by
john manzi for NAADA
Despite
frigid temperatures and punishing winds the fifth leg of the North American
Amateur Drivers Association winter trotting series went to post on Saturday
afternoon, February 13 at Freehold Raceway and there were no surprises when the
betting favorite Justa Rebel scored a decisive victory for Dr. John Kokinos.
After
Justa Rebel’s strong second place finish in his last start at Yonkers Raceway
the local crowd punched his ticket substantially and the veteran trotter was
sent off at odds of 11-10.
With
the cold winds swirling Justa Rebel got away slowly from post position six and
was some six lengths behind the pace-setter Keystone Boca when the Joe
Lee-driven trotter tripped the first stanza timer in :29.1.
As
the field rounded the second turn and headed to the halfway point a
parked-out Wygant Prince (Paul Minore) settled in along the pylons and
when he did Kokinos was out and going with Justa Rebel.
When
the field passed the half Justa Rebel was second on the outside but the classy
trotter then took command and from there on Kokinos played catch me if you can.
Not surprisingly, no one could seriously challenge the new leader and Justa
Rebel kept Wygant Prince at bay in the deep stretch to score a 1-1/4 length
triumph in a time of 2:02.1. Current Crisis came from far back to garner the
show dough for Bobby Krivelin.
It
was the 27th lifetime victory for the altered son of Valley Victory who paid
$4.20 for win. For Dr. John, a veterinarian from Campbell Hall, NY, it was his
19th career driving victory.
As
the sun went down the weather got more colder and was so frigid that races
scheduled that evening at Yonkers Raceway and the Meadowlands were canceled due
to the excessive cold.
The
NAADA Trotting Series will continue at Monticello Raceway on Thursday Feb. 18.
