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, 4 France R118-Year-0ld Derby This Sunday GODOLPHTN-DARLEx" . Pans Correspondent, Daily Racing Form PARIS, France. Chantilly will be open Sunday for the second and last time in the season. On the card the major event is the Prix du Jockey Club, or French Derby, now 118 years old. When the Societe dTSncour-agement with its new ideas about racing was established in November, 1833, the group, headed, by Lord Henry Seymour, decided to extend its social prestige by launching the Cercle des Jockeis, or Jockey Club. Immedi ately a success among the leading highlights of Paris society, the club gave its name to the new race inaugurated the following year. The conditions of the first Prix du Jockey Club made the event open to colts and mares, three years old, foaled and raised in France, at weights of 100 pounds and 97 pounds. Penalties of three and seven pounds for previous winners were at first imposed but were dropped after a few years. The first Prix du Jockey Club was run as the last of a seven-race card which started at 12:30 on May 16, 1936, at Chantilly. It was won by Lord Henry Seymours Frank and was given little attention by the sportswriters. Neither public nor critics were then interested in races for such young: horses as 3 -year-olds. But the race gained prestige rapidly and in the period before World War I it was worth over 0,000 in gold to the winner. That was when William K. Vanderbilt won the classic three times, with Main-tenon in 1906, Sea Sick dead-heat with Quintette in 1908, and Negofol in 1909. The impending contest will bring together most of the best colts of the generation. The winners of the last two "in utero" stakes, Le Grand Bi and Sica Boy, will be strongly challenged by Beigler Bey whose sire, Bey, was better at Chantijly than at Longchamp, Alcaraz, Peppermint, Le Petit Prince, Cote dOr II, Major, Yorick, Antares. Popof unbeaten and Mistralor. Last Sunday at Chantilly the fillies confirmed in the Prix de Diane, or" French Oaks, at one mile and five-sixteenths, the quality previously demonstrated at Longchamp at one mile. In the Poule dEssai des Pouliches, or French One Thousand Guineas, Francois Dupres Virgule beat Madame J. Cou-turies Tahiti and the- Aga Khans Baghicheh. The same top three were first, second and fourth in the Prix de Diane, though not in the same order as at Longchamp. Virgule, ridden by Charley Smirke, did not adopt the same successful tactics as with her usual jockey, Guy Lequcux. This time she waited in the middle of the pack and was only able to finish fourth to Tahiti and Baghicheh at Chantilly. Fourteen fillies lined up out of 401 nominees in November, 1952, and the winners share was 3,380. The start was not too good and the two pacemakers, Djorlaris for Marcel Boussacs Almaos and Bastia for Tahiti were not able to go to the fore right away. Ralph Beaver Strassburgers Caledonie was in front, with Robert For-gets Puerto del Sol next, followed by Almaos, Robert Mathe-Dumaines Uptala, Virgule and her stablemate, Toundra, Baghicheh and Tahati. Passing the castles stables, Bastia had come alongside Caledonie, both sharing a lead of several lengths over Puerto del Sol, Almaos, Tahiti, Baghicheh, Uptala and Baron Guy de Rothschilds Vielle Pierre. On the last turn, coming up the hill, Tahiti closed on the leaders and came first into the stretch followed closely by Baghicheh, Almaos, Uptala, Puerto del Sol and Vielle Pierre. Most effectively, Tahiti drew away to win surely, whereas Uptala, who tried to challenge, dropped back to third, leaving Bagchicheh second by a neck. Virgule was a good fourth by two lengths, ahead of Almaos and Vielle Pierre. The rest of the field were lengths back. The time was 2:17 with no splits recorded. Tahiti favorite, paid 43 for a 10 francs stake. She was ridden by Marcel Larraun, the stables first jockey, who hot ago was a leading jumping rider. Tahiti is trained by Etienne Pollet at Chantilly and was bred by her owner, as were all the six fillies. Tahiti was got by the well-established American-owned sire. Tornado, who is by Tourbillon out of Roseola, by Swynford. Tornado has already produced several high-class fillies. One of them, Nuit de Folies, out of Folle Nuit, the best filly of her age, is now at Elmendorf Farm. Tahitis dam, Gradisca, is by Goya, also by Tourbillon, and comes from a successful producing family. She is out of Phebe, by Pharos out of La Grelee, the dam of Rialto. Gradisca was useful on the track, winning twice at two and twice at 3. Exported to England, Gradisca dropped Tahiti, who was retained by the seller, and brought back to France. Gradiscas two previous foals, one by Victrix and the other by Galene, did not make