by John Manzi, for the Billings Amateur Driving Series
Monticello, NY-- To
say that amateur driver “Yankee Joe” Lee is on a roll would be gross
understatement.
After winning the Billings
Trot with Soul Train in 2:01.2 today (Thurs. Oct 25) at Monticello Raceway,
Lee, the assistant locker room manager for the New York Yankees, now has three
consecutive driving victories and has won four of his last five starts.
Sent off as the even-money
favorite in the six-horse field uncharacteristically Lee took his trotter of
the gate and settled in fifth along the pylons as Brandos Muscle Man and Monica
“the Norwegian Flash ” Banca led the field by the first stanza in :29.4.
“I took a chance taking Soul
Train back at the start because in the past he never wanted to pass horses when
we trailed but today he was definitely different,” Lee explained. “He really
surprised me when I pulled him going to the half and he easily trotted around
Brandos Muscle Man and took command as we headed into the clubhouse turn.”
By the time Lee reached the
three quarters Soul Train had five lengths on the field and at that point the
only thing in doubt was the margin of victory.
The lead over Brandos Muscle
Man was opened to eight lengths as Lee and Soul Train headed for paydirt. Down
the stretch Lee was looking for challengers but none came and they coasted home
an easy 8-1/2 length winner in 2:01.2.
However, in the deep stretch
“Lady Jennifer” Lappe rallied Celebrity Blue Chip from fifth at the top of the
lane to finish second, a length in front of Brandos Muscle Man.
Soul Train is co-owned by
Lee, Blindswitch Racing and the Good Friends Stable and trained by Jose
Godinez. The 7-year-old altered son of Trainforthefuture scored scored his
sixth seasonal victory and returned a $4.00 win mutuel..
For Lee, who was last years
National Amateur Driver of the Year, it was his 11th driving victory
this season and 48th of his career.
