Tomy Lee Victorious in Derby; Beats Sword Dancer by Nose: Turner Importation Survives Foul Claim in 63,750 Test; Shoemaker Gets Mount Going Again Following Contact in Stretch; First Landing Third, Daily Racing Form, 1959-05-04

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FRED TURNER JR. — The Texans imported Tomy Lee accounted for the 85th running of the Kentucky Derby. Tomy Lee Victorious in Derby; Beats Sword Dancer by Nose Turner Importation Survives Foul Claim in 63,750 Test Shoemaker Gets Mount Going Again Following Contact in Stretch; First Landing Third By CHARLES HATTON CHURCHILL DOWNS, May 2.— Storming head and head through a lane of more than 100,000 shrilling subjects of king horse, the Fred Turner Jr.s gallant Tomy Lee subdued Mrs. Isabel Dodge Sloanes relentless Sword Dancer as the climax of one of the most dramatic stretch duels ever witnessed at Churchill Downs this torrid afternoon. Only a nose separated them at the end of a history-making mile and a quarter in 2:02% and this time Willie the Shoe made no mistake about the position of the fated winning pole. Two lengths away from the grimly struggling leaders Chris Chenery First Landing, a narrow favorite over the winner, was third, too late with too little, while the Braunstein Estates Royal Orbit was only a length farther back, fourth of a field of 17 of the lands finest three-year-olds. Boland Lodges Protest The stewards flashed the objection, entertaining a frivolous claim of foul lodged by Boland on the runner-up, and there was a tedious delay while they heard that riders complaint Tomy Lee carried him out from the five sixteenths pole to the sixteenth pole. Actually it appeared to many that the onus of blame for any offense rested with the plaintiff. It was the first foul claimed in a Derby within the memory of the oldest inhabitant, for in the instance of the Brokers Tip and Head Play embroglio in 33, the stewards investigated and suspended both riders while confirming Brokers Tip the winner. - After all the litigation, those who sent Tomy Lee away a close second choice went happily around to the cashiers and collected at the rate of .40, while that son of Tudor Minstrel and Auld Alliance, the first imported winner since Omar Khayyam in 17, earned 21,250 of a gross prize of 63,750 of the lions share 19,650 was net. Tomy Lee earned his niche in Derby-Continued on Page Four HkIP; v UPS JOCKEY WILLIAM SHOEMAKER— Rode his second Derby winner when he guided Mr. and Mrs. Fred Turner Jr.s Tomy Lee to victory in the Derby. * " * "■ " •■w- ■• -~ •■• ■ ■• ■ — ■ ■ Photo by Alien F. Brewer Jr. TOMY LEE — Became the second imported horse to win the Kentucky Derby when he beat Sword Dancer in Saturdays renewal. Omar Khayyam is the only other importation to score, accounting for the 1917 renewal. . . / ■ / », I t ________ _ .- Tomy Lee Captures 63,750 Derby Turner Import Holds Nose T Edge on Sword Dancer at End Survives Foul Claim Lodged 1 By Runner-up; Shoemaker Up; First Landing Finishes Third Continued from Page One doms hall of fame the hard way, by setting or forcing all the pace, disposing of Atoll and Troilus in a speed duel and after "repulsing the bitter attack Sword Dancer lodged in the stretch. The handsome brown winner, bred in England, was grested with a tremendous ovation upon returning to the winners enclosure, where Kentuckys Gov. A. B. "Happy" Chandler presented the ornate gold trophy to his joyous connections. Except for the fact that the first two were in close, with the runner-up on the outside, through the stretch, the race was fairly well nan. Though it was known as the "Derby of the figure filberts dilemma," and the quotes given by various of the riders suggest a "scramble corner" at Forty-Second and Broadway, these were if not exaggerated somewhat misleading. There have been rougher races than this 25,000 mile and one-quarter. Upon dismounting, jockey Boland stated, "We were hit for the first time about the quarter pole, just as we entered the stretch. Then we were hit again several times through the final furlong. As I went past him, Shoe called out, Hope you win it. My horse stopped a bit from the bumping, then came on again when the bumping stopped, but it was too late." Film Patrol Disclosures The film patrol disclosed that Tomy Lee twice drifted out slightly through the stretch, but there was no visible contact. At a point just outside the eighth pole, the outside horse, Sword Dancer, was shown drifting in and contact was made several times. Both horses were drifting out near the finish, running as if they were a team. Shoemaker said, "He Tomy Lee kind of gave it up on the turn, but he came on again and then came a second time right on the money." York did estimate: "She is not overmatched against colts." The conditions under which the race was run were conductive to fast time and the winners 2:02V5 was only four-fifths off Whirlaways record. The fractions were good, fairly steady, :24/5, :47%, 1:11% and 1:36. Eddie Arcaro dismounted from First Landing to say, "He hung. It just seems he doesnt have a big punch when its needed." Chris Rogers, aboard Troilus, commented sadly, "He went from a pull to a drive in two jumps around the half-mile pole." Manuel Ycaza declared, "Rico Tesio almost went down on the first turn." Ken Church on John Bruce may say again. "I was squeezed badly leaving the gate." His mount was knocked almost literally to his knees. Ray York, who moved on Silver Spoon a half mile from home, said, "She hung around the eighth pole." He might have added "understandably." Pete Anderson, who rode Our Dad, conjectured: "I dont believe the boss can find fault with my ride. I had enough room on the rail at tthe three-eighths pole to drive a Mack truck through, but when I called on the colt to run, I got no response." Harmatz Comment Bill Harmatz thought: "Royal Orbit could have been third, except I was carried toward the middle of the track down the backside and lost some ground." Sam Boulmetis on the fading Atoll noted he still was about fourth at the eighth pole, "But then we got into a little tight spot about that time and lost ground." Steve Brooks remarked: "Dunce couldnt get