Long-Shot at Goshen
Until a year ago, Milwaukee Contractor Ralph H. Kroening raced his string of trotters mostly around Midwestern state fairs. Then he sent his driver-trainer, Guy Crippen, to look over a handsome two-year-old colt named Mainliner. Crippen liked what he saw. Kroening got on the phone and bought the dark brown horse for $25,000, sight unseen. He forthwith found himself too busy with defense work to watch his new trotter in competition (ten wins in 23 starts last year, one out of 13 this season). But last week, Contractor Kroening took a few days off, went to Goshen, N.Y. There, at the 26th annual Hambletonian mile (for three-year-old trotters), he saw his horse for the first time, and cheered a performance he will never forget.
Mainliner opened at 6-1, then the odds climbed to a post-time 27-1 as 15,000 harness-racing fans wagered heavily on such highly touted favorites as Scotch Rhythm, Betsy Volo and Spennib. In the first heat (with two heat victories needed to take first money), Mainliner spurted from the No. 2 spot, moved smoothly in behind favorite Spennib. At the first turn, Mainliner still looked like Spennib's unshakable shadow. Then Great Hanover came around both horses to lead Spennib by more than a length at the half.
Coming into the homestretch, grizzled, canny Driver Crippen, 59, let Mainliner go all out for the first time. The colt shot ahead, sailed past the leaders and took the heat by two lengths.
Still not quite convinced, the crowd fig ured Kroening's colt no better than a 3-1 second choice to win the second heat.
Kroening himself expected no repeat performance. But Mainliner did it all over again, took the lead at the head of the stretch, held off every challenger to finish a length ahead of Scotch Rhythm for the Hambletonian's biggest upset since The Ambassador paid $68.20 in 1942. To Owner Kroening went a $51,347-26 winner's share of the $95,263 purse, richest Hambletonian in history.
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