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► — • .,. . . i/ff ffiffMt M """"- BAYARD SHARP left, owner of Troilus, and trainer Charles Peoples. ■i - . Bayard Sharp Pins Hopes to Troilus Popular Horseman Eyes First Derby Unsuccessful Hannibal In 1952 Was First Aspirant-Owns Delaware Horse Farm CHURCHILL DOWNS, Louisville. May 1. — Bayard Sharp is at 46 among the most youthful owners of Derby candidates, nor is Troilus his first aspirant for the Downs classic. He was represented by his feather -footed sprinter Hannibal, a forward factor as far as he went in the 1952 renewal. The Flamingo winner, a ,000 bargain of the N. J. yearling sales, is stouter if somewhat less shifty performer. By Priam II. he is incidentally well named. According to ancient Greek legend, Troilus was a son of Priam. Troilus own horses dragged him to death, but we shall skip that. Sharp is a gentleman farmer, a jockey club member, a director in Delaware Park, and a devotee of both flat and steeplechase racing since 1941. Sharps entrance in the sport delineates his character. In 1940 a friend and former steeplechase rider with a family to support came to his Middletown, Dela. fj_rm seeking employment. Sharp commissioned him to buy two chasers. The friend, Bill Pass-more, selected Speculate and another and Sharps colors were an immediate success in racing through-the -field. Speculate won the grand National in 1941. Two Sons of Priam II. Tide Rips and Hannibal, both now at stud, were most accomplished of these until Troilus came along. Hannibal won the Select and Experimental among other stakes, set a Delaware track mark, and serves at Sharps Middletown Stud along with Troy Weight. The last named is like Troilus, a son of the French Priam II. Sharp is authority for it he displayed extreme speed in training but a mishap deprived him of all chance of distinguishing himself under colors. Sharps is incidentally the only farm in Delaware devoted to bloodstock breeding. He has equipped it with a training barn and private course, complete to a starting gate, and Troilus and others of the string are conditioned there between engagements at the Maryland. Delaware and New Jersey tracks. For a time Tom Roby rode the Sharp steeplechasers, but he was paralyzed in a fall with Knights Quest in 1942 and has been incapacitated ever since. Sharp hospitalizes Roby and Delaware Park has named a Tom Roby steeplechase handicap for the hapless rider. C h ar 1 e y Peoples, Troilus developer, succeded Roby and when he grew too heavy to ride he became the strings trainer. A slender, ruddy, brown haired chap with a ready laugh and a great deal of cammaraderie, Sharp is understandably very popular with the race-and-chase set around Delaware. He was a Lt. Commander ; in the Navy during World War II., is a I former president of the Wilmington city council, a former county Republican leader, I and in 46 was honored as the "young man . of the year" by the Wilmington junior I chamber of commerce. For some years he I has bought four or five horses to supplement the output of his modest stud. If I Troilus wins the Derby it will be said here j and echoed in Delaware "it couldns happen to a nicer guy."
