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Final Eighth Mile Deciding Factor Average Winning Distances Of Starters Sires Is Noted Offspring of Count Fleet Exclusive of Two YearOlds Tops List at 828 Furlongs FurlongsBy By LEON RASMUSSEN RASMUSSENStaff Staff Correspondent The shortest walk in the world used to be the one to the woodshed with an irate lather holding one of your ears in one hand and a switch in the other That walk went out about the time Prohibition did but theres still something that is the same today as it was years ago The longest eighth of a mile in the world is the last eighth at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby Day when Americas best three yearolds try and get to the wire first in that gruelling speedandstamina demanding mile and a quarter of the nations most coveted race raceIt It is that final furlong that separates the men from the boys and gives breed ¬ ing pundits a chance to exhibit their knowledge of bloodlines by flatly declaring that this or that colt wont get the dis ¬ tance It is that final eighth that makes the Kentucky Derby a classic because the mile and a quarter is the distance that American racing has settled upon as call ¬ ing for the very ultimate in the thorough ¬ bred that admixture of speed and stam ¬ ina alone The fame and fortune attendant upon a Kentucky Derby winner is not for a sprinter nor is it for a plodder it is for a threeyearold possessing their com ¬ bined attributes and none of their faults faultsFascinating Fascinating Research ResearchAttempting Attempting to find which threeyearold is going to be running that last eighth at Churchill tomorrow while the rest of them are standing on a treadmill has provided some fascinating research for this writer The result has been some startling facts and figures It was once said that nothing was so fallacious as facts except figures Well we have plenty of both but weve warned you You dont have to believe them just because weve told them Our figures are based on the 1951 average win ¬ ning distance exclusive of twoyearolds of the get of the sires of Derby starters and the 1951 average winning distance also exclusive of twoyearolds of the get of sires of the dams of Derby starters And one more warning averages are like open ¬ ing a book in the middle they dont make much sense if you dont understand what made them as they are So here goes just for the fun of it itAccording According to the f iggers Count Flame should give J J Amiel his second straight Kentucky Derby victory This chestnut son of Count Fleet Morning by American Flag is bred to run all day and half the night Last year the get of Count Fleet averaged 828 furlongs per win while American Flag the sire of Morning a good race mare herself was noted for his distanceloving progeny This 828 average tops the sires of Derby starters ranging down to the 721 average of War Glory the sire of the Californiabred Arroz Dixianas Sub Fleet another son of Count Fleet could get part of the purse but his endur ¬ ance is questioned because of his dams sire Balladier whose get averaged but 696 per win in 1951 1951Hannibal Hannibal Is by Roman RomanBlue Blue Man and Hannibal both figure to be right there if breeding tells This does not seem surprising in the case of Blue Man but Hannibal being by Roman would seem to belong to the fast set However his dam War Jitters is by ManV War and Big Red second only to Sir Gallahad m as a broodmare sire during the past 10 years produced get that averaged well over 800 furlongs per victory victoryThe The figures also show that Roman last year sired winners that averaged 737 fur ¬ longs per win a mark that equals that of Bull Lea sire of Hill Gail and higher than the averages of Easy Mon 718 sire of Gushing Oil the aforementioned War Glory 721 and Haltal 726 the sire of Happy Go Lucky LuckyThose Those sires in addition to Count Fleet with better averages than Roman and Bull Lea are War Admiral 765 the sire of Cold Command and Blue Swords 745 the sire of Blue Man ManAmong Among the dams sires with enough in ¬ formation available to get a fairly accurate average Identify Blue Mans maternal grandsire is tops with 816 This figure then drops down to the 696 already men ¬ tioned for Balladier the sire of Sub Rosa dam of Sub Fleet Pintor who showed a good race in the first Experimental and then a better one in the Wood might have a future in the classics His dam Step ladder is by Chance Shot and the latters get averaged 811 per win last season His sire Goya II a son of Tourbillon a French classic sire is still an unknown quantity in this country as far as 10 furlongs are concerned but Pintprs distaff side makes him a threat and accounts for his ability to get a distance when it seemed that he might be nothing more than a good miler milerMuch Much has been written about the upset chances of Smoke Screen the only racing son of the Diavolo sire Drawby Diavolo got some horses that could run a piece but Smoke Screen gets his real plug as a possible classic horse from his dam Aphro ¬ dite by Pilate The latters get averaged 811 per win in 51 and Pilate has long been noted as a stallion who produced stayers with considerable class classMaster Master Fiddle winner of the Wood in rather slow time is by First Fiddle a son of Royal Minstrel whose get have not had enough time to prove themselves as yes or no prospects over a distance However Royal Minstrel was essentially a sprinter and essentially a sire of middle distance horses at best although First Fiddle him ¬ self was a highly competent exception Marsh Marigold Master Fiddles dam is a daughter of Sir Gallahad m Americas most successful broodmare sire His racing get averaged 736 in 1951 1951Calumets Calumets Hill Gail will probably prove tomorrow just how misleading figures can canContinued Continued on Page FortyThree r t 1 i Final Eighth Mile Is Deciding Factor FactorAverage Average Winning Distance Of Starters Sires in 1951 Puts Count Fleet on Top TopContinued Continued from Page Thirty Nine Ninebe be at times He is out of Jane Gail by Blenheim n and the latters get averaged only 706 per win last year an average that is only slightly higher than the lowest that of Balladier In other words Hill Gail should be an awfully tired colt in that long run home If it hadnt been for Cold Com ¬ mand at Keeneland such a thing would have been too ridiculous to suggest but with that chink in his armor now showing perhaps it is not out of line to show why it could happen happenCold Cold Command being by War Admiral Monsoon by Mahmoud has every right to keep on improving War Admirals 765 average when added to the 735 average of Mahmouds get in 1951 put the Whitney colt up close on the cold dope and of course he has much more to recommend him than that Gushing Oils chances of getting a mile and a quarter in such select company would also rest in the genetic in ¬ fluence of his dam Dulcet by Challenger n a classic sire whose get averaged 760 in 51 while Happy Go Lucky seems a little short on both sides of the family tree The main trouble with the above is that it is alLbased on collectivism a word that is unpopular in this country where indi ¬ viduality is admired and respected It is also based on the figures for one year only We all know that Bull Lea has sired the winner of a Kentucky Derby in Citation and has led the sire list on three occasions Blenheim H sired Derby winners in Whirl away and Jet Pilot and was a leading sire one year So how can you discount the chances of Hill Gail Hes an individual not an average Individual arguments can probably be offered for every starter but that would spoil a lot of the fun so lets keep on with the fallaceous facts and figures figuresThe The average amount of money won per win is probably as good a tipoff on the class of horses a sire gets as any method In this respect Count Fleet the nations leading sire last year Bull Lea Roman War Admiral and Haltal take preference Goya ny also rates righly in this respect but too few of his get have raced here to get a reliable average Last year Count Fleets get won an average of 7283 per win the Bull Leas garnered 4825 the Romans 2584 the War Admirals 2505 the Haltals 2328 the Blue Swords 1932 and down the line to 958 per win for the War Glorys GlorysTherefore Therefore taking some stamina and mix ¬ ing it with some class and adding some current form the Derby cocktail comes out as follows Count Flame Blue Man Hill Gail Sub Fleet Pinto Cold Command Happy Go Lucky Master Fiddle Gushing Oil Hannibal Smoke Screen Arroz and the rest if there are any nowhere Dont say we told you
