by Brian J. Mazurek, for Buffalo Raceway
HAMBURG, N.Y. --- Veteran pacer Dedalos, the oldest in the
the field, teamed up with a 20-year-old rising driving star, Drew Monti, to win
the $26,250 final of the Niatross Knockout Claiming Series at Buffalo Raceway
on Saturday night (March 7).
"Dedalos was on full tilt tonight," Monti said
after the race. "It was a big purse and I was driving to make sure he
won."
Dedalos, an 11-year-old gelding, let Goddess's Justin take
the lead briefly just before the quarter, but Monti wasn't happy with the
pocket and aggressively regained the top. The pair then settled in and set
times of 29.1, 58.4 and 1:28.2 and were ready for any assault that might be
coming their way down the stretch. Nothing developed.
Monti kept Dedalos ($8.20) on task in the lane and
confidently drove him to the win in 1:57.4 over the good track. He beat
Goddess's Justin (Jack Flanigen) by a length while It Was An Honor (Ronnie
Wrenn Jr.) finished third.
"At the three-quarter pole, I knew I had it won,"
Monti said. "I was worried about (post-time favorite) One Chaser because a
couple of weeks ago when I was driving Nora Lee, he went right on by me."
That threat never materialized as One Chaser finished fifth.
Owned by Louis Frascella and trained by Michelle Gramza,
Dedalos (Artiscape-My Tina) has now earned $17,649 this year and improved his
lifetime earnings to $360,262 lifetime.
Dedalos, Goddess's Justin, It Was An Honor and fourth place
finisher Delightful Caitlin (Ron Beback Jr.) will return this spring and will
battle the top four finishers in the Niatross Knockout Claiming Series
"B" in a $25,000 Invitational.
The $10,000 Niatross Knockout Claiming Series consolation
race went to Ms. Luck (Kevin Cummings) in 1:59.0. The front-running Ms. Luck
($6.00) made every step a winning one as she defeated Whitesand Noble (John
Cummings Jr.) by a neck with Dragon Ridge (Shawn Gray) finishing in third.
Ms. Luck, 9-year-old mare, is co-owned by trainer Bob Gruber
III and Eric Ruppert.
There were a pair of $8,800 paces as sub-features on the
13-race program.
It was no laughing matter in the opener as Jokerman (Jim
McNeight) made it two straight wins by going gate-to-wire in beating Lucky
Nodotremblay (Wrenn) by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:57.2. Kennairn Buckwheat (Monti)
finished in third.
Jokerman, who has been been in the money in all eight starts
in 2015, now has three victories on the year. The 6-year-old gelding was in the
barn of Richard, Randy and Robert Roth for just two weeks but was claimed out
of the race for the $20,000 tag by Tessa Roland. Jokerman's earnings are now
$19,689 on the season.
In the other $8,800 pace, Peter Pumpkineater (Cummings Jr.)
used a ground-saving trip around the Buffalo Raceway half-mile oval and nailed
Ugly Betty in deep stretch to register the win in 1:56.3. Terlingua (Monti)
rallied for the show dough.
Ugly Betty, the lone mare in the field of seven, posted
splits of 28.0, 56.3 and 1:26.2. It was a mad dash to the line with Peter
Pumpkineater ($7.60) sneaking through down the passing lane to hand Ugly Betty
a 1-3/4 length loss.
Peter Pumpkineater, a winner of $16,194 in 2015, is owned by
Mark Jakubik and Tessa Roland. It was the third win in seven starts this season
for the 7-year-old gelding who is trained by JD Perrin.
Racing will continue on Wednesday night at Buffalo Raceway
with a 12-race program set for 5 p.m.
For more information including the latest news, race
replays, results and upcoming promotions, go to www.buffaloraceway.com
