by John Manzi
for the Billings Series
The
ever-traveling CKG Billings Amateur Driving Series, now in its second half of
the 2017 season, made a stop at Saratoga Harness on Saturday evening, August 19
and ‘homeboy’ “Tough Tony” Ciuffetelli made short work of the contest when he
rallied EJ’s Last Dance to a come-from-behind victory over five others in a
1:59 clocking.
Ciuffetelli,
a former corrections officer, got away slowly from the four-hole and
sat back off a torrid early pace with the 5-year-old Conway Hall
trotting mare They were sixth and last at the first stanza some eight lengths
off the leader, Shez All Muscles in rein to “Buffalo Bob” Davis , as the
timer flashed :28.
Davis’s
trotter was still in command at the halfway point in :57.2 as EJ’s Last
Dance moved up a position, but still seven lengths in the rears. When the field
straightened up the backside the second time around “Tough Tony” asked his mare
for more and she responded when he moved her three-deep to range alongside the
leaders. But from there it was ‘Katie bar the door’ as EJ’s Last Dance
rallied to a 1-1/2 victory. With a strong finish in the stretch Windsun
Fireball and “Yankee Joe” Lee got up for the place money. And although Billings
president, Tony the Capo” Verruso, and Sam’s Honeybee had the shortest trip the
veteran mare didn’t fire in the lane and they had to settle for third place.
“I
figured that there would be early speed so I wanted to sit back a bit.
But there were gaps between the (racing) horses that I didn’t figure on so I
moved earlier than I had planned,” Ciufettelli said via telephone after the
race. “And once I got my mare in high gear she caught the leaders and she was
the strong horse down the stretch to win it easily.”
Sent
off as the odds-on favorite the winner paid $3.00 for win.
EJ’s
Last Dance is owned and trained by Brett Derue. It was her third seasonal
victory. And for Ciufettelli, it marked his sixth seasonal driving victory and
the 47th of his amateur career.
