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Needles Continues PreRace Favorite FavoriteActs Acts Kindly in FiveFurlong Drill Overnight and Early Morning Rains Hit Churchill ChurchillBy By OSCAR OTIS OTISCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 2 Despite heavy overnight and early morning rains which converted the historic Downs oval into a sea of slush a clearer picture of Saturdays eightysecond Ken ¬ tucky Derby running began to emerge from the backstretch this morning as a number of hitherto rated possibles dropped from the starting roster It now appears that come what may in the way of track cpndi tions a field of not less than 14 and per ¬ haps not more than 17 will make their try for greatness in the toughest and most testing ten furlong route in the nation nationNeedles Needles who continues the prerace fa ¬ vorite and undoubtedly who will go to the post the starting choice made a last min ¬ ute and to some surprisingly good spur of the moment workout this morning Needles a temperamental fellow acted more kindly than at any time prior within the last 12 months as he broke off after only a mini ¬ mum of delay Dave Erb sending him five furlongs in 105 with furlong in 14 MuctLbcj iii a 1 75 uuee lu and half mile in 52 52For For Needles it was a drill verging on the sensational especially his kindly manner and if you want to take a consensusof Derby trainers who spoke up at the KTBA dinner last night at the Brown Hotel all fear Needles as the horse to beat beatSylvester Sylvester Veitch trainer of Career Boy and Head Man for C V Whitney this morning declared that Career Boy would be a starter only if the track were fast or near fast but that Head Man would go regardless Thus the starting status of Career Boy high weight on Jimmie Kilroes Experimental Handicap of last year will willContinued Continued on Page Six f NEEDLES D H Stables Kentucky Derby favorite went five furlongs in yesterday at the Churchill Downs course Seventeen Likely Starters for Derby Needles Continues PreRace Favorite FavoriteActs Acts Kindly in FiveFurlong Drill Overnight and Early Morning Rains Hit Churchill ChurchillContinued Continued from Page One Onedepend depend solely upon the track conditions prevailing at Derby time timeThe The weather can change pretty rapidly at this time of the year observed Veitch and the track can dry out pretty rapidly jf the sun comes out so the chances of get ¬ ting a fast track or near fast track would appear favorable favorableAt At the dinner last night interviewer Bill Corum asked Veitch squarely as to which horse he Veitch considered the better of the two and the C V Whitney trainer answered without any hesitation Career Boy BoyThis This writer reported this thinking from Keeneland more than two weeks ago and Veitch confirmed it without mincing any words when the question came from the Churchill Downs president presidentAlso Also of importance was a smart impres ¬ sive morning work on the part of Ben A Jones whose effort in the Swaps Purse here last Saturday behind Swoons Son and others was a trifle disappointing to his connections It may have been the blinkers that made the difference for this morning trainer Elmer Kalensky put the hood equipment on his horse and he moved like a different thoroughbred thoroughbredWith With Jack Skelly in the irons Ben A AJones Jones made the track look fast with six sixt furlongs in 112 from the gate and t pulled up seven furlongs in 126 His Hisearly early fractions were furlong in 12 flat flatquarter quarter in 23 three furlongs in 35Js 35Jshalf half in 46 and five furlongs in 59 59DAILY DAILY RACING FORM dockers pronounced it itan an admirable drill drillBesomer Besomer Works WorksColin Colin MacLeod the Scot from Virginia told the KTBA audience last night that he shipped here at almost the last minute from Maryland because he thought he had a chance and proceeded to convince rail birds that maybe he knew what he was talking about by sending Besomer a mile in 151 He wore bandages behind and his early fractions were furlong in 14 quarter in 214s three furlongs in 41 half in 54 five furlongs in 110 seven furlongs in 139 It was about as slow as a horse could work faster than a brisk gal ¬ lop but such a type trial would be indi ¬ cated by Besomers particular training schedule as he arrived here a fit horse At least the horse sparkled in appearance and the Trial indicated that he could be a fac ¬ tor in the Derby outcome outcomeOver Over at the Calumet barn Pintor Lea galloped A mile and both Jimmy Jones and Ben Jones told newsmen they thought per ¬ haps both of their colts the other one is Fabius winner of the DerbyTrial yester ¬ day would run good races in the Derby but that they were by no stretch of the imagination confident of victory victoryLast Last night at the dinner asked to sepa ¬ rate the pair Jimmy said that at the mo ¬ ment he thought Fabius might be the best if only because he was the soundest horse horseThe The Jones boys also indicated that Jimmy would appear on the program as the trainer but this conceivably could be subject to change Conceivably but not likely likelyJean Jean Baptiste the last of the Derby can ¬ didates to arrive at Louisville was on the track this morning for a mile gallop It is understood this colt worked before leaving New York and his final Derby tuneups here will require little more than a blowout blowoutCount Count Chic Definite Starter StarterLloyd Lloyd Lawson trainer of Count Chic the hard hitting Californiabred but Seattle owned contender said this morning that the fine son of Count Speed was a starter regardless of track conditions and that he was confident the colt would turn in a good effort Dino Lozzi his owner arrived by air from Seattle late this morning after closing down his Cafe Navarre his pizza palace in order to attend the Derby run ¬ ning Lozzi was accompanied by two turf writers from Seattle Mike Donohoe of the Post Intelligencer and Kent Powell of the Times This is the first time the state of Washington has been represented in the Churchill Downs press box by staff writers Odie Clelland trainer of Come On Red has announced that this long shot will start in the Derby only in the event of a slushy track otherwise he will go in an overnight race in the book for Saturday Come On Red a somewhat less than championship type colt on a fast track is reputed to move up almost a sixteenth of a mile in form in soft footing footingHugh Hugh Fontaine is on record as saying that he is confident Jedles will improve off his showing in the Flamingo and that form he showed in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park ParkTom Tom Barry trainer of High King says that High King acts like a true distance horse and easily could turn in a more im ¬ pressive effort than he did in the Wood Memorial MemorialV V R Tennessee Wright who has Reaping Right said he wasnt too sure whether this colt would go a mile and a quarter or not but that he was willing to find out in the Derby John Heckmann has been engaged to ride Reaping Right and Larry Gilligan for Invalidate whom Wright also will saddle saddleHarry Harry Trotsek has listed Hasty House Farms Black Emperor as a certain Derby starter thinks the colt will improve and says that Johnny Adams the regular Hasty House rider will be in the saddle saddleBuddy Buddy Raines with Brandy wines Countermand has indicated that this colts race in the Derby Trial was acceptable and that he would be a definite starter starterStan Stan Green trainer of Roman Fan for Mr and Mrs Eugene Constantin Jr has informally scratched this horse saying We doubt if he is of Derby caliber and dont think he will run runOwner Owner Buck Britt of Clayton New Mexico told this writer this morning that No Regrets winner of the California Derby some ten days ago at Tanforan was a doubtful starter and that a definite de ¬ cision would be made one way or the other shortly shortlyDouglas Douglas Dodson who rode No Regrets in the Trial told both myself and Britt No Regrets was running along easily the early part of the trial and that it looked like he could go to the front any time he wanted to but that when he called on the colt on the turn he gave way as if short shortEntries Entries for the Derby are scheduled to be taken tomorrow morning and when this list is closed the exact makeup of this eightysecond Derby field will become positively known All who enter can be considered as probable starters with the exception qf Career Boy the only one who will demand a fast rack and Come On Red the only one wholl insist upon mud
