Larkspur, champion three-year-old of his year, while she was sired by Tetratema, a good exponent of the famous speed line started by The Tetrarch. Silver Hue, dam of the pair, is a daughter of Lemberg, which bespeaks stamina. Bien Joli also is a son of Blue Larkspur, and his dam is Bessie Alix, by Son-in-Law, and he, too, has plenty of staying blood in his pedigree. After showing two fine efforts at Saratoga in the Saratoga Special and Hopeful, he went off in his racing, due, probably, to a habit he had developed of shying away from the whip. Hes had time to forget about a whip by now. Discovery, it will be remembered, is a horse that doesnt react in the usual manner from the sting of a whip. But Bien Joli is doing well, thank you, and any colt that displayed such a smashing performance as he did in the Hopeful is to be considered in the upper circles until it has bene proved otherwise. Do not blame this department if, during the next three weeks, your best friend tells you, "If in doubt, play Bradley 1
