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KENTUCKY DERBY TROPHY f 4 p I V v r Hkl I f Bold Ruler Successor to Nashua Faces His Supreme Test in Rose Run1 Run1Wheatley Wheatley Stable Star Victor In Ten of 15 Starts Rates As Gen Dukes Chief Rival RivalBy By JOE HIRSCH HIRSCHCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 3 Bold Ruler successor to Nashua NashuaThere There was a spectacular fall afternoon last year when Mr Pitz saddled Nashua to win the twomile Jockey Club Gold Cup and sent out Bold Ruler to capture the Futurity Theres Nashuas successor was the comment in the Belmont press box that day but then only a few knew any ¬ thing about Gen Duke and none knew that he would develop into the crack three yearold that he is isAs As for Bold Huler or Bobo as he is known around the barn if be isnt quite Nashuas successor then at least he has done nothing to disgrace the name of his mighty sire Nasrullah In 15 starts over the past two campaigns hes won 10 and been second three times out of the money only twice His earnings are the largest of any horse who will go to the post in tomorrows 83d Kentucky Derby 322675 322675Three Three Stakes Wins This Year His major victories have come as a soph ¬ omore in the Bahamas the Flamingo and the recent Wood Memorials As a twoyear old he seemed dogged by misfortune Bred by Mrs Henry Carnegie Phipps Wheatley Stable Bold Ruler is out of Miss Disco by Discovery a stakes winner herself He broke his maiden at Jamaica on April 9 of last season two years and three days alter he was foaled at Claiborne Farm in Ken ¬ tucky Bold Ruler won the Youthful and the Juvenile and then was out for the summer with a back injury which resulted from l is being tailed in the starting gate gateA A back injury for both man and horse ie no laughing matter and usually takes quite a lengthy period to subside In Bold Rulers case he was sidelined from June C to September 24 and Mr Fitz was wor ¬ ried However the colt returned to win the Futurity in eyecatching fashion fashionEddie Eddie Arcaro had him laying third down tSie Widener Course and just before the eighth pole let him run perhaps a six ¬ teenth of a mile The stands roared as he shot to the lead with an astonishing dis ¬ play of foot footThen Then came his two bad races The Gar den State jand the Remsen In the former he was moving easily down the backstretch when Jaunty John stopped cold in front of him Bold Ruler nearly went down and didnt do any more running that day In the Remsen he reared in the gate was shuffled going into the first turn ancj was eased by Arcaro through the stretch It was a sorry ending for what might have been a remarkable twoyearold season seasonHowever However hes made amends this year and now rates as Gen Dukes leading rival for Americas blue ribband of the turf There are some who consider that he was fortunate to win the Flamingo In view of the fact that Gen Duke was blocked mo mentarily by his stablemate Iron Liege at the head of the stretch Still B R stood off Gen Dukes blazing run that afternoon and Underlined his courage again in the Wood when he was forced to repulse suc ¬ cessive challenges by Mr Jive then Gal ¬ lant Man ManBold Bold Ruler is a tall horse taller but not notContinued Continued it Page 13 D BoW Ruler Faces Big Test in Derby DerbyGen Gen Dukes Chief Opponent Would Be Rated as Another Nashua If Hes Victorious VictoriousContinued Continued from fags I D Dnearly nearly so strapping as Nashua Hes a horse with great speed a free runner Mr Fitzs veteran assistant Bart Sweeney said re ¬ cently that he has more sheer foot than any horse the stable has had since the 1939 Derby winner Johnstown Whether he can go a mile and a quarter is another ques ¬ tion but hes been a mile and an eighth in liis last four starts and in the Wood car ¬ ried the Derby weight of 126 pounds poundsBold Bold JRuler is a freestriding horse and could conceivably dislike a muddy track although as Mr Fitz notes a champion cant carry his track around with him Hes put on a good bit of flesh over the winter which speaks well for his condition in view of the hard campaign laid out for him by the dean of U S trainers v vIs Is Like Most Speed Horses HorsesBecause Because he possesses such pure speed he is somewhat difficult to rate and has a tendency like many speed horses to drift out under restraint restraintLike Like many Nasrullahs too he has a mind of his own and Mr Fitz was considering the use of blinkers for him in the Derby for the first time in the colts career careerIn In any case hes split lour races with Gen Duke and tomorrows Derby there ¬ fore is the rubber match It will probably be the most important test in Bold Rulers career careerIf If he is to be a true successor to the brilliant Nashua he would have to live up to the role in the Run for the Roses ARTHUR B HANCOCK JR Advised purchase of Miss Disco and mating with Nasrullah which resulted in the foaling of Bold Ruler one of the choices for todays Kentucky Derby
