After starting from the pole position Hechkoff took
command as the gate sprung and he kept “Peter “the Past President”
Gerry and Drill Sergeant Sam on the limb past the quarter in :27.4.
Finally before the half mile timer flashed :57.4, Gerry’s trotter cleared
but Hechkoff wasted little time before he retook.
On the front-end as the field passed the third stanza
1:28, Hechkoff braced for a strong challenge by Krivelin’s Current Crisis.
“We had a rough journey the entire way and at the top of the
stretch I thought Krivelin’s trotter would go by us but my old guy dug in
and we ended up winning it ” Hechkoff said via telephone after the race was
completed.”Last week he tied up a bit but he was good today and he went a big
mile. “
Third place went to Sam’s Honeybee with current Billings
President Tony “the Capo” Verruso at the lines
Tremendous Hit, a 12 year old Giant Hit gelding
with a lifetime bankroll of over $447,000, won for just the second time this
year in 20 trips to post.
Owned by Hechkoff’s R.B.H. Ventures Inc. of New
York City and trained by Brandon Simpson Tremendous Hit paid $5.80 for
win.
Hechkoff, who is poised to accept the 2012 Billings Amateur
Driver of the Year Award at the Hall of Fame Banquet in Goshen on July 7th
, notched his second winning drive of the season and 41st of
his amateur driving career.
