TO CONTEST WOOD DITTON STAKES .sx Pinturischio Has Impressed .sx By OLD ROWLEY .sx NEWMARKET , Thursday .sx PINTURISCHIO is expected to make his long-awaited debut in the Wood Ditton Stakes at our Craven meeting a week today .sx Even though he has not been seriously tried at home , let alone raced , this colt whom Noel Murless trains for Sir Victor Sassoon , is already ante-post favourite for the Derby .sx On Saturday morning , Pinturischio did his most informative work to date , but it would be presumptuous to say that observers were left a great deal wiser as to his ability .sx The gallop took place over a mile on the Racecourse Side , where he was accompanied by Aurelius ( Lester Piggott ) , Hunter's Song and Magnificat , three other maidens .sx Throughout most of the trip Pinturischio was held up about a length behind his workmates , who were galloping in line abreast .sx Then with half a furlong left , his pilot let out a reef and asked him to run up to them .sx Pinturischio responded instantaneously and shot up to them , only to be steadied again .sx The manner in which he accelerated when given the " office " was that of a high-class horse , and reminiscent of what we used to see St. Paddy do at this time last year .sx Whatever Pinturischio has been asked to do to date , he has accomplished in effortless style , and his future is obviously extremely bright .sx By and large it is usually as well to dismiss home-trained colts that did not race at two years of age from one's calculations on the Derby .sx Long Stride .sx It stands to reason that if a horse is too backward to race during his first season in training , he is most unlikely to be sufficiently mature to beat the best of his generation in the late May or early June of the following year , and it is a number of years now since a horse that embarked upon its three-year-old career unraced has won the Derby .sx Captain Boyd-Rochfort's Prince Simon came within an ace of doing so in 1950 , and it is interesting to note that he made a winning debut in the Wood Ditton Stakes .sx The foregoing precedent need not prejudice our assessment of Pinturischio's prospects unduly , as there are extenuating circumstances in his case .sx He did start to come to himself last back-end , and he impressed on several occasions when his long stride enabled him to lay up in seven furlong spins with more forward companions .sx Such was his progress during those Autumn months that Noel Murless had intended to give him an outing on the Rowley Mile course here , but unfortunately the going came up heavy and the project was abandoned .sx Stern Opposition .sx Although the Wood Ditton Stakes is confined to three-year-olds that have never run at starting , the opposition is likely to be stern enough to test Pinturischio .sx Jack Jarvis's Allenby and Captain Boyd-Rochfort's Sagacity have been working as though they will prove particularly formidable rivals to him .sx Allenby is much more forward than Pinturischio and the other morning he was not disgraced in a seven furlong gallop with Test Case , Pinzon and Bold Liver .sx Of course Allenby has no claims to being the peer of the stable's Derby horse Test Case , but he fared well enough in the latter's company to suggest that he will be a factor with which to be reckoned in any maiden race .sx The morning of the day in which Harry Carr met with his accident at Lincoln , he rode Sagacity in a six furlong gallop with Pardao ( D. Smith ) , Good Old Days ( T. Lowrey ) and the four-year-old Polo ( W. Snaith ) on the Racecourse Side .sx Carr held Sagacity a couple of lengths behind the others from start to finish in this spin , and considering that the trip was too sharp for such a big horse as this handsome son of Le Sage he acquitted himself extremely well .sx Sagacity could be the one to give Pinturischio most to do if they meet next Thursday .sx An Omen .sx Pinturischio has impressed so much by the way in which he has done his work rather than what he has done in it , that I fully expect him to lay a solid foundation to his claims to be considered the Derby winner by scoring on the first occasion he faces the racecourse's acid test .sx There are flowers on the Poor Boy's grave , the resting place of a shepherd boy , who committed suicide after losing his master's sheep about 100 years ago , situated between the Limekilns and Waterhall , and the superstitious say it is an omen that a Newmarket horse will win the Derby .sx If they are right , Pinturischio need not necessarily be the one to oblige .sx In our enthusiasm over this dark 'un , we must not forget about Test Case .sx He proved he was a good horse by winning three of his four races last year .sx Furthermore Pinturischio is not the only string to Murless's powerful bow .sx Golden Voice , Hunter's Song , Aurelius and So Cozy are all very nice colts with the scope to train on into fancied Derby candidates .sx I suspect that Lester Piggott has a particularly soft spot for Aurelius , as he has ridden the horse on each of the last three galloping mornings , and each time has had a good ride .sx Great Promise .sx The only time that Aurelius ran last year , he showed great promise by running on well to take fourth place behind Beta , Dual and Orbit in the Royal Lodge Stakes at the Ascot Heath meeting transferred to Newbury .sx As he has done so well in his recent work he is more than likely to make a successful reappearance in the Craven Stakes , run over a mile here next Tuesday .sx Alternatively Murless's interests could be represented by either Magnificat or So Cozy in that event , but as it is Aurelius's only engagement of the week it seems likely that he will run .sx Both Jack Langley's Prince Tudor and John Oxley's Eagle are expected to wait for the Free Handicap on Wednesday , when Prince Tudor will be ridden by his Guineas jockey Bill Rickaby .sx Thus the most dangerous rivals to Aurelius could be Jack Jarvis's Pinzon , and Dick Hern's Penhill .sx Pinzon shone in a gallop