The Courier-Journal from Louisville, Kentucky • Page 25

OF SPORTS THE WORLD SECTION 2 MAY 7, 190 CLASSIFIED ADS, pp. 9 to 15 REPORT, p. 1 16 SPORTSMAN, p. RACING, pp. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 BASEBALL, pp.

7, 8, 9 FEATURES, p. 16 ft- At yr XT 1 w' i A Mi BLACK GEORGE DOOLY iyy- HALLIEBOY TRUMPET KING HOST 4Ct tyvzvyi your (1 58 at. 4 1 9 w- LOTOWH1TE v- nit HAWLEY mmmmmmmm i ON THE MARK 1 OIL CAP11 mm V. kw. y.

'y -s-y 4 Hi Pi rtv y4 4 ir- vw XS 5UNCLOW Middleground Runs Greatest Race In History of Kentucky Derby From Worst Possible Post Position You just can't beat class. Middleground, the only son r3f ySyySy- iJi 1 i yyMt y. siK irm. iivwudlc iiy, i S.M,!. y' t' iyyy.

yi I. yy Xf y'' yy yyy Hia PRINCE I -y -1 K' 4Syy y. iy of a Derby winner in the field, ran perhaps the greatest race ever galloped over the Downs Derby distance to win the 76th Kentucky Derby. The barrel-chested son of Bold Venture, champion in 1936, started from the worst possible position in a field of 14 and missed Whirlaway's 1941 record of 2:01 2. 5 by only one-fifth of a second.

Whirly started from the very favorable fourth slot in a field of 11. Middleground may not go on to the money-winning heights achieved by Mr. Longtail, but several thousand grateful followers wron't worry. He has won enough for them if he never earns another dime. He paid the magnificent sum of $17.80.

Whirly rewarded his backers with $7.80. 4, VUT'" Wiyfc Count-r-Journal Big Bertha Photo by Pcuct MIDDLEGROUND lion Is Hilf Prince by one and one-quarter lengths in the 76th Kentucky Derhy. IT A Fh. 1 71 When Colt, Kid is rroua mama. Like Whirlaway, Middleground came to the For Her Son, Middleground, Won Granddaughter of Roses Winner Bubbling Over Is Happy Her First Baby To Race Romped Home Like His Daddy Did By VERGUENZA, Dam of MIDDLEGROUND, As Told to JOE REISTER.

Derby defeated in two important earlier starts. The Calumet Cannonball was second to Our Boots in the Blue Grass Stakes, and second to Blue Pair in the Derby Trial. Middleground lost to Black George in the Derby Trial, and to Hill Prince in the Wood Memorial. Ponder, winner last year, also placed second in the Trial. Track Becomes Fast Middleground got a big break in the weather.

Rain fell most of the night, but not hard enough to seriously muddy the track. Track workmen Whirlaway Combine Talents Boland Recalls Winning Ride At The Ripe Old Age of 8 By JAMES ROACH, New York Times Sports Writer. A colt from Texas and a kid from Texas combined their talents for a near-record victory in the 76trfrunning of the Kentucky Derby before 90,000 or more whooping customers at Churchill Downs yesterday. Middleground, apprentice Bill crombie and Smith's Stranded Boland up, did the job for Robert and William H. Veeneman Black J.

Kleberg's King Ranch. George, the colt that Hung a two-It was a dilly of a stretch fight ength defeat on Middleground in in which the lad from Corpus the Derby Trial last Tuesday. Christi, topping off the biggest The result of the Derby proved week of his young life, drove once again that the Derby Trial dragged harrows continually, around and around, 'm hour after hour. The sky brightened, and the temperature rose from 58 to 64 degrees by post 1 time for the first race. Track Supt.

Tom Young My first baby to race did it. Incline, Pleasure Fund, Woven -J Web, Mild Retort, Re Torta, and It always a source Ot of coursej my boy, Middleground. great satisfaction to know Up until today, I often had told that your children do well. "75-" of Boldie (that my pet name for My name is Verguenza, I the Bold Venture) seem to like dam (mother, to you) of Middle-, distances of not much more than ground, who just won the Ken- one mjie- tucky Derby. But that boy of mme Middle I had a feeling that boy would ground, made a fibber out of me do well.

today and I'm mighty proud he Imp. All Gold. Bold Venture is did. by Imp. St.

Germans, and Chic- There's a little story about ar, my daddy, is out of Wendy. Middleground that I think you a half sister, by Peter Pan, to Derby folks ought to hear about. Bonus. My boy, Middleground, was It seems that this particular bred in more or less of an effort pedigree pattern of Boldie on a to find again the mating pattern Chicaro mare had been used be-of the 1931 Derby and Belmont fore by King Ranch with note-winner, Twenty Grand, a son of worthy success in the case of th Imp. St.

