The Crowd

Clement Hirsch, the late Newport Beach businessman, philanthropist and

sportsman, was honored as the first Clement L. Hirsch Handicap took to

the track Saturday at Del Mar.

Formerly known as the Chula Vista Handicap, the race featured a

5-year-old bay mare, Riboletta, as the favorite. Riboletta was trained by

Eduardo Inda, a well-known horseman who was brought to the United States

from Chile some years ago by Hirsch.

“I would love to win this race for Mr. Hirsch,” Inda said with emotion

in his voice prior to the race.

“Clement Hirsch brought me to this country, and I can’t thank him

enough for doing that for me,” added the man who began as a groom for

Hirsch and his senior trainer Warren Stute. That was in 1961.

In all, seven fillies entered the handicap, only to be defeated by the

favorite Riboletta, taken across the finish line by veteran jockey Chris

McCarren and taking home a purse of $300,000 for owners Aaron and Marie

Jones.

“What a great honor to win this race for Mr. Hirsch, the first race in

his name,” Inda said afterward. A large contingent of Newport Beach-based

Hirsch friends, relatives and associates witnessed the win and shared in

the triumph.

***

Bauer Motors, the local upscale automotive dealership handling Jaguar,

has turned its attention to real animals, presumably including a few

jaguars that really purr as underwriting sponsors of the upcoming Aug. 26

“Night of The Jaguar” fund-rasier for the Santa Ana Zoo. The dealership’s

$25,000 contribution will benefit Zoofari 2000, with proceeds from the

evening going toward the creation of a new rain forest habitat, including

a home for the South American jaguar.

Locals involved with the project include zoo board President Jay

Kunkle, zoo Executive Director Leslie Perovich and Roseanne Bye, Carol

Carty, Kathleen Edman, Curtis Farrel, Howard Hall, George Hampton, Chris

Kiehler, Debbie Newmeyer, Dave Perry, Doug Raff, Wendy Sabins, Karen

Schaefer, Donel Wiles and Chris Wilkin.

Organizers are expecting a crowd of 500, with special honors and

tributes this year going to Newport Beach activists, including the

dynamic Newmeyer. Tickets to the Saturday evening affair are $125 per

person and may be obtained by calling (714) 953-8555.

***

In other car-related news -- from Jaguars to Lamborghinis -- the third

annual “Running of the Bulls” event was scheduled to be launched

Wednesday evening at The Four Seasons Hotel, Newport Beach.

Billed as the “Night of the Bulls” gala dinner and charity auction,

there are in fact no bulls in sight. Bulls run in Spain. In Newport

Beach, the bulls are a stampede of more than 50 Lamborghini Diablos set

to charge north today from Newport Beach up the coast to Carmel.

Led by racing hero Mario Andretti, under California Highway Patrol

escort the entire way, the celebration of the fine Italian auto and the

even finer California lifestyle are all meant to raise funds to support

the CHP’s 11-99 Foundation. The term 11-99 stands for “officer down,” and

the foundation assists families of officers killed in the line of duty.

On hand for the midweek reception pressing the flesh with Andretti was

Vik Keuylian, president and chief executive officer of Exclusive Inc.,

sole U.S. distributor for Automobili Lamborghini. Keuylian created the

“Running of the Bulls” event, the largest gathering of its kind in the

world.

Only in Newport Beach.