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CITATION winning last years seventy-fourth Kentucky Derby by three and one-half lengths over his stablemate, Coaltown. Regarded as one of the greatest horses to win the Churchill classic, the Calumet homebred went on to capture the Preakness and Belmont to sweep the Triple Crown events and later gain the accolade as O Horse of the Year/ 5 4 1 Emblematic of victory in the Kentucky Derby is the pretentious Gold Cup, designed especially for the race. This cup, having stirrups as handles and surmounted by a horse and rider of classic stature, is one of the most elegant, yet dignified, trophies in racing. On one side a horseshoe adorns the plain, burnished surface and within the horseshoe tradition has it the name of the winner, the rider, the time, and the owner be inscribed. This year, to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee running, the horseshoe will be embellished and adorned by approximately ,500 worth of blue white, flawless diamonds. The addition of the diamonds to the historic trophy increases the value of the solid gold cup to approximately 0,000. Shadow of Past Hovers Over Derby: 1 vO Todays Running May Clarify Status of Sophomore Division Although Theres No Citation in Field, Case of Assault Should Not Be Forgotten; Critics of King Ranch Ace Colt Pointed to His Slow Times as He Went On to Greatness By BOB HORWOOD BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y.,-May 6.— As you talk with horsemen, owners and racing enthusiasts in the days preceding this years Kentucky Derby you gradually become aware that there is a shadow lying directly across the Diamond Jubilee edition of the "Run for the Roses." The shadow is in the shape of a horse, and it is cast by last years winner, Citation. The greatness of the Calumet Farm colt, who was generally accepted as the victor even before he literally obliterated his rivals at Churchill Downs last year and then confirmed his supremacy as he continued his triumphal march, has curiously diminished the status of this years three-year-olds. Wherever you go in paddocks, grandstands, race trains, bars and hotel lobbies, the re-A frain you hear is a variation of, "It wont take too good a colt to win this years: Derby." What all these people are really saying is that there isnt any Citation in the 1949 Derby, with the afterthought that probably there isnt any Assault, Count Fleet, War Admiral, Whirlaway, Cavalcade. Twenty Grand or Gallant Fox, to mention the more memorable Derby winners of the past 20 years. The absence of Blue Peter i and Mr. Busher is almost as responsible for this prevailing opinion as the remem-| bered brilliance of Citation. The truth is, of course, that we dont know now who the Derby winner will be and we wont know whether he is a good! horse or a great one for many months to come. The case of Assault should provide a pertinent reminder to those inclined to view the current crop of three-year-olds with a jaundiced eye. Few Derby winners in the 75-year history of the stake were more grudgingly accorded their due than Robert J. Klebergs courageous son of Bold Venture — Igual. Public Slow to Acclaim Colt Though Assault won the Derby by eight lengths, returning his backers a point a length — he went to the post at slightly better than 8 to 1 — his victory was generally depreciated. Fingers of scorn were pointed at the time of 2:06% over a slow track. Came the Preakness and Lord Bos-well, who had been favored for the Derby, along with his stablemates, Knockdown and Perfect Bahram, was again favored over Assault. Though Lord Boswell, who had been blocked at a crucial stage of the Derby, held Assault to a neck in the Preakness, the King Ranch colt ran a game race after making his move a little prematurely. The time, however, was 2:011/5 for the mile and three-sixteenths, slowest since Head Play scored in 2:02 in 1935. Incidentally, the mighty Citation ran the slowest Preakness since the stake has been at its present distance, 2:02%. When the three-year-olds moved to Long Island for the Belmont Stakes, Lord Boswell was again made the choice by the unconvinced racing public. It was the first and, to that point, the only time that a colt who had won two tiers of the Triple Crown was not favored to win the mythical bauble. Assault won with considerable ease from Natchez and Cable, with Lord Boswell far back. The time was 2:30%, which was no better than respectable, and a large segment of the public and press regarded Assault as merely the best of a bad lot. When he won the Dwyer at Aqueduct in 2:06%, beating Windfields and Lord Boswell, Assault was favored for the first time in 1946, but he received more blame than praise. Victories Followed by Defeats Assault had preceded his Derby triumph with victories in the Experimental and Wood Memorial at Jamaica and the Derby Trial at Churchill Downs. Thus, he had to win six consecutive stakes before being honored with favoritism in the wagering market. When this bead roll of six major triumphs was followed by the oame number of defeats, the chorus singing, "I Told You So" became deafening. The facts in the case, which were that Assault suffered from an internal indisposition and certainly was not helped by the deformed foot resulting from an injury suffered while roaming in the King Ranch pastures as a yearling, were given little weight. The consensus was that a bubble had burst. Ironically, Assault was the favorite in the first three of these six defeats, the Arlington Classic, Discovery Handicap and Jersey Handicap. It was not until November 1, 1946, when Assault beat the thoroughly seasoned Stymie a half dozen lengths in the Pimlico Special, that he was accorded some of the credit so long overdue. Nine days later he was favored to win the Westchester Handicap and responded by beating Lucky Draw by open daylight. Glorious Triumph in Butler Assaults reputation grew steadily from the start of his four-year-old campaign, in which he won his first starts, climaxing the series with a glorious triumph under 135 pounds in the Butler Handicap, in which he had to fight his way through a screen of horses in the last 50 yards to beat Stymie 126, and Gallorette 117, after having been bumped by both horses. The courageous colt with the club foot had finally come into his own, and his subsequent defeats, when he was in no condition to do himself justice, failed to tarnish his glow. Today, after more than a year of idleness, Assault is training again at Belmont Park and it is a tribute to a champion who earned his reputation the hard way, that he is the one most feared by the trainers of all the other potential leaders in the handicap division. There may not be another Assault in this years Derby, but anyone who says there isnt may have to eat those words come November.
