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pHPw ; * r v K* Jiy B m Ipl PI I, # WKS raSandkx fiB Bw -■■■ ■.■■ H R85and ■■■• .SBla1 :"- mils- * j»a£s~ «*T -KW- ■•■ . rWSE. ** " ■■ : ■•*■■ "™ft¥:::v:*,i:SS|!S9!i|S8 CORRESPONDENT— The Blue Grass winner and hope of Californians in the Kentucky classic. jCalifornians Cheer Correspondent See Guiberson Colt! With Good Chance Golden State Representative In Every Sense of Word; Last Homebred Winner, Morvich By OSCAR OTIS CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville. Ky., j May 1. — There is an old saying that "hope j springs eternal" and it is indeed in order so J far as the hopes of the Far West in general and California in particular are concerned about winning a Kentucky Derby. . This year, Californias faith is pinned on the sleek and racy Correspondent, who is owned, bred, and trained by Golden Staters. The owners are Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Guiberson of La Jolla, a beach suburb of San Diego. They are citizens and voters of the Golden State even though they maintain headquarters in Dallas, where he is president of an oil well and supply com- | pany. ! Correspondent was bred by Rex C. Ells- | worth of Chino in Riverside County. He is by Californias leading sire, Khaled, a son of Hyperion, from a mare who won stakes j in California as well as New England, j Heather Time, and is trained by a transplanted "native," via Canada, Wally Dunn. | The latter is now an American citizen and has made California his home for several years. _ It has been said, but it will bear repeating, that a victory for a California-owned, c bred, and winter-raced colt would do a great deal to stimulate breeding interest in the Par West. And few people in the Middle P] West and the East realize that California, q On in the past, played a truly important role in the Derby. Represented by Arroz in 1952 — Last year, the Guibersons provided a a Derby candidate in the homebred, Arroz, a plodding type of horse who didnt quite * measure up to greatness. Still, he did not and disgrace himself, finishing sixth, and wind- ™ ing up in front of such as Cold Command, f Smoke Screen, and Gushing Oil, to name a J* few. J In 1951, the coast took part of the credit ■ for Count Turf, the surprise winner owned ■ by J. J. Amiel of New York. While Count ■ Turf was foaled in Kentucky, he was sent "* to to the Riverside farm of his breeder, Dr. Prank Porter Miller, as a weanling, flour- the " ished in the sunshine and pastures of the p doctors farm, and, as a yearling, was sent F back to the Saratoga sales where he was £ purchased by the New Yorker. Count Turf j* winter-raced in Florida. ■ In 1950 the coast held its highest hopes. ™ That was with Your Host, a truly fast s* horse. Because of his record of brilliant speed, a sizzling seven furlonger at Keene- * far land, and a good record of accomplishment n in the West, including a handy victory in • the Santa Anita Derby, Your Host went to * the post a favorite. He finished ninth. ■ Ironically, it was the only poor race of his _ ~~ entire career, a point often used to empha- size that the Derby is one of the most difficult races in the world to win. Actually, the first California winter-raced horse to annex the Derby was the Missouri-bred Elwood, who campaigned at old Ascot Park near Los Angeles, and went back to Kentucky for Mr. and Mrs. C. E. Durnell. Ellwood blazed a trail, for many assaults by the west followed. Waiting Over 30 Years Present-day Californians will never be satisfied until a California -bred, and winter-raced colt wins the Kentucky Derby. In recent years, some winter-raced colts have won, and the only California-bred ever to score was Morvich in 1922. While a California-bred, he never raced in the far west. Indeed, he was purchased by New Yorker, Benjamin Block, after the colt had been shipped east where he was broken, trained - «md raced. In 1924, Charlie Hartwell, now racing a stable at Caliente in Mexico, paid the then substantial.sum of- 0,000 for Cannon Shot and sent him to Kentucky, but the best| Cannon Shot could do was finish twelfth to Black Gold. Then came a group of many California-owned, but not -bred, horses seeking Kentucky Derby honors. To recall a few : Naish-apur in 1929, who finished second to Clyde Van Dusen; Walter H. Hoffman, Jr.s, Lon-gus, sixth in 1930; the late Norman W. Churchs Gallant Sir, eighth in 1932; Raoul Walshs Sunset Trail II., sixteenth in 1937; Myron Selznicks Cant Wait, third to Law-rin and Dauber in 1938; Staretor, owned by the late soft drink king, Hugh S. Nesbitt, second to Whirlaway in 1941; the Oregon-bred but California-raced Mioland, who was fourth to the California winter-raced Gala-hadion in 1940, and With Regards, owned by T. D. "Pinky" Grimes, an unlucky fourth in 1942. Still others in comparatively recent times were Boot and Spur, who finished last in 1942 under the colors of the late E. C. A. Berger; in 1944, Mrs. George Poulsens I Broadcloth, second to Pensive, and Erlanger Stables Shui Up, fourth; Sea Swallow, owned by the late Cherlie Howard, unsuc- _ c P] q On — a * and ™ f J* J ■ ■ ■ "* to the " p F £ j* ■ ™ s* * far n • * ■ _ ~~ cessful in 1945, and Harry M. Warners tandem of Stepfather and W. L. Sickle, unplaced in 1947. Trust Flown to Louisville Earl O. Stice, the Eagle Rock plumber, made Derby tradition of a sort when, that same year, he became a first owner to fly horse to Louisville for the Derby, On Trust making the trip from the West Coast. On Trust ran a smashing race, though fourth to Jet Pilot, Phalanx, and Faultless, being beaten only a length and two yards. Mrs. John Payson Adams of San Jose started Grandpere against Citation in 1948, but trying to beat Citation at that time was considered an impossible assignment for any horse, and so it proved be. While assaying California breeding by efforts of its horses in the Derby is permissible, it does not tell the true story. For one thing, some California owners are not Derby-minded, and prefer to keep their horses on the California circuit, close to home where they can see them race and thus get the maximum of pleasure from stable ownership and breeding. There also is a widespread belief in the west that shipping a horse "across the mountains" to the middle west or east causes him to lose Torm, because of climatic and water changes. It is true that some horses shipping lost their form, but evidence is almost overwhelming that if proper attention is paid to shipping, a horse need not "go off." It has been proved a number of times, but the most dramatic "evidence" was given last year by Calumet Farms Hill Gail, who not only became the first horse ever to win both the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derby, but he won the Kentucky classic like a good race horse. It is probable that when his racing career is over, and more reflective judgment is applied, Hill Gail will be ranked among the top Derby winners of late years. It is possible that in the immediate years ahead, more and more Californians will try for the Derby. This is all to the good, for the Derby prides itself on being national, or intersectional, in character. With the vast size of the breeding industry in California, that states representation always will be both desirable, and, insofar as the millions of people who live west of the Rockies are concerned, stimulating.
