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BETWEEN RACES syosow or/s CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville. Ky., May 1. — Jockey Jack Westrope is a Kentucky Derby pilot who is taking the race in stride, so to speak, in that he Ls not letting prestige of the affair fluster him. Westrope will be astride Harry M. Warners Stepfather, a stretch-running son of Beau Pere. Perhaps the somewhat blase attitude of the veteran reinsman may be occasioned by his previous experience in the Derby, and which might well be termed unfortunate. His first Derby race was in 1937. He rode a horse for the late Col. Maxwell Howard, named Fencing, and finished a deep seventeenth to galloping War Admiral in a 20-horse field. The next year Westrope allowed himself to get excited about his chances, for he had been engaged to ride Stagehand. Stagehand had run brilliantly during the winter at Santa Anita, winning the Derby and later defeated Seabiscuit in a furious drive in the 00,000 Santa Anita Handicap. Stagehand, as events turned out, became ill almost on the eve of the race, and Westrope, with what he considered almost a cinch, saw the race from the clubhouse. His next mount, The Chief, failed against Lawrin and others. His only other Derby mount was the longshot, Gay Bit, out of the money to Pensive in 1944. AAA Without appearing too confident, Westrope quietly will tell you that Stepfather, despite his disappointing races in New York and his failure in the Derby Trial last Tuesday, has a better chance than most people think. He considers it a bit of miraculous training on the part of trainer Graceton Philpot that the horse is going oost-ward at all, for Stepfather has survived more mishaps than perhaps any other Derby starter in a long time. For one thing, he injured his shoulder in his first time to the post at two. Another time he threw out a stifle and was a long time recovering from that. In the Derby Trial, his Westrope Hopeful Derby Luck Will Change Wife, Daughters Are His Best Rooters Dodson a Living Page From Horatio Alger Brought Out on Coast by Harry Walters shoulder ailment showed up again, but trainer Philpot, who cured him once before in short order, rushed for a veterinarian after the race and began giving him the same treatment. If it works as successfully as it did before, Stepfather will be a different horse on Saturday. AAA "We are perhaps the only people who were impressed by Stepfathers race in the Trial," says Westrope. "He was too close to the early pace. Stepfather is a one-run horse and he wants to make that run from the three-eighths pole home. All that is necessary is to keep him out of trouble the first part of it and get clear racing room to make that run." While Westrope may be a bit blase concerning the Derby, as compared to a feeling of tenseness evident in some quarters on the backstretch where Derby hopes dwell, the members of his family are taking it a bit more in the traditional Derby style. His wife, the former Nan Grey of the films Three Smart Girls, etc. and the radio, and their two daughters, Pamela Ann, 4, and Jan Anna, 3, are among the best "rooters" on the turf, which the following anecdote will illustrate: At Hollywood Park, last summer, Mrs. Westrope took the two children to the races for the first time, occupying a grandstand box. When Jack rode out for the first race under silks, the elder girl exclaimed, "Why, theres daddy," and waved frantically at him. When Jack did not wave back, a quite unthinkable deed in the parade to the post, she became furious and then broke into tears over the supposed slight, but Jack went on to win, and everything was all right from there on. AAA Douglas Dodson, who will pilot the solid Faultless, pinches himself every morning on awakening to be sure the whole thing is not a dream. He grew up around Seattle, Wash., and determined to become a race rider, hooked up with the veteran and master horseman, Harry Walters. He worked for the not so munificent salary of 0 per month and most of his mounts were contract. In other words, his earnings were low. But Walters was a good teacher, and the lad, with the apprentice allowance, did well. But when he lost the "bug," everything went wrong. He couldnt seem to do anything right in California, so he left for the East, where he drifted from job to job. He left New England for Delaware, and there he snapped to life. He understood, at last, the knowledge that Walters had imparted, and his riding improved steadily. It was as if a great light had dawned. He did not know Ben Jones, but the Calumet trainer ran a three-horse entry one day, Twilight Tear, Miss Keeneland and Mar-Kell. His agent talked Jones into riding this rising star and he found himself aboard Twilight Tear. He won. Jones put him back the next time Twilight Tear started, and the great filly was about as short as horses can get in the pari-mutuels, about 1 to 9. "I did everything wrong," confesses Dodson, "and the filly finished out of the money. I guess I was just trying too hard. When I got off, I knew in my heart I would never ride for Jones again. I expected to be fired, and I guess I deserved to be. But Jones never said a word, and to my great surprise he rode me back on the next horse he started. Since then, Ive ridden the best stock in the country. While it was tough going on that 0 a month, Im thankful now I was able to learn under such an able man as Harry Walters."
