The Marchioness - 1932
Will Caton, the trainer of 1932 Hambletonian winner The Marchioness, first came to prominence as a trainer and driver in Czarist Russia. For many years prior to World War I and the 1917 Bolshevik revolution, Caton was the tops on that scene. However, his life’s work was swept away in the revolution and he returned to his native United States to ply his trade. Caton had great success in the early thirties with the trotter Protector, he won virtually every stake but the Hambletonian, as he had not been kept eligible. He promptly set about a course to win the 1932 Hambletonian with Protector’s full sister, The Marchioness, who was kept eligible to the big race. A top filly from the start of her career, The Marchioness, given the chance her brother never had, won a four heat struggle to take the Hambletonian trophy. Purchased that fall by Count Orsi Mangelli of Italy, she never produced a foal that could duplicate her speed or stamina.
First race-off in which the three different heat winners had to contest a fourth heat to determine a winner. Although he did not win the day, Hollyrood Dennis (Will Crozier) won the second heat in a new stake record of 2:01 1/4. That record would stand for 15 years. Prior to the Russian revolution, Caton had been the leading trainer and driver of the Czarist empire. His American methods and imports of American horses completely changed the Russian trotting scene. As a charitable endeavor, the 1932 Grand Circuit meeting at Good Time Park benefited the Goshen Hospital.
