She was sent off at odds of nearly even-money but the way
that Hawaiian Sweetie mauled her company in the eighth race at Monticello
Raceway on Monday afternoon (May 5) she should have been a 1-9 shot.
Bruce Aldrich, Jr. handled the driving chores for owner-trainer
Lindsey Blackler and sent the 6-year-old Broadway Hall trotting mare to the
lead in a :28.3 first stanza and they proceeded through fractions of :59.2;
1:29.1 before finishing some eight lengths ahead of runner-up Rose Run Nash and
driver Jimmy Marohn, Jr. in a season’s best 1:58.4 clocking.
Last week Rose Run Nash reversed the order of finish when
the 5 year old Trainforthefuture gelding led Hawaiian Sweetie to the wire for a
3/4-length victory in a time of 1:59.2.
Nevertheless, for Hawaiian Sweetie, whose back from Saratoga
Raceway—she raced here earlier in the season-- it marked her third victory in
last four Mighty M starts and fifth overall this year thus far.
“I drove her (Hawaiian Sweetie) for Lindsey in Saratoga and
won a couple of races there with her. She raced good at Saratoga but she’s even
better now since coming back here,” said Aldrich who won three other races on
the eight-race card.
“She went a real good mile today and although I kept taking
her back she ran away from the others and won real easy.”
Hawaiian Sweetie returned a $3.90 win mutuel.
Aldrich also won with Irwin Kaplan’s trotter Rose Run Leroy
($6.10) in 2:00 and scored in 1:59.3 behind McDonna ($3.10), an 8 year old
pacing mare co-owned by Linda Boyd and his dad, Bruce, Sr. Young Bruce’s other
victory on Monday came when he guided Cassie Russo’s pacing mare, Terror Rising
($11.80) to a 1:59 triumph.
Aldrich is coming off his best season ever in 2013 when he
tied for second in races won in North America finishing the year with 645
driving victories. And again this year Bruce is again in the thick of things
already with 171 wins which currently ranks him in eighth place on the North
American leaderboard.
