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Pomace Pomace Has Has Eight Eight La La Salle Salle Rivals; Rivals; Eight Eight Sophomore Sophomore Fillies Fillies in in CCA CCA Oaks Oaks Queen Hopeful Set For Grueling Event Romans Compact Daughter Has Cherokee Rose, Riverina And Rain to Defeat Today By BOB HORWOOD Staff Correspondent BELMONT PARK, Elmont, L. I., N. Y., May 28. — Eight three-year-old fillies will be called upon to entertain a throng of some 45,000 in the thirty-eighth running of the 0,000 added Coaching Club American Oaks at Belmont Park tomorrow. This classic test, which more often than not has pointed out the champion sophomore filly of the year, is at a searching mile and three furlongs, with all the candidates required to carry 121 pounds. While this years Oaks may lose some significance through the enforced absence of Mrs. George D. Wideners Evening Out, the juvenile filly champion of 1953, who chose a poor time to kick through a screened stable door a few weeks ago, it promises to be an excellent contest with at least three potential champions in the field. These are Hasty House Farms diminutive, but great-hearted Queen Hopeful, Cain Hoy Stables steadily improving Cherokee Rose and King Ranchs hardhitting Riverina. Never Unplaced in Career Queen Hopeful, who has never been unplaced and comes from a victory in the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes at Pimlico, which followed a .second to Fascinator in the Kentucky Oaks, will -be ridden by the veteran Johnny Adams. Though she is a daughter of Roman, her stablemate, Hasty Road, has demonstrated that this doesnt necessarily mean a deficiency in stamina. Cherokee Rose and Riverina come from winning races here at Belmont Park. The first-named, who is a full-sister to How, winner of the 1951 edition of the CCA Oaks, scored at a mile and a sixteenth on a sloppy track on May 21, getting the dis- j tance in a sparkling 1:43%. Though she Continued on Page Seven ; Photo by Meadors. QUEEN HOPEFUL — Carries trie hopes of the Middle West in todays renewal of the Coaching Club American Oaks at the Belmont Park course. Queen Hopef ul Faces Seven Classy Foes Over Long CCA Oaks Route at Belmont Romans Compact Daughter! Has Cherokee Rose, Riverina And Rain to Defeat Today Continued from Page One was obviously tired at the finish, this- was an impressive race as the daughter of Princequillo had been away from the races since suffering injuries at the start of a sprint at Keeneland in April. Cherokee Rose finished a close second to Queen Hopeful in the Florida; Oaks, finishing minus one shoe and being- in trouble at the far turn and carried out at the head of the stretch. These episodes Were invited by jockey Hank Moreno, who had tried to block Queen Hopeful coming out of the clubhouse turn. Moreno will be back in the saddle tomorrow, while Hedley Woodhouse, who rode Cherokee Rose in her winning local debut will guide Small Favor for C. V. Whitney. Riverina has not been seen in public since she came from far back in the Acorn Stakes to finish in a dead-heat with Happy Mood at the end of a moderate mile in 1:38%. Eric Guerin will ride this daughter of Princequillo from the stakes winning Bee Mac, who has been training steadily for Max Hirsch. , Small Favor was last seen in the Kentucky Oaks, in which she closed some ground along the rail to finish fourth. The stretch-running daughter of Priam II has been training cleverly and showed her stamina last year by beating Queen Hopeful in the Selima Stakes at Pimlico at a mile and a sixteenth. She also won three overnight races at two. • The others in the CCA Oaks are Brandy-wine Stables Rain, Philip Godfreys OAli-son and Walter M. Jeffords Open Sesame, who finished in that order behind Cherokee Rose here, and Hal Price Headleys Garb. The latter was an easy winner of an allowance race on May 19, getting a mile and a sixteenth in 1:45%, and comes from a barn noted for its fine fillies, though this Oaks has thus far eluded "Uncle Price." Rain showed considerable improvement in her last and has been training exceptionally well. Open Sesame, on the other hand, trains better than she races. OAlison scored a fairly astonishing victory in the Demoiselle Stakes at a mile and a sixteenth last year and her third to Cherokee Rose and Rain, to whom she was conceding weight, may indicate a return to form. Conn McCreary will be on Garb, Jim Nichols will pilot Rain, Ted Atkinson v/ill be on Open Sesame and Dave Gorman will ride OAlison. Last years CCA Oaks went to Mrs. Ben F. Whitakers Grecian Queen, while the 1952 edition was an easy score for Calumet Farms Real Delight and both fillies went on to not only head their generation, but also to beat seasoned older mares. The inaugural CCA Oaks winner in 1917 was James Butlers Wistful, while Calumet Farm won it with a better filly of the same name in 1949. Almost all of the 37 previous winners of this event can be called "memorable," but the names of Cleopatra, Princess Doreen, Top Flight, Black Helen, Vagrancy and Twilight Tear stand out even in such illustrious company.
