1936 Classic Horses—IV Follow Suit Could Win The Derby

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30054, 12 February 1963, Page 4

1936 Classic Horses—IV Follow Suit Could Win The Derby

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NIGEL GEE]

LONDON. Past winners of the Dewhurst Stakes, a seven-furlong race at Newmarket in October, include a number of horses which won the Derby the following season. The most recent examples are Pinza and Crepello, probably the best two English Derby winners since the war. The future significance of the race is less certain, for during the last two years it has had a new neighbour in the calendar, the Timeform Gold Cup, a similar race in every respect except that it is worth almost £20,000 more.

Conscious of the conflict, its sponsors, the Jockey Club, moved the Dewhurst Stakes back to the beginning of October in 1962, leaving a fortnight between the two races. Whether this will have the desired effect remains to be seen. The 1962 winner of the Dewhurst, Follow Suit, is almost certainly a good horse. The hint of caution is due to the fact that he ran only twice during the year and was probably still short of condition when he won the Dewhurst. Under-Estimated ? In the Free Handicap, Follow Suit was given Bst 81b, 131 b below the top, an assessment which takes no account of any potential improvement and which could be an underestimate. Follow Suit had one race before the Dewhurst, at Royal Ascot in June, when he lost

ground at the start and was never in the hunt. After that, he was put aside until the autumn, and even then I had the impression he would do better with more time.

The Derby, rather than the Guineas, is likely to be his best classic. He is by Ballymoss. an Irish horse, which was second in the Derby, but which eventually wound up his career by beating the best in Europe in the Prix de I’Arc de Triomphe. Follow Suit’s dam was a sprinter, but she was bred to stay further and she is a sister of a good-class miler, Abadan. This pedigree should see Follow Suit through the distances of any of the classics, in which he is likely to be Lester Piggott’s mount. Close Finish The finish for the Dewhurst was a close one between Follow Suit and Forearmed. A neck separated them, and two

lengths behind came the useful colt. King's Favourite, which was giving the first two 41b.

At the time Forearmed was the more experienced, for he had won a race in July and finished third at Goodwood. It is a reasonable assumption that Follow Suit gained more from the race.

Forearmed, which is in the classics, should stay well. He is by Premonition, the St. Leger winner, and though his dam was notable for her speed, she is by Hyperion, a Derby winner. After the Dewhurst Forearmed had one mare outing, in a similar race ait Newbury. Once again he was beaten narrowly, this time by Scholar Gypsy, a colt which improved steadily in the autumn and won his last two races.

Scholar Gypsy is by Honeyway, a successful sire whose classic victories have been confined so far to the 1000 Guineas. His dam, School for Scandal by Combat, was a sprinter, but this need not be a limiting factor to Scholar Gypsy, which will probably stay a mile and a half.

In the Free Handicap, Follow Suit and Scholar Gypsy are rated equal at Bst 81b, with Forearmed lib behind. At this stage I consider Follow Suit the most likely winner of the trio.

Fareairmed's owner, Major Macdonald-Buchanan, has another promising colt. In the Gloaming, which easily won the last of his three races, a minor maiden race at Newbury. In the Gloaming has the best pedigree of any horse in the classics this year. He is by Crepello. which won the Derby, out of Sun Cap, which won the Oaks, the sort of combination which had never yet produced the theoretical ideal of another Derby winner.

In the Free Handicap, In the Gloaming was given the same weight, Bst 7lb, as Forearmed, which was a somewhat speculative assessment. His real potential is hard to measure, but it could be high. —(Central Press Features — AM rights reserved.)