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i « Unknown Bob Wheeler Preps Silver Spoon for Great Effort Worked as Jockey After Start On Cattle Ranch; Has History Of Being Hired Sight Unseen By OSCAR OTIS CHURCHILL DOWNS, Ky., May 1.— Bob Wheeler, a 39-year-old pative of Nebraska who trains C. V. Whitneys Silver Spoon, was an "unknown" as recently as three years ago. Afforded his first major opportunity, however, Wheeler was ready and today he is recognized — especially in Cali-forania — as one of the most successful conditioners in the business. Wheeler grew up on his dads cattle ranch and launched his riding career at the age of 11 on half-mile tracks in Nebraska, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming. His saddle exploits were cut short at 14 when he became too heavy, whereupon he shifted his interest in thoroughbreds to galloping horses for Ben A. Jones, who was with the Woolford Farm of Herbert M. Woolf. One of the colts Wheeler exercised for Jones was Lawrin, winner of the 1938 Kentucky Derby. Wheeler drifted to California in 1939 and worked for short periods for Bing Crosby and Louis B. Mayer. The Nebraskan was particularly efficient with bad-mannered horses, and this prompted him to I try his hand at rodeo riding. He suffered injuries from broncos and Brahma bulls while with the rodeo, was rejected for military service in World War n., and worked in defense plant during the war, breaking horses in southern California in his spare time. Given Big Break by Jelks After the war he returned to the race- | track. He had only two horses under his care when he started, but later trained for Robert S. Howard and Harry W. Warner and then, a few years ago, received his first big break when he was hired by Tucson owner J. Rukin Jelks. Wheeler tells the story this way : "I guess I owe my big chance to trainer Ross Brin-son of Arizona. Jelks had a two-year-old in Arizona he wanted to send to Brinson to train, but Brinson had all the two-year-olds he could get into a California track six at that time and he recommended me. Jelks hired me, sight unseen. In fact, I didnt meet him personally until four months later. The two-year-old he sent me proved to be a winner, incidentally. "Jelks and I became close friends for ! 1 we saw horses eye to eye, and when he got Miss Todd, he turned her over to me to train. I guess Miss Todd was my first good horse! Later came Old Pueblo. And I still havent the slightest idea why or how C. V. Whitney hired me for, like Jelks, he took me sight unseen. I was given a note at the Santa Antia stable gate one morning to call a number in Lexington, and as was the case with .Jelks, I was hired then and there over the telephone." Wheeler denies he is a "cowboy trainer," explaining that he is completely familiar with eastern and midwestern training methods. But he does admit that he fol- Continued on Page 40 D Unknown Bob Wheeler Sends Out Silver Spoon Once a Cattle Rancher, Then Jockey, Enjoys New Success Continued from Page 31 D lows the standard western procedure of working a horse as little as possible in pre-paraing him for a race. According to Jelks: "Bob used workouts as little as possible with Old Pueblo when he was coming up to the Del Mar Futurity in 1957. Old Pueblo had been laid up for quite some time and Bob gave him a three -furlong work, then a five-furlong drill, and finally a six-furlonger and on that alone started him in the Del Mar Putui-ity. I still think Old Pueblo was a bit short that day. but he won it in 1:09 and Im still wondering how fast he would have gone had he been dead fit. Bob has the uncanny knack of being able to look at a horse and tell if he is fit and not in need of any real work. How he does it is a mystery. He must have a sixth sense in such matters and I have never known him to make a mistake yet." Wheeler also departs from a training norm in one other respect — his willingness to make what might appear, to an onlooker, a "snap judgment" of horseflesh, especially two-year-olds and yearlings. "I make up my mind about a horse in the first two. or maybe at the most three breezes." said Wheeler. "First judgments usually are best judgments, for in those early breezes a younger horse will provide you with, definite clues as to his potential. I have found that if you reserve a strong preliminary opinion, the first thing you know you start to make excuses and to rationalize away the lack of promise and before long you are the one who is deluded, not the horse. "I want no part of saying or hearing give him time to come around or hes still growing. I dont care if a horse is slow in coming around, or is in fact growthy, hell still tell you something you want to know in that first or second breeze." Wheeler continues to retain his status in California as a public trainer, even though he is in charge of Whitneys powerful division. Like Willie Molter, Reggie Cornell, Ralph West and others, Wheeler prefers to operate publicly. He currently has 52 horses in California and, with 40 head being the maximum allowance one trainer can have stabled at one track, has turned over 12 of his string to his brother to train. He saddled nine stakes winners during the Santa Anita meeting last winter, a record for a single meeting at the Arcadia track.
