GREAT HORSE 



for three-year-old trotters over the half-mile track at 

 Toledo, and won, beating eight other horses. Up to 

 this time Cresceus had not shown any great amount 

 of racing quality, and Mr. Ketcham was hardly pre- 

 pared to claim that the colt would prove a race horse. 

 The annual summer meeting of the Tiffin Driving 

 Club, in 1897, was announced, and Cresceus was en- 

 tered in the 2 145 class trot for a purse of $350. This 

 race was his first start as a three-year-old and practi- 

 cally the beginning of his turf career. This race was 

 trotted on July 7, and the horses entered were Cresceus, 

 Unique, Billy Patterson, Patti G., Senator L., Keen 

 Bill, and Lillie PL Cresceus seemed to learn the rac- 

 ing game very quickly, and Mr. Ketcham found that 

 the colt scored well, came to his speed rapidly, and 

 appeared to know just what was required of him. The 

 race was simply an educational one, however, and was 

 vvon by Unique in straight heats ; time, 2 :2'/^, 2 129! 

 and 2 :2of . Cresceus made a nice showing, and was 

 third to the winner. Two days later, on July 9, Cres- 

 ceus started again in the 3-minute trot for a purse 

 of $300, against Matt B., Deck Miller, and Dawley 

 Temple. The race was won in straight heats by Matt 

 B., in 2 :26_f, 2 :26J, and 2 127^, Cresceus winning sec- 

 ond money. Feeling confident, after the performance 

 of Cresceus in these two races, that the colt had a 

 great deal of speed, Ketcham began to work him with 

 the sole idea of so conditioning him as to carry his 

 clip for the entire mile, and during that year (he was 



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