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W7e SnoemoJter Silent Willie Shoemaker Riding in His First Derby DerbyWEE WEE WILLIE SHOEMAKER who rides Count Flame is participating in his first Derby but by every right he is en titled to ranking among the leading riders in the nation Shoemaker was born in Texas but moved to Southern California at an early age s t a r t e d with horses on the Susy Q Farm of Thomas W Sim mons graduated from there to race rid ¬ ing He was a success from the start because he followed orders im rrtiritlv and always seemed to have something left in his horse for that all important stretch run He had to overcome one fault his almost abso ¬ lute silence silenceShoemakers Shoemakers rise on the Coast was rapid and in 1950 he tied with Joe Culmone for the national title in point of winners ridden in a dramatic finish Culmone rode in Cuba that year the final day of the competition being a Sunday and Shoe ¬ maker at Caliente CalienteShoemaker Shoemaker was a success when he first went to New York and his record in the Metropolitan area has been exceptional Shoemaker is still taciturn but far more talkative than he was when he started out He is riding free lance Shoemaker has gained a measure of fame in California by being a modern jockey in that he is sav ¬ ing his money under a Superior Court ap ¬ proved plan and he will be a man of financial consequence when he has a few more years of riding and earnings to his credit
