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vr JUDGES STAND Br charles hatton CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., April 30. — Derby colts reach the final phase of their preparation with the decision of tomorrows Mile Trial. Pur Sang and Bernwood, who raced to a photo finish in the mile Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes here last fall, are to meet again in the last of the the Derby Derby previews. previews. Pur Pur Sang Sang is is per- the the Derby Derby previews. previews. Pur Pur Sang Sang is is per- perhaps not the soundest colt in training, but he usually finishes in resolute fashion, and the handlers of other Derby eligibles respect him. There is a possibility that the Trial will be run in soft going, as it so often has been, and for that matter all the various almanacs and fishing guides suggest the Derby may be decided in such footing. Trainers familiar with the Keeneland strip rarely turn a caulk in wet weather, but sharp shoes help give horses traction when the local course is soft. A number of the Derby prospects such as Anyoldtime, Counterpoint, Sir Bee Bum, Phil D., Away Away and Mameluke have raced well on "off" tracks, but E. C. Dobson expressed most trainers views when the rains came just before the Blue Grass Stakes. "My horses Anyoldtime and Sir Bee Bum have run on wet tracks, but I still would rather it was dry," he observed. "For one thing you use up more race horse running in mud. And for another, you can excuse a horse if he runs a poor race, and you have to guess just where he is in his training." By the way, Bob Horwood weighs in with the idea tracks having public address systems might do worse than to announce the entrants that are sharp shod, on the theory the crowds at tracks which do not have the paddock boards would be better informed, and it would stimulate the play. AAA The Debutante Stakes on Saturday assumed a certain interest with the renewal of the Lafayette, when the two fillies, H. P. Headleys Recover and D. A. Headleys Crownlet outran the colts in their respective divisions of the Lexington race. Each hung out :46% for the abbreviated half mile, and both are in the Downs stake. Re- Pur Sang on Familiar Gound in Trial Crownlet Prospect for Rich Debutante Repetoire Boon to Yearling Auctions Band Shows Good Form in Blue Grass cover won with her ears pricked, but Crownlets success was achieved in more stirring fashion. Red Curtice caught her at the corner and gained a little advantage, but she kept digging in to such good purpose he stopped. Crownlet is by Half Crown from Marcella Miss, an aging Pharamond n. mare who has had something like eight winners from nine foals, as Headley recalls. It seems that in 1948, the Harry Lungers, who maintain a small stud at Manchester, decided to retire Oberod and Car-margo. The Delawarians offered Marcella Miss and Teddys Own for sale to make room for them, and Head-ley purchased them to enlarge his own stud. Marcella Miss was in foal to Half. Crown at the time and Crownlet is the very good result. AAA Derby pricemakers appear to have resorted to expert-ing pedigrees in arriving at their odds on candidates for Saturdays "Run for the Roses." We cant think of any other reason Mrs. Mikells colt, Repetoire, who has won four stakes in as many 1951 starts, should be only the third or fourth choice. And these successes included two of the most important Derby previews in the Chesapeake and Wood Memorial. It has to be admitted that the Happy Argos have shown more speed than stamina. Nevertheless, Repetoire seems amenable to rating and we should hesitate to guess how he will finish going a mile and a quarter. Morvich, Osmand and Flying Ebony stayed far better than the pedigree pundits thought anyone had a right to expect in the Derby. However Repetoire fares in Saturdays history-making run, he certainly has given William Evans, Tyson Gilpin and other yearling salesmen a tremendous assist. Mrs. Mikell ob- tained him for just ,000 at the Saratoga auctions in 1949, which approximates the mean for New York and Kentucky yearlings. Of course the 1950 two-year-old champion, Battlefield, was another in the same range at ,500. AAA "You cant imagine how pleased a rider can be just to have a mount in the Derby," Robert Lee "Longshot" Baird was saying. "I was on one a year or so ago. Some of the boys in my old outfit in the war, whom I hadnt heard from in ages, were listening in on the radio. My horse hadnt much chance, but I received letters from those fellows afterward, and we had a little reunion that summer in Chicago." Baird has a prospect of riding one of several candidates this year. Perhaps his most important success thus far was on Papa Redbird in the Classic. "He was supposed to be a sprinter," the Chicagoan recalls, "and I will never forget Mr. John Goodes orders. He flattered me by simply saying, Well, my boy, just do some race riding. Everybody else seemed to have orders to wait and went away taking back, so I let Papa Redbird run a quarter, then took hold of him and he made it with something to spare." Baird was among the leading riders at Keeneland and continues in good form at this meeting. AAA Turf ana: Asphalt proved a better investment than Concrete at Keeneland the other day... Louis Lee Hag-gins Calicut, whos out of a half-sister of Abernant, had no chance in the Lafayette. Drew the inside and the ground broke from beneath him . . . C. V. Whitneys Cold Command, purple pedigreed son of War Admiral and Monsoon, is a prospect for the Bashf ord Manor . . Horsemen still are saying nice things of Keenelands sporting policies regarding the splitting of the Lafayette and Blue Grass, the increase in purses for two-year-olds, and the clubs willingness to let small fields go when theres any interest in the race . . . Randall stalls are greatly in demand this season. . President Bill Corum of the Downs plans an elevator to the press box and the "21 Room."
