by John Manzi for NAADA
Yonkers, NY---After
finishing third in a Billings trot this afternoon at Monticello Raceway Monica
Banca then traveled 90 miles to compete in a NAADA trot at Yonkers Raceway
which proved fruitful for the talented trans- planted Norwegian when she guided
Master of Excuses to a gate-to-wire 1:59.3 triumph over the Hilltop oval.
In a field reduced to just
five, Banca who started from the coveted pole position, sent her charge to the
lead and had command in the :28.4 first quarter. Once clearly on top Banca
tapped the brakes and eased her trotter past the halfway point in :59.3.
Bob Davis, who also competed
in the Billings at Monticello earlier in the day, was the first to challenge
Banca and her charge when he moved Gianni off the pylons before the three
quarters but Master Of Excuses wasn't having any part of it as the venerable
trotter put together a :29.2 third quarter and opened up a three -length lead
when the field rounded the final turn.
As they headed for paydirt,
Uriel and Annie Stoebe who were second with a covered trip, began to fade as
the trailers moved forward. When the field straightened in the lane however,
Master of Excuses was still three -lengths in front lead as Gianni and Davis
were applying the pressure but they ran out of racetrack and had to settle for
second money when Master Of Excuses tripped the final timer in 1:59.3 Third
place went to Baltimor AS, driven by Bobby Ciavardini.
Banca co-owns the winner
with Rick Dane. Although it was only Banca's third winner this year, her eight
seconds and four thirds in 23 starts boosted her seasonal UDR to .387. And it
was the 25th winning drive for Ms Banca since she joined the amateur
movement in 2013..
