Alan Charles drove the winner confidently and luck was on
his side when he got Digital Photo up in the final strides to pass the heavy
favorite who was driven by Alan Schwartz. For Charles it was his second
victory in the Passover races having won the event two years ago.
As this year event got underway Dave Yarock and B
Muffler were the fastest from the gate and they trotted to the lead with
Schwartz and Four Star Ransom tucked in the two hole. Charles and Digital Photo
were a close third and the three trotters raced in that order until the
backside where Schwartz moved Four Star Ransom for the lead and he was followed
closely by Charles and Digital Photo.
Both trotters cleared B Muffler and they raced one-two on
the final turn. When they headed for home surprisingly it was a horse race
between the odds-on favorite and the 11-1 long shot.
“I thought we were much the best but when I saw Digital
Photo coming at us in the lane I knew it was trouble. And when my horse went
off –stride was all over for me,” Schwartz said dejectedly.
“I felt that I was going to catch him anyway but when I saw
Schwartz’s horse go off-stride it felt like the parting of the Red Sea,”
Charles related.
When Four Starz Ransom went off-stride Digital Photo charged
to the lead and was a one length winner. Four Starz Ransom held on for
second and third place went to Yarock and B Muffler.
“If it wasn’t for my very dear friend Peter Kleinhans I
wouldn’t even have been in the race,” Charles explained after the race was
completed. “Initially the horse I was to drive was an early scratch.
Knowing that I don’t often get a chance to drive, Peter, who was down to drive
Digital Photo after the (post position) draw graciously yielded his drive to me
knowing how much I wanted to be in the race and that I don’t get a chance to
drive thatoften. And although many-- the betting public included-- didn’t
think Digital Photo had much of a chance in the race I had good feelings
despite all the rhetoric that was spewed prior to the race. And in the
end, I guess was right.”
Digital Photo is owned and trained by Richard Ruffles of
Edmeston, NY . She paid $24.60 for win.
The Passover Trot was the third leg of the
Mighty M’s Heritage Drivers Series and with his victory Charles has earned a
berth in the series finale-- dubbed the All America Cup--which will be
presented later in the fall after eight ethnic legs are completed..
He’ll be joined by Bobby Williams, Jr., the w
inner of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Pace for African American drivers, and
by Jimmy Taggart, who won the St Paddy Pace for drivers of Irish
heritage.
Next up in the Heritage Drivers Series is the Lady Godiva
Pace. That race, exclusively for women , is usually contested in February but
it had to be postponed and now will be presented on Monday, May 14th,
one day after Mothers Day.
