Chris Petrelli is on fire lately at Monticello Raceway. The trainer's aged warhorse, Camwood, won the $7,700 Open Pace in 1:55.1 over a slick track on Tuesday after his stable won yesterday's Filly & Mares Open with Beauty Is Blind in 1:55.1.
Camwood’s regular driver, Cory Stratton, opted to drive Nox Vegas Bluechip from the Mark Ford Stable. Petrelli put up leading dash-winning driver Mike Merton to drive Camwood.
Merton darted Camwood, the 1-5 favourite, away from the gate, followed by Cheyenne Ryan Lee (Luke Hanners), last week’s Open winner. The duo took the pack to the quarter in :28.1. Merton then put the sleeper hold on the eight-horse field with a soft :29.4 second quarter as they hit the half in :58. Burning Midnight (Brandon Parker) was the first to pull and started the outer flow to no avail. Camwood led by two lengths down the backside in 1:27. Down the lane, Cheyenne Ryan Lee dug hard but came short in a tight photo to Camwood in 1:55.1 - last quarter in :28.1. PH Kenny finished third.
The win was the 10th of the season for Camwood, a seven-year-old Woodstock gelding who is owned by George P. Dremonas of Oak Lawn, Illinois.
A relatively new addition to the backstretch at Monticello Raceway, Petrelli seems to have found his home. Currently, he is in third-place in the local standings with 41 training wins and earnings of more than $140,000.
Petrelli also won the card's final race with Over Speeding in 1:58.3, with Bruce Aldrich Jr. in the bike.
Beauty Is Blind, a four-year-old Ontario-sired daughter by Betterthancheddar, is owned by David Del Pozzo of Methuen, Massachusetts. Driven by Stratton, she has won five of her six starts since joining Petrelli's stable at Monticello in July.
(With files from Monticello Raceway)