view raw text
Trainer Milton Rieser and owner Clifford Lussky Federal Hill Hometown Hopeful Winner of Trial KJCS at Downs DownsLussky Lussky Colt Named for Knoll on Which Stands My Old Kentucky Home HomeBy By OSCAR OTIS OTISCHURCHILL CHURCHILL DOWNS Louisville Ky May 3 The Federal Hill team in the Kentucky Derby is almost a native blue grass with a dash of Iowa corn tossed in for variety Federal Hill is a Kentucky foal and even bears the name of the knoll where My Old Kentucky Home stands his owner Clifford Lussky is a native of Louisville who has seen the past 57 run ¬ nings of the Derby and trainer Milton Rieser who has lived in Derby town since he was eight years old has adopted Ken ¬ tucky as his home Jockey Willie Carstens is the lone dissenter of this group hail ¬ ing from Iowa IowaFederal Federal Hill a brown colt by Cosmic Bombs Ariel Beauty by Ariel was a late season development last year Racing in the midwest he won three straight races and earned a trip to Garden State Park for The Garden State in which he was beaten a scant nose by Barsizon He was a model of consistency in 1956 winning seven of 13 races finishing second three times and third twice and earning 155 202 202First First Stakes Win at Randall RandallHis His first stakes score was in a division of the Youthful Stakes at Randall Park last September He took an allowance test at Hawthorne and then came back to be an easy victor in the1 Hawthorne Juvenile Shipped East he beat Barbizon rather handily in an overnight event before being nipped at the wire by the Calumet colt in the Garden State He wound up his 56 campaign with a handy score in the Ken ¬ tucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs DownsThe The colt has won three races been second once and third once in three starts this year earning 157375 His richest triumph was in the Louisiana Derby at the Fair Grounds New Orleans but he turned in some other notable efforts too among them a score in a betless event at Gulf stream in which lie clipped fourfifths of a second off the track mark for six and onehalf furlongs He began his sophomore campaign by running fifth in the Hibiscus then was third to Bold Ruler and Gen Duke in the Bahamas He set a lot of the pace in the Flamingo before tiring to be fifth then shipped to Fair Grounds for the Derby Returning to Florida he broke the track mark following which he cut out the sizzling pace for Gen Duke and Bold Ruler in the Florida Derby He was second in an overnight handicap there before coming to Kentucky where he boosted his stock for the Derby with a handy score over Gen Duke in the Trial Tuesday TuesdayThough Though he has acquired a reputation and rightly so as a speed horse Federal Hill cannot summarily be dismissed as a sprinter as witness his fine efforts in the mile and sixteenth The Garden State the nine furlong Louisiana Derby and the ninefurlong Florida Derby DerbyFederal Federal Hill is the best horse ever owned by Lussky who has been racing a stable since 1942 He also is the colts breeder Lussky breeds thoroughbreds on a small scale boarding his mares at Henry Knights Almahurst Farm His best horses before Federal Hill were Tuosix and Tuo nine He is a highly regarded member of the community and twice has served as president of the Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders Association He has been inter ¬ ested in racing almost all his life and as noted before saw his first Derby in 1900 He hasnt missed one since Iifthe business world he is a manufacturer of paints and varnishes Rieser is a veteran trainer who broke into racing before World War I when friend Eddie Martin introduced him to the sport In 1915 he struck out on his own as an owner and trainer He pur ¬ chased three horses from D C McDowell of Lexington and took them to Juarez Mexico to race He was at Tijuana when the war began Disbanding his stable he enlisted in the US Army and trained with the newlyestablished Air Corps at Pensa cola Fla then saw action as an aerial observer in France He resumed his career on the racetrack after the armistice and has been training horses since enjoying considerable success He developed Seven OHearts for J Graham and Kings Blue for Jake Sher At other times he had horses in training for Henry Damm and Wathen Knebelkamp KnebelkampAlthough Although he is not a Kentuckian jockey Carstens has done well since joining Fed ¬ eral Hills Hard Boot team Born in the corn belt of Iowa Carstens now 27 got his start as a rider at state fairs and he rode his first winner at Madison Neb He soon moved to the West Virginia tracks and was riding for Norman Corbin at the time that trainer was tutoring an unknown apprentice named Willie Hartack in 1952 Travelling back to the midwest he rode with considerable but not spectacular suc ¬ cess for a few years winning stakes with Doc Edgers and Tussel Patch in recent sea ¬ sons He didnt really frit the big time until Federal Hill came along and he has piloted the colt in most of his races Car ¬ stens is a freelance is married has two children and makes his home wherever he happens to be riding
