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Weighing In By Fran Sripmon StayatHomes Find Derby Topic of Keen Interes Stamina Essential to Derby Winners Pedigree Race Looms as Most Exciting Recent Renewal RenewalJAMAICA JAMAICA L I N Y May 1 Out of sight is not out of mind for Long Islands Kentucky Derby candi ¬ dates their chances in the fast approaching Blue Gress classic forming the chief topic of discussion whenever there is a gathering of stay at homes among the horsemen News of Saturdays mild upset in the Derby Trial when Calumets Gen Duke was beaten by the fast but non staying Federal Hill failed to perturb those trainers who are familiar with both good colts ex ¬ perience last winter in Florida having taught them that Clifford Lusskys son of Cosmic Bomb reaches his apogee at the Trial distance of a flat mile while anything over and beyond that limit is likely to find him wanting at least in top company Most of us in this connection vividly recall the Trial in which Hasty Road succeeded in nosing out little Determine Few who were lucky enough to be in the stands that afternoon at Churchill Downs will seriously dispute our opinion that Hasty Roads race proclaimed him one of the outstanding American milers of all time and yet Hasty Road for all his brave attempt could not quite cope with the diminutive gray from California on the Saturday when the route was stretched out to the full mile and a quarter In this respect extra distance is much like extra poundage on a thoroughbreds back beyond a certain and easily ascertainable limit yards like pounds count double doubleSpeed Speed Trademark Is Not Enough EnoughShould Should Federal Hill contradict previous evidence and win on Saturday from what we are all pretty well convinced is an exceptionally talented grqjup of three yearolds the greatest obstacle he will have had to overcome may well be his Ariel dam Kentucky Derby winners simply do not have pedigrees in which the names of strictly speed horses such as Ariel are prominent close up Reverting to the example of De termines year it may not have been because Deter ¬ mine was a better colt than Hasty Road for what he could do Hasty House Farms son of Roman was as good as they come that he won the Derby after failing in the Trial No Determine prevailed in the mile and a quarter Derby because his breeding not just close up but in the far removes as well was a stout as any the stud book can boast boastYear Year after year in England the winner of the mile 2000 Guineas almost automatically becomes the favorite for the subsequent mile and a half Epsom Derby and this in spite of the fact that the records show this ta be a rarely achieved double The last colt who won the mile classic over Newmarkets straight Rowley course and then went on to capture the Derby at Ep ¬ som was Nimbus in 1949 while 10 years previously the Triple Crown winner Blue Peter had of course in ¬ cluded both classics in his clean sweep of the three yearold stakes As a generalization it seems fair to say that 2000 Guineas winners betray their aptitude for eight furlongs by their breeding a very different type of pedigree than that associated with winners over the difficult gruelling mile and a half at Epsom Downs DownsFour Four Represent Classic Bloodlines BloodlinesGen Gen Duke Bold Ruler Gallant Man and Round Table listed in the order of preference are the four colts that horsemen agree merit serious consideration on Saturday and it is impossible to fault any of the four pedigrees on the ground of stamina If Calumets Gen Duke should succeed it will be a case of an Oaks winner that brilliant mare Wistful producing a Derby winner a justification of class that appeals strongly to any student of breeding As for Bold Rulers dam the Discovery mare Miss Disco while she could not rival Witsful in class she was a hardhitting stakes winner in her own right and one who if we recall cor ¬ rectly frequently ventured beyond the limits of her own division to tackle the colts Gallant Man and Round Table have French and Irish dams with whom we are not familiar but their sires Nicoli and Princequillo were not only proven stayers but brilliant cup horses horsesSince Since our return from Miami we have heard but one lonely cynic accuse the press of injecting a spuriout atmosphere of excitement into this weeks doings at Louisville and this single exception must certainly have been speaking from force of habit In the years since Reigh Counts Derby victory back in 28 the first in which we took any considerable interest we hon ¬ estly cannot recall another renewal that could match this longanticipated encounter on the week end in general appeal nor can we recall another renewal that promised as many contestants of proven quality as are likely to accept the issue on Saturday From what we have already seen of the four most prominent entries we doubt that their class their intrinsic merit has been exaggerated a choice among them will be hard to make but it is not at all hard to predict that all four 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