view raw text
BREVITY JUST CANTERS Pete Coyne Defers Resumption of Training of the Derby Favorite, j j Churchill Downs Track Too Difficult c for Serious Work Boston Pal cc Runs Well in Muddy Going. cs t LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 11 Although the weather here today was considerably t warmer and the sun at times peeped through the blanket of clouds during the t morning, the track itself at Churchill Downs was tougher to negotiate, having been 3 whipped into a stiffer consistency by the J wind, and Pete Coyne, trainer of the early c Kentucky Derby favorite, Brevity, once more deferred the resumption of the colts training for the 0,000 Classic to be run here on May 2. Brevity, which carries the Derby hopes of the Philadelphia sportsman, Joseph E. 1 Widener, was on the Jtrack and was per-mitted to duplicate the exercise he received yesterday, a gallop once around the mile course in company with a stable pony. Serious training of the colt, which arrived here Wednesday from Hialeah Park, thor- oughly fit to perform over the Kentucky Derby route of a mile and a quarter, will be 3 started any day. Trainer Coyne is not worried about keeping the horse on edge and this morning in- timated that the additional rest he has received since reaching Churchill Downs will benefit rather than injure his Derby chances. In his gallop this morning, Brevity responded kindly and once more impressed -the entire Downs racing colony, though there was some disappointment when it 1 became apparent that the Widener nominee would not attempt anything ambitious. In the case of Dnieper, Mrs. P. A. B. Wideners Derby candidate, and also trained by Coyne, the program was the same as was decided upon for Brevity. Dnieper also 3 made a leisurely gallop once around the eight furlongs course. DERBY DARK HORSE. The Derby dark horse, Boston Pal, C. R. Thompsons son of Bostonian, which turned in a sparkling trial over a fast track here earlier in the week, came back with a creditable performance in the mud this morning when he registered a mile in 1:48 1 handily. Accompanied by a Kentucky Oaks candidate in the same stable, Mary Terry, 1 the Derby horse, travelled the quarter in :26; the half mile in :53, and the three-quarters in 1:21. Mary Terry and the colt were on even terms throughout and both appeared undistressed by the effort. Mrs. R. J. Murphys Lawyer Brigade was the only other Derby nominee to accomplish anything of importance at either of the local tracks today. Also prepping at the Downs, he negotiated a mile, breezing, in 1:50, the quarter in :26; four furlongs in :52and, and six furlongs in 1:20. Higher Cloud, a derby entry owned by Mrs. Emil Denemark, had a slow three furlongs blowout in company with Top Dog. While fast trials were out of the question and the Derby favorite did not resume hard training, there was no dearth of activity here today at Churchill Downs, training operations were more extensive than in some time. Approximately 120 horses were timed in their trials with three times that many more out for less strenuous gallops. All in all, trainers accomplished more than on any one day since the spring training season got under way. Some schooling also marked the morning maneuvers. A casualty of the mornings operations was the fatal injury of J. O. Whitlows Blue Rock, a two-year-old son of Kai-Sang and Fancy Field. He collapsed while breezing through the home stretch and expired without regaining his feet. The exercise rider astride him escaped with a shaking up. RUSHING IMPROVEMENTS. In spite of the inclement weather, there has been no let up in the work on improvements and changes at Churchill Downs the past week. Fortunately much of the exterior repairs and alterations have virtually been completed and during the recent period of wet weather workmen shifted their attention to interior operations. The major exterior work yet to be completed is the painting of the grandstand, field stands and other buildings and this can be accomplished with a few days of favorable weather. During the past week the large amount of inside work, particularly in the new clubhouse, was completed, further bearing out the forecast of Col. M. J. Winn, executive director of Churchill Downs, that everything would be in readiness for the first visitors on opening day. Plans for expediting the sale of Derby Day and clubhouse and general admission tickets are being worked out by Churchill Downs officials. While the sale of such tickets will not start immediately, arrangements under which they will be sold are expected to make it more convenient for the purchaser than ever before. As demands for box seats and other reserved accommodations were greater this year, the Downs management anticipates a corresponding increase in requests ; for the clubhouse and general admission tickets. Therefore a record number of such tickets has been printed. With the opening set for two weeks from i today, reservations for the meeting are be ing sent out from the general offices and the requests for these, too, far exceed those ; of the past several -years. Heads of other departments also have their operating plans 3 well formulated. They include the racing ; department, supervised by judge Charles F. Price, the pari-mutuel department under E. . A. Weidekamp, concessions and cuisine under Edward Scherder and the several I branches under Thomas Young.
