Newport Dream - 1954
The champion two-year-old the previous year, Newport Dream had been lame in the spring of 1954. But when the Axomite colt, owned by Octave Blake and trained by Del Cameron, got to Goshen, he was ready for the Hambletonian. In the first heat, Newport Dream trailed in eighth position to the half and used a burst of speed to take the lead for a three-lenth victory in 2:024. He won the second heat in the same time, rallying to catch Harlan in the final strides of a tight four-horse finish. For Grand Circuit President Blake, his first Hambletonian victory came after favored Newport Star, full brother to Newport Dream, failed in the 1953 Hambletonian. Early in 1955, Blake’s Hambletonian trophy was washed out of his Cape Cod home by a hurricane and was found a few days later nestled in the sand near the cottage.
Newport Dream was the first USHWA/USTA Two-Year-Old trotter of the year (1953) to win the Hambletonian, a feat repeated only 14 more times. The Hambletonian trophy was lost in a hurricane that swept through Cape Cod during the following year, destroying the beach home of owner Octave Blake. Several days later, the trophy along with its base was discovered in the sand where it had washed up on the beach.
