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JAMES FITZSIMMONS. Fitzsimmons in Quest of Derby No. 4 Nashua to Carry Veterans Hopes Likable Octogenarian Began Spectacular Career in 1885; Recalls Bygone Days, Stars By BOB HORWOOD Staff Correspondent By reason of a style rule in effect on many newspapers, for many years trainer Jim Fitzsimmons was the only man ever referred to in Daily Racing Form or the Morning Telegraph as "Mr." except in occasional signed columns. Mr. Fitz rates . the distinction, incidental as it is. When the 80-year-old "sage of Sheepshead Bay" sends Nashua out for the Kentucky Derby this afternoon, he will be going in quest of his fourth victory in that classic and not too far from his 1,900th winner since he began his career as a trainer back in 1907. That he will eventually saddle winner number 2,000 almost goes without saying as the stoop-shouldered, courteous and forthright little man "lives right" and thus is living long and with honors. Mr. Fitz method of "living right" is not merely a matter of caring for his nealth, but extends to his relations with all those with whom he comes into contact, human or equine, which, of course, is the main reason that he was recently selected as recipient both of the award for "outstanding contributions to racing over a period of years" by the New York Turf Writers As-sociation, and also for the scribes plaque given to the top trainer of 1954. Started Out as Jockey While Mr. Fitz did not become a full-fledged trainer until 1907, his career in racing dates back to 1885 when at the advanced age of 11 years he. was urged by his lifelong friend and assistant "Fish" Tappen to take a job galloping horses for the Brannon Brothers Stable at Sheepshead Bay. - After a number of very rough years as a jockey, mostly on such "bush" tracks as Gloucester, Guttenberg, Elizabeth, Clifton, St. Asaph, Alexander Island and even a venture into night racing at Maspeth, Mr. Fitz finally lost the battle with weight in Continued on Page Twenty-Five Fiizsimmons Seeks Fourth Derby Win With Favored, Brilliant, Fleet Nashua Likable Octogenarian Began* Spectacular Career in 1885; Recalls Bygone Days, Stars Continued from Page Nine 1901. He had been tempted to give up the struggle some years earlier and actually took out a trainers license in 1893, but finished second on William T. in the Flash at Saratoga that year, the closest he ever came to riding a stakes winner, and that evidently encouraged him to continue in the saddle. The early career of Nashuas trainer is shrouded in some confusion, and his ultimate total of winners will probably never be firmly established, as many of his early ventures, both as trainer and jockey, were on tracks that were, not even "bush" and of which there are no existing records. It has been recorded, however, that he did saddle one winner, Agnes D., at Brighton Beach on August 7, 1900. It has also often been said that the veteran was born on a racetrack, which was not quite true. The house in which Mr. Fitz first saw the light of day on July 23, 1874, was not long after torn down to make room for Sheepshead Bay, which opened in 1884, 10 years after he was born. Almost Became Street Car Conductor That Jim Fitzsimmons was a man destined from the beginning for a career with thoroughbred horses, and -who just couldnt be stopped, is abundantly evident from such records as are available. Though at times riding for the powerful Dwyer Brothers, the Brooklyn "Butcher Boys" for whom the Dwyer Stakes is named, he didnt ride a stakes winner in more than 10 years of campaigning, which indicates determination, if not ability. And regardless of when he actually began his career as a trainer, whether it was in 1893, 1900 or 1907, it was not until he ventured west in 1912 that he sent out more than 24 winners in a year, with earnings of more than 1,632. Mr. Fitz recalls at times that the rough going in those days almost caused him to take a job as a streetcar conductor. There have been lean years since one of which came in 1928, only two years before Gallant Fox gave Mr. Fitz his first Derby and the Triple Crown, as well as fabulous earn- ► ings by his charges for those years of 97,355. Mr. Fitz has sometimes ventured the thought that Gallant Fox, who raced for William Woodward, father of Nashuas owner, was perhaps the best of all .the horses he ever trained, though he fondly recalls" the gallant Dark Secret, the brilliant and also ill-fated Dice, Diavolo, Omaha, Johnstown and many of the others who won more than 100 different stakes. And whenever this spring he has attempted to analyze the peculiarities of Nashua. Mr. Fitz has done so by comparing him to Gallant Fox. Both horses, he says, "Used to scare me half to death. I was always afraid someone was going to come along and beat them when they were just playing." But Nashua did something for the? veteran that noe of his other great charges could do, and that was win the Futurity. That stake, as well as the Hopeful, had eluded the old master until his 81st year. Despite his advanced age,. Jim Fitzsimmons is one of the most active trainers, usually putting in a 12-hour day. Daylight permitting, he is at Aqueduct well before 6:00 a. m. each morning during the racing season, driving over from his home at 91-41 Chicot Road in Ozone Park, or at other seasons from his home at 1174 ; Sheepshead Bay Road in Brooklyn. ] Though he conserves his energy by lean- • ing on two canes while at the barn, and * occasionally sits under a tree in the pad- dock during the afternoon, Mr. Fitz dees enough moving about under his own power | to wear out many a vastly younger man. Some of this movement is occasionally disconcerting to his jockeys, as he has for many years taken up a post near the clubhouse turn where he likes to signal with a handkerchief during the running of a race. It is not believed that Ted Atkinson or Eddie Arcaro are expected to watch for this linen flag, but other riders have reported the experience, and not too happily. From the time that he returned from the west to Gravesend in 1913, moving to Aqueduct a little later, Mr. Fitz compiled a record of- stakes victories that will probably never be equalled. Among his triumphs are eight Saratoga Cup victories, seven Wood Memorials, seven Empire City Handicaps, five Gazelle Stakes, seven Babylon Caps, five Alabama Stakes, three-Coaching Club American Oaks, seven Lawrence Realizations, five Belmont Stakes, two Preaknesses, two Arlington Classics, five Paumonoks, three Withers and, of course, three Kentucky Derbys. Most of these triumphs were achieved for the Woodwards Belair Stud, with which he has been associated for 31 years, for the Wheatley Stable of Mrs. H. C. Phipps, for her son, Ogden Phipps and for Mrs. Whitney Stone. And it should be noted that for some 15 years, the late Continued on Page Twenty-Seven Fitzsimmons in Quest of Fourth Success irt|KiicI erby CofttfiweJ from fogt Twenty JFhre William Woodward made a practice of selecting three or more of what that keen judge esteemed to be his best yearlings and sent them to England in quest of the classic races there. The cream was taken away be- ; fore Mr. Fitz could start to whip it* In- cidentally, Nashua was destined for an English campaign, but kept here by the younger Woodward. i One wonders if Mr. Fitz will see the Derby. You know, he was unable to get to his seat after saddling Gallant Fox and Johnstown in time to see their Derby triumphs, and this winter he was unable to see Nashua score in Hialeahs Flamingo , because other members of the family jumped up in their excitement and completely blocked his view. He saw that race on television later in the evening, and viewed the Nasrullah colts Florida Derby on television while ensconced in an easy; chair on Long Island. But if Mr. Fitz has benefited by the wonders of television, TV has also benefited from his appearances on the screen, particularly that withArthur Godfrey, which probably gained thoroughbred racing more friends than any single event of the last century.
