The final preliminary event in the C.K.G. Billings Harness
Driving Series prior to the upcoming Gold and Silver Cup Finals this weekend
took place at Pompano Park on Saturday, November 16 and as he has done
many times over the years Dein “The Jupiter Gem” Spriggs emerged
victorious when he guided Herecomesthechief to a 1:58.4 victory.
Sent away as the weak 2-1 favorite in the 10-horse trot,
Spriggs wasted no time and took command as the wings of the mobile starting
gate folded. His trotter was on the lead at the quarter in a swift
:28 and from there Herecomesthechief rebuffed any and all challenges as the
altered son of Here Comes Herbie trotted off to a three- length triumph
over Claim Jumper and driver “Mighty Matt” Zuccarello. Paul “the
Pencil Dude” Suchow finished third with Pacific Cyclone
A two- time Billings Champion as well as a two- time
National Amateur Driver of the Year, Spriggs’ participation in the Grand
Circuit of Amateur Driving has been limited over the past few seasons.
Although his Billings starts have diminished his talent
hasn’t. Racing mostly at Pompano Park in the Florida Amateur Drivers Club over
the past several seasons Spriggs rarely moved north to compete in the Billings
Series.
However, when he was a mainstay on the Billings circuit, in
the middle part of the first decade of the 21st Century, he proved
to be a formidable foe and in 2005 and 2006 he copped USHWA’s National Amateur
Driver of the Year Award.
Now with the completion of the seven month preliminary
events she drivers are set for the Delvin Miller Memorial Gold and Silver Cup
Championships. They will battle on Sunday, November 24th at Harrah’s
Philadelphia.
