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♦ 1 i J CORNELIUS VANDERBILT WHITNEY — Owner of Silver Spoon and whose father, Harry Payne Whitney, furnished the only filly winner of the Derby in 3 Regret. iSl IsBHKIraR nand .dtflMUandi S * U/ Hi f JBsKsliiillll-1;- :*k. SILVER SPOON— Can she duplicate Regrets feat? Spotlight on Glamorous Silvl- Spoon R Filly Aims to Duplicate Feat :0 Regret Winner in 1915 Z Speedy Whitney Miss Holds Key for Earning Equine Oscars J For Herself and Stable; Owner Points Out Difference in * Weights; Citations Daughter to Carry Nine Pounds More % By LEON RASMUSSEN S Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, a horseman first by birthright and 3 later by choice, has in recent years become a prominent motion picture u producer through his American Series, "The Searchers", "Missouri Trav-D eler", and now "The Young Land". He also has his own version of "My E Fair Ladies" going for him not on the stage or screen, but on Americas J race tracks. The stars, of course, are his fillies Buer Brush and Silver * Spoon, who made the males look like the* weaker sex in stakes competition last win- j ter at Santa Anita. i Silver Spoon is now in the wings and * ready to step into the spotlight and play her role in what could prove one of the ! most dramatic productions in American turf history. All the elements of a stirnng drama are present, silver Spoon was beaten only once. The race is the Kentucky Derby, the nations most publicized and most spectacular sporting event. In 84 previous runnings only only filly, Regret, has been able to win it. Regret was owned by Harry Payne Whitney, father of Silver Spoons owner. Both Regret and Silver Spoon stem from the same female family, an American family of such obscure origin it does not have a Bruce Lowe Family number. Should Silver Spoon bedeck herself with roses and glory late this afternoon, she will have won equine Oscars for herself as "best actress," for H. P. Whitney and Regret for providing "the best story," for trainer Robert L. "Bob" Wheeler as "best director" and for owner C. V. Whitney as "best producer," while assuring the Derby of another award as "the best picture" of the sporting year. Beat Pebbles for Everlasting Glory It was back on May 8, 1915, that Regret, one day after the Lusitania was sunk, registered her singularly memorable victory by two eased up lengths over Pebbles and Sharpshooter. She was the favorite in the large field of 16. The triumph prompted the proud, happy and excited Harry Payne Whitney to say, "I do not care if she never wins another race or if she never starts in another race. She has won the greatest race in America and I am satisfied." Chatting with Harry Paynes son, C. V., a few weeks ago in his comfortable and cheerful Bel Air home in California, Whitney, a pleasant, handsome man whom money hasnt aged, looked upon Silver Spoons possible Derby start as a task of much greater magnitude than the one which faced Regret in 1915. A precise thinker who talks the same way, Whitney said, "I believe it was different in Regrets day. The colts only carried 117 pounds as compared to 126 today, so Regret with her five -pounds sex allowance only had to carry 112 pounds whereas Silver Spoon will carry 121 if she starts. Regret only had to run the mile and a quarter in 2:05%. I believe Silver Spoon would have to do better than thaX We are breeding four or five times as many horses today as we were then. The competition for our classics is bound to be much keener." Whitney said he felt the popularity of ! * . the Derby is justified today, pointing out that "When none of your top horses were raced in the winter, the race was too early in the year. Many of the horses who won it were never heard from again. The winners are much better today and the Derby has achieved a great significance to both public and horsemen. "As far as winning the Derby with this filly is concerned, there is many a slip twixt the cup and the lip — even if you have a Silver Spoon. Certainly, I would like to win the Derby, but winning it with a filly is a trick. Actually, it doesnt prove anything. If you have a colt that is a different matter. Winning the Derby immediately makes him a sire prospect, but what more can it do for Silver Spoon? She has already earned her place in my broodmare band and Im not, after all, a market breeder." Influence of Equipoise "Mr. Whitney," I asked, "there exists a feeling in some breeding circles, and it has also appeared in print, that Silver Spoons excellence is attributable more to Equipoise, .the sire of Silver Spoons granddam, than to her sire, Citation, and that you subscribe to this belief and therefore have not returned Silver Spoons dam, Silver Fog, to Citation." Whitney, his very light blue eyes snapping just a bit, answered, "That is not true. I would hesitate to attribute her excellence to any one source, but I will try and make myself clear with what respect I hold Citation. I have had three seasons a year to Citation. This year I managed to get five. It is difficult to believe, but the Whitney Stud has never had any Bull Dog or Hyperion blood and we have always wanted it. Citation, who is a grandson of Bull Dog and out of a Hyperion mare, gives us both the desired strains. "As for my not having sent Silver Fog back to Citation, it has not been because of any lack of admiration for Citation. It has been a theory of mine, or rather a personal opinion of mine stemming from study and observation, that the odds are against a full brother or sister to a famous horse making good. There are exceptions, of course, and so I intend to send Silver Fog back to Citation in 1960 in the long-shot hope of getting a colt who will earn himself a chance at stud and thereby provide an outcross for a majority of our broodmare band." Whitney, who keeps voluminous data in indexed notebooks on each of his approximately 50 broodmares, was asked: "From the outset you have said that Silver Fog was one of your most highly prized mares and that is why you sent her to