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Connors Corner By "CHUCK" CONNORS — — Chief of Chart Correspondents BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. 1, N. Y., May 30.— The Coaching Club American Oaks is the week-end fixture. This race is TlllTTlhpr »H numbered omnnnr +t n the TlllTTlhpr »H numbered omnnnr +t n the among younger stakes on the Belmont Park agenda, but in recent years has grown in stature and is eagerly sought by owners and trainers. The field for the Oaks will number, according to recent paddock gleanings, 15 starters. Thisr event is patterned after the Epsom Oaks, which was noo first xxxob run iiui in in was noo xxxob run iiui in 1779, while the Colonists Up in New- England and other sectors bordering on that region were fighting to make America a free country. The inauguration of the Belmont fixture is analagous, for it was launched in 1917, the year America entered World War I on the side of the allies to make the world safe for democracy. As the name would imply, the Coaching Club /was prominent in the inauguration of the Oaks. William Woodward, Frank J. Sturgis, Reginald Reeves, F. Ambrose Clark and other members of that club worked out a plan with Belmont Park officials headed by the late Major August Belmont. The members of the club, would offer a suitable trophy if the track would program the race and a suitable purse. The first winner of the Oaks turned up in Wistful, owned by the late James Butler, founder of the racing: dynasty. Under the arrangement, the Coaching Club cup is retired when won three times by an owner. The honor of retiring two. previous cups is shared by the Philadel-phian Walter M. Jeffords and the Texan. Robert J. Kleberg. The former accounted for the race with Bateau, Florence Nightingale and Edith Cavell, while for the King Ranch Scattered, Too Timely and Dawn Play were triumphant. The weekend running will be the thirty-fifth and at long range Walter M. Jeffords appears capable of starting another tri-umverate of successes with his Kiss Me Kate. x The Coaching Club is one of the time-honored institutions of its kind and for years numbered among its members the outstanding "toolers" of the country. That art of horsemanship is fast disappearing, but there are quite a few of the veterans on hand who are capable of mounting the drivers box of a coach and guide the four or six horses along at a merry clip. There are many tales told of the abilities of some of the members, but one of the best, concerns Reginald Reeves, a long-time mem- j ber. The entrance to the Metropolitan Club on Fifth Avenue, an arc-shaped affair, is not an easy one to negotiate with a taxi or on foot. Reggie Reeves, as he is known to his friends, in an offhand manner, once remarked that *he .could drive a coach and four around the turn and make no mistakes. The statement brought about considerable eyebrow-raising and good na-tured joshing. Well,-to make a long story short, Reggie saddled his horses, drove up Fifth Avenue and turned the trick at top speed. If you happen by, walk past that venerable institution on Fifth Avenue, get a good" look at the entrance and then figure out how much clearance on either side prevailed and the skill of the horsemen required to make the turn without a bobble. F. Ambrose Clark, during the year that pleasure driving was banned by government order in Washington, drove a coach and four from his Westbury, L. I., home to Belmont Park on several occasions. Alfred Vanderbilts father and William Goadby Lowe were top reinsmen, but the art is disappearing for the younger generation prefer polo or steeplechasihg and autos on the highways. Mr. and Mrs. John Hertz were on hand to witness the graduation exercises of their juvenile, Risque Ma, Tuesday and then decided to come out for the Suburban. . .Clarence Picou arrived today accompanied by his brother, Ray, and joined the local jockey colony. He was rejected by the armed services because he is too light. . .The Empire City Racing Association released the stake nomination blanks Tor the summer meeting. The Wakefield, Fleetwing and Questionnaire Handicaps comprise the agenda for the curtailed meeting. . .Saul Silberman, -of Baltimore, and the man who revitalized Randall Park in Cleveland, was a visitor during the afternoon. Dave Butler, the motion picture director from Hollywood, was on hand for the afternoon. He shows the effect of a rigid diet and has no fear of the scales. . .Robert J. Kleberg, master of King Ranch, arrived Continued on Page Thirty-Five : . 1 . , [ 1 • , | . , : I , [ » 1 J Connors Corner Continued from Page Five for a brief visit. On the Mark carried his colors in the Suburban, but is doubtful about the Belmont. . A race named in honor of Reggie Reeves, one of Americas masters of the art of tooling a coach and four, will be contested on Friday. . .Mes-dames Edward F. Hutton, George D. Wide-ner and Walter J. Salmon will be hostesses at a cocktail party on Wednesday, June 6, in the Presidents Room. The occasion is to help celebrate the second Belmont ball which is to be held on Friday, June 15, the eve of the Belmont Stakes... Big Bill Knapp motored over from Aqueduct, got a look at the track, scanned the skies and decided to await developments, that is from a weather standpoint. He then assigned Dave Gorman to ride Three Rings in the Suburban ... The Brookmeade Stable of Mrs. Dodge Sloane tops the list of money winners for this year. For the present,* she holds a safe margin over Mrs. Warren Wright, mistress of Calumet. The Palatine Stables Quiz Shpw will be shipped here from New Jersey for an engagement on Friday... J. J. Amiels Derby winner, Count Turf, will be a starter in the Peter Fan Handicap, according to recent advices from that menage. . .Charles Feltner returned from Delaware Park, where he saddled a couple of. starters for the Washington patron, Gustave Ring, . -Mr. Trouble, Scoreless, Silver Ace, Escargot and Pot-r pouri, from the C. V. Whitney stable, are at Delaware Park awaiting engagements. ...J, C Hauer left for Miami, Fla., to attend the graduation exercises of his daughter, . .Charles Trotter, a son of the late Tobe," was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Marine Corps at Paris Island. Tom Underwood is the toast of owners and breeders at the moment due to his efforts in taxation relief on their behalf. . . .The overnight rains gave Belmont Park a new lake. This one, known as "Lake Boyle," was in the paddock but disappeared before the running of the first race, helped along by a couple of pumps , . , Short Cir-I cuit, a starter in Tuesdays steeplechase I race for John Bosley, Jr., is probably the biggest horse in training, according to pad- dock observers , . . C. T. Chenery, the Vir-. ginia patron and owner of Hill" Prince, left for a European tour and will visit his son, who is in Rome . .Trainer Johnny Nerud took over the training, of the horse Larry A. for the Newark, N. J, patron, James Pallante. The horse Had been raced in New Jersey prior to his shipment here. ... I, J.* Collins, the Lancaster, Ohio, racing patron, was an arrival during the after-, noon and plans to remain for several days. His horses are in charge of trainer Don Cameron. . .Jockey Nick Combest will ride Valadium in the Oaks for Harry LaMon-tagne, . .Luke OBrien* of the Empire City Association, announced that another payment for the Demoiselle and East View Stakes is due on August 15. The selections are: CHEERMEUP in the third, VINCENT X. F. in the fourth, and BATTLE MORN in the sixth. ! 1 : 1 1
