Matt Zuccarello—yes, Zuccarello-- reined the winner of
Monticello Raceway’s 16th annual Passover Pace on Tuesday afternoon,
April 22. He hustled his charge Winsmith Molly up to collar the
pacesetter-- Sam’s Fortune and driver Alan Charles— in the final strides and
walked away with the box of matzohs.
Zuccarello’s mother, the former (Arlene Rosenberg) is
Jewish, and because of that Matt was eligible to compete in the race for
drivers of Jewish heritage. And for Zuccarello, who’s refers to himself
as “Pizza- Bagel”, this was his first drive in the event and he made it
memorable.
An amateur driver with a provisional license, Zuccarella has
recently been bitten by the harness driving bug. Now in his third year of
competitive driving Zuccarello has been competing in the various amateur club
races on the East coast as well as in the Billings Series.
“I’ve won a couple of races before but winning the Passover
Pace today was more than I could have asked for,” said Zuccarello, who by trade
is a salesman for heart rate monitoring equipment. “I thought there were a
couple of horses in there (the race) that would be hard to beat but my mare
raced her best race of the season thus far.”
Perhaps Zuccarello was referring to Sams Fortune and
Christoffer Bliss who was driven by Austin Siegelman. Both were the 6-5
co-favorites in the race.
When the man said go, Alan Charles sent Sams Fortune to the
lead from the pylon position but he relinquished command to Pascal’s Wager and
Dave Yarock just before the quarter pole but he wasted no time and re-took the
lead as the field headed into the turn.
However, when Charles made his quarter pole move Murray
Bassen, with Welcome Lover, and Bobby Krivelin with Road Work Ahead, followed
suite.
“I was seventh at the quarter and with all the action
upfront I moved third- up and as the horses in front of me either cleared or
found a spot (along the pylons) I just kept my mare going forward,” Zuccarello
related.
Winsmith Molly passed everyone in front of her and then
ranged up alongside Sams Fortune at the three quarters. Then, from there to
paydirt, a blanket would have covered both pacers right to the finish line.
At the wire Winsmith Molly was a head in front of Sams
Fortune while Tidewater Moses and driver Alan Schwartz rallied from far back to
finish third and pay $36.00 for show.
Krivelin’s Road Work Ahead finished fourth and fifth place
went to 50-1 shot, Five Card Stud driven by Peter Kleinhans. Christoffer Bliss
and Siegelman got locked- in from the quarter pole on and they were never a
factor and finished sixth. Pascal’s Wager was seventh and Welcome Lover brought
up the rears.
Winsmith Molly is trained by Gary Messenger for owners
Brenda Messenger, Dr. Scott Woogen and Phil Shapiro. It was the mare’s
first win in nine seasonal outings and she returned $15.60, $3.30 and $3.00
across the board.
