Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde: Trainer James Fitzsimmons to Enact Double Role in the Preakness.; Will Saddle Johnstown for Mr. Woodward and Gilded Knight for Wheatley Stable--Which One Will Win?, Daily Racing Form, 1939-05-10

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I , i • l . . i , , s s s : • DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE Trainer James Fitzsimmons to Enact Double Role in the Preakness. Will Saddle Johnstown for Mr. Woodward and Gilded Knight for Wheatley Stable —Which One Will Win? BALTIMORE, Md., May 9. — Saturday afternoon in the paddock at the famous old Pimlico race course, there will be a fancy bit of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde enacted. Only the drama might better be entitled "Mr. Fitz and Sunny Jim." The same individual personality and character will have a dual role to perform. Trainer Sunny Jim Fitzsimmons has to saddle two of the favorites in the Preakness. Mr. Fitz must tighten the girth on William Woodwards Johnstown, he must tell jockey Johnny Stout how to ride Johnstown, what to do when the break comes, how to rate the great horse, when to move if threatened. He must employ all his knowledge of horses and of Johnstown in particular, in instructing jockey Stout how to ride a Preakness winner for Mr. Woodward. Then in the space of a few seconds, the magic of Mr. Fitzs personality makes him Sunny Jim. He will be in the paddock stall of Mrs. Ogden Phipps Wheatley Stables Gilded Knight. INSTRUCTIONS FOR DONOSO. Sunny Jim must tighten the girth on Gilded Knight, he must tell jockey Ruperto Donoso how to ride Gilded Knight, what to do when the break comes, how to rate him, when to move" if threatened. He must employ all his knowledge of horses and of Gilded Knight in particular, in instructing jockey Donoso how to ride a Preakness winner for Mrs. Phipps. A strange circumstance to most people, but to "Mr. Fitz and Sunny Jiml there is nothing unusual about it at all. "Its happened to me before," he says, "and I am instinctively concerned with each horse separately. Maybe you cant understand how it feels, but I know my horses and I know my owners have every confidence in me, and that really is all that matters. "Right now," he continued, "Id be inclined to say that Johnstown is the better horse. On the other hand Gilded Knight beat El Chico, a l-to-7 shot, at Jamaica several weeks ago. A year ago I was confident that Fighting Fox was a real mile and a quarter horse, but he didnt show it in the Derby or the Preakness, and it wasnt until later I learned he had been carrying a germ which knocked him out after running three-quarters of a mile. "That can happen to Johnstown on Saturday. Or maybe Gilded Knight is a better horse than Johnstown and Ill tell Donoso everything I know that will help him to ride the best race he can against Johnstown with the expectation that if Gilded Knight is enough horse he will beat the Derby winner." GOOD HORSES IN RACE. Mr. Fitz — Sunny Jim doesnt minimize the rest of the field, either. "Challedon and Impound are both good horses and they may improve over any race which I have seen them in. Ciencia? I havent seen her run this year so I wont express any opinion and for that reason she has to be seriously reckoned with in my plans." The veteran trainer points out that so many different things can happen in a horse | race and that even trie most minor of them j all might change the entire complexion of the Preakness. "However," he concluded, "Johnstown seems to be that rare thoroughbred that can shed trouble and bad luck like a duck sheds water. It may be hell meet a better horse on Saturday, and Im only afraid of some-- thing coming out of the dark and surprising every one of us. Ive seen that happen too often in important races not to expect it this Saturday."


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1930s/drf1939051001/drf1939051001_38_4
Local Identifier: drf1939051001_38_4
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800