Evening star., 1941-04-21
The
SPoRTLIGHT
Ruce Horse Defended
By Student of Form .
By GRANTLAND RICE,

6ptClA N0IFespOnoeub OA Ane DbAAs
NEW YORK, April 81 (NA.NAO.
When 1t comes TO the matter OF
shifting form. upsets. overthrows,
cave-ins and other poisonous darts
that affiict the supporters and back
ers OF favorites, John 3. Partridge
comes to the support Of the horse.
John B. Partridge Is one OF rae
ing's best-known trainers and owhA
ers, with q background that covers
80 years or more. He also Is a keen
golfer, baseball, football and nght
fan. -
He feels that the thoroughbred is
maligned when he is singled out AZ
the most erratic OF all competitors.
They talk about the shift in rae
ing FORM" Partridge says. What
about baseball? The new season
opens and what happens? Bob
Feller, Buck Newsom, Paul Derrineer
and Whit Wyatt all are knocked out
and beaten. So is Red Rufnng. You
know what the odds would 20
against that?
The Dodgers, picked as leading
pennant contenders, take three qtdck
trimmings from the Giants, sup
posed to be decentralization stutf.
The pennant-favorite Yankees drop
two to the Athletics. picked for the
cellar. The Reds drop three In O
row.
Like Several Derby Ston -
Being Beaten by Ploters @
"It's Ike three or four Derby leads
ers being whipped by selling platers.
I've been around the track q long
time, but I never saw form as badly
wrecked as baseball's opening
showed"
owner Partridge moved along.
when the Yankees had theH
great teams, the best In baseball,
they still lost more than so games
q year. AS pennant winners they
lost many Of these to the tan-esfa
Browns. X
When ballplayers get hurt or out
OF condition they usually are re-
lieved by reserves.
But horses can't ten you how they
hsppen to feel on the day Of a race.
They may be sicker than ballplayes
In the hospital or retired TO the
bench. Four Of the best pitchers
in baseball last season were Feller,
Newsom, Walters and Derringer. Bnf
they lost q flock Of ball games
pitching for leading clubs. -.
Cites Big Odds Against 80
Any Golf Pro Winning
"A human being can know as
much changing form as any race
horse. There's golf, for another
example. There were about 10 dig
tournaments this last winter and
spring and as recall 1t, Sam Snead
was the only one able to win two
of them.
Different golfers won at differ.
ent times-at least 10 or IL differA
ent aolfers who had their good days
and their bad days just as r&cs
norses have. Long shots have won
derbies and big stakes now and
then. But what were the Odds
against Parks or Manero VIM
ming the United States Open golf
championship I'd say ut least 100
TO / before the first drive was made.
Maybe higher"
Form" q sporting philosopher
once said. "is the brief interval be-
tween getting ready and going
stale"
Nc one has been able TO dgure
out what happens to either 9 human
or a horse when wide gaps in form
appear. Bobby Jones. with the same
swing shoots q 10 and q 63 on two
successive rounds. I saw Craig Wood
in the Masters once shoot an sS
and O 81 in successive rounds.
Humans RoreIy Con Tell -
Why Form Disappears
A pitcher, such as Bob FelIer M,
will have about as much speed or
as big O curve one day a. another.
Tnere1l be little difference, any.
way. But one day he has control
and the next time he hasn't. 80
What's happened in the brief
interim? Even the human COM
petitor who can talk, rarely can
tell you. The horse might know,
but he neither can write nor speak.
The trainer often has to guess.
Or the part Of the human, men.
tai attitude" for the occasion plays
big part. One day you feel In
the mood and the next day you
don't. Why? Many times there Is
no explanation.
The whole field of sport Is pretty
much alike. Race horses, hitters,
pitchers, golfers-their top form
| comes and goes, ebbs and flows 4