In a race where there were no standouts, Offenberg and
his 3-1 shot Whatnblazes scored a gutsy neck victory over Benn’s
Starlet and Verruso in a very creditable time of 2:00.1. Third place went
to For Goodness Lindy and Paul Minore who were winners in the previous leg held
at Yonkers Raceway on April 4th.
“I started from the four-hole and Brad (Rathbone with Killer
Whale) left from the two-hole and I fell in behind them on the first
turn,” Offenberg related. “Then up the backside Tony (Verruso with Benn’s
Starlet who was sitting third), made a move to the front and took the lead.
“He stayed there by the half and up the backstretch the
second time around I came first-up(with Whatnblazes) and we charged alongside
Tony’s horse and we raced as a team from there to the finish and my
trotter finally wore down Tony’s horse and we got the victory.”
Whatnbalzes is owned by Offenberg’s Allister
Stables LLC and trained by Eric Abbatiello. He paid $8.20 for win.
It was the first series triumph for both Offenberg, an owner
of an office machinery sales company, and his 7 year old Duke of York gelding.
Now with his victory Offenberg finds himself second on the series leaderboard
with 22 points, some nine behind Tony Verruso who has won two legs
in the charity trotting series.
At series end--and there are still four more preliminary
legs--the top eight drivers in points will get a chance to compete in the
$14,000 series finale at Yonkers Raceway on May 23rd.
When the winner of that race is crowned NAADA will again
make a sizable donation to a deserving charity, as they have done in previous
years.