hold of the track on the back side." While Jimmy Combest observed The Chosen One: "Got in a crowd on the first turn. Just too many horses." This was certainly the hottest Derby ever, according to the record of the local Weather Bureau, and bootland was in its shirt-sleeves. The vast concourse in the landscaped innerfield presented scenes of a big country fair that somehow got out of hand. The Churchill familys ancient Downs teemed with humanity, colorful flower beds, four gaily caparisoned bans snapping in a breeze roughly the temperature if not the velocity of the Saharan Sirocco. The thermometer was soaring past 88 by midafternoon, accompanied by an unprecedented boom in the mint julep trade, though the play was down 7,469 for the first four events by comparison with 1958s. On and-On Declared A sigh of one part relief and two parts disappointment rose over the crowd as it was announced that the Jones Boys had declared On-and-On from this openest of all Derbys, one which had closed — like a revolving door — with a field of 18 Thursday morning. The early arrivals, and there were hundreds of these, queued up before the turnstiles by 7 a.m., an hour before they opened. These seemed to experience some little difficulty making anything of the Derby entrants form, which resembled a game of musical chairs. The special booths opened "at 8:30 and after several races, Tomy Lee and First Landing were in fairly equal demand at "fours." This convenienc-ing form of betting finally closed with First Landing 3-to-l, his western adversary .a point longer. The support for the Chenery colt was despite his well advertised aversion to heat. VIPs and Joe Fan Mingle Assorted governors, movie celebs, prominent sportsmen and women and other VIPs rubbed elbows with Joe Fan, in a spirit of camaraderie attesting that all men are equal on the turf. In the bars the spirit of democracy flowed ankle deep. Music was provided by the University of Kentucky. University of Louisville, Murray College and Louisville male high school bands. First Landing paused and pricked his ears curiously at the bands blaring in the innerfield en route to the paddock, while Tomy Lee went into a little equine soft shoe, and the filly Silver Spoon, a music lover, seemed to notice the difference between the muted radio beside her dressing room and the nervous rataplan of the drummers. Troilus, a Flamingo winner remarkably cast in the role of a Derby "fielder," set out to make every pole a winning one, with Tomy Lee and Atoll prompting him right alongside going first time past the pandc- monium of the stands. Troilus ran out of , oxygen abruptly after about one-half mile and Tomy Lee took up the running, Sword j Dancer moving to him as Atoll also b°at a retreat uo the backstretch. The winner and runner-up detached tbcmsehm from the others around the last turn, where the filly was skipping past j horses with a rather premature bid that carride her to third place at the "hot cor- [ ner." First Landing, eighth at the outsst. had been given the go signal by Arcaro and also loomed up momentarily. But in the ! heat of their battle Tomy Lee and Sword Dancer resolved it into a virtual match race from the head of the stretch home, j None of the stretch runners ever locked like overhauling them, and the crowd was so absorbed in their intense duel the others I wore Uttle noticed. Tomy Lee had come a trifle wide entering the stretch, but then Sword Dancer ap-| peared to go in toward him as he gained j a narrow advantage in mldstretch. Tomy j Lee fought back so desperately his rival was forced to capitulate in the last yards and he regained a nose margin. They flashed under the wire as if yoked. Usually, it might be added, the outside horse gets the better of these debates. But Tomy Lee, a grandson of the marvelous Hyperion, is made of stern stuff, simply refusing to be denied. First Landing could not contact the first two but was best of the others. Royal Orbit came along with a wet sail to snatch fourth from Silver Spoon in the last nod. Silver Spoon ran a splendid race in the circumstances. The field returned to scale walking on all fours. Easy Spur was never in the hunt, much to the chagrin of many of the crowd, and with no visible excuse. He had been trained tenderly since his injury in the Stepping Stone. Bill Hartack thought: "He was in distress all the way." Calumet Farms On-and-On, a half brother to last years Derby winner, Tim Tarn, and the only scratch in the original line-up for todays Rose Run, won a dramatic for reasons other than financial as On-and-On, held at one-to-two, was life and death to beat Mrs. Paxton Harthills Will This Do, who wen two races at the recent Keeneland meeting, one for ,000 and the other for ,000. On-and-On, not away too well, had to be put to the strongest kind of a drive by Chris Rogers to wear down the runner-up. The time for the 6 furlongs was a respectable l:10y5 over a track that was lightning fast. Yesterday trainer Jimmy Jones said hed probably run in this dash instead of the Derby as his colt, he felt, needed more racing. It would appear from the result that Jones made the right decision. Doug Dodson opened the program by registering a driving victory aboard Johnny Harts Mark Klaine. who was picking up his first purse of the year while defeating Mrs. P. A. Schiros Tucky Miss by just a length. Circle J. Stables Man of Quest held on for third money, after having assumed the lead at the top of the stretch, while finishing a half length farther back. Leo Weinbergers Shame on You, a 9-5 chance, duelled with the early leaders only to falter through the long stretch run and finish fifth. Mark Klaine raced the 6 furlongs in 1:1145 and returned 8.40. Octagonal, owned by Lexingtons Johnny Clark, was installed a 2-to-l favorite with the fans only to break tardily from the barrier and break down in his right fore prior to completing the opening furlong. Bill Boland immediately pulled the gelding up and dismounted near the half-mile pole.


Persistent Link: https://drf.uky.edu/catalog/1950s/drf1959050401/drf1959050401_1_8
Local Identifier: drf1959050401_1_8
Library of Congress Record: https://lccn.loc.gov/unk82075800