Tony Beltrami and John Calabrese both hit the pedal and snagged the gold with their respective mounts in a pair of $12,329 divisions for the American Harness Drivers Club (AHDC) Trot at Freehold Raceway on Saturday, April 20.
In the first division, Beltrami tucked the race to sleep early and posted a 2:01 stroll behind All Rise. Beltrami grabbed command before a :29.1 first quarter and cold-shouldered Spirit Of Success (Calabrese) as he sat parked and pressing for the lead. All Rise then moved to a :59.3 half alone on the point with no challengers coming to play even into three-quarters in 1:30.1. From there, Beltrami widened his advantage and spun for home on a four-length lead he held to the beam. Brickyard King (Pearly Allen) sat a pocket trip and gave chase in second while Spirit Of Success settled for third and Brownie (Mike Polansky) took fourth.
Beltrami also owns All Rise, a seven-year-old gelding by Conway Hall, while Harold Herrera handles the training duties. He paid $3.80 to win.
Calabrese cleared command past the quarter with Shoemaker Hanover in the second division but promptly swept his rivals to the curb with a 1:59.1 performance. After clocking a :28.3 first quarter, Calabrese planted Shoemaker Hanover on the helm and grabbed a breather to a :58.3 half. Pocket-sitter Awol Hanover (Steven Reisenweaver) then began to reach for the reserves and lost ground on the leader heading to three-quarters in 1:28.3. Shoemaker Hanover drew farther clear from a fatigued Awol Hanover into the lane and coasted to the line a five-length winner. Landia (Beltrami) bagged second from a first-over push with Grafenberg (Joe Faraldo) tracking his cover for third and My Big Kadillac (Polansky) also following the tow for fourth.
Calabrese trains Shoemaker Hanover, an 11-year-old stallion by Cantab Hall, for his Calabrese Farms LLC and co-owner Michelle Rickey. He paid $4 to win.
AHDC action resumes next Saturday, April 27 at Freehold Raceway. First-race post time is 12:30 p.m. (EDT).
(AHDC)