A short five-horse field assembled behind the mobile gate for the first race at Monticello Raceway on Thursday afternoon and when the starter said “go” Bob Hechkoff immediately sent Five Towns to the lead and they led Ladys Big Stormont and driver Alan Schwartz by the first quarter in a soft :29.4.
In hot pursuit of the leaders were Muzzys Muscles (Joe Faraldo); Cheeky Little Miss (Tony Verruso) and ER Shane ( Joe Lee) and once the horses passed the by the first quarter, strangely the order never changed as Five Towns and Hechkoff showed the way to the finish line to score a 2:00.3 triumph. Schwartz's trotter was second and Muzzys Muscles took home the show dough. Cheeky Little Miss finished fourth and earned fifth money.
“It's certainly an oddity