Yogi Sheridan powered off a parked mile and John Calabrese caught a loose leader in the final strides to take their respective $9,000 divisions – both from post 8 – of the American Harness Drivers Club (AHDC) Trots at Freehold Raceway on Saturday afternoon (April 1).
In the first division, Sheridan floated his charge Its A Horse and raced wide as Midnight Cookie (driven by Anthony Verruso) inherited an easy lead to a :29 first quarter. Judge Ken (Matt Zuccarello) sat in the pocket while King Cast (Jacob Stillwell) jumped stride and retreated from his challenge for the lead, leaving Midnight Cookie alone.
Midnight Cookie clocked a :59.1 half and faced pressure to the backstretch from Its A Horse as he continued to grind along the rim, now with Vendor Bill (Maria De Bruijn) following his cover. Its A Horse took over the lead from a leg-weary Midnight Cookie to three-quarters in 1:29 and stubbornly held the top off the turn while Vendor Bill dug into the leader late. Its A Horse hit the beam a neck better than Vendor Bill in 1:59.2 with Shoemaker Hanover (John Calabrese) rallying for third and My Big Kadillac (Mike Polansky) taking fourth.
Peter Pellegrino trains Its A Horse, a 10-year-old gelding by Full Count, for owner Barry Franklin. He paid $9.60 to win.
Finnick Odair (Tony Beltrami) appeared to have clenched victory in the second division, but Turbochargedpete (John Calabrese) collared the tired odds-on favourite in the final strides.
Sent the 4-5 choice, Finnick Odair secured an easy lead to a :29.2 first quarter with Brickyard King (Jacob Stillwell) sitting the pocket. Finnick Odair then began peeling away from the field to a :59.3 half, prompting Masster Blue (Anthony Verruso) to circle a stalled Brickyard King to the third turn.
Beltrami hit the accelerator to three-quarters and opened a five-length lead with Finnick Odair, clocking the third station in 1:29.1 and maintaining his advantage through the final turn. And as he appeared to be cleared for landing, Turbochargedpete came rolling three wide down the center of the track and barreling after the short-strided leader late. With the momentum, Turbochargedpete put a head in front at the finish of a 2:00.3 mile with Masster Blue settling for third and Lionhead (Yogi Sheridan) taking fourth.
Scott Di Domenico trains Turbochargedpete, a six-year-old gelding by Uncle Peter, for owners Chris Page and Triple D Stables Inc. He paid $21 to win.
AHDC action returns to Freehold Raceway on Friday afternoon (April 7) for divisions of the AHDC Pace. First-race post time at Freehold is 12:30 p.m. (EDT).