Alan Schwartz made a blitz to three-quarters with Itsoneofthose and dusted his foes in an open-length romp to win the $28,986 North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) Final at Yonkers Raceway on Thursday, March 6.
Leaving from post four, Schwartz settled the 8-5 favourite into fourth as Muscle Dan (Tony Ciuffetelli) led the field while embroiled in battle with All Rise (Tony Beltrami) parked on the rim. Muscle Dan and All Rise squabbled through a :27.4 first quarter and through a :57.3 half while Schwartz revved his charge to make a sweeping move for the backside. As the top pair stayed hoof and nail, Itsoneofthose rolled three-wide and seized the front to three-quarters in 1:27.4 and continued to widen his lead through the turn and the stretch. Itsoneofthose coasted over the line to stop the clock in 1:58.3 and finish 9-1/2 lengths better than pocket-sitter Love This Bar (Bruce Baker), who grabbed second. Muscle Dan finished third and Lionhead (Yogi Sheridan) rallied for fourth.
Schwartz also owns and trains Itsoneofthose, an eight-year-old gelding by Chapter Seven. He paid $5.30 to win.
In the $20,290 NAADA Eligible Trot earlier on the card, Joe Faraldo charged from the outermost post with 12-1 shot Ima Standup Guy to secure a pocket ride and pounce to a narrow win in 2:00.4.
Faraldo tucked into a seat behind 6-5 favourite Mufasa As (Yogi Sheridan) as he carved a clip of :28.2, :58.4 and 1:29.1 before coming for the homestretch. Ima Standup Guy charged forward off the trip and withstood a late charge from 21-1 shot Drop The Mic (Tony Beltrami) to hold a neck in front at the beam. Mufasa As settled for third and Velociraptor (Cote Keim) recovered from a break in stride for fourth.
Scott Di Domenico trains Ima Standup Guy, a six-year-old gelding by Archangel, for Faraldo and co-owner Triple D Stables Inc. He paid $27.20 to win.
NAADA action resumes with the first preliminary of the Spring Series on Thursday, March 20 at Yonkers Raceway. The Spring Series features 10 preliminaries, with the final taking place at Yonkers Raceway on Thursday, June 5. First-race post time at Yonkers is 6:45 p.m.
(NAADA)