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IS K iP"! sH FRED W. HOOPER— Already successful with Hoop, Jr. in 1945, the Montgomery, Ala., owner has the favorite, Olympia, to carry his colors in todays renewal. Derby Grooming Long and Tedious jRace Today Drawn4 From 113 Nominees Juvenile Leaders of 1948, Blue Peter and Mr. Busher, Didnt Train Up to Race I CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., j ! | May 6. — The quest of the American three-I year-old for Kentucky Derby honors is .«■ seemingly as hazardous as the fabled quest I for the Golden Fleece. It is a long and J rocky road that a thoroughbred must tra- • verse to eventually become successful and win Americas most coveted three-year-old ; classic, the Derby. j Last February 15, nominations for the j seventy-fifth running of the Kentucky j " Derby closed with 113 nominations. These, • nominations represented the cream of the: : American three-year-old crop; indeed, itj j | might be said to represent a culling of some nearly 8,000 foals of 1946. Many have fallen by the wayside through the vicissitudes of thoroughbred racing and perhaps lack of it. Some, like Blue Peter j and Mr. Busher, leaders of the two-year- I old set, did not train up to the race. Myrtle Charm, the leading juvenile filly last ! year, was not named because Maine Chance Farm knew she could not be ready. Of the 113 named, all but about a dozen have fallen by the wayside, victims of ailments, injuries, or, to the sorrow of many owners, simply failed to demonstrate the speed and stamina required of a three -year-old to travel with the most select in the nation at the accepted championship American distance — a mile and a quarter. Hope Springs Eternal Of all the foals of 1946, it is safe to say that hope was present in the hearts of the owners and breeders that perhaps each individual, whether bred on one of the world-famous Blue Grass country farms or on a remote western ranch, would turn out to be of championship caliber. From the day a foal arrives, he or she becomes subject to what might be termed the "luck of the turf." The more "fire" and speed a prospect shows, the more likely is he apt to incur the risk of a breakdown, either permanent or temporary. Yet some horses have overcome obstacles that would have felled those of lesser stat- ure, while others equally great have failed to start in the Derby because of just plain "hard luck." In the former category consider a few classic examples. Jet Pilot, the 1947 winner, was the only colt of consequence to escape a disastrous fire which took a terrible toll of that stable at Arlington Park the previous May. King Ranchs Assault, winner of the "Triple Crown" in 1946, ran a surveyors spike through his foot while a yearling, and for a long time it was deemed impossible to train him. Yet he made good in exceptional fashion.
