Evening star., 1938-04-04
VICTORY BY EITHER
BOUND TO PLEASE
Fitzsimmons, Sande Plan
Prep Races for Speedy
Charges This Month.
This is the first OF series on
the outstanding candidates for the
Kentucky DerbgJ
BY ORLO ROBERTSON,

Associated freSS 0pOrlS writer.
NEW YORK, April 4-If the future
books prove correct it'll be Stagehand
and Fighting Fox when the pick Of
the 3-year-olds thunders past the fin
1sh line in the 64th Kentucky Derby
At Churchill Downs May Z.
Stagehand needs no introduction.
His victories in the Santa Anita
Handicap and derby are so recent that
fans hardly can have forgotten how
he whipped the mighty Seabiscuit and
won $4,000 in 10 days, after failing
rs a 2-year -old.
Fighting Fox is feared as a Derby
threat chiefly because he is a full
brother to the great Gallant Fox, the
Derby and triple crown winner of
1880. He always was in the money
In five starts last year, but vet has
to prove he can go the Derby distance
of IA miles. Stagehand showed he
could do that when he hung up a
new track record of 2:Ola5 in beating
Seabiscuit by nose in the Santa
Anita Handicap.
Both Horses Popular.
A victory for either would be pop
ular. Stagehand, owned by Maxwell
Howard of Dayton, Ohio, is trained
by Earl Sande, one Of the two jockeys
to ride three Derby winners. The
Fox, from William WoodWard's Belair
Stud, is being conditioned by that
astute trainer of champions, Sunny
Jim" Fitzsimmons. Sunny Jim"
saddled the Derby winners, Gallant
Fox and Omaha and sent Granville
on to win the 1885 3-year-old title
after the colt lost his rider at the
Downs
Fitzsimmons himself thinks lot
Of Sande's horse.
Kinda looks like We'll have horse
race in the Derby said the veteran
trainer at Aqeduct today. Il know
Earl has got a good horse and I be-
lieve I have
AT this stage of his training Fight
ing Fox is better horse than either
Gallant Fox, Omaha or Granville He
has more speed. Whether he can go
the route remains to be seen, but I
believe he will. He comes from a dis
tance-running family, is built to run
ell day and already has gone IA
miles in 2:2O. pretty fast for this
early in the season"
Fox to Tune at Jamaica.
Fitzsimmons plans to give his ace
q trial at Jamaica before sending
him after the Wood Memorial. the
mile and 70 yard Eastern prep for
the Derby. The Wood will be run
at Jamaica April 30 Jimmy Stout.
veteran New Jersey pilot, will ride
the colt,
Stagehand will receive his final prep
at the Downs together with The
Chief, another likely looking candi-
date from Sande's barns. The Earl
has been taking things easy with
Stagehand since the trim son of
Chicle won the Santa Anita Handicap
March T. He plans to pick him up
again this week at Churchill, how
ever, and give him at least one race
before Derby day.
Some experts have tried to decry
6tagehands victory over Seabiscuit,
since he was in receipt of 30 pounds
But any horse that can rust as fast
as Stagehand did and come from be-
hind with a drive reminiscent of
Twenty Grand and Cavalcade must be
considered
Stagehand is not a horsemans
horse. He doesn't start running fast
soon enough. But he thrills crowds
And what thrill that will be if the
Fox is in front when either Nick Wall
or Johnny Westrope comes charging
from behind with Stagehand.