Show U s T PETERS petersburg BURb FLA you face a pretty fair jump from one of the favorite habitats of racing dogs to the kentucky derby but long distance calls from tropical park across the everglades indicate that well known forecasters are both busy and dizzy on th the e winter derby book I 1 mean the new one they tell me the main thorn in their prognosticating sides is a horse called ailsab eight weeks ago this wonder as a two year old was far in front of the field then things began to happen as they usually do when two year olds become three biar acar olds ailsab had his ears pinned back three times running and the first book blew up with a noisy crash before the widener one of the leading bookies phoned 1 I had requested and the calumet stable on t top op around 6 to 1 ailsab looked to be a dead fish but the race he ran in the widener has upset things again I 1 wish that horse would settle settie down to one form or another he looked to be a tired overworked worn out horse in his first three starts lie he was thin and nervous ile he had lost his old speed cut but when he moved up head and head with best seller and the rhymer hymer in the big race tar far down the stretch he was a different horse again ile he is still the big guess of the derby field favored selections ben whitakers requested and warren wrights calumet entry will remain the favored selections nei J ther may be as good as ailsab on derby day but ailsab is still too much of a guess and a gamble requested has improved more than a mere bit arid and ben jones will I 1 have more than c one ne good horse ready when the big race is run before I 1 left california trainer jones told me that he might have ar a many as four horses on hand for the next derby im counting more on sun again and some chance he said but I 1 may have two others almost as good derby day is still a long way off as far as a thoroughbred is concerned but we ought to have something left from the group at that time both sun again and some chance looked fit enough to run with any three year olds around the map the wrecking upset that took p place lace in the recent widener now has the players in this tropical domain looking for some longer derby prices the mere sight of a favorite has become obnoxious obnoxious not to say repellent florida favorites have been running like 20 to 1 shots only not quite so fast for example neither T the he trainer nor jockey thought this horse had even an outside chance and when the crowd saw all the favorites far back most of them wondered why they still had dished out so much cash on the top choices after what had been happening all spring badly overworked d ailsab will have fresh backing in the new book and at better odds this horse proved he could run against older rivals last week there any question that he has been badly overworked if he been then practically every tra trainer iner in florida is wrong ivring but the derby is nearly six weeks away and ailsab may get enough rest in that time to recover a good part of his 1942 form he was the best horse in the widener for a mile and an eighth and started to fade only in the last 80 yards ben whitaker said a year ago that requested was the best horse he had ever owned and he has improved a lot the T texan exan said before headin heading home im not going to pick ill him in to win the derby but I 1 know lie has h as a good chance also I 1 think ailsab is a better horse than he looked to be in his first three starts at hialeah Hi aleah and I 1 know that beating those calumet entries wont be any soft afternoon for anybody that winter rest in california wont do any harm under a trainer such as ben jones is but these are not the only good horses around the whitneys Whit have a few which might bring back glory |