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Ipr Jn yyjf New Jersey By Teddy Cox Iron Liege Best Horse on Derby Day; Jones Says Winner Suffered Interference on Turn No Decision Yet on Gen. Duke for Preakness GARDEN STATE PARK. Camden. N. J.. May 7 — "If Shoemaker said he checked Gallant Man at the wrong pole in the stretch, it must be true, but it seems to me that much of this talk has overshadowed the fact that our horse should have won by a decisive margin, probably a length and one -half or two." H. A. "Jimmy" Jones, who saddled Iron Liege for his spectacular Kentucky Derby triumph, was on hand under the Calumet shedrow at Garden State Park and he talked mostly of the Derby and of Iron Liege and Gen. Duke. "Why Iron Liege was in full motion on the turn when Federal Hill came over sharply . on him and Hartack had to take up. If he had been allowed to go on through and past a tiring horse, he would have opened up on his field and I dont believe Gallant Man would have been close. *Of course, we were greatly pleased by his race, but you dont like to see other incidents tend to discredit a fine victory by the best horse. Or. at least Iron Liege was the best horse on Derby Day." Jones said Iron Liege and Gen. Duke will aim at the Preakness at Pim-lico. His famous father. B. A., will remain on in Kentucky with the young horses, and the younger Jones will commute between here and Pimlico until the Old Line State classic is out of the way. He will employ private air transportation in order to make himself so omnipresent. "Yes, Iron Liege came out of his race in fine style. Hes perfect and were depending on him. at this moment, for the Preakness." he said. Time May Tell the Story •Now. about Gen. Duke. I dont know. Yesterday his hoof was ice cold, but there is no way of telling when it will flare up again. It could be that it is a deep-seated bruise. The X-ray shows a dark spot, but we really cant tell for sure if it is significant of anything. Possibly only time will tell us the story. There are times when these deep-seated bruises must grow out of the hoof before they are fully healed and that takes a lot of time. It is like growing a new hoof. Thus, you dont like to make predictions, for the condition can change from day to day. I wouldnt say he is out of the Preakness. but you certainly cant make him a definite starter. Weve got a lot of big decisions to make and I cant tell you anything until they have a day or two to shed their sea legs." Jones said Gen. Duke first showed signs of distress after his victory in the Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. "He came out of that race sore, and he favored his foot for some time," the Calumet trainer stated. "But it went away as quickly as it came and when we started to train him hard at Keeneland he seemed okay and perfectly sound. So you see, we already have a case history on his injury. He probably stepped on a stone this winter and probably the bruise failed to heal. Our main hope for the Preakness at the moment is Iron Liege. There is no chance for Barbizon. He is not far from a race, but not the kind of race required of a horse in such a race as the Preakness. But I still cant discount Gen. Duke. Neither can I count him in.* Gen. Duke isnt the only headliner in the Calumet barn, whose itinerary in competition is indecisive. Here at Garden State, Barbizon and Bardstown are back in training. Hero of The Garden State over this course last fall. Barbizon has finally run the gamut of "children diseases," says Jones. "Horses are just like kids. The children are going to get the whooping cough, measles, chicken pox and the mumps somewhere along the line," Jones explained. "Some of them wait until they are five, or six or seven, but eventually they get them. Horses are the same way. They have their normal early ailments to overcome. In the case of Barbizon he has finally finished his series and now I hope I will be able to keep him in hard training long enough to find out just what kind of three-year-old he is. Florida Racing Helpful to Barbizon "Barbizon was fortunate in that we were able to get three races under him in Florida. He needed that training and the education, and with that as a foundation it shouldnt be too hard to get him back in form. Were shooting with him for the Jersey Stakes, and I hope he can make it." In the case of Barbizon, it is assumed, much will depend on the form of both Iron Liege and Gen. Duke. The Joneses have always attempted to employ a platoon system with their stars, the idea being to insert a fresh thoroughbred when those who have been sweated for the proverbial brass show signs of fatigue. Jones observes that Bardstown was taken out of hard training after his impressive score in the Gulf-stream Park Handicap. His objective here is the 0,-000 Camden Handicap, mile and one-furlong test that will be offered on Saturday, June 1. "We are going to try hard to have him ready, but not at the price of rushing him," Jimmy said. "He had a long, hard winter campaign and he held up well„ but if you dont give these horses a chance to occasionally let down, theyll do it themselves when it hurts the most. Bardstown seems to appreciate the vacation and looks well."
