Yesterday at Monticello Raceway, Jennifer Lappe and Polly S Turr bided their time, then rallied to a one and quarter-length victory to win the eighth annual Lady Godiva Pace in a time of 2:00.3.
Betsy Phillips and Trust Funding, who cut all the fractions, held on for second, while 29-1 shot Cammye Beth got up to finish third for driver Leah Vandervort.
The race, which featured the talents of female drivers, was the second leg of the 'Mighty M’s 2010 Heritage Drivers Series.
"The race broke real good for me,” Lappe said. “We dropped in the two-hole and when Stacy (driver Stacy Chiodo, aboard Squeakmunn) and Julie (driver Julie Miller, aboard Panna Nicole) moved at the half, I felt confident that everything was going my way.
"It got a little tight on the last turn, but when Stacy’s pacer went off-stride, it allowed me plenty of room to move; and when we popped out of the two-hole I began thinking about the (Godiva) chocolates and we finished an easy winner. Polly S Turr is a good little mare and a pleasure to drive.”
After the race the other seven competitors were brought to the winners circle from the paddock, and they joined Lappe and Polly S Turr for a blanket presentation.
Though Lappe received a huge trophy, she seemed more interested in the box of Godiva Chocolates, which has been a standard presentation since the race's inception. Adding to the festivities, Alan Schwartz, president of the local horsemen’s association, presented Lappe with a heart-shaped pizza which she said she’d share with the other competitors.
“The other girls can have some of the pizza… but the chocolates are off limits,” Lappe said with a laugh.
As Lappe and her pacer left the winner's circle, she stopped, turned around and shouted: “Please give my driving and training percentages today to the Richie Ingrassia Fund.”
Ingrassia, a local trainer and driver, has suffered a terrible fate and has been hospitalized for over 60 days.
(With files from Monticello)