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I T 1 ; r i reflections! - By Nelson Dunstan 1 Unofficially; a Blenheim IT. Day iWho Was Greatest Jockey of AH? Calumet Has Runner in Ocean Waye Gordon Richards to Try Again NEW YORK, N. Y., May 28. Delaware Park opens its 30-day meeting tomorrow and will draw the best horses in training for its stake events. . . . The United Hunts will contribute the receipts, from gari-mutual wagering from the July 4th meeting at the Piping Rock Club, Locust Valley to the Navy -Relief Society and Army EmergencyFund. . . . 1 Samuel D. Riddle has given American Flag, 20 -year-old son of Man 6 War to the 1 U. S. Remount. ... He will be a depot stallion at Front Royal. .... Entries for the i sale of horses-in-training to be staged at Belmont Park will be released this week- endi . . . Only three members of the weaker sex. have gon Suburban renewals, Imp, "V Beldame and Bateau,, the latter in 1929i C . . . But that will not stop Graceton Phil- t pot from starting Painted Veil Saturday, t . . V Colin MacLeod, Jr., Virginia breeder, 1 is now taking instructions in Naval avia- 3 tion and will, scion be transferred to Pen-sacola for .advanced lessons. . . . Col. E. R. I Bradley is a daily visitor at Belmont and i looks fine;.. . . . There are over 3,000 horses 1 at Front Royal. . . President Prado of 1 Peru told a well-known breeder he hoped the United States would have closer thpr- 1 oughbred relations with his country when the world again becomes normal. . . . Bet a cigar and ask no odds that the Camden, N. J., track will be completed and ready j to open as scheduled. Fans who attend Belmont Park on t Army-Navy Day, are due to see a colt who might be the juvenile champion of the current season. He is Ocean Wave, 1 a chestnut colt from Calumet Farm and by Blenheim II. Columbiana, that grand Petee-Wrack mare who won The Widener back in 1937. Ben Jones made no secret of the fact that he thought highly, of Ocean Wave, and in his first start, the fourth race at Belmont on Wednesday, the colt justified all the advance notices. In fact, with Halbred, a chestnut colt by Blen- - heim n. Wand, by Man o War, he SAMUEL D. RIDDLE Has given his aided in making it a "Blenheim II. sire, American Flag, to the U. S. day." Though 16 nicely-bred young-Remount, sters started in that fourth race, this pair by-the sire of Whirlaway rah. one-two. In the fifth race, a maiden event for three -year-olds and older horses, Jane Blenheim, a brown filly by Blenheim H. Crazy "Jane, by Haste, was the winner over Top Milk. Both Ocean Wave and Halbred will . be .thoroughly tested, for among the other National Stallion eligibles are Sun-cap winner of the Juvenile Stakes , Hickory Head, Jamesborougb. and Pom- rose. The meeting of Alsab and Shut Out in the Belmont Stakes will be the highlighton Army-Navy Day, but the National Stallion will go far in making . -this one of the outstanding days of the 1942 season. 1 Who was Americas greatest jockey? That question probably stands second only to the endless discussions of the comparative merits of horses. Well, Manny Green-berg, West "Coast handicapper and popular newspaperman for 40 years, has sent -us liis. ideas of "the greatest riders in the past 25 years." We are passing his comment on to you: Earl Sande Natural ability, plus great Tiead. Laverne-Fator Had everything a great rider should have. . . v Pony McAtee Cool as they came, and fine judge of. pace. Buddy Ensor Could always beat barrier and swell rider. Frankie Robinson No telling how goodrkilled in action. - Don Meade Must be considered in first half dozen. v Eddie Arcaro A grand rider, but gets into moody bad streaks. . Sonny Workman A great rider, plenty ability, but lost headat times. Albert Robertson Must be considered among the first ten. H- Albert Johnson Wonderful natural ability, shy on head work. .- George WoolfCoolest of them all, and best money rider. Mack Garner We have to put this smart rider in the first dozen. : What do you think? Earl Sande won three renewals of the Kentucky Derby, but never piloted a Futurity winner. "Sonny" Workman won the Futurity with Whichone and Top Flight, but not once was he to know the thrill of sitting still on a horse An the winners circle at Churchill Downs. It is the same with jockeys in England, and outstanding at this time is the case of Gordon Richards, one of the greatest riders of all time, and that, regardless of country. Richards has been Englands leading rider in 14 of the last 15 seasons, and yet, although he has won the Ascot Gold Cup, Cesarewitch, "Coronation Cup, Epsom Oaks, St. Leger and other famous events, he has yet to ride the winner of an Epsom Derby renewal. That brings in an interesting angle, for although Richards fractured a leg when .riding at Salisbury last May, he has been engaged to ride Big Game, winner of the Two Thousand Guineas, in the Epsom Derby on "June 13. Apparently the King, in whose royal colors Big Game is raced, doesnt share the belief of most British fans that Richards is "jinxed" when on a Derby contender favorite or otherwise. The great jockey has been walking and exercising horses to work the stiffness out of his leg ajid expects to be in .perfect condition when he goes to the post atop Big Game in the substitute Derby on June 13. In England, as"in other countries, there is a never-ending debate on the question 1 of the greatest jockeys. Gordon Richards, Steven Donoghue or .Fred Archer? One ! English scribe described Steve Donoghue as "the most brilliant horseman that ever rode in a race and the most lowdown, the most cunning, the most super-humanly skillfullittle twister that ever was astride a horse." Strangely enough, the British l sporting press makes comparisons between Richards and Archer more than between l Richards and Donoghue. But what good are comparisons between a jockey whose seat was upright and drove his horse, with one who crouches and goes with his mount? It appears to us like comparing ah American boxer who uses his hands and I a French boxer who fights with his feet. Englishmen ever credit Tod Sloan, the , American who partially changed the English style of riding with his "monkey-on-"the-stick" style of possessing a mesmeric influence over many of his mounts. In recent years they have credited Richards with ,the same influence. From the days of Sam Chifney, England has had many great riders, but English turf scribes cannot agree on the greatest. s
