For the 10th time this season Shortest Distance
has been victorious. On Monday afternoon (May 12) at Monticello Raceway
the 9 year old Park Place pacing mare returned to the track where she
started the season and turned back five others to score a two- length
triumph in a time of 1:56.3 with Bruce Aldrich, Jr. at the controls.
With her latest victory Shortest Distance moved into second
place on the North American leaderboard in races won this season and now trails
another Mighty M pacer Diamond Tiara whose tops with 11 wins.
With her penchant to race on the front-end Aldrich obliged
and sent Shortest Distance to the lead but she didn’t take command until she
neared the quarter pole in a swift :28.2. As the field was heading to the half
Aldrich was attempting to give his mare a breather but it was short-lived when
Jason Ryan moved La Reata out to challenge as the field came off the paddock
turn.
After a :59 half both Aldrich and Ryan each urged their
mares and they raced as a team pacing the next stanza in:28.2 to trip the
three-quarter timer in 1:27.2. Even though the two gritty pacers were
side-by-side around the final turn when they straightened for home Shortest
Distance opened up daylight and went on to a two-length triumph when she held
off a rallying Rusty’s Flying (an 8-time seasonal winner) to notch yet another
Mighty M victory, her sixth here this year and 10th overall. La
Reata faded and finished third. (Her other four wins were at Saratoga Raceway)
Shortest Distance started the season here at the Mighty M in
early January. On January 20 she notched her first triumph and then she
reeled- off four more consecutive victories before moving on the Saratoga
Raceway in early March.
“She’s not very big but she’s a classy old mare ( a
lifetime winner of $360,000) who likes to be on the lead and she gives her best
when she’s on the front-end,” noted Aldrich who had also driven her at Saratoga
Raceway.
Asked why Shortest Distance returned to the Mighty M he
said, “Since she’s owned in Montgomery and stabled at a farm there, it’s a
shorter ship here to Monticello than it is to Saratoga.”
The veteran mare is owned by Maria Godinez and now trained
by Al Annunziata. She paid $2.70 for win
