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» ; : Chance it Tony Gets Derby Opportunity at Last Minute Lightning Could Strike Cbnnulis; Colt Conditioned By Manzi; Batcheller Rides CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville. May 2. — "Derby lightning" could strike a New Jersey bean grower and his wife. Mr. and Mrs. Anna Cannuli, and a former exercise boy turned trainer, Willie Manzi, if Chance It Tony, shipped to Churchill Downs by virtue of a last-minute decision, could get down in front in Saturdays great prestige stake, the 84th running of the Kentucky Derby. Manzi outlined the format of the stable as he watched Chance it Tony being rubbed down after a muddy Downs drill, explaining, "Mrs. Cannuli is a housewife of Burlington. N. J., and her husband is a truck farmer growing beans string and wax, peaches and corn. I live in Burlington myself; and about nine years ago interested the Cannulis in buying a race horse. Our first acquisition was Wallie Woolie, and he more than paid his own way. Farmboy Outgrew the Saddle "The Cannulis have raced a small but aggressive stable ever since, and in all those nine years theyve never had but one season which couldnt be described as successful. In other words, the stable has operated in the black except for that one season, when it about broke even. Wallie Woolie, as I recall, was never in a race but what he earned some part of the purse. "Chance it Tony is, of course, the first good horse that the Burlington sports folks -ever owned, and he is the first good horse I have ever trained. Im a Jersey boy, and started my racing career at 10 at the Jobs- town farm of William G.Helis, except when I started it was the Rancocas Farm of Harry. F. Sinclair. 4T started like everybody else did in those days — at the farm. But when it came time for me to become a rider, which was the objective of all us farm boys, I had grown pretty big, and I actually rode in only about 15 races. The weight problerirwas too tough, although I did win a race at Fairmount Park before I had to quit for a full-time career as an exercise boy. "The best horse I ever galloped was Time Supply, owned by Frank A. Carreaud, and youll probably remember that Time Supply was beaten by Top Row in the second running of the 00,000 Santa Anita Handicap in, a rough finish which stirred the western racing world. Anyway, Time Supply ran off my exercise work. When the war came along I enlisted in the Army and put in three and one-half years, much of it overseas, in Germany. And upon my discharge I acquired a couple of cheap horses for my own account and began as an owner-trainer. "As for Chance it Tony; while he was never won a stake, he was second in one big one in Jersey, and fourth, of course, in The Continued on Page 21 D Chance it Tony Gets in Derby On a Last-Minute Decision Continued I torn Page 20 D Garden State last fall. He was sick down in Florida, but when we got north this spring to race and train, he improved so much and looked so good that we decided on a Derby flyer. Well, why not?" ! Manzi has never been in Kentucky before except for one quick trip to Lexington to: look at a couple of yearlings. He was accompanied here by his long-time friend, former rider and now jockey agent, Eddie j de CamiUis.- Logan Batcheller. who will ride Chance it Tony, is a powerfully built little man who tips the scales at 108 pounds and stands only four feet, nine inches. The 29-year-old rid ing veteran is no stranger to Chance it Tony, having ridden him in two of the colts best races, namely his second to Jac-lyn Stables Lil Fella in the seven-furlong Worlds Playground Stakes and his fourth, beaten three lengths; to Nadir in The Garden State. Batcheller was born in Azusa. Calif., and now makes his home in Miami Springs, Fla. He was brought into racing by Paul Kelley, who was the only horseman to ever hold his contract. Arlington Park was the scene of Batch-ellers first saddle victory on June 24. 1948. Since then, the plucky little saddlesmith has been plagued with injuries, being involved iirover 20 spills and breaking practically every bone in his body at one time or another, but nevertheless has proved a competent rider and a steady winner.