good. Tourbillon, grand-sire on both sides of Tahitis pedigree, may be credited for the fillys high quality, so many be the nick with Pharos. Also worth noting are the changes in pasture experienced first by the pregnant mare when crossing over to England, and then by the foal when returned to France. Tahiti was not raced as a two-year-old. She scored in the Prix de Diane, her third win in four starts, suffering her only defeat when beaten a neck in the Poule dEssai des Pouliches. Curiously, in each of her last three starts her runner-up was the Aga Khans Baghicheh, by Nasrullah out of Mehmahny, half-sister to The Shik-ampur, one of last seasons top colts. Tahiti was to go to Newmarket for the One Thousand Guineas, which she might have won, but she refused to load at the airport in Paris. After a whole afternoon of disr heartening refusal to go up the ramp, she was taken back to Chantilly, and the plane left without her. We cannot complete the column without giving special mention to the resounding licking the French invaders gave the native fillies in the mile and one-half Oaks at Epsom. On a few occasions French-bred and -trained horses have gone across to finish first and second in Englands top classic events, such as the Derby, Oaks, Gold Cup, etc., but this was the first time that the French-bred and -trained were first, second andx third in one of the same events. It is easy to say that the English fillies must be a poor group this season, but had the French been beaten there would be no such talk. Four fillies went from France and filled the first three places, with Continued on Page Forty-Nine Report From France By GODOLPHEN BARLEY Continued from Page Six Madame Robert Forgets Sun Cap, Marcel Boussacs Altana and Paul Duboscqs Philante, finishing in that order. The other filly, George Courtois Rabella, has the excuse of a severe bumping when in a favorable position. The winner, Sun Cap, was off badly at the start and last of a field of 21 runners. She showed class by making up the lost ground and. going on to win brilliantly by six lengths. She is possibly the best three-year-old in training in both countries, and we may state that the fillies this season are at least the equal of the colts in France, if not superior. Sun Cap was placed twice in four starts at two, and was second in her comeback in a good maiden race for fillies at Le Tremblay. She then improved to beat some of the best fillies in the stakes Prix Penelope, one mile and five-sixteenths, at Saint-Cloud, at 30 to 1. It was then decided to reserve her for the Oaks. She is not too brilliant in her home works, showing herself to be consistently below her stable companion who tried in the French Oaks, Puerto del Sol. Trie latter is by Cranach out of Fille de Soleil and is a half-sister to Sun Caps sire, Sunny Boy. Sunny Boy, by Jock out of Fille de Soleil, by Solario, is a cross between the successful bloodlines of Boussacs and the Aga Khans studs. He had six winners in his first crop, but, unfortunately, the best of them met with a major accident in training and was destroyed. Sunny Boys second crop is now three. Eight two-year-olds won 11 races last year and earned fourth rank for Sunny Boy on. the list of sires of two-year-olds. So far he has twelve winners this season and they include top stake winners such as Sun Cap Oaks, Sica Boy Prix Lupin, Yorick Prix d lEsperance, Haridelle Prix Vanteaux and Soleil Levant. Including the Oaks, Sunny Boy is probably now leading sire this season. An approach was made to owner. Robert Forget, with the idea of setting up a syndicate for the sire in England at an extremely high figure. Sun Cap is out of the dam Cappellina, by Le Capucin and Bellina, by Belfonds. Cappellina passed into her present owners hands in 1949 and her first foal for Forget was the good colt La Varende, by Blue Moon, fifth in the French Derby. Sun Cap is a gray, color which traces to Belfonds. Her next start will be in the Grand Prix de Paris on June 27. Her trainer is Reginald Carver, nephew of Dick Carver, and it is his first year in. the sport in that capacity. The French candidate in the Derby at Epsom, Ferriol, started joint favorite in the betting at 5 to 1. The colt broke down in the early stages of the race and never was able to figure. His owner, Comtesse de Chambure, refused an offer of 5,000 a week before the classic in the hope the colt would make the stallion she desires. Ferriol will remain at Chantilly and, if possible, race next season . . . The Gold Cup and Royal Ascot will tempt several top class French horses. Northern Light and Silex may be relied upon to represent France well in the Cup, at two and one-half miles. Boussac will send a few over, including Karali, a four-year-old maiden.
