When the starting judge released the fifth race field for
the NAADA Trot a collective groan was heard on the tracks apron
when the 1-2 betting favorite, Sensational Prayer, went off stride before
the start. But driver Alan Schwartz did a masterful job getting his trotter
back on gait but the stalled start cost the horse the race.
Meanwhile, Krivelin, whose trotter started alongside the
breaking horse, took advantage of his luck and gunned Mandingo to the lead.
Once on top Krivelin and his trotter coasted by the quarter in a soft 31.1
seconds. As that was happening Schwartz got Sensational Prayer settled in at
the back of the pack.
With only six starters --and one that broke stride
early--Krivelin was able to control the race which he did with professional
deftness.
Taking advantage of a parked horse Krivelin got
Mandinga by the half in 1:03 unchallenged and those with
mutual tickets on his horse were exhilarated, and rightly so.
“Everything was going my way,” Krivelin said of the race at
that point.”And when the timer read 1:03.1 I knew we were home free.”
From there Mandinga rebuffed all challenges and
broke clear to a three length lead as the field headed for home. At the wire
Mandinga was a length winner over Nowerland Nathan and driver, Dave Yarock.
Unfortunately for Schwartz, not only did his trotter go
off-stride early, but once he was back in the race road trouble prevailed at
almost every stanza.
Blocked after the half and then forced three-
deep on the final turn Sensational Prayer charged home but couldn’t overtake
the leaders and had to settle for third money two lengths behind the winner.
“I was still worried about Schwartz even though he was a
long way back early,” Krivelin said after the race. “He had the best horse but
no luck. They even claimed his horse today.”
Jubilant as he headed back to the paddock, Krivelin shouted,
“We stole one. We weren’t the best but we got it all.”
Mandinga is owned by Ken Weckstein and Gary Messenger and
trained by Messenger. The horse paid $7.90 for win.
The race was to be the third in the NAADA Trotting Series
but when Yonkers Raceway cancelled their card last Thursday due to inclement
weather the Mighty M’s race was now the second in the 10-leg series.
Next preliminary division is slated for March 23 at Freehold
Raceway. The drivers with the most points at the end of the series will
get a chance to race in the $14,000 series finale at Yonkers on May 30.
