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California * ■ By Oscar Otis i Debonair Seen Exciting Week-End Feature Cornell High on Royal Orbits Potential Avers Colt Can Improve His Derby Effort ■ HOLLYWOOD PARK, Inglewood, Calif., May 8. — Saturdays program, topped as it is by the Debonair Stakes at 6 furlongs, is expected to clearly establish the tone of the summer season here, and while on its surface, the Debonair is not authoritative, being too short and conditioned as an allowance event, it nevertheless has a deal of intrinsic interest. At least four of the starters we consider as being of Derby caliber but who, for one reason or another, failed to get to Kentucky. • These four are Djebah, whose pre-inaugural works have verged on the sensational; Lin mold, the story book horse who went sour at Santa Anita after being beaten in the Derby there; Ole Fols, who, al-• though he has indicated he might be a true albeit top sprinter instead of a Derby horse, still cannot be relegated to that status without at least another chance or so during the Hollywood meeting, and Bagdad, whose races have been spotty. His good efforts have been extra good, but his failures were just as spectacular. Linmold, under the conditions of the Debonair, must assume top-weight of 120 pounds and trainer Hurst Philpot tells us he might be "any kind of a horse" if he learns his lesson around the barn, explaining, "this horse has one peculiarity, a peculiarity that while it is nothing new is nevertheless rather rare. He loves to roll, and he has a habit of doing just that in his stall. The complicating factor is that he will put all four feet up against the stall wall, and from that position, it is hard for him to get up. Most horses who lie down in their stall learn that putting the feet against the wall isnt quite the thing for a horse to do. For that reason, we have to keep a close watch over Linmold at the stall so if he does cast himself into a position from which it is hard to extricate himself, he can get assistance in getting back on his feet." Preakness-Belmont Prospect By the time these lines appear in print, trainer Reggie Cornell should have returned safely to Pimlico and Royal Orbit, but just before leaving Hollywood Park after a two-day inspection-training routine of his formidable string assembled here, he observed, "Im not just sure what kind of a horse Royal Orbit may be, bu£ at the very worst he is pretty good, and at the most optimistic, he could turn out to be great. I make this observation after the most meticulous study of his race in the Kentucky Derby and from what we have learned, it is just possible that as the Derby was run, he could, have been best. You may not agree, but in any event, we are more than happy with his race. I do feel he will show to best advantage in aTace like the Belmont, and thats where we are going if he shows at all well in the Preakness. Maybe you didnt notice, but after the Derby finish he kept on going out from sheer exuberance and it actually took two ponies, not just one, to get him pulled up. This incident, coupled with the items that he was taken up sharply on one occasion and was forced out on the final turn by Easy Spur, leads me to believe that he is a potential cup horse." Wondering if Cornell might not be just a bit enthusiastic, and recalling the whoop-de-do over Silky Sullivan last year in Kentucky, we ventured the point, and Cornell replied: "I dont say Silky would have won the Derby, but under no stretch of the imagination could he have been beaten as far as he was, some 12 lengths, had he liked the race track that day. But here, as in most instances in horse racing, hindsights- are better than foresights. Some horses simply dont run their best over the Churchill surface, and on that particularly day, Silky just couldnt grip the footing. But once again, and risking foresight, Ill go so far as to say that I personally am not convinced that there was a chance we didnt have actually the best horse in the Derby. It will take the Preakness and I hope the Belmont to change my mind." Purse Battle May Develop As the Preakness running at Baltimore nears with its flossy purse of 50,000 added, it might be worth mentioning that the board of directors of Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky "Derby, will give some consideration to a suggestion that as long as the Triple Crown seems to be competitive, purse-wise, Churchill might well find it expedient to keep up with the swim, so to speak, ancLlift the value of the Derby. It and the Belmont are now 25,000 added each, 5,-000 less than the Preakness. It is our guess, an educated one, but still nevertheless a guess, that if Churchill raises its ante at all, it wont merely match the 50,-000 of the Preakness but top it by 5,000, which would make for a whopping added money event of 75,000.