Germans-Bonus, she by full brother and sister, Mild Retort and Re Torta. Mild Retort predicted 'that by Derbytime the track would be fast. Veteran writers hooted at the possibility, but after the fourth race the sign on the tote board classed the track as fast. Over a slow turf Middle- ground probably would have finished back in All the time I carried him, he was active. I often said to myself, "If that's immiw aiTil The horses left their back-side barns at 4 o'clock and filed one by one into the track.

First came Tom Young Middleground, a son of the 1936 is (A) a snare, and (B) a delu- Derby champion, Bold Venture, sion. The track was sloppy that to a length-and-a-quarter success, afternoon, and Middleground The youngster, who recalls rid- didn't have mud caulks on. ing a winner in an informal Middleground and Boland were quarter-horse race at the ripe old ready for the race of tneir lives Mr. Trouble and then Middleground. Second i a -ww! agein," somebody quipped.

Their short-cut in the gray afternoon. The canny age of 8, has another week to go in his apprenticeship. He rode across the infield closed by the colorful crowd, .1 11 1 1111-1 1.1 1 me inorougnDreas waiKea iazny arouna me tracK to the gap leading to the paddock. Your Host looked like he was about to fall asleep, nad maybe he was. He Is A-l to Follower twice won the Handicap Presi-dencial, and Re Torta won last year's Mexican Triple Crown.

The filly, to be factual, won four stakes the Clasico Malinche, Stakes Jockey Club Mexicano, Gran Fremio Nacional, and Derby Mexicano. There were many students of thoroughbred blood lines who doubted seriously that my boy, Middleground, could and would run the Derby distance of IVi miles. But, of course, he proved today that he could. And, in so doing, he proved that a well-thought-out mating pattern often proves successful. And, too, the serious doubt that such a pattern could be worked out to such a high degree of success only serves to show why the Kentucky Derby is, and always will be, the great, important test for 3-year-old his first winner on May 13, 1949, at Belmont Park.

He was 18 on April 16. The blanket of roses was hung across Knees as he rode Middleground into the horseshoe of posies in front of the presentation stand. There Kleberg, trainer Max Hirsch and Boland did some hand-shaking. It was Middleground's 10th start, fifth victory, second stake. He won the Hopeful Stakes at Saratoga last August 27 and then was retired for the year because he had a set of oselets that -were gentleman who trains the King Ranch horses, Hirsch, saw to that.

Middleground and On The Mark were his 12th and 13th De'rby starters, and the Bold Venture colt gave Hirsch his third Derby success. Bold Venture, then owned by Morton L. Schwartz, was No. 1 in '36. The King Ranch's Assault, by Bold Venture, was No.

2 for him, 10 years later. Record for Siring Winners In '36 Hirsch put up an apprentice, Ira Hanford. Till yesterday Hanford was the only gent to win The crowd surged around the cage-like confines of the paddock as the grooms prepared their charges for the greatest test of their lives. "There's Middleground," a boy explained to his a colt, he might even get all the money in the Derby some day." Foaled In 1940 And today he did. Now, if you will forgive a mother's natural pride, I'm pretty proud today.

I'm a bay, foaled in 1940. My daddy was Chicaro. I'm out of Blushing Sister, by Bubbling Over, which, you will remember, won the Derby in 1926. I was bred on King Ranch, which huge ranch in Kingsville, sent out my son Middle-ground today to win the big one. In 1945, soon after I was sent into the ranks of broodmares (I was a winner at 3 when I campaigned) I had a chestnut filly by Equestrian, later named Party Never Got to Races She never got to the races.

In 1946, I had no registered foal. In 1947, 1 foaled a nice, snuggly chestnut colt by Bold Venture. Ruby White fTys 'r -if -A It fy "V''' vV' -9 A yf girl. "He is No. 1." He was pointing to On The Mark, the champion stablemate.

"Oh no," corrected an elder man standing nearbv. "Middle- about to pop. He had a session "y- w.v-.. 1 ground is 1-A, and you can read it both ways he's A-l in my book." Once attired in their princely their gaily-dressed pilots aboard, the animals came quickly to life. To the strains of "My Old Kentucky Home" they pranced and danced as they came back onto the track.

Stranded caught the eyes of the girl with brilliant chartreuse and red adornment hat fairly flamed. Middleground's brown of King Ranch was least attractive. standing in ice buckets before luc LCIU-y d5dn that race. And till now no Derby winner i. i i had sent two of his sons to hit Derby Tnal A Delusion the jackpot at Churchill Downs.

Eddie Arcaro, missing in his Now Bold Venture, who stands bid for a fifth Derby success, at stud at the King Ranch, has one that would have cracked his two Derby-winning offspring own record, kicked Hill Prince Assault and Middleground. under the wire a half-length clear it was, of course, Boland's first of C. V. Whitney's third-place Mr. whack at the Derby.

