Mover over Alan Schwartz, there’s a new Ben Hur in town, and his name is name is Bobby Krivelin.
Krivelin and his free-legged pacer, Isnt She Lovely, wore down Schwartz’s front-stepping Shezaflamintower to score a 2:04.1 triumph in Monticello Raceway’s 15th annual Passover Pace on the windy and rainy afternoon of Monday, April 1.
The event was the third leg of the 2013 renewal of the raceway’s Heritage Drivers Series.
Krivelin won the 'Race for the Matzos’ two years ago, and on Monday he denied Schwartz his fourth winner in the event when their two pacers came to the wire nearly simultaneously. But the late rally by Isnt She Lovely made the eight-year-old B Dramatic mare a head winner over Shezaflamintower over a racetrack which was slowed by the falling rain.
“It was a 'true-Jew' exacta,” Krivelin told anyone in the winner’s circle that was within earshot of his diatribe as he was being presented with a huge trophy.
“She (Isnt She Lovely) did it all by herself,” he continued, “because my goggles were full of mud and I could hardly see a thing coming through the stretch. I had to pull them down just so I could see a little bit.”
When the field set sail, Schwartz found himself on the outside as his mare chugged toward the front. The duo made the top only when Murray Bassen, driving Miss Mathews, grabbed leather as the two passed the first stanza in :29.2.
From there, Schwartz’s pacer had control of the race, but as the field passed the three quarters, Schwartz, in a move to urge his pacer on, struck the right shaft of his racebike with his whip.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I hit the shaft my whip got caught somehow and I never had any use of it from there home,” Schwartz related.
“I don’t know if we would have won it, but I believe I could have done more serious urging if I had my whip, especially while I was watching Kriv (Bobby Krivelin) gaining on us in the deep stretch…”
So Schwartz and Sheszaflamintower had to settle for second money.
Third place went to Mary Lou, driven by Peter Kleinhans. Bob Hechkoff finished fourth, with May Knight. Last year’s Passover Pace winner, Alan Charles, faded and finished fifth with Fulla Joy.
Isnt She Lovely is owned by Ben Versaci and trainer Steve Moore. She returned $6.60 on a successful Win wager.
Next up in the Heritage Drivers Series will be the Lady Godiva Pace for female drivers on Monday, May 13.
(Monticello)