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► ATOLL WINNING THE GOTHAM STAKES— Elkcam Stable and Lou Chesler|s Atoll inside is seen registering a front-running victory over Brookfield Farms Intentionally in the 8,600 Gotham Stakes on April 1 1 at Jamaica. Open View, his stablemate, who later won the first division of the Derby Trial, was third. » Atolls Bloodlines #So-So# Derbywise Success of Flushing II., His Sire, Only Moderate; Dam Failed to Win a Race Atoll is another serious Derby contender with an improbable Derby pedigree. The brown colt is by the moderate sire. Flushing II., from the non-winning Coral Island, a matron, by Errard, belonging to a tail-female family which has failed to produce a horse of classic or even semi-classic quality for at least six generations. Atolls sire, the gray Flushing II., is an imported son of Mahmoud — Callandar, by Buchan. In France, Flushing II. won 17 races in 63 starts. Nine of these victories were on the flat, five were over the hurdles and three in steeplechases. He won minor stakes in each context. Several of his wins were at 1 5-16 miles. Jumpers, unless they have shown good speed on the flat, as did Flushing II., seldom, if ever, make good sires. Sire Has Eight Crops at Races Flushing n. has had eight crops to race in this country, and from these crops have come, through 1958, 78 winners of 419 races and earnings of about a million and a quarter. Flushing n.s best offspring, unless Atoll ultimately changes the evaluation, was the mare Lavender Hill, winner of the 12-furlong Ladies Handicap, the Diana and the Arlington Matron and runner-up to Parlo in the voting for the best handicap mare of 1954. Flushing II. also sired Handsome Teddy, winner of the Chesapeake and second in the 9-furlong Florida Derby. He also sired Star Rover, winner of over 50,-000, but essentially a speed horse. A half sister to Flushing II., Calorie, bred Curry, a winner of the 2V2 miles Cesarewitch Stakes in England. There is considerable stamina indicated here. However, Atolls dam. Coral Island, from whom the colt received his apt name, is by the speed sire, Errard. out of Subterranean, by By Jimminy, best three-year-old colt of 1944. Atoll is her first foal. Coral Islands dam, Subterranean, was unraced. As a producer she has had two winners from five foals to race, the best of whom was Sub Factor, a winner of about 0,000 in good allowance and handicap company but short of stakes class. Subterraneans other foals were quite ordinary. Altogether, one is hard pressed to find any pedigree reason for Atoll winning such a classic as the Derby.