over seven furlongs with Test Case last week and Penhill must be respected by reason of his having finished fast to run Morgan to half a length in the Coventry Stakes , at Kempton Park on Monday .sx Besides the Wood Ditton Stakes and the Craven Stakes , the Free Handicap could also be an informative classic trial .sx Among those holding the engagement in whom I am interested are Eagle , Prince Tudor , Smuggler's Joy , and Pardao .sx Obvious Choice .sx As Eagle won his gallop from the older Zanzibar last Saturday , he would appear the obvious choice in this race , but neither Smuggler's Joy or Pardao will be easy to beat .sx Smuggler's Joy , like Pinzon , has been putting in some good work upsides Test Case , while Pardao shaped well in the work with Sagacity and Good Old Days referred to above .sx Since then Pardao has received an indirect compliment by Good Old Days having run Dual to a neck in the 2,000 Guineas Trial Stakes at Kempton Park .sx Plenty of rain has fallen here lately , so the going should be perfect next week .sx By the end of it we should be in a far better position to anticipate the outcome of both the 2,000 Guineas and the Derby .sx Today's Nap .sx Without Doug Smith having to bring pressure to bear , Crown Imperial ran on well to finish third to the older horse Prince Chamier and Final Problem in a seven-furlong trial on the Limekilns the Monday before Easter .sx Since then the colt has been noted moving very smoothly in all his work .sx Reproduction of the trial form should enable Crown Imperial , who is the nap , to win the Bardolph Plate ( 4-0) .sx Cingle , who is under orders for the Round Tower Handicap ( 3-30 ) , is expected to become Jack Langley's first winner since he took charge of Mr. W. J. Weston-Evans' horses at Herringswell Manor .sx The four-year-old Cingle has been moving strongly on the regular occasions that he has led work for the classic horse Prince Tudor .sx Jack Jarvis made use of the Railway Land to give some of his team good sharpening-up work over five and six furlongs .sx Test Case ( E. Larkin ) was noted working well when accompanied by Bold Lover over six furlongs .sx Sticky Case , Divine Comedy and Beta were also sent over a similar distance .sx Jaquetta and Saint Sybil had sharpening-up exercise .sx Welsh Rake and Bass Rock covered five furlongs at a sharp pace , and Sybil's Comb , Fringe , Kilifi and Lion's Mantle were similarly employed .sx G. Brooke also sharpened up some of his older horses over five furlongs , these being Felix , with Menelek and Court Imperial .sx Quota and Kathie were noted having a similar spin .sx J. F. Watts , H. Thomson Janes and W. Hern also gave their teams exercise on the Railway Land .sx On the Racecourse side B. van Cutsem's Seam ( E. Smith ) was accompanied by Prince Bula in a nice-pace gallop over seven furlongs .sx Other teams seen on these training grounds were those of G. Barling , H. Cottrill , Reg Day and John Waugh , where work was confined to cantering .sx Latest from Epsom .sx Nightingall May Have a Double .sx WALTER NIGHTINGALL and his stable jockey Duncan Keith should follow up yesterday's success of Release with a double at Windsor , which may be initiated by Duke Toledo in the Round Tower Handicap ( 3-30 ) and completed by King's Probity , who goes for the Hatch Bridge Handicap ( 4-30) .sx Duke Toledo demonstrated that he is an early-season performer by winning over today's distance , an extended mile at the corresponding meeting last year , when he comfortably beat Indian Rock and Martian , a winner at Hurst Park on Wednesday .sx Following this victory , Walter Nightingall ran the colt at the Epsom Spring Meeting where he was defeated by his burden of 9st .sx 3lb .sx and then he failed against some of the best milers in Royal Ascot's Queen Anne Stakes .sx He had only one other outing , at Kempton Park in soft going , which was probably the cause of his poor showing .sx If Duke Toledo reproduces his form of 12 months ago he should find little difficulty in accounting for today's opposition .sx The three-year-old , King's Probity , was a most consistent juvenile , never being out of the first four in six attempts .sx He lost his maiden allowance at Brighton in September , when he easily beat Dolaucothi and should be ready to do the trick here .sx Mambo , from Peter Ashworth's Treadwell stables , could be the one to give King's Probity most trouble , as he wound up a promising two-year-old career with a win at Yarmouth , but Nightingall's charge may just have the edge .sx Cost 6,500gns .sx Staff Ingham's horses , who usually register early successes , seem to be more backward this year , but the stable can get off the mark in the Cannon Yard Plate ( 3-0 ) with Red Imp , a 1,050 guineas Magic Red colt , who is preferred to Jackie Sirett's Baba .sx Another winner for Ingham may well be Mr. Bernard Sunley's Raincourt , who was one of the highest priced yearlings of 1959 , costing 6,500 guineas .sx The son of Court Martial has made only one public appearance in which he showed considerable promise by putting in his best work during the closing stages behind Blue Sash at Headquarters in September .sx This experience should be enough to give Raincourt victory in the Bardolph Plate ( 4-0) .sx Fridolanna , who finished fourth to Troilus at Lincoln , will find the one and a half miles of the Upper Sixpenny Handicap ( 5-0 ) to her liking and is fancied to beat Harold Wallington's Hanbury Lad .sx Prince Midge is Windsor Nap .sx CLASSIC contender Prince Midge , making his only appearance prior to the 2,000 Guineas , returns to the scene of his solitary success in four ventures last term at Windsor , where he is napped to win the Robert Wilmot Plate ( 5-0 ) today .sx R. J. Colling has already made his mark with some of his charges , and the Hurst Park winner Welsh Huntress , a galloping companion of Prince Midge , gives a line to the well being of Mr. J. Astor's colt who is reported one of the most forward of the team .sx