Rash's Surname Index
Notes for W. Burling COCKS
W. Burling Cocks, 82, a trainer of steeplechase horses for nearly 60 years and a member of the U.S. Thoroughbred Hall of Fame, died of heart and lung failure Saturday at his home, Hermitage Farms in Unionville, Chester County.
Mr. Cocks was the leading steeplechase trainer in 1948, 1965, 1973, 1980 and 1986. Perhaps his most famous mount was Zaccio, the nation's leading steeplechase horse from 1981 through 1983.
Mr. Cocks was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1985 at Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and Zaccio followed him in 1990.
Mr. Cocks was born in Old Westbury, N.Y., a Long Island community renowned for its estates, horses, fox hunting and polo. He rode his own horse in his early teens, and the nearby racetrack further whetted his appetite for steeplechase racing.
After graduating in 1931 from Friends Academy in nearby Locust Valley, Mr. Cocks enrolled at the University of Virginia. His schooling was interrupted by the nearby racetrack in Charlottesville, where he spent most of his time, and a few months later he dropped out of the university.
Shortly after, he became a jockey against his family's wishes and debuted on Nov. 19, 1932, in Jericho, N.Y. He was disqualified when his horse took a wrong turn in driving rain.
He won his first steeplechase race on April 22, 1933, but his career as a rider ended in 1935 in a race at Chesterbrook, near King of Prussia. His mount went down, and Mr. Cocks was struck in the head by a foreleg.
Mr. Cocks took up training in 1937 and continued until he retired in the fall of 1996. His wife of 57 years, Barbara ''Babs'' Lucas Cocks, a skilled horsewoman in her own right, often helped her husband by galloping horses. They met in 1938 while fox hunting at Rose Tree Park outside of Media.
In 1973, Mr. Cocks received the F. Ambrose Clark Award, the highest honor in steeplechase racing, and in 1982 he was cited by the New York Turf Writers Association for his contributions to steeplechase racing.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by a son, William B. ''Winky''; three daughters, Susan Jones, Barbara Vannote and Jessie; and 10 grandchildren.
Services will be held at 4 p.m. tomorrow at London Grove Friends Meeting, West Street Road (Route 926), Chester County. Burial will be at the adjacent Friends Cemetery.
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