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Butler Returns Home From Gold Cup Mission MissionSays Says He Has Commitments From Four European Owners for Race RaceNEW NEW YORK N Y June 17 James Butler president of the Empire City Rac ¬ ing Association member of The Jockey Club and tireless promoter of international racing returned to New York this morning after a flying mission to English Irish and French race courses and training centers Butler who left New York on May 26 stepped off an AirFrance plane from Paris full of enthusiasm for the first renewal of his International Gold Cup a classic that had its inaugural last summer at Belmont Park I have commitments from at least four prominent European owners Butler said and I am convinced that they in ¬ tend to ship their best horses here The date that the Empire City Association has chosen for the race October 16 will avoid conflict with the fall classics in England or France FranceEmphasizing Emphasizing that the racing season was young both here and abroad Butler said that he would rather not mention the names of the horses he expects to come for the International Gold Cup I would pre ¬ fer to speak of owners he said The stables with which I have been in touch are big ones and a horse who looks very good right now might well go wrong before the close of the entries for the Gold Cup on October 1 In that case these stables have a second or third string to their bow bowAsked Asked if the Epsom Derby winner the Aga Khans My Love was a possibility to make the trip Butler replied I had din ¬ ner several times with Prince Aly Khan and they may send one of their top horses I am not certain that they are thinking of My Love LoveMarcel Marcel Boussac according to Butler and to Boussacs American agent Alain Dubreil is certain to be strongly represented in the Gold Cup Boussac said Butler was the pioneer of air transport for horses over there and his success in ferrying his sta ¬ ble across the channel to the English courses from Chantilly has convinced everybody that this method of travel is feasible Last year when Bob Kelly and I first went abroad to attract entries for the Gold Cup we encountered many doubts All that has changed changedI I asked the Gaekwar of Baroda who probably owns the leading stable in Eng ¬ land today about the effects of shipping his rather modest horse Diesel to and from Belmont by air last summer He told me that the horse had shipped perfectly retaining his form after a double crossing of the Atlantic within a short space of time timeButler Butler said that he had seen a very good Irish horse Harrods River run at The Curragh winning easily over a twomile route If hes as good in October as he is now he might come The Irish believe him to be the best they have Butler stated
