by John Manzi, for the CKG
Billings Series
Yonkers, NY--”Smokin' Joe”
Faraldo is a happy man. And why shouldn't he be? After all, the Queens, NY
attorney just won the $15,000 CKG Billings Eastern Region Mid-Season Final
tonight (July 28)at Yonkers Raceway when he guided Tough Get Going to a
gate-to-wire triumph in a 1:58.4 clocking.
“A win tonight and a catch
drive on Thursday at Monticello (Raceway) where I finished second, heck, things
are really looking up,” chuckled the Queens, NY attorney who has been a premier
supporter of amateur racing since its resurgence in the early 1980's.
Faraldo, a Billings member
from its inception and founder of the North American Amateur Drivers
Association, is getting to show that he really knows his way around the
racetrack. It's true, he was the National Amateur Driver of the Year in 2000
and a winner of 144 pari-mutuel races (2 this year in Europe, also), but the
move he put on Wygant Prince's and “Coach Paul” Minore tonight which kept them
locked-in until mid-stretch was almost professional and saved the victory for
Tough Get Going.
“We were on the engine all
the way and Paul had Wygant Prnce on my back from the start,” Faraldo said.
“When we rounded the final turn Annie (“Get Your Gun”Stoebe—with Uriel) was on
the outside and I kept backing into her trying to keep Paul's horse from seeing
daylight. But finally, in mid-stretch, Wygant Prince shook loose and came
charging but my horse hung tough and we won it by neck.”
Winwood Scout garnered the
show dough for David “Poppa” Glasser in the non-wagering contest
Faraldo co-owns the Tough
Get Going with the horse's trainer, Richie Banca.
Meanwhile, later in the
evening at Northfield Park in Ohio, a 9-horse field in the mid-west region of
the Billings Series went to post and when the judges hung the official sign the
odds-on favorite Utopia rallied late to overtake the pacesetter, Winback
Charles M (“Lawbook Larry” Farley) and go on to a 1-1/2 length victory in a
1:57 clocking.
In that contest Farley sent
Winback Chales M to the lead from the pole position and they rumbled by the
first quarter in 28 seconds flat and were still two lengths to the good as they
passed the halfway point in :57.2. At that point Oldford got Utopia in high
gear and with a three-deep move up the backside they were two lengths off
Winback Charles M as the field passed the third stanza in 1:27.2. As they
rounded the final turn Farley's trotter braced for Oldford's charge but Utopia
was too much to contend with and he went on to victory. Winback Charkes M held
on for second money while Michelle”the Belle” Ruvola finished third with Better
Call Saul.
Unlike the Yonkers Billings
the Northfield Park Billings was a wagering affair and Utopia paid $2.60 for
win. The 7-year-old Mutineer gelding is owned by Oldford Racing LLC and trained
by Terry Deters.
For Oldford it was his 5th
seasonal driving victory and 135th of his amateur career.
