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i I i ! 1 ; - : 1 • 1 1 MDOWELL HORSES COMING I ♦ Trainer Howard to Race String i at Arlington Park Track. « Stable Is Modest One Compared to Those of Former Years Raced by Master of Ashland. The colors of Major Thomas C. McDowell, prominent Kentucky breeder and owner, will t be seen at the forthcoming meeting at Arlington Park, according to the stables plans for J the summer campaign. The stable will be in 1 charge of former jockey Jack Howard, who I having quit the saddle last year is now a t full fledged trainer, and in addition is an owner. Last fall Howard purchased four i horses, and these he will train in conjunction I with the band of five belonging to Mr. Mc- I Dowell. I For quite a number of years Howard rode for the McDowell stable, and it was only natural that when he abandoned the saddle and became a trainer that he should be re- tained by his old employer. Long before he quit riding, Howard purchased a farm in the Blue Grass belt, and named it Rookwood. At this place he has for the past five years been breeding thoroughbreds, both on his own account and that of other breeders. The McDowell stable as at present constituted is indeed a modest one, and in marked contrast to the pretentious establishment that the genial major campaigned fifteen or more years ago, when the stables white jacket with black sash was familiar to every racegoer in Kentucky, at Saratoga and on the major Canadian tracks. In those years McDowell always raced good horses at Saratoga in competition with the best the Ea.t could muster, and his tall figure was conspicuous each afternoon in the club house and on the lawn. It was his custom to race only horses of his own breeding at Ashland Farm, on the outskirts of Lexington, which place was made famous by Mrs. McDowells grandfather, the great commoner, Henry Clay, who established thereon one of the earliest of the Kentucky thoroughbred breeding establishments. The McDowell family, following the example of their illustrious ancestor, has continued to maintain the place as a thoroughbred nursery, and for a good many years the place gave to the racing world some of its most notable performers. Old-time racegoers will readily recall the names and the achievements of such stars of a bygone age as Waterblossom, Alan-a-dale, Star Jasmine, The Manager, America, Olive Wood, Kings Daughter, Manager Waite and Distinction. All of these gained fame racing in the McDowell colors, and added to the material wealth of their owner. The success of the stable had its inception in 1901, when Alan-a-dale scored in the Brighton Junior Stakes, and the following year won the Kentucky Derby. Kings Daughter was the next good one to bring the stable into the limelight. This filly won the Kentucky Oaks in 1906, and several years lat-er scored in the St. Leger Handicap. A few years later on The Manager gained prom-i inence when, as a two-year-old, he won the Ereeders Futurity at Lexington, and also the Harold Stakes at Latonia. The following year he accounted for the Washington Handicap at Laurel. SPEEDY WATERBLOSSOM. Waterblossom, one of the fastest mares tha* ever stepped on a race track, proved her worth in 1915 when she was a winner of the Alabama Stakes at Saratoga, the Ashland Oaks at Lexington and the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs. The following season she scored in the Latonia Inaugural Handl-1 cap. Besides these she won the 1915 Canadian Derby at Fort Erie. Star Jasmine, a stablemate of Waterblos-1 som, distinguished herself at Saratoga in 1915, by winning both the Champlain and Delaware Handicaps. America, another fast filly, won the Cincinnati Trophy renewal of 1916, and Olive Wood scored in the Spin-away Stakes at Saratoga in 1917. Manager Waite also won a number of stakes, including the 1918 Camden Handicap at Lexington, i Distinction, a filly, was the last of the 1 great horses to carry the McDowell colors. This splendid racer was about the fastest 5 trick around the Kentucky tracks in her day. , She has to her credit three track records at 2 Churchill Downs that still stand. These are ; for three-quarters, six and one-half furlongs , and seven-eighths. She also made the ex-1 isting record of :52% for four and one-half a i furlongs at Latonia. Distinctions stake vic- - tories include the Enquirer and Quickstep 3 Handicaps at Latonia in their 1922 renewals. 3 About seven years ago Major McDowell a •i greatly curtailed his breeding operations, and . as a result Ashland, during that period, has r not given the American racing world any i horses that could compare with those of 1 former years. s •
