by john manzi, for the Billings
Series
It’s
been a long time between pots for Gregg “Fast Greggy” Keidel but tonight (July
29) at the Summit Fair at Northfield Park he turned the tables on his
competition and drove impressively when he went down the road with Star Chip
and turned back seven others in a 1:58.2 trotted mile.
Although
the harness racing executive has had only three driving victories since 2009 he
was among the top drivers in the Billings Amateur Driving Series where he had
won over 100 races prior to devoting the majority of his time to the
racing departments at various racetracks in the Midwest.
However,
to be fair, Keidel hasn’t driven many times in recent years (only 32 since
2009) and only does when he can get away from the racing office.
Tonight
in greater Cleveland, he was a perfect fit behind the Kurt Sugg-trainee and
Keidel wasted no time sending his charge to the lead when the gate sprung. And
despite nearly half the field stuck on the limb in the early going Keidel got
Star Chip by the first panel in a relatively soft 30.1.
The
‘limbed’ horses didn’t keep the pressure on Star Chip and Keidel was able to
get away with another :30.2 quarter. However, from there it was Katey bar the
door as Keidel stepped on the gas and Star Chip trotted away with a :28.4 third
panel and then added another .29.1 quarter to coast home a three-length winner
over Upfront Chip Daddy and driver “Michelle the Belle” Ruvola which gave the
offspring of the veteran stallion Chip Chip Hooray first and second money in
the contest. Third place went to Strong Hope ,driven by “Lawbook Larry” Farley.
Owned
by Rebecca Sugg ,Star Chip won for the fifth time this year and paid $6.20 for
win. For "Fast Greggy" it was his 103rd driving victory.
