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Swaps Could Shatter Precedent! No All-California Horse Ever Wore Kentuckys Roses Determine, Moryich, Count T Turf Didnt Wholly Qualify [ As Golden Gate Colorbearers By OSCAR OTIS 1 CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville, Ky., ] May 6. — There has never been a Cali- ; ; f orni a-bred,-raised,-owned,-trained, and -raced horse to win the Kentucky Derby, i And Swaps is the only horse in this years Derby that could shatter that precedent. I A California-bred horse, Morvich, won ; the Derby in 1922, but he was sold as a ■ yearling to Benjamin Block, New York , broker, and did all his racing this side of ! the Rockies. A California-raised horse, : Count Turf, won in 1951. A California-1 owned colt, Determine, won last year, but he was a Kentucky-bred. California-raced horses have not fared too badly, modern winners in this category being Hill Gail and Determine. Honeys Alibi, owned by W. L. Warner, is a California-bred in the eyes of the entire world excepting in California, which has a special law designating a home-bred as one conceived as well as foaled within the borders of the state. Regardless of how Swaps races Saturday afternoon, of one thing we are certain, and that is that the Californians will keep on trying. The failures of some past years have caused the Golden Staters to be more selective in their choice of Derby representatives, and few horses make the trip over the mountains any more unless they are rated as having more than the proverbial fighting chance. Won Santa Anita Derby , Rex Ellsworth, owner and breeder of Swaps, a son of Californias leading sire, Khaled, pronounced Call-Ed, believes he ; ! has an able, hard-hitting, and fit homebred, who has done most of his training in California, first at Santa Anita following his win in the 00,000 Santa Anita Derby, later at Hollywood Park. Ellsworth , has no illusions about horses, and is less ! given to self deception as to the merits of a horse more than a good many people we know. Therefore, the mere fact that b [ ] ; , ; ! , ! b ►— : ■ Swaps is a starter means that Ellsworth has surveyed the field and figured it was not unbeatable. A victory for an "all California" horse, in our candid opinion, would not mean as much as it would have 10 years ago. This is because California breeding has progressed steadily in quality, its sales market , is coming of age at Del Mar, and a Derby victory is no longer necessary to "prove" 1 that the California horse has come into its own. In other words, .a California victory in the Kentucky Derby is not as necessary as , it once was to bolster the ego of the Golden State breeders. The general merit of their product has been proven so much higher than 10 years ago, in the aggregate, that people do not have to be shown by a Kentucky Derby win. But at the same time, a Kentucky Derby win is always desirable because it is one of the few truly national classics in American racing, and is inter-sectional to a surprising degree. Split Into Two Eras The California breeders have chosen to split the Derby into two eras insofar as homebred horses are concerned, the anr cient, i.e., before the passage of the prevailing California-bred rule, and the modern, from that passage until the present. In the latter era, four really good horses have come on from California. The first was On Trust, who finished a brilliant fourth in 1947 to Jet Pilot. On Trust earned over 00,000 in purses, and still tops the list of Calif orniar-bred earners. On Trust, it might be added, established a precedent in the Derby when he became the first horse to fly in for the race, a practice that is quite common nowadays. The second was Your Host, in 1950. ; Ironically, the Derby was the only really "dull Ace" Your Host ever ran. He was , the post time favorite for the race, but his effort in the Derby itself can only be de-" I scribed as being "too poor to be true." Your Host also was accepted by the nation : as a good horse, and is now a successful sire in New Jersey. His first crop were Cali- fornia-breds, and the only two of his get Continued on Page Twenty-Five Could Smash recedent by Win Determine, Morvich, Count-Turf Didnt Wholly Qualify As California Colorbearers Continued from Page Four reach the races at Santa Anita last Iwaps iter were smart winners, [n 1953, Correspondent, raced by Gordon d Vee Guiberson of Texas and Califor-i, raced brilliantly at Keeneland, but ired a bit at Churchill, and was unplaced Dark Star and Native Dancer. That he s considered a good horse was shown by 2 fact that Correspondent, helped by die Arcaros presence in the saddle, at e time was the actual tote board favorite jr Native Dancer. Last year, still another good one tried, is being Bob Lytles Correlation, who was, like Your Host, the post time favorite. He was so installed because of prior wins in the 00,000 Florida Derby at Gulf-stream and the 00,000 Wood Memorial in New York. Correlation, an unsound horse, was not able to sustain a bid from the far turn and was unplaced. But later, he was second to Hasty Road in the Preak-ness, then beaten in the Belmont. Owners Represented California owners have been more frequently represented in the Derby than have California breds. Of these, Naishapur, a driving second to Clyde Van Dusen in 1929, Cant Wait, third to Lawrin in 1938, Staretor, second to Whirlaway in 1941, Mioland, Oregon bred, fourth to. the California winter raced Galahadion in 1940, With Regards, an unlucky fourth in 1942, and Broadcloth, second to Pensive in 1944, were among the more impressive western-owned starters up until the year of On Trust. The old prejudice of Westerners against shipping horses to the Derby is gradually dying out — a prejudice based on the false theory that a horse loses form almost automatically crossing the mountains from west to east. Too many people in recent years have made the journey and their horses have done rather well. Hill Gail was the most dramatic "convincer" becoming the first horse to win both the Santa Anita and Kentucky Derby. And, of course, Native Dancer was winter trained at Santa Anita right to the peak of racing fitness, but awaited New York spring racing to make his debut as a three-year-old. He didnt win the Derby, but that is another story. Nor do we think it true that Californians can be accused of not being Derby minded. It is logical that with all the racing opportunities on the coast, western owners like to campaign in their own territory, but this would not deter anyone from shipping if the horse measured up as a worthwhile prospect. The owners of 3-year-olds who stayed home this year felt their horses were either not up to it or did not qualify, class wise. We know, because we checked every one before leaving the coast.
