He may not have had the best horse in the race, but John Calabrese put his trotter in a place where he could win and that's just what Stinglike A B K did in the $9,000 American Harness Drivers Club Trot at Freehold Raceway on Saturday afternoon (January 16).
After starting from the six-hole Calabrese hustled his charge away from the gate and they settled in second behind Caulfield and driver Todd Whitney who then led the field by the first quarter in 30 seconds over a track that was rated 'good'.
Heading to the halfway point in 1:01.1 Caulfield got mild pressure from The Cuse Is Loose (Tony Verruso) who had made a break before the start but Whitney and his trotter remained undaunted and they kept showing the way.
As the field approached the three-quarters in 1:31.1 Calabrese kept Stinglike A B K tight on Whitney's back and when they rounded the final turn and headed for home Caulfield's strides began to shorten and he started to fade. In the deep stretch Dawn Anderson joined the fray with Take A Wish and although they made up a lot of ground they couldn't overtake Stinglike A B K who went under the wire a length and a half winner in the 2:01.1 mile. Caulfield hung on for the show dough.
Sent off at odds of 9-2, Stinglike A B K paid $11.00 for the win. The five-year-old son of Andover Hall is owned by Robert Key and trained by Aaron Lambert.
(AHDC)