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Charles Hatton HattonPrefer Prefer Bold Ruler Gen Duke Gallant Man Barbizon About Ready for PinchHitting Role Derby May Be Most Highly Competitive of All AllCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 3 Bold Ruler Gen Duke Gallant Man Those are the writers preferences in this 83d Kentucky Derby if anybody cares to know Far from contain ¬ ing a standout however it is agreed by Mrs Markey Plain Ben Jones and Mr Fitz this one promises a real rouser of a horse racethe most highly competitive any of them can recall A few short weeks ago it looked a vir ¬ tual rerun of the Florida Derby Then Bold Ruler won the Wood in record time just a whisper before the astonishing Gallant Man Round Table beat nothing but by quite a lot in record time for the Blue Grass Stakes There is also Federal Hill the fastest horse in the country as far as he goes in Ben Jones considered opinion As Bill Corum has observed It almost seems as if a horse has to break a record to qualify for this Derby Given a break in the weather it is entirely possible that Whirlaways proud Derby time record of 201 will be toppled this week end And since it has never presented a more attractive betting race it is possible that other marks will be eclipsed during the day dayFrankly Frankly we are counting on Bold Rulers brilliant speed and unremitting courage and on Heady Eddy Arcaros skill and experience in this Derby Bold Ruler is as fit as Mr Fitz can make him has taken his train ¬ ing cheerfully and well indeed has thrived on it gaining some hard flesh as he progresses It has to be remembered however that he much prefers to run his own race and all he knows is to get with it at the drop of tlie flag This impetuous characteristic could complicate things for Arcaro with so many rivals of record breaking early speed in the sfield sfieldThe The General Has Fine Characteristics Conversely the well nigh supersonic zip injected into this Derby could prove advantageous to Mrs Markeys stretch runner Gen Duke We expect that some of the early birds will come back to him not that this is entirely necessary for he has a good run indeed made two in the Florida Derby This Gen Duke barely 153 nevertheless could prove one of the ones He gets good marks on the score of temperament sound ¬ ness and stamina Some think his stablemate Iron Liege will ultimately improve beyond him but there is too much daylight under him for our taste When it came to making a third choice we are afraid we wavered a bit between Gallant Man and Round Table The beautifully bred Gallant Man tends to be delicate He is rather more a one shot horse than a cam ¬ paigner It is a question if his tremendous Wood per ¬ formance was too much of a drain on his resources On the other hand Round Table has to have his race track one that is speed conducive Likes to hear his feet rattle as horsemen say We expect you will read a good deal about Round Table at Hollypark but pur ¬ ists insist a great horse can run up a tin roof roofCoveted Coveted as the Derby has become it is not the end for the seasons threeyearolds There is the Preakness only two weeks away And then the Belmont Stakes Since both of these races have supplementary closings there is no reason why the Derby winner may not this year go on to capture the American Triple Crown Lying ominously in wait for those Derby com ¬ petitors who journey on to Baltimores Old Hilltop are the Chesapeake winner Inswept the Walter Jeffordses Gannet and Bakht and Hirsch Jacobs Promised Land Lord Chumley and Robert Maney ManeyChampion Champion May Be Waiting in the Wings WingsIt It is no certainty that the threeyearold champion of America is to be found in the Derby field implausible as that may seem and accomplished as these colts are It is a long season as Mr Fitz noted with pleasure when Bold Ruler gained weight with racing Some of the Derby competitors experienced hard races during the winter while qualifying for the turfs blue riband And some of them inevitably will fall by the wayside We are not at all sure one has to go any farther afield than Gen Duke and Iron Lieges own stablemates to find a candidate for the 1957 threeyearold laurels Late in the morning after the newsmen and photog ¬ raphers have departed and a peaceful calm settles on the stable area Jimmy Jones mounts a pony and brings out Barbizon champion of the 1957 twoyearolds and winner of the worlds richest horse race at Garden State We have stayed on for this phase of the training period so ignored in the scramble to flash the latest news of the Derby horses Barbizon is something to see quite the most imposing individual among the seasons threeyearolds Not yet tight but being tightened a a sort of pinch hitter for the General and Iron Liege It would be a mistake to dismiss him from reckonings If Bold Ruler or some other entrant gives the Calu ¬ mets a bad time in the Derby if the General takes too long to get from Central Avenue to the finish here comes Barbizon BarbizonTurf Turf ana Mr Fitz rates Nashua who lost Uie Derby the best horse he has started in it on the basis of their entire careers But when asked who he would bet oh were Gallant Fox and Nashua running today he re ¬ plied Gallant Fox He would never turn them loose Amused at the remark of one of Jim Conways grooms as we looked in on Pamper Me while she was being done up Said he You may be looking at the wrong time eve of the Oaks but you are looking at the right filly Heading for Hollyparks summer stakes Has that horse get consumption a reporter joked when Jimmy Jones came past with the portly Barbizon Always quick at repartee the Missourian re ¬ plied Yeah hes beginning to look like me Want a scoop The Derby next year will have 125000 added and be decided the first Saturday in May
