Count Fleet Victor in Derby; Place Taken by Blue Swords: Mrs. John Hertz Wonder Colt Handy Three-Length Winner; Longden Sends Son of Reigh Count to Fore on First Turn To Hold Sway for Rest of Way in Sixty-Ninth Running of Famed Race--Slide Rule Runs Third; Amber Light Fourth, Daily Racing Form, 1943-05-03

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JOHNNY LONGDEN Joined the select few American jockeys who have ridden a Derby winner when he guided Count Fleetto victory in Saturdays renewal of the Run for the Roses Count Fleet Victor in Derby Place Taken by Blue Swords Mrs John Hertz Wonder Colt Handy ThreeLength Winner WinnerLongden Longden Sends Son of Reigh Count to Fore on First Turn To Hold Sway for Rest of Way in SixtyNinth Running of ofFamed Famed Race Slide Rule Runs Third Amber Light Fourth LOUISVILLE Ky May 1 Count Fleet thundered into the Derby hall of fame to the accompaniment of the cheers of 60000 wildly excited Kentuckians at old Churchill Downs here this afternoon Mrs John Hertzs phenomenal runner was three asy lengths in advance of his nearest rival Allen T Simmons stubborn Blue Swords with jockey Johnny Longden looking back as lie sped past the fateful winning post in the 69th running of this 75000 added run of a mile and a quarter So badly did the Count string out his field that W E Boeings Slide Rule was six lengths farther away in finishing third and a similar margin before Dixianas Amber Light as that colt earned the fourth award in a starting field of ten of America s out ¬ standing threeyearolds Seldom has the Run for the Roses been won more im ¬ pressively than by the 1942 juvenile cham ¬ pion who moved into the lead swinging around the clubhouse turn and had only to run the distance in the streetcar time of 204 to earn the 60725 accruing to the winner of this streetcar Derby In addi ¬ tion the gracious Mrs Hertz receives the gold trophy commemorating this second triumph for her canary colors in Americas outstanding sports spectacle and the 2000 breeders award her remarkable colt being a son of her 1928 Derby winner Reigh Count Governor Keene Johnson of the fair state of Kentucky presented the cup in the traditional winners circle cere Held at Odds of 2 to 5 5Those Those thousands who confidently backed the winner received 280 for 2 in the mutuels by which odds he tied Bimelech a beaten choice in the matter of top heavy favoritism for the classic since the installation of the iron men menThe The remarkable crowd that witnessed this unforgettable home folks Derby was fully three times as large as even the incurable optimist Col Matt Winn dared hope to expect a few weeks ago agoIt It was not noticeably smaller than the 74000 that were present last Derby Day The record crowd numbered 90000 accord ¬ ing to the octogenarian prexy of Churchill Downs Inc who has witnessed every one of the 69 skirnishes in this Battle of Roses RosesTodays Todays wartime attendance was no less festiVe and excited in its mood than any other Derby Day crowd accepting the unusual transportation restrictions levied against this mile and a quarter heard heardContinued Continued on Page Three COUNT FLEET Duplicated his sire Reigh Counts feat in accounting for the sixtyninth Kentucky Derby Count Fleet Adds Sixt yNnf n Derby To Growing List of Accomplishments Leads Blue Swords to Wire By Three Lengths Timed Mile and Quarter in 204 204Continued Continued from Page One Oneround round the world event with patriotic good humor The vast majority arrived on the trolley cars and afoot afootIn In previous Mays society editors have found the list of box and luncheon reserva ¬ tion holders from out of town a lush source of material but visiting notables were con ¬ spicuously abseVit this afternoon afternoonOne One keenly disappointed personality pres ¬ ent was Warren Wright when he announced the regrettable necessity of withdrawing Ocean Wave Mustering a philosophical smitej the popular master of Calumet Farm remarked There are other important races of course but we had hoped to get Ocean Wave to the post for the Derby as we felt he had an excellent chance based on what he showed in his two sparkling races here hereCount Count I71eet vent to the post for this triumphal sally with his spiked heel suffi ¬ ciently mended that he did not wear his bandage He won handily never gave his backers any real cause for concern never left his rivals with much valid excuse and just bowled along in izys 23Y5 34 46 59 112 125 137 150 and 204 By quarters the time was 23ls 23 26 25 and 26 The time was far from remarkable and so was the racing strip it might be noted while Longden seemed content to just measure Blue Swords through the final quarter mile fur ¬ tively glancing back from time to time to assure himself the Counts perennial Shadow never became a mejiace mejiaceCounts Counts Earnings Soar to 159070 159070The The Derby victory incidentally swelled the Stoner Creek colt total earnings to 159070 while Blue Swords amassed a neat 8000 for second Slide Rule 3000 third money and Amber Light hero of the Louisiana Derby last winter 1000 fourth money moneyThe The field for this Derby was a more at ¬ tractive cavalcade of horse flesh on the whole than appeared for any other re ¬ newal in recent years They were applauded at length as they filed up to starter Whites gate atop the long home lane the crowds pressing along each rail = vue Swords and No Wrinkles warmed up around the upper turn turnThe The break was an eminently even one and the winner broke with Gold Shower and Blue Swords who were a bit rank in their stalls However Modest Lad broke out again and forced Dove Pie into the Hertz champion The latter then went in a few strides and Dove Pie was pinched back backIn In the spectacular skirmish for positions dashing down by the racuous stands to the clubhouse turn the speed duel soon resolved into a threehorse affair among Gold Shower Burnt Cork and The Count CountBurnt Burnt Cork was a cinder after a fast quarter mile and then Count Fleet moved up head and head with Gold Shower his nemesis of last summer at Empire EmpireCJold CJold Shower still was lapped on him passing the sixfurlong mark at the end of the backstretch but straightened away there the favorite began drawing clear and opened up a couple of lengths where Longden folded up to await developments In the run down the far lane McCreary made a move to thrust through on the in ¬ side but Blue Swords moved with him on the outside This maneuver resulted in Slide Rule being forced down behind Gold Shower who was tiring at the far turn As a consequence he had to take up upBlue Blue Swords enjoying clear sailing made his bid nearing the quarter post He had Longden hunching the torrid choice right along for a few strides straightening for the stretch run but then was growing limber a beaten horse nearing the furlong pole poleIt It was just a cakewalk again for Count Fleet through the last threesixteenths Blue Swords unable to match his speed and stamina was as clearly secondbest for Slide Rule when free and brought outside for his drive lost ground in the last part of the journey and was a very thoroughly beaten third thirdNone None of the field pulled up with any ap ¬ parent injury excepting the blemishes on the scutcheons of the favorites rivals rivalsThe The winner was not blowing hard enough to extinguish the proverbial match as he posed proudly in the winners ring wear ¬ ing the wreath of flaming Lady Bountiful roses the doubting Thomases for many months questioned he ever would win Thus ended the sixtyninth Derby DerbyThe The large crowd hit upon the proper favorite in the four and a half furlongs of the opening number which drew a limit field of maiden twoyearolds when it sent Valdina Farms Texasbred Valdina Maiden to the post burdened with the bulk of support in the old fashioned iron men menFerril Ferril Zufelt had the mount and fol ¬ lowed the pace fairly close into the stretch then cracked down and beat Ballury by a length as the latter also closing swiftly finished a neck in front of Sammy Angott Darby Dimout had some early speed but tired tiredThis This race was run in 54 which seemed to indicate that the track was in moderately fast condition Valdina Maiden returned 420 420Shiny Shiny Penny Makes Good GoodMrs Mrs W Causeys Shiny Penny heightened the publics confidence when Freddie A Smith booted him to a widely popular accounting of the six furlongs of the second race which drew an octet of mediocre sprinters sprintersThe The Lexington contingent was afforded an opportunity of cheering when Johnny Adams booted Leslie Combs Hometown to a frontrunning tally at six furlongs in 112 in the third event reaching the finish a comforting length and three quarters before Drollon Bulrush was third The winner in receipt of scattered play paid 34 34Valdina Valdina Cooky who races for V R Zufelt and was ridden by jockey F Zufelt moved up to perform for 3000 and won her third purse in five starts as she cap ¬ tured the Indian Hills Purse with impres ¬ sive facility before five other twoyear olds The big ankled skinny daughter of Teddys Comet waltzed to the finish four lengths before Dancing Duke and Darby Dingbat was third another three lengths back backValdina Valdina Cooky never left the Issue In the remotest doubt hung out a creditable 53 and returned 4 as the public choice


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