Up to the Trouble. running of the sixth race at Brookmeade Stables Sunglow Jamaica last Saturday, he hadn't was fourth, close to three lengths won a stake. That sixth race was farther back. The favorite, Wil- the Gallant Fox Handicap. He liam Goetz's California-bred Your WOn it with the King Ranch's Host, was nowhere in particular.

Better Self. Friday he rode the Your Host led the fourteen winner of the Kentucky Oaks, 3-year-old colts into the stretch, "the filly derby." It has been a as he had been expected to do, rather large week for Master but he was ninth when Johnny William. Goetz Record Of The Champ IKE Lawrin, Gallahadion, Whirlaway and Ponder, the good horse MiddlegrriOnd used a second-place finish in the Derby Trial as a springboard to Kentucky Derby success. Citation is the only horse ever to win the Trial and the Derby. Middleground made his first start a winning one, coming home first in a 4ii-furlong allowance race at Belmont on May 17, 1949.

He won four races out of five last year and a total of $54,225. This year, as a three-ear-old, he had been second in all four of his Derby-prep races. Here is Middleground's record up to the Derby: Starter Ruby White lost no time in getting all 14 Into the starting gate at the head of the stretch. Almost before the cameras, radio commentators and writers were ready for the signal, the gates burst open, the flag went down and the pack came thundering down. Californians roared, "Here we come!" as W.

M. "Them as Has" Goetz' Your Host pounded out in front. Their cries were drowned out Later, they named this colt Middleground. It seems that the name was selected because this young son of mine was more of less foaled in the middle of two colts that were supposed to be hot stuff. I guess they know now which one is really the best.

Middleground's daddy? Assault Won, Too Well, all you Derby fans know that Bold Venture, the stallion who helped me produce the 1950 Longden reached the wire with him. PROUD PAPA, TOO, is Bold Venture, 1936 winner. MicldlegroimcFs Pedigree St. Germans- Swynford I Hamoaze Play 2 Today The Louisville Colonels, idle yesterday, meet the Milwaukee Brewers in a 1:45 double-header today at Parkway Field. Mike Palm and Jack Robinson are to do the hurling for the Colonels, wrho hope to bounce back after dropping five of six games with Indianapolis.

The Colonels play Milwaukee and the other three western clubs -St. Paul, Kansas City, and Min Bold Venture Tom Gray's Oil Capitol and Clifford Mooers' Hawley ran a dead heat for fifth, Hal Price Headley's Lotowhite was seventh, and the Jayvee member of the King Ranch team, On the Mark, was eighth. The horses that Your Host beat, in the order in which they reported, were Walter T. Fugate's Hallieboy, the one that made the jump from the seventh at Lincoln Downs to the seventh at Churchill on successive Saturdays; C. V.

in a thunderous tumult from the local sector as Bill Veeneman's Black George dashed out as a lone challenger to the galloping leader. The popular Californian maintained a torrid pace through the mile. But the milling mob thundered relentlessly at his heels. Your Host was winded, as so were most of the rest. But not the Derby-bred Middleground.

Middleground was just getting his second wind. Straining every muscle of his body for the supreme test of a champion, Middleground overtook the tiring leader and dashed into the stretch on top. Down the heart-breaking boulevard he thundered, screaming thousands on both sides. Down the stretch to prove again that blood lines mean more than morning lines in America's most' marvelous sports spectacle. 1 Start Won 2d 1949 5 4 May 17 Belmont 4 'if July IS Arlington Sf Aug.

11 Saratoga 5'2 Aug. 23 Saratoga 6f Aug. 27 Saratoga '2t 3d Monrv 1 $54,225 allow. 1- si Ar. Fut.

3 allow. 1-3'i allow. l-io Hopeful 1-S Possible Chicaro Ultimus Lida Flush Chicle Wendy Kentucky Derby winner, won both the Derby and the Belmont in 1936. Now, in case you don't know, Bold Venture is by Imp. St.

Germans, out of Possible, she by MIDDLE-Ultimus. GROUND Some of the better-known get of this gentleman friend of mine are Assault (which won the Derby in 1946 as if you didn't know) Bold Salute, Hughje starts Won 2d 1950 4 0 4 1 Verguenza 3d Money 0 (12.008 allow. I Bubbling Over Apr. ll Jamaica 6f 1 Blushing Sister- Whitney's Dooly, Willorenen neapolis before concluding their Apr. 17 Jamaica 1 1, 18 Handicap 2 Apr.

22 Jamaica 11,16 Wd 3 May 2 Churchill D. 1 Der. Tr. (Lace Farm's, Trumpet King, Aber present home stand. XV.

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