James Slendorn strolled down the road and Tony Beltrami pounced first-over driving their trotters to a pair of wins in $9,000 divisions of the American Harness Drivers Club (AHDC) over a sloppy track on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 23) at Freehold Raceway.
James Slendorn took the lead from the pylon post with Sheena Soldier and repelled all challengers to post a 2:00 win in the first division. Slendorn slid to lead through a :28.4 first quarter over Drazzmatazz (Yogi Sheridan) and slowed the tempo towards a 1:00.1 half. Sheena Soldier continued on an easy lead to three-quarters in 1:30.1 and shut the door in the lane to win by 2-3/4 lengths. Zlatan (Tony Beltrami) made a first-over move to the final turn but settled for second, Southwind Frost (Bob Hechkoff) levelled off from a wide charge in third and Natural Kemp (Joe Lee) finished fourth.
Chris Height trains Sheena Soldier, a six-year-old Father Patrick gelding owned by Slendorn. Sheena Soldier paid $11.40 to win.
Tony Beltrami waited until the final quarter to move with La Magic and rolled to victory in the second division with a 2:00.2 mile. Odds-on favourite Dingle (Yogi Sheridan) protected the pylons to lead My Big Kadillac (Mike Polansky) to the first quarter in :28.4 before snagging a breather to a :58.4 half. Dingle rolled up the backside while Beltrami revved La Magic off the pegs from third and soon seized the lead after three-quarters in 1:29.2. La Magic cruised for home to a 2-1/4-length win over My Big Kadillac with Dingle finishing third and Masster Blue (Anthony Verruso) back fourth.
Edwin Quevedo trains La Magic, a seven-year-old gelding by Kadabra, for owners David Dobbelmann and Triple Q Stables LLC. La Magic paid $7.40 to win.
AHDC action continues for the Fall Trotting Series next Saturday, Sept. 30 at Freehold Raceway. First-race post time at Freehold is 12:30 p.m. (EDT).
(With files from AHDC)