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all all speculation speculation abo about wmmiMmmmJKKM — ■ Reflections — — — — — — By Nelson Dunstan No Triple Crown Winner This Yeor Swops Not in Preakness, Belmont Derby Winner True California-Bred NEW YORK, N. Y., May 9.— When Swaps scored brilliantly over Nashua in the Kentucky Derby he ended all all speculation speculation abo about ut a a 1955 1955 three-year-old three-year-old joining joining ut a a 1955 1955 three-year-old three-year-old joining joining the roster of Triple Crown winners. Rex Ellsworth did not nominate the son of Khaled for the Preakness or the Belmont Stakes. That is just one of the incidents in connection with the eighty-first Derby running. For another year at least there will be only eight winners on the Derby-Preakness-Belmont list. From the viewpoint of Ellsworth and his many followers in the Golden State, State, the the Derby Derby victory victory is is glory glory wmmiMmmmJKKM State, State, the the Derby Derby victory victory is is glory glory enough. Swaps is the first winner that Californians can claim as their very own in more than 30 years. Back in 1922, Morvich, who was bred by A. B. Spreck-els in California, accounted for the Blue Grass classic after winning 11 races with nary a defeat in his two-year-old career. Since then, many California horses have come east for the Derby, but the nearest they got to it was when Jack Amiels Count Turf scored in 1951. But Count Turf was not a California-bred. He was raised by Dr. Frank Porter Miller in the Golden State. Probably the biggest disappointment was in 1950 when Your Host was a solid favorite. After setting a torrid pace for a mile, he tired badly and finished ninth to Middleground. A year ago, Andy Crevo-lins Determine was the winner, but he was taken from the Keeneland salesring and was only California -owned. Consider Result a Fine Thing for Racing While easterners were disappointed, we believe that it is a fine thing for racing that a California horse came east to meet bitter opposition and defeat the foremost pair on this seaboard. It shows, as it did in 1924, when Black Gold was the winner, that the smaller owners can breed a classic winner. The story of Black Golds victory will never be forgotten as long as there is horse racing in America, and the stretch battle between Swaps and Nashua will always remain one of the highlights of the great Louisville race. It will encourage other California breeders and owners to challenge for the Derby, and it has brought home to those in the Golden State that the only way to breed a good horse Is to mate sires who beget winners with mares who produce them. Like everything else in racing or breeding, there are exceptions to this formula. The victory of Swaps stresses how California breeding has improved in the past decade. Several years ago, material changes came in California production. Many breeders went out of business and those who carried on drastically culled the mares who did not measure up to quality standards. Further, yearling buyers from the Golden State closely appraised the colts and fillies before bidding. That was the case with Determine. Swaps is a homebred product of Ellsworth Farm, which is located at Chino, Calif. There is no greater joy in the world of racing or breeding than for a man to produce a colt good enough to take such an important event as the Kentucky Derby. -andand»* P Swaps is a chestnut colt by Khaled who, in turn, is li son of the great English sire, Hyperion, out of Eclair, by Ethnarch. After success on the race course, Khaled was retired to stud in England in 1947. He won one race in this country when a five-year-old, in 1948. It was in stud, however, that he was to demonstrate that he is one of the most successful sons of Hyperion standing here and it is a fair assumption that among the 15 sons of Hyperion now in the United States, we have some quite as good, if not better, than those retained on the other side. In 1952, Khaled had 26 two-year-old winners and he also led the list with 41 races won. For the past two years he has been high on the list of leading sires. In 1954, his progeny won a total of 65 races collectively. Standing at the Ellsworth ranch, he is now but 12 years old. Although imported, Khaled is now as much a California sire as Heliopolis is now considered a Kentucky stallion. Distaff Side Golden State Racers On the distaff side, Swaps is 100 per cent a California product. His dam, Iron Reward, a daughter of Beau Pere, raced in the Golden State and so did his granddam, Iron Maiden. The latter dropped a foal in 1946 and then returned to the track to win six races in 1947, including the Del Mar Handicap. You can count on your fingers the number of mares who have dropped foals and then successfully returned to the races. Iron Maiden was sold to Calumet Farm and in 1952 she proved her sterling worth by foaling Trentonian, who was rated eighth on the Experimental Handicap this year. Swaps was not among the first 50 on that list Iron Reward was bred in California by W. W. Naylor and in 1951 dropped the colt later to be named Swaps. The latter defeated Jeans Joe in the Santa Anita Derby in what amounted to a two-horse race, the highly regarded Blue Ruler, another son of Nasrullah, finishing third. Then Ellsworth and his trainer, M. A. Tenney, brought Swaps to Churchill Downs and after winning an allowance race by eight and one-half lengths earlier in the meet, he defeated the mighty Nashua by one and one-half lengths in the Derby with Summer Tan third. It is unfortunate that Swaps will not remain east, but naturally Californians want him home and they will give him a rousing welcome.
