Driver Piet Van Pollaert, representing Belgium, topped the point standings at the end of the World Cup Amateur Driving Championship contested at Pompano Park on Tuesday (Feb. 25).
Miquel Vich Capo of Spain led drivers in points coming into the second night of the competition with Barbara Aebischer of Switzerland in second. Capo finished last in a seven-horse contest on his lone drive of the night while Aebischer finished last in a six-horse contest and fourth in her final drive, giving the other drivers an opportunity at the lead.
Van Pollaert, tied for third with Joe Pennacchio (representing the U.S.A.) and Warren Rich (New Zealand) heading into the final round of the championship, kicked off night two with a victory behind Young American. The 9-5 second choice finished two-and-a-quarter lengths better than Scarlet N Silk, driven by Lukas Svedin (Sweden), with Andrea Fazekas (Hungary) steering 6-5 favourite Big Bad Baby to a third-place finish. Van Pollaert sealed the top spot by winning in his next drive, steering Sun Belle Slippery to a wire-to-wire victory in the final race of the contest. Andrea Fazekas, driving another 6-5 favourite with Rock N Roll Rosie, came a half-length short of victory in second while Lukas Svedin piloted Always Be Lucy to finish third.
Canada’s representative Dave Drew, positioned sixth coming into the second night, had only one drive in the final four preliminaries. Driving Gemalous, he finished second to Andrea Sallustio of Italy in the second race on the card. The win for Sallustio, along with a second-place finish in the race following and a fifth-place finish in the final race of the championship, earned him second place in the final standings. Andrea Fazekas, winning a race on the night behind Jaded Dream, earned third.
The full leaderboard of point totals will be posted when available.
BELGIUM TAKES WORLD CUP AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP AT POMPANO
Belgium, which had been lolly-gagging near the back of the pack after opening night, rallied under the direction of driver Piet Van Pollaert to capture the coveted World Cup Amateur Championship title, which wrapped up on Tuesday (Feb. 25) at Pompano Park.
The 37-year-old from Lokeren, Belgium piloted two winners during the final night to eke out a ‘photo finish’ victory over Italy, which was represented by Andrea Sallustio. Hungary, represented by Andrea Fazekas, finished third, The USA finished fourth in the competition, followed by Canada and Switzerland (in a dead-heat), Spain, Sweden, New Zealand, Austria, Argentina and Denmark.
Van Pollaert, who was making his first appearance in the U.S., finished dead last in the first of three races on Monday night before knocking on the door by finishing second in his two other drives.
He kicked off the Tuesday night festivities with a sharp, wire-to-wire win with the 11 year-old mare Young American, trained by Jennifer Petrelli, who co-owns with Raynor Marsland, Jr.
After having carved up smart fractions of :29.2, 1:00.1 and 1:31, Van Polllaert sent the gallant mare home on a :28.4 romp to score by two and a quarter lengths and return $5.80 to win.
While the win moved the Belgian up in the standings, he only had one drive left in the competition – with yet another mare from the Jennifer Petrelli Stable, Sun Belle Slippery.
Using the same tactics as in the first race, Van Pallaert sent the six-year-old daughter of Relentless Yankee right to the front from her outside post and she sizzled an opening panel of :26.4. After a rated second panel brought the pair to the half in :57.3, Sun Belle Slippery repelled a strong bid around the final bend and another in deep stretch to score the ‘relentless’ win by a half length in 1:55.1.
Coming off a lifetime-best 1:52.3 performance the week before, Sun Belle Slippery, who was sent off as the third choice in the wagering, returned a generous $9.80 mutuel.
The competition was extremely evenly matched, as Van Pollaert won two of the eight races and Sallustio won a pair, as well. Barbara Aesbischer (Switzerland) Joe Pennacchio (USA), David Drew (Canada) and Andrea Fazekas (Hungary) also won races during the competition.
Organizers Steve Oldford and Dein Spriggs were ecstatic with the competition, citing the competitive nature of each of the eight events and the camaraderie of everyone who came over from so many part of the world.
"This is what our sport is all about," said Oldford, "providing an atmosphere of peace, warmth and good will."
Mission accomplished!
(With files from Pompano Park)