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RT?~ — ~1 JUDGES STAND *y CHARLES HATT0N CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., April 30.— The Derby course was sloppy this morning, and the possibility that Saturdays classic will be decided over an "off" track became a consideration. The weather always has been a little casual about what it is going to do next during Derby Week in Kentucky. And there now is a great deal of conjecture how a wet track would influence the chances of various of the candidates. The favored Native Dancer won in the slop at Saratoga and is such a beautiful mover it is probable he can handle any sort of going. Trainer Bill Winfrey feels confident of this, and is impartial in the matter of track conditions Saturday. George Poole appears hopeful, actually, that the surface will be soft. Straight Face won a sprint race by nine lengths in heavy going at Hialeah Park. last February, and it is recalled his hooves were more or less suspect last fall. "Tennessee" Wright is quoted as saying that Money Broker wants mud. Trainer Clyde Troutt of Royal Bay Gem tells us that his charge can run in such going, but he is not unlike most horsemen in that he would prefer the track were in good condition. Ram o War and Ace Destroyer are outsiders who shall have to be considered more seriously if the track becomes deep. Track superintendent Tom Young has done everything possible to provide a track with a firm bottom for Saturdays history -making run. And we have a notion it will take very heavy weather to disturb the bottom and make it really rough. Some fast times have been recorded at this meet, but it is not Youngs idea to attempt making horses create world marks. What he does with the Derby course is in an effort to protect it against a deluge and have it in the best condition possible Saturday. Possibility of Wet Rose Run Considered Derby Strategies Intrigue Track Crowds Preview Results Defeat Pedigree Pundits Troutt Esteems Royal Gem as Progenitor The talk here today is all of Native Dancer and Correspondent and deep strategies. Eddie Arcaro is on a brilliant front-runner in Mrs. Gordon Guibersons Cali-fornian. and he is one of a rare few accurate judges of pace among contemporary jockeys. Since the Khaled colt has been popped to the lead at the outset of all his prep races for the Kentucky Derby, it does not seem plausible to think Arcaro will choose the "Run for the Roses" in which to experiment with coming from behind. More likely the Cincinnatian will wish to handle him as he did in the Blue Grass, going slowly as possible in front of his horses down the backstretch, then dropping him down for a furlong in :11. Correspondent is capable of it, and at Lexington an element of surprise made it more effective, for Arcaro called on him at the three furlongs pole, and by the time rival riders went to a drive they had had it, whether or not this mattered to the result. One wonders if the famed saddlesmith can do this in Saturdays mile and a quarter. Bill Winfrey was saying just now. "It is mighty nice to have a horse like this, who can force a fast pace if it is necessary, or wait if the pace is fast enough." We have a notion that if the pace becomes at all casual in the Derby, Guerin has horse enough to make it sizzle right away. This question of how the Derby will be run is a very popular and fascinating guessing game here in Derbytown today. But it is only for laughs really. Georgie Poole is so right in saying, "Races almost never are run the way one imagines they are going to be." The recent form of Native Dancer and Correspondent defeats pedigree pundits here in the Blue Grass, for the reason both are by horses who have been considered primarily as agents of speed, and both are out of mares who were themselves sprinters. And yet, Native Dancer and Correspondent were the strong horses at the end of the Wood and the Blue Grass Stakes; which are over the mile and a furlong route. California scribes on the scene are frankly amazed at the improvement in Mrs. Guibersons colt since he came to Kentucky, and are writing optimistic essays to readers of Coast publications, telling them, "He acts like a different horse altogether." It is to be hoped Col. Spencer Drayton doesnt hear of this. None of the * geneologists. who have for months been analyzing Native Dancers pedigree critically as a presidential candidates, has yet explained him to our complete satisfaction. But it certainly is clear enough where he derived his color, for his gray coat is shot through with lighter gray spots, like that of Roi Herode and "the Spotted Wonder,- The Tetrarch. Winfrey, incidentally, tells us his charge is prankish as ever, and apparently he can catapult his riders out of the tack whenever the idea appeals to him. It is really sport handling him when he wants to play. Funnily enough his sire, Polynesian, never seemed to much like racing and race tracks, but Native Dancer fancies the whole thing was thought up for his enjoyment. And we have the impression he is too lazy ever to take racing so seriously he will go off his feed, or take up stall walking. Of course, his mental attitude is one of the reasons he has won all his races. AAA Clyde Troutt, who is training a good Royal Gem II. in Royal Bay Gem, is of the opinion "Royal Gem II, is going Continued on Page Thirty-Five I 1 ] 1 j JUDGES STAND |g By CHARLES HATTON Continued from Page Forty-Eight to get a really top horse in this country some day." This stallion represents an out- 0 cross for most American mares. He is by Dhoti, who is in turn by Dastur, a son of H the noted English stayer, Solano. Remark- ably enough, Solario is not generally con- sidered to have been a successful sire in the — British Isles, but is gaining a certain recognition elsewhere in the breeding world. The Celt, Royal Charger, who is coming O soon to Leslie Combs Spendthrift, is out of a mare by Solario. Royal Gem II. is out of French Gem, by Beau Fils, and the name of the stout Son-in-Law appears twice in C the first three removes of his pedigree. 5 Gene Constantin, Jr., who races Royal Bay * Gem, has confidence in Warner Jones stal- £ lion and has acquired others of his progeny. In the racing seasons ahead, the Texan "* will have homebreds to carry his colors, for -he now has several broodmares at various Central Kentucky studs and has purchased m 3 some well-bred fillies. Following the Derby, u Royal Bay Gem is to rejoin others of the Constantin string, now training in Maryland. He has come a long way for a colt that raced 21 times at two, and was active in Florida during the winter, and his condition reflects credit on his trainer. AAA Turf ana: Native Dancer has a mascot, a female terrier called "Suzie." who thinks he is her mascot. Pays no attention to Social Outcast, but when the doors of "The Dancers" box are closed, she sniffs under them anxiously, whines and carries on. Odd how some dogs attach themselves to a good horse. Tom Healey had a Schnauzer, "Rex," who would not associate with any other horse in the barn but Equipoise. . . . The TV on the Derby is expected to yield the Red Cross 00,000. . . . Roscce Goose is ushering unfamiliar newsmen on a. m. tours of the Derby training camps along the backstretch here.
