One-half Of A Jug Horse Beats One Airplane

With Bye and Large eliminated, Haughton was careful as he reined Rum Customer onto the track for the second division. Like Bye and Large, the colt had a bad post position, No. 7. And as things turned out, Haughton was unable to get his horse to the rail until the race was three-quarters over. In the first quarter the colt nearly put a foot through Miller's sulky wheel when Meadow Brick broke and veered to the outside. Down the back side and around the turn, Haughton was parked three wide as two long shots burned themselves out going the half mile in 59[1/5] seconds. Rum Customer seemed to lack his usual burst of brilliant speed, but as the leaders dropped back approaching the three-quarters, he surged to the front. He won comfortably by more than three lengths. Isolator Hanover, an 84-to-l shot, was second, and Batman was fourth.

"My colt is not sharp, not keen today," Haughton said, returning to the paddock. "He was gutty to have won that."

In the raceoff the crowd was more confident than Haughton about Rum Customer. As the pacers warmed up, the tote board showed Haughton's colt was 1 to 9, Adios Waverly 6 to 1 and everything else in the field 20 to 1 or better. (Odds at Delaware roller-coaster like soybean futures. A horse early in the week paid a record $188 for show—only one $2 ticket was sold on him.)

At the start Adios Waverly burst into the lead, Driver Wendell Kirk again hoping to steal away, but Batman went with him and they sped to the half in 58[4/5]. Rum Customer was tucked along the rail fourth. After Batman had softened up Adios Waverly, Rum Customer went to him, and on the final turn Haughton's colt pulled away. He won by three lengths, in 1:59[3/5]. Adios Waverly plodded in a weary seventh.

The Brown Jug purse put Haughton over the million-dollar mark in earnings this season, and late into Thursday night he was celebrating, suitably, with a jug. But Owner Mancuso had hardly a taste of success. He left immediately after the race to fly George Sholty to Yonkers Raceway for the evening's card there. Perhaps he was looking to swap his new Cessna for a piece of another horse.