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JO p ■ o 5*1 On the Trot j I By MORRIE KURLAN8KY I Leonards Charges Win Four in Row Shooting Abbe Impresses in Debut Day Camp Youngsters Visit Maywood o MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., June 19. — Edgar Leonard, the trainer from Hi Lincoln, 111., is headed for an amazing record at Maywood Park. Since last Saturday Edgar started four horses and won with all of them, namely Black Haven, Miss Abbe Cash, Zeb Tra-bue, and Shooting Abbe. Most interesting was the racing debut of Shooting Abbe, a two -year -old gelding by Poplar Abbe, out of Mabel Cash, thus a Z full brother to Miss Abbe Cash. Nicely rated in the second spot for most of the way Shooting Abbe responded willingly when Edgar asked him for speed and the ■£] young pacer won the first start of his rac-— ing career in 2:12, which is the fastest q time recorded in the kindergarten schooling races here this season. As most everyone agrees that Miss Abbe Cash is much better than an empty stall what with her winning seven out of eight races and earning close to ,000, Edgar is convinced that Shooting Abbe is even better than his older sister. For trainer Leonard the good showing of the get of Poplar Abbe comes as no surprise for he raced the progenitor of the fleet youngsters from the time Poplar Abbe was a two-year-old until he entered the J stud of his owner F. F. Yakey, Stewardson, 1 HI. Poplar Abbe, a son of the great pacing sire Abbedale 2:01%, out of the excellent race mare Mary C. Grattan 4, 2:01and, was a first class Grand Circuit campaigner and stakes winner at Springfield, 111. In the first Chicago Facing Derby at Maywood Park in 1946 Poplar Abbe finished second racing barefooted. The success of Poplar Abbes first crop of foals was more than impressive after the results of the 1952. season were tabulated. There were six Poplar Abbe colts and fillies of racing: age last year and five of them raced and all were good winners earning at an average of over ,000. The sixth colt did not get to the races on account of his owners death and had a fatal accident himself after being turned out. Four of the Poplar Abbes were raced by Edgar last year. Both Shooting Abbe and Miss Abbe Cash were raised by W. G. Olinger, Aurora, 111., who owned their dam, Mabel Cash. He later gave the mare to Mr. Yakey, owner of Poplar Abbe, that he would get the first two foals but of her. Mabel Cash in the meantime had two more colts by Poplar Abbe, a weanling and a foal of 1953. The other morning Maywood Park had the most enthusiastic visitors in a long time. About 50 children of grammar school age arrived in a bus and soon the boxes in the clubhouse were filled with eager, and perceptive railbirds. The group was led by Patrick Lynn, who runs the Arrowhead Day Camp. He picks the children up in the morning and brings them back home in the late afternoon after an outing to various interesting places in and around Chicago. Last year he showed them Arlington Park and Washington Park, but this year the youngsters wanted to see the buggy horses. Several drivers obliged the children witfi a close-up view of their trotters and pacers by stopping in front of the .clubhouse boxes although the many requests for a ride couldnt be fulfilled. In Wednesday nights third race a young harness horse trainer drove the first winner of his career. It was Richard Blakeman, a 26-year-old lad from St. Paul, Minn., who trains the Lesota Tool Co. stable, owned by Lyle Aitchison. Blakeman is no green hand at training horses for he has been around standard-breds since he was eight years old. When . still in high school he worked for the late George Loomis, who raced a stable of trotters and pacers on the midwest-ern fair circuit. Last year Blakeman worked as second [ trainer for Mark Insko, who races a sue-, cessful stable on the Maryland circuit, but did not get many chances to drive in races. When Lyle Aitchison, a fellow Minnesotan, — underwent a serious stomach operation and [ had to give up training and driving his horses he offered Blakeman his present job with the Lesota Tool Co. stable during the winter months. Blakeman arrived here only three weeks ago and having got acquainted with the Aitchison horses during the winter he says he has still to get the feel of them in actual races. The star of the Blakeman-trained stable is Captain Pointer, who has a record of 2:02% and Richard expects a lot of this now nine-year-old pacer. At present he has seven horses in his care and with the help situation as it is he does a lot of work around the stable, too, that isnt exactly a trainers chore. Blakeman is married and has a two-months-old daughter. Gene Hayes and Dale Wingay, two of the leading sidewheelers of the current Maywood Park meeting will be snipped to Northville Downs, Detroit, to participate in the ,000 feature race at that half-mile track tomorrow night. Among the opponents the Illinois pacers will meet at Northville Downs are such stalwarts as Scottish Chief, My Volo, Chief Mite, and Miss Billie. Racing secretary Ted Leonard is contemplating a return match for a similar purse here before the May-wood Park meetings ends on July 4. Roy Riegle made his first start here a winning one scoring easily with Victory Drive, a five-year-old pacing gelding, who had some good races at Hazel Park to his credit... On TV-nights, when Ralph Ayou doesnt have a mount in the last two races he hurries to his trailer home near May-wood Park and watches the races on the screen.
