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Riders Prominent In Derby Picture Troxler, Who Rode Sir Huon, Recalls Outstanding Feats Of Sonde, Goose and Rice CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., May 1. — Trainer Roscoe Troxler, who was astride the 11 to 10 favorite Sir Huon when that son of Falsetto carried George J. Longs colors to victory in the 1906 Kentucky Derby, likes to tell of incidents in which noted riders played prominent parts. Troxler, incidentally, conditioned El Mono for his Widener and McLennan successes in 1948 at Hialeah. "Funny thing," said Troxler, "I was trying to recall what Derby winners owed their triumphs to their jockeys. "When I was in my prime there were small fields. We were instructed to let our charges run the first mile in 1 :42 or thereabout and then set them down. That final burst usually put us in the picture, or on top at the end. Trainers could nearly tell how fast the pace would be run and the speed of which their charges were capable. We were called upon to be good judges of pace, but were taught that from the start, and those riders who fell by the wayside were the ones who could not tell whether his charge was running a mile in forty or forty-two. Fields Larger Now "Since I retired from riding, the Derby fields have been larger," continued Troxler. "The starting has been different, and, although there are many great riders today, few are good judges of pace. I believe Charley Borel put up one of the greatest rides I have seen in the last 40 years. He appeared hopelessly beaten when he approached the stretch with Omar Khayyam, but Borel drove the horse through on the inside of four horses and got up to beat Ticket and Midway. Borel came back with his boot torn off. "Of course, Thompson outrode himself when he won the 1921 Derby with Behave Yourself. "Sande was given little chance of winning with Flying Ebony, and I believe that without Sande that horse would never have been the winner. Maybe you dont believe it, but my brother would have won that Derby with King Nadi if he had known it would rain. "Roscoe Goose did pretty well with Done-rail, too. He did not let Foundation, Ten Point and the others worry him. Ten Point was a heavy commission horse and Foundation was the pride of the Blue Grass. Jack Weaver had his mare Gowell in there, and she ran third, then went well in the Latonia Derby. Goose made the boys look a little sick when he got Donerail through in the stretch at the biggest pay-off of any Derby winner." Troxler went on, "Many great riders have participated in the Derby, of course, and a great majority of them never won. It took Mack Garner 20 years to win. Tod Sloan, Walter Miller, Monk Overton, Lucien Lyne, Jimmy McLaughlin, Dave Nicol, Clarence Turner, Jimmy Lee, Frankie Robinson, Al J Robertson, Sonny Workman, Eddie Taplin, Earl Pool, Frankie Keogh, Laverne Fator, Ted Atkinson and other noted riders are among those who have tried, but failed to win the race. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention Ted Rices great ride on Paul Jones in 1920, when he beat Upset, and the duel between Pony McAtee on Whiskery and Sande on Osmand in 1927. Sande made Osmand, strictly a miler, go a quarter of a mile farther, but Osmand was unequal to the task, and gave way to Whiskery and McAtee right at the wire. "I dont believe there is a jockey born who does not hope to win a Derby," concluded Troxler.
