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~~~ W lliiiiiSlS ■Hi Ijffflf • TOMY LEE — Californias principal hope, shown with trainer Frank Childs right and exercise rider Hubert Trent left. Bloodlines Expert Picks Tomy Lee Hails Tudor Minstrel Scion As a Genuine Thoroughbred Has Carried Derby Weight, 4 Can Handle Any Type Track And Possesses Will to Win By LEON RASMUSSEN Tomy Lee the winner. That is the way Bloodlines sees this 85th Kentucky Derby. As one who discovered Tomy Lee in the Haggin Stakes at Hollywood Park late last May and predicted "possible classic successes" for the colt and has never wavered in his admiration for him since, this corner believes the generous son of Tudor Minstrel — Auld Alliance, by Brantome, will get the job done. Tomy Lee is a genuine thoroughbred in all that name connotes. His tall, slender frame is charged with the will to win. He is impartial to track conditions, having shown his speed over different tracks and over various types of footing. Sire Classic Miler Tomy Lee is not going to worry about what the elements do when they finally make up their minds. Tomy Lee has already proved himself capable of carrying the Derby weight. He did this back at Keene-land when he gave Dunce five pounds and a half-length beating. Inasmuch as Dunce got within a half length of him at the head of the stretch, the feeling prevails here that Tomy Lee was only doing what he had to do to stay in front. The bay colts early speed, his agreeableness to rating, his maneuverability, along with his willingness and gameness under pressure are other glittering attributes as the moment of truth nears. Tomy Lee has never run a poor race ► — Leon Rasmussen, Daily Racing Forms Bloodlines expert, has been on the racing scene for many years. His column has been a regular feature of this newspaper and his analytical obser-v a t i o n on breeding and bloodlines is highly respected wherever breeders and racing men gather. Rasmussen authored the Dedisie features on the principal Derby candidates that appear on the following pages. and we dont expect him to do so in the Derby. Frankly, there exists one grave concern, and that involves Tomy Lees sire, Tudor Minstrel, a masterful, classic miler, but a colt who didnt want to go on. However, the excessive, classic strength in his bottom line keeps encouraging the belief that it will manifest itself in that last desperate sixteenth of a mile. Actually, there are a number of serious contenders in this Derby sired by stallions I who ran shorter than did Tudor Minstrel and who have sired shorter in distance horses than has Tudor Minstrel. This is a sign of the breeding times in this country where the accent is on speed. Those in the Derby field bred to be true stayers have not, to date, shown classic quality. One of them might pick this opportune moment to expose a classic staying ability hitherto unsuspected or only lightly suggested. But if those bred to stay dont possesse the quality to win, Tomy Lee, who is all quality, will surely be there or thereabouts. This is said while being fully aware of Tomy Lees losses to First Landing in both the Champagne and The Garden State. However, many knowledgeable observers have expressed the belief that Tomy Lee was unfortunate to lose the first and then certainly unlucky to draw the position he did in the second. Tomy Lees pedigree and his stout distaff family is discussed elsewhere in this edition, but after one ponders the staying quality inherent there, it becomes easy to harbor the thought that Tomy Lee will prove the best stayer among the non-stayers. Potentially Good Sire Prospect Before closing the book on this Derby and Tomy Lee, a victory for Mr. and Mrs. Fred Turner Jr.s colt would make him an extraordinary sire prospect, and that is another reason why this column is pulling for , him. As a believer in sensible inbreeding, Tomy Lee is our "beau ideal." Inbred to Hyperion in the third generation and to Swynford in the fourth, Tomy Lee is inbred to two stallions who have exerted a tremendous influence throughout the racing world. Nature tends to the average, so there is a need at all times to combat this tendency by inbreeding to superior individuals. Tomy Lee is the product of such inbreeding. Improving the breed is the proper blending of prepotency and hybrid vigor. Prepotency is the ability of the individual to transmit characteristics consistently to his or her offspring, and may be established through selective inbreeding. Hybrid vigor is the extra vigor expressed by the progeny when two unrelated and perferably inbred strains are interbred, and is therefore essentially achieved through outcrossing. Inbreeding increases prepotency and reduces hybrid vigor, whereas outcrossing increases hybrid vigor and reduces prepotency. In race horses, prepotency is essential that the qualities of great horses may be transmitted successfully to their progency, while hybrid vigor imparts vitality, which must be closely linked with race track performance. The inbred Tomy Lee should prove an ideal mate for inbred mares of different strains.
