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! I STAGEHAND EXERCISES Kentucky Derby Favorite Canters Over Churchill Downs Track. Maxwell Howard Star With His Sta-blemate, The Chief, Unaffected by Long, Strenuous Rail Trip. LOUISVILLE, Ky., April 14. Stagehand, mighty son of Sickle and Stagecraft, owned by Maxwell Howard, left his quarters at Churchill Downs for the first time since arriving from California last Monday to take a lazy canter over the course where he will strive for the greater fame in the Kentucky Derby, May 7. The Santa Anita Handicap and Santa Anita Derby winner, accompanied by The Chief, another Howard Derby threat, with his trainer, the popular Earl Sande, directing operations from the back of the stables pony, took his first outdoor exercise here this spring early today. Sande took the three-year-olds into the mile chute at a walk and returned them to the oval course where they jogged about a mile, and a quarter each. While both seemed to greatly enjoy themselves, Stagehand was the livelier and more alert of the two. EAGER TO RUN. The current Derby favorite walked about in gingerly fashion and when galloping pitched and tossed his rider, Jack Westrope, in playful fashion. He was eager to break into a run and did not appear very anxious to return to his barn. While in the same robust health and also fully recovered from the effects of the long trip from California, The Chief conducted himself in a more docile manner as he received his introduction to the Derby track. As a two-year-old Stagehand was in the Howard stable here last year when it made an unsuccessful try for Derby Continued on sixteenth page. STAGEHANDJXERCISES Continued from first page. honors, while The Chief was acquired out of the C. V. Whitney dispersal last fall. That these two horses, and especially Stagehand, are safely past any bad reactions from their cross-country journey, is a source of much satisfaction to their camp followers and also the great army of racing fans who honored Stagehand with the post of favoritism in early Derby betting. WILL RESUME TRAINING. They are now at a stage where actual training can be resumed and with their objective only three weeks off and The Chief tentatively scheduled to make his three-year-old bow in the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland two weeks from today, they may be expected to tackle more strenuous exercise forthwith. Whether Stagehand is to have a tune-up race before going into the Derby, depends upon the manner in which he trains. If he shows that he is not in need of some actual competition to put him on edge, he probably will not be seen under silks before May 7. Other of the many Derby hopefuls here also came through another day in good shape, though only one of them was asked to do any work of a serious kind. Preparatory to being shipped tomorrow to New York, where he will start in the Wood Memorial Stakes on April 30, Myron Selznicks Cant Wait reeled off three-quarters in 1:15 and eased up seven furlongs in 1:29. He went the quarter in :24 and passed the half mile marker in :49. Milky Way Farms Mountain Ridge did a quarter mile in about :25, after having made a long gallop with his stable companion Tiger, another ranking classic eligible. H. M. Woolfs Lawrin, Bert Friends Co-Sport and others of the nominees also indulged in light exercise.
