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_ Bloodlines By Leon Rasmussen Tomy Lee Proves Best in Breeders Derby Childs Notes Colts Degree of Intelligence First Six Finishers Showed Their Pedigrees Well, it was a breeders Derby after all. And, to paraphrase, the quality of the strong tail-female families, was not stained. The winner, Tomy Lee, had the stoutest family in this corners opinion and that is why he had been our Derby selection for nearly a year. It was a thrilling and rewarding experience to watch the classic stamina inherited through his dam, Auld Alliance, manifest itself inside those last, lung-searing yards. Tomy Lee may not be a great horse. That he must still prove, but not even Donyno himself was more generous and more courageous. His finish was a thing of beauty. His display of "strength under fire" a triumph of breeding. Friday morning as trainer Frank Childs grazed the colt in the field in front of his barn at Churchill Downs, he said "This colt will give his all. Hell run on. When I worked him that lA miles the other day. he still wanted to run. He must have gone 1% miles before the boy could pull him up. "Hes the most observant horse Ive ever known. Everything interests him. Hes the only one Ive ever had who would watch an airplane from the time it came into view until it went out of sight. The other day he saw a squirrel climbing up a telephone pole. He watched it as it ran along the wire between the one pole and the other. Hes interested in everything." It was the same way on Derby day as he walked to the paddock amid the blare of bands and through the shouting crowd. Hed stop and look, alert to this strange madness, but evidently more curious about it than upset by it. He never broke out. Tomy Lee was the first one to the paddock, a bit of strategy worked by Childs which might have helped, as it gave Tomy Lee plenty of time to get over any tension he might have built up. Sword Dancer From Strong Line The second to finish, the little gamester, Sword Dancer, also comes from a strong femal family, his third dam being Speed Boat, a proficient runner and the ancestress of many notable stakes winners, including Level Best, Count of Honor, Countess Fleet, Levelix and many, many more. The third to finish, First Landing, was out of the late Hildene, dam of five major stakes winners, including two national champions, and a former broodmare of the year. Royal Orbit, the other money horse, is from a fine female family, and that also goes for Silver Spoon and Finnegan, the next two to finish. Dunce, seventh, also comes from a successful family. Back of them were such spring sensations as Open View, Atoll, Festival King, Easy Spur, and Troilus, certainly good, capable runners but far from being bred in the tradtion associated with such classics as the Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes. The breeding disappointment in the race was Our Dad, a colt who should be able to go on and who has a pedigree of much better performance. Tomy Lees indomitable courage was best illustrated perhaps by his winning with tight tendon bandages on his front legs. As Charles Hatton .noted after the race, "Hes got to be a nice colt to run all the way, as he did, be headed and then come on again while wearing tight bandages." It was a fine tribute to an all-quality colt by a horseman who knows what hes talking about. While away in Lexington visiting many of the farms and such old friends as Swaps, Nashua, Sailor, Royal Charger, Count of Honor, Nasrullah, Princequillo and many of the lovely mares who are attending their courts this season, and then to Julepville for Tomy Lees historic stretch run, Prince Aly Khan completed a unique double in two of Englands classics, the Two Thousand Guineas and the One Thousand Guineas, both at a mile. It was my intention upon returning to the coast to investigate the families of the winners, Petite Etoile in the Thousand, and Taboun in the Two Thousand, but my good pen friend, the knowledgeable pedigree student John D. Zediker, saved me the research in a kind and welcome letter. Petite Etoile by Stakes Sire Petite Etoile is a gray filly by the Eclipse and Gim-erack winner Petition, a moderately successful sire son of Fair Trial, out of the imported Star of Iran, by Bois Roussel. Star of Iran was one of the mares Rex Ellsworth procured in his 41 -mare deal in 1956 with the late Aga Khan. Star of Iran, a gray, is a full sister to Gallant Mans sire, Migoli, who will stand in California in 1960, both being by Bois Roussel and out of Mah Iran, the latter a daughter of Bahram — Mah Mahal the dam of Mahmoud, by Gainsborough — Mumatz Mahal. This is all very familiar to anyone interested in pedigrees, for it is once again the family whioh produced Nasrullah, Royal Charger, Abernant and many other excellent stakes stars, stakes producers and stakes sires. — As for Taboun, he also has relatives in America. His dam, Queen of Basrah, by Fair Trial— Queen of Bagh-dad, by Bahram — Queen of Scots, by Dark Legend, had a stakes winner in America last year in King of Basrah, successful in a small fixture in Phoenix and also a winner in California. King of Basrah is by Tehran, Continued on Page Forty-Nine I | ] 1 BLOODLINES I By LEON RASMUSSEN Continued from Page Six the sire of Tabriz, the sire of Taboun, so therefore King of Basrah is a three-parts brother to Taboun. Mrs. Elizabeth Person, owner of Llangollen Farm, imported a chestnut mare by Dastur out of Queen of Basrah recently. She is named Darabai and in 1958 produced a bay colt by the Nas-rullah horse Mister Gus. Queen of Basrahs dam. Queen of Baghdad, is also the dam of Noor, and Ellsworth stands Noors full brother, General Cariappa. at his Chino farm. Queen of Scots, the dam of Queen of Baghdad, also produced Castagnola, by Bois Roussel. and Castagnola bred the noted English stakes star, Zucchero, by Nasrullah, another of Queen of Scots daughters, Queen of Simla, winner of the Queen Mary Stakes, foaled Queen of Himalaya, now owned by Ellsworth. Queen of Himalaya is intensely inbred, being by Blenheim n.s son, Donatello II. out of Blenheim II. s daughter, Queen of Simla. Queen of Scots third dam is the immortal Sceptre, winner of four classics, both the Guineas, the Oaks and the St. Leger. Prince Alys Paraguana, who was third in the Thousand Guineas as the favorite, is closely related to the Ellsworth-owned Sayegh. Paraguana is by Prince Chevalier — Tayeh, by Tehran, while Sayegh is by Si-cambre, a son Prince Bio, out of Tayeh. The next dam of these two is Rivaz, by Nearco, a full sister to Nasrullah. Rivaz is now in this country as is Nasrullah s half sister, the top class producer Dodoma II., and Malindi, another full sister to Nearcos most famous son. Malindi this year foaled a filly by Swaps at Darby Dan farm. Olin Gentry, efficent and cooperative farm manager of Mr. and Mrs. John Galbreaths Lexington establishment, showed me this royally-bred youngster last week and she is, truly, something to see. In fact, Swaps is getting beautiful foals and his yearlings — at least those I talent scouted at Darby Dan surely look like runners. Reardin Swaps, he was paid about. ;ts high a Compliment M can be paid by several Kentucky hardboots when they called tiif- California-bred "The best look-big stallion in the Blue Qrass.M
