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England Epsom Derby Next Start for Darius By CUVE GRAHAM London Correspondent, Daily Racing Form LONDON, England. Darius, winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, will not race again before the Epsom Derby which will, therefore, be his third p u b li c appearance in our 1954 season. The Dante colt is coming along nicely and Harry Wragg is quite satisfied that he will be able to produce him 100 per cent fit on June 2 without an intermediate" test in public. Most of our Derby colts, indeed, will have had a very light time, judged by American standards. Such as LAvengro, Elopement, Narrator, Alpenhorn, Novento and Rashleigh will not have had more than five races apiece in their careers before they face the Epsom starter. It is difficult, consequently, to get any sort of line as to their respective merits and we shall also have to guess as to how some of these green, inexperienced horses will react to the Epsom track and the Derby Day crowd. AAA The hard winter is largely responsible for this situation. Some of the big: stables still contain several classic entrants which have not yet had their first eye-opening: introduction to racing:. Under these circumstances it seems quite likely that we will not get a clear understanding: of our classic.threc-year-old form until the second half of the season. AAA Chester races last week produced several instances of the traps involved in betting on this seasons crop of three-year-olds. The Chester Vase one mile and five furlongs, one of the most important events at this time-honored fixture, went tothe 33-to-l outsider, Blue Rod. He won by five lengths from Prescription, with Jack Ger-bers By Thunder another three lengths away in third place. By Thunder, by Nearco, started first choice at odds of 4 to 11. This was due to a trial in which By Thunder and Blue Hod had taken part at Newmarket ten days previously. In this early morning workout, Blue Rod had finished 100 yards behind his rival. AAA This surprising result was capped by the Cheshire Oaks one and one-half miles, the next race on the Chester program. Six fillies took part and the winner was the 20-to-l outsider of the field, Sir Victor Sassoons Amora. None of the five other jockeys, it seemed, paid a thought to Amora, who was allowed to make running at a slow pace. At the end of a mile, Edgar Britt, somewhat to his surprise, found that he was still in front. He opened up five lengths and Amora was past the winning post before the other riders became aware of what was happening. AAA This filly, by Arbar from Temora, was the top-priced yearling of 1952 when she fetched 0,000. This was only her third race, and her performance in it greatly exceeded that of her two previous efforts. Infatuation, a failure in the Two Thousand Guineas, came back to winning form at Sandown Park, where he beat other Derby candidates in Court Splendour and Alpenhorn. At the time of writing, he is due to run again at Lingfield, which will be his third race in sixteen days. AAA The week opened with a serious accident to Scobie Breasley, who sustained a fractured skull when his mount fell at Alexandra Park, throwing him against the rail. This Australian rider, who won the One Thousand Guineas on Festoon will be out of action for three months or more. AAA Queen Elizabeths Aureole was an easy winner of the Victor Wild Stakes at Kemp-ton Park where he ran as part of his preparation for Epsoms Coronation Cup. He finished with his ears laid flat back on his neck, as if resenting the exertion. That assumption could be incorrect but the little Hyperion colt has always been a queer-tempered character. AAA Chalsworth, by Chantcur II, carried 124 pounds home to victory in the Kemp-ton "Jubilee" Handicap and will also take part in next months Coronation Cup. AAA It was disappointing to hear what a moderate showing the English and Irish horses put up in the Belmont International Chase. Continued on Page Fifty-Thrce Report From England By CLIVE GRAHAM Continued Jrom Page Six Whats the answer? theres no excuse that stands up to forty lengths, in any language. Perhaps your jump-horses are a whole lot better than you give them credit for. After all, wasnt Royal Vale beaten ttfblazes in a little hurdle-race at Saratoga two years ago? , , ,
