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New Jersey By Teddy Cox Edwards Talks About King Hairans Training Colt to Start in Delaware Valley Handicap Will Then Be Prepped for Distance Racing GARDEN STATE PARK, Camden. N. J., May 9 — Leo Edwards, former chairman of the Florida Racing Commission and a gentleman who has abandoned the business world to concentrate exclusively on racing, breeding and buying thoroughbreds, feels certain that he has been wise in avoiding Gen. Duke, Iron Liege, Bold Ruler and some of the others who have been tested so thoroughly over searching distances during the early part of what has been the most spectacular year for sophomores one can remember. Edwards, of course, races the bril-v liant speed demon, King Hairan, a Florida-bred who has been overshadowed only by his former Ocala farm companion, Needles, in the Sunshine State. The King is munching hay in the local stabling area while awaiting Saturdays 5,000 added Delaware Valley Stakes, at six furlongs. The shifty son of Kings Stride — Lady Hairan, by Hairan, most certainly will rule a heavy favorite, even though he will be spotting most of his foes weight under the conditions of the stakes. Edwards was an arrival here this week, along with his trainer, Leonard H. Hunt. "Getting three -year-olds ready for mile and one-eighth races such as the Flamingo and the Florida Derby, not to mention the longer Kentucky Derby, are mighty tempting," says Edwards, "but you will note how many of the three-year-olds crack under the strain and by midsummer it is hard to get a good field together because most of them are on the sidelines. We named King Hairan for the Kentucky Derby, Preak-ness and Belmont Stakes this year, but decided against trying to stretch him out. Consequently, our horse is better right now than he ever was in his life and we may have a fresh horse for distance at a later date, when the others are becoming more weary than they are now." Edwards says Hunt will begin the task of prepping King Hairan for longer routes immediately after his engagement in the Delaware Valley Stakes. He explains that the reason the colt did not show up too well in Florida was because of an infected eye. Sustained Injury in Hialeah Stakes "When he raced in the Bahamas at Hialeah. he was struck in the eye by a clod of dirt and he stopped to a walk," Edwards said. "There were some horsemen who observed after the race that King Hairan didn t want to go seven furlongs, that six furlongs was his limit. But if you could have seen the eye when he re-turned to the barn you would have understood. We think he will handle any reasonable route, but actually he has never been trained for distance. From the beginning, he has been taught to bust out of the gate and run all the way. Weve got to teach him to conserve his speed and we think it can be done." Edwards obtained King Hairan as a youngster from his breeder, William E. Leach, for 6,000. The colt is owned in partnership with Edwards friend and former business associate, Harry Massey, of Pittsburgh, Pa. The former commissioner is possibly the greatest booster of Florida-breds extant. Aside from his current star he bought Blenfly, also bred at the Leach farm, then known as the Dickey Stables, for 5,000. He sincerely believes Florida will continue to attract the leading breeders of America, that the trend is in that direction. "You have sunshine all year around, and the healthy rays reflect in the speed of the horses we breed," he says. "The Ocala area already has attracted a syndicate headed by Bill Veeneman, and more Kentuckians will follow as better broodmares and stallions are sent South. From these will come thoroughbreds of the Needles and King Hairan type, and when this occurs, therell be a great exodus from Kentucky. And I dont think this is in the distant future." DiMaggio Hosts Clubhouse Gathering Shedrow Shavings: Joe DiMaggio, former Yankee slugger, was a visitor. He entertained a group from New York in the clubhouse. ... A brilliant future conceivably may be in store for the colt, Irate, owned by the Brookfield Farms of Baltimores Harry Isaacs. The son of General Staff— Barbara Childs, by Clock Tower, was a winner here on his maiden voyage by 15 lengths, running six furlongs in 1:11, on an afternoon when the stakes winner, I Offbeat, from the same stable, required 1:11% for the same distance. . . . Trainer Edward I. Kelly whispers to his closest friends that Irate may develop into a ranking star before the season is over. . . . Vince Mara, associate steward and paddock judge here, trained with success for Robert Sterling Clark slightly more than 10 years ago. He was brought up under the "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons school. His last good horse was the stake winner, Colchis, who won a couple of decisions over Alsab.
