The field may have been small but still there was plenty of action when Matt Zuccarello moved Broadway Bruiser at the half and they rallied to a 1:59.4 victory in the NAADA Trot at Monticello Raceway on Thursday afternoon.
For Zuccarello it was a bittersweet victory since his triumph came on the birthday of his father-in-law who passed away last year.
“It's always gratifying to win a race but when it happens on a memorable day its doubling rewarding”, Zuccarello said in the winner circle after his victory.
Zuccarello, an avid amateur driver who doubles as the publicist for the GSY Amateur Series, looked like a veteran reinsmen and made all the right moves en route to his triumph.
When the gate sprung Joe Faraldo sent Tough Get Going in search of the lead from the five hole but Alan Schwartz, up behind Ladys Big Stormont from the pole position, had other plans. He forced Faraldo to take a seat behind him as he led the field by the first stanza in :29.2.
Schwartz kept the pedal to the metal and was in complete control as Ladys Big Stormont tripped the halfway timer in :59.3. Meanwhile Zuccarello and his trotter were sitting third behind the leaders but when they headed up the backside Zuccarello moved Broadway Bruiser out to challenge.
“I got away slowly and stayed close to the leaders and then ranged alongside Ladys Big Stormont as we raced head-to-head past three quarters and around the final turn. But once we straightened for home my horse began to slowly pull away and we went on to win it by a length and a half,” Zuccarello explained.
Schwartz's trotter held on for second money while Faraldo's Tough Get Going flattened out in the lane and had to settle for the show dough.
The winner, a four-year-old Muscle Mass gelding, is owned by Harmon Racing Stable and trained by Patti Harmon He paid $9.90 for win.
For Zuccarello, a mobile salesman by trade, it was his first win this season from a limited amount of starts.
(NAADA)