by Joe Hartmann for the Breeders Crown

Cranbury, NJ – Veteran trainer Ross Croghan is planning a massive assault on the Breeders Crown.

Coming into this season, Croghan, who just turned 53 on July 3, was fourth in all-time wins and fifth in earnings at the Meadowlands.

The one thing he does not have is a Breeders Crown championship.

“It would be nice to get at least one,” Croghan said from his New Jersey barn Wednesday morning. “The biggest thing is that we are in the races. If you are not there, you can not win.”

A native of Sydney, Australia, Croghan has been a fixture in New Jersey since 1993. He has consistently ranked among the top 10 trainers at the Meadowlands since 1995.

He was born into harness racing, following in the footsteps of his father, trainer Noel Croghan, who recently passed away. Croghan’s entry to the United States began on the West Coast, and he racked up nine driving titles during his 17 years in California before he decamped for New Jersey.

Croghan captured the Meadowlands training title in 1999 and 2000; he also holds the record for the most starters in one meet with 717 in 1999. Currently Croghan has won more than 700 races and $14 million in purses at The Meadowlands. Two of his former assistants, Brett Pelling and Mark Harder, have also had tremendous success at the Meadowlands.

His equine stars include BJ’s Whirlwind, who won the Dan Patch and Battle of Lake Erie in 1999 and was third in the 1999 Breeders Crown Pace behind Red Bow Tie, his best pacer ever, and the multiple stakes winning mare Carolina Sunshine, who finished fourth in the 2004 Mare Pace.

But a Crown championship has eluded him; at least technically. While as a listed trainer he is 0-12 in Crown finals with one third place finish, his filly trotter Pick Me Up, who raced several starts in Canada for trainer Darren McCall, won the 2002 Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Filly Trot at Woodbine.

This year he sends more horses than any trainer, with five Breeders Crown starters in three of the four events for older performers. Croghan will be sending out supplemental entry Easton Alliance N and 2004 Breeders Crown champion Restive Hanover in the $331,500 Breeders Crown Mare Pace.

In addition, he has a pair of late bloomers in the $800,000 Horse Trot, Corleone Kosmos and Lawman, and Ticket To Glide will attempt to upset favored Peaceful Way in $250,000 Breeders Crown Mare Trot where Croghan feels he will need the biggest upset performance.

“It is going to take a little luck for Ticket To Glide to beat her entry mate (both are co-owned by Angie Stiller; Peaceful Way is trained by Dave Tingley),” Croghan said. “My mare has been racing well but Peaceful Way is so physically intimidating, she just physically wears her opponents down.”

Croghan is much more confident about the chances of Easton Alliance N, the mare owner Katherine Bardis is supplementing at $37,500 to the $300,000 Mare Pace.

“It really was not a hard decision,” Croghan said. “There have not been that many in the division and it appeared that if we entered there would not be any eliminations, so we would be racing for the big purse. She had some minor surgery done on her throat and the owner said if she came out of it fine, we wanted to go for it, and so we are.”

Croghan feels that he has a better chance to win with Easton Alliance N in the mare event than the former freshman filly Crown champion, Restive Hanover. The Mare was a reported $500,000 purchase earlier this season for The Mentally Stable. “She has been disappointing this season,” Croghan said of Restive Hanover. “She has a ton of speed and her ability to close late makes her a threat but she hasn’t been consistent.”

Croghan has confidence in both of his Horse Trot entrants, he would just like to see his Lawman get a little bit of racing luck.

“He can’t seem to be able to do anything but draw outside,” Croghan said. “Even in the prep race this week. But he has gone from inconsistent to consistent and if we could draw well, he might do very well.”

Croghan’s best Breeders Crown hope might lie in Corleone Kosmos. The four-year-old has already scored five victories this season and according to Croghan is still in the process of maturing.

“When Tommy (Tom Haughton) sent him up to me last year, he was still a big overgrown baby,” he said. “When he came back this year, he has shown tremendous maturity and consistently is getting better. He has great physical talent and could become a real dominant trotter.”

The $1.9 Million Breeders Crown events will be raced on a special card with a 5:00 p.m. post-time, to launch the 2006 Hambletonian Festival, annually the greatest week in harness racing. Also scheduled for that morning is the fourth annual Hambletonian Parade through the town of Rutherford. The special twilight card will feature eliminations for the Hambletonian and Hambletonian Oaks.