As the participating members in the NAADA Series ready for an international competition next week with the visiting Italian amateurs the eighth leg of the current local series went to post for an $8,000 purse tonight (July 25) at Yonkers Raceway.
When the race was official, Paul Minore's old warhorse Wygant Prince, the longest shot on the board at 24-1, went wire-to-wire to score his first seasonal triumph and the 39th of his illustrious career.
After grabbing the racetrack from the four-hole, Minore played hardball when the odds-on favourite Tough Get Going (Joe Faraldo) came calling. Despite a :28.2 first quarter Minore refused to allow Faraldo' s trotter to gain command and the two whizzed by the half in :57.4. And as the two leaders headed for the three quarters they were still heads apart. However, at that point Tough Get Going understandably began to fade while incredibly the 12-year-old Wygant Prince kept going forward.
He passed the third stanza in 1:28 and opened a two-length lead on his competitors.
When they headed for paydirt David Glasser's Eyore Hanover rallied from far back but ran out of racetrack and had to settle for second money as Wygant Prince got off the schneid to notch his first victory this season. Third place went to Fiji, with Dave Offenberg aboard.
Those players who wagered on Wygant Prince who treated to a $51.00 payoff. He is owned by his driver and trained by Taylor Gower.
(NAADA)