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= On the Tnt * By MORRIE KURLANSKT 1 ■- Gait Trot Is Highlight of Week ■ jx Darneau Likely Favorite Friday - Kroening Stable Heads for Title MAYWOOD PARK, Maywood, 111., May £ 5. — The outstanding event of the week here « will be Fridays ,000 early-closing event, named in honor of the «-" Maywood Park land- lord the Arthur T. Gait 7S Trot. The race is for ™ 14-class campaigners, £ w i t h non -winners of xi 2,500 in 1958 that started four or more .. times last season also 2 eligible. When nomi- nations closed March a? 15, a total of 27 trot- _ ters, the majority of S whom are racing at — this meeting, were made eligible. It is ex- pected that at least 17 and possibly 20 will c* fulfill their engagement Friday night. It _ also is a safe presumption that the event _i will be split in two divisions. What most of the eligibles connections are hoping for Q before entries are taken is that their respective charges will not be in Darneaus * division. Ralph H. Kroenings flashy chestnut trotter with Quel Veinards French blood in his veins rapidly established himself as the leading trotter at this meeting. In his first outing, the four-year-old colt just missed beating Rexall Boy in a handicap trot. A week later, Darneau, bet down to 3-5 favoritism, won the second division of the Illinois Harness Horsemens Association Trot like a 1-10 shot, while his clocking of 2:07 H was M4 seconds faster than Mr. Kurylowkas, winner of the first division. Eight days later, Darneau easily defeated such good A-class trotters as Pay Skipper, Payne Hanover and Lady Iosola Miller in 2:06%; winning by two open lengths. In another A-class trot two weeks ago, Darneau met with interference to lose all chances and finish fifth. Last Friday, Darneau rectified this undeserved set-back by soundly trouncing a top field in 2:04%, best trotting time in Chicago this season. Though the importers of the French stallion, Quel Veinard, for many years now a leading sire in France, might be justifiably proud of Darneaus achievements, it is most likely that the young trotter owes a lot of his ability to his strictly American maternal family, being the second foal out of Darnella, by Darnley, whose first offspring, the His Excellency daughter, acquired a mark of 2:02% as a three-year-old and was a Grand Circuit victress as a juvenile and sophomore. Kroening, in search of a successor to his Hambletonian winner, Mainliner, and the sensational Lord Steward, worlds * , leading money-winning trotter with lifetime earnings of 38,831, bought Darneau last year from the colts breeder, Walter T. Candler. Though Darneau still has a long way to go to emulate the feats of his former stablemates, he certainly shows a lot of promise and Chi-cagoland harness fans can be grateful that the colts owner this season chose the Chicago area as his headquarters instead of returning to New York. Incidentally, there is another potential top trotter in the Kroening barn in a big, rangy filly named Driftwood, a full sister to Two Gaits Farms outstanding filly, Sandalwood, victress of such Grand Circuit Stakes as the Matron and Horseman Futurity last year. Whomever Darneaus rivals will be on 1 Friday night, it is a foregone conclusion i that the small, racy-looking colt will be B the post favorite in his division. Depending - on the draw, chancy candidates to capture one or the other division are CM. Saunders Almiras Worthy, a winner in ? 2:01% at Santa Anita recently, but beaten 1 by Darneau last Friday night; Lady Iosola 1 Miller, Lady Brookwood and Rexall Boy, r. while such trotters as Big Axe, Bluemound, 1, Dorothy Sky Raider, Louie Yates, Mr. Ku-rylowka, - Queens Gandee, Roxburgh Ed-wina, _ Wildwood Beth and Valentina all [1 have fine efforts at this meeting to their credit. If Del Insko, with three and a half weeks of this meeting remaining, is a cinch to capture leading driver honors, the Kroening stable, by virtue of the splendid showing of Darneau, the pacing fillies, Meadow Ballad and Cheri Adios, plus Cash Adios, Bengazi and Lord Adios, is odds-on to wind up as the leading money-winning owner of this spring session. The Milwaukee outfit, in charge of trainer Dick Williams, thus far has swept both divisions of the Chicago Harness Writers Pace, as well as both sections of the Illinois Breeders Pace, in addition to Darneaus victory in a previous early-closer. Kroenings homebred pacing filly, Cheri Adios, however, is not eligible to the H.T.A. Pace, richest event of the meeting with 0,000 added, to be raced Friday, May 29. Maywood-owned Ozark Tom scored his second consecutive Yonkers victory last Friday; driven by Howard Beissinger. . . . David Gulley, well-known Harrisburg, 111., owner who races a division of his successful stable in New York in charge of Beissinger and several pacers here in charge of Tom Wilburn, was a recent visitor. . . . Chicago Tribune columnist, Herb Lyons, was highly pleased when Ray Wagner guided the Rush Hour gelding. Tribune Tower, to a surprise victory in 2:06% on Monday. Among the four-year-olds victims was Roy Corrells highly regarded Storby Brown, a winner of six in eight races this season; driven by Rays brother, Bob.