Cita- tion, the result being Silver Spoon. Why did you prize Silver Fog so highly?" Silver Fogs Record "Well," mused Whitney as he turned to Silver Fogs file, "all the evidence is here. First, her racing record. She raced three years, started 19 times and won five races. This proves she was sound, that she had a good constitution. She was a good winner, right around stakes class. She defeated such stakes winning fillies as Mahmoudess and Dorothy Brown. She was not raced excessively at 2, starting only four times. And then, as you will notice, she is from a tail-femandle line which has produced classic and near classic horses for generations. These are my requisites for a prize broodmare prospect — soundness, performance with quality, and ancestors of proven genetic quality." Silver Fog, a gray and now 15, has never had a barren year. She had her first foal in 1950 and has had a foal each year since, a total of nine. "Her producing record, I believe," said Whitney, who seemed determined to speak of his horses and not himself, "is interesting. In 1950, she had a filly by Hierocles named Yellow Mist who won eight races and about 5,000. I owned part of Hierocles at the time and wanted to try and prove him. Unfortunately, he proved a disappointment. In 1951, she had a filly foal, by Alibhai, named Dewpoint who only managed to place at 2. In 1952, I sent her to our own Burg-El-Arab, a fast but un- Continued on Page 31 D 4 Silver Spoon Holds Churchill Spotlight Unbeaten Whitney Filly Out To Duplicate Regrets Feat; Must Tote 9 Pounds More Continued from Page Thirty sound racehorse. The result was the filly Misty who placed in the Schuylerville and Selima Stakes. Burg-El-Arab, has also failed as a sire. In 1953, her foal was a filly named Day Flight, by Priam II. I owned part of Priam II. at the time. Priam II. sired a good one in Cousin some years ago and he evidently has a good colt this year in Troilus. However, he has had many chances and his over-all record is not good. Day Flight was a winner. Foaled The Searcher in 1954 "In 1954, to Phalanx, who has not been the success at stud we hoped for, Silver Fog foaled The Searcher, a good stakes winner. In 1955, to Goya II., another sire who failed to live up to his promise, she bred the filly Mrs. Cat, a winner last year in the east. Then in 1956, she had Silver Spoon and in 1957, a colt named Dark Silver, by Phalanx. This colt is due to start soon at Hollywood Park and Im high on him. Last year she had a dark gray colt by Fisherman. This one, called Little Fish by the farm help, was voted the best looking yearling in Kentucky." One may judge from the foregoing that Silver Fog, with one exception, has produced excellent stock from moderate sires. Mated to Citation, who is among the nations leaders in siring quality, she foaled Silver Spoon. One may also judge from the foregoing that Whitney is not one to harbor any costly illusions about sires, even when he owns all or part of them. If they dont produce or prove disappointments, he is quick to appraise the fact. Disappointed in Counterpoint Concerning his sire, Counterpoint, a former Horse of the Year, Whitney says frankly, "Ive been disappointed in him so far. However, I havent given up on him. His 2-year-olds of this year and his yearlings look much more robust and promising than his first crop or two." If the Counterpoints dont live up to their promise this year or next, Whitney will be the first to say so. Mentioning that Silver Spoon was inbred in the fourth generation to Gainsborough, Whitney said he liked horses inbred in the fourth generation so long as they were inbred to good stock. "My father held that opinion and I share it." "Mr. Whitney, when they speak of Whitney blood, what does it mean?" "Just as Calumet Farm has had success with the Bull Lea — Blenheim II. cross my father enjoyed considerable success with the Peter Pan — Broomstick cross. That is Whitney blood. Equipoise was the end product of my fathers 30 years of breeding." "What are some of the moments youve experienced in racing which stand out above the others?" "There have been many milestones," answered Whitney. "Bug Brushs San Antonio in world record time was a great thrill and in it she proved to me she was one of the best fillies to ever carry the Whitney silks. Another high spot was Fishermans victory in the Washington, D. C, International at Laurel. He is still the only American-bred to have won that race. Fisherman gave me another exciting experience in the Arc de Triomphe at Long-champ when he led a brilliant international field for 9 of the 12 furlongs. Then my Career Boy came on to finish well to be fourth in the same race to the great Italian champion, Ribot. "Then there was First Flight, possibly the finest filly Ive bred. Her race in the Sysonby Mile against Citation and Coal-town was unforgettable. Both Citation and Coaltown were at their peaks, but First Flight split them, finishing closer to Citation than any horse had in some time. And, of course, there were Top Flights races and Equipoises. I raised Equipoise from the time he was 2. His first race for me, the Pimlico Special, shall never be forgotten, for he was left at the post by some 20 lentghs, but still got up to beat Twenty Grand and Mate in the mud. "I must also say that Silver Spoons j Santa Anita Derby was a very fine race. I She never had an easy moment. She had to run for it every foot of the way. She had to fight. She took and she gave." There was no breather for her. She was pinched in between horses, but she fought herself out of it. No, she never had an easy moment. "Her disposition is a big help. Silver. Spoon and Bug Brush have perfect tem- j peraments. They dont give a damn. They ! just go out and do their job. "However, it is too early to tell how good a filly Silver Spoon is. In fact, it is too early to tell whethere there is a good colt this year. No one knows. It takes an extra- , ordinary filly, one of exceptional quality to I beat the colts going a mile and a quarter "She might be able to do it." ! 1
