by John Manzi for the American Harness Drivers Club
And the third place finish by Wygant Prince ,with
“Coach Paul” Minore at the controls, produced a near record $3813.80 trifecta.
When the gate sprung Minore sent his veteran
trotter to the lead as Faraldo ducked in the two-hole, a place where he stayed
until the stretch drive.
In the meantime Minore played hardball with
Marianna Monaco who had her Awol Hanover challenging for the lead from the
six-hole in the :29.2 first quarter. But with Minore's insistence Awol Hanover
never was able to drop down along the pylons as the trotters race one-two all
the way to the final turn.
With Wygant Prince showing the way and Tough Get
Going following Faraldo was content with the way the race was breaking for him.
“I moved Tough Get Going to the outside and when
we rounded the final we had the lead and I thought we were going to win it,”
Faraldo said.”I was eyeing Wygant Prince and I knew we had him beat. “
Faraldo was right but his trotter drifted in the
deep stretch which permitted Zuccarello and Latoka, who was fifth at the head
of the lane, with a clear path to the finish line now that they were down along
the pylons. With daylight the veteran 9-year-old Groton Hall gelding kicked it
in another gear and collared the leader and went on to a head victory over
Tough Get Going in 2:01.1.
For Zuccarello, who doubles as the publicist for
the GSY Amateur Series, it was his first seasonal driving victory and the 17th of
his career.
The winner is owned and trained by Donald Maiorano
