Krivelin and his free legged pacer, Isn’t She Lovely, wore
down Schwartz’s front-running Shezaflamintower to score a 2:04.1triumph
in Monticello Raceway’s 15th annual Passover Pace on the
windy and rainy afternoon of April 1.
The event was the third leg of the raceway’s Heritage
Drivers Series -2013.
Krivelin won the “Race for the Matzos’ two years ago and
today (April 1) denied Schwartz his fourth winner in the event when their two
pacers came to the wire nearly simultaneously. But the late rally by Isn’t She
Lovely made the 8 year old B Dramatic mare a head winner over Shezaflamintower
on the racetrack slowed by the falling rain.
“It was a true-Jew exacta,” Krivelin told anyone in the
winner’s circle who was within earshot of his diatribe as he was being
presented with the huge trophy on the success of his mission.
“She ((Isn’t She Lovely) did it all by herself,” he
continued, “ because my goggles were full of mud and I could hardly see a thing
coming through the stretch. I had to pull them down just so I could see a
little bit.”
When the field set sails Schwartz found himself on outside
as his mare chugged toward the front and made the top only when Murray Bassen,
driving Miss Mathews, grabbed leather as the two passed the first stanza in
:29.2.
From there Schwartz’s pacer had control of the race but as
the field passed the three quarters Schwartz, in a move to urge his pacer on,
struck the (right) shaft with his whip.
“It seemed like a good idea at the time but when I hit the
shaft my whip got caught somehow and I never had any use of it from there
home,” Schwartz related.
“ I don’t know if we would have won it but I believe I
could have done more serious urging if I had my whip especially while I was
watching Kriv (Bobby Krivelin) gaining on us in the deep stretch. That may have
been the right moment to spank my mare…. but I had no whip.”
So Schwartz and Sheszaflamintower had to settle for second
money.
Third place went to Mary Lou driven by Peter Kleinhans. Bob
Hechkoff finished fourth with May Knight and last year’s Passover race winner
Alan Charles faded and finished fifth with Fulla Joy after they made a
big run and were just a neck off the pace-setter near the three quarters.
Other drivers who participated included Murray Bassen, Dave
Yarock and Derick Giwner.
Isn’t She Lovely is owned by Ben Versaci and Steve Moore and
trained by Moore. She paid $6.60 for win.
Next up in the Heritage Drivers Series-2013 will be the Lady
Godiva Pace for women drivers on Monday, May 13.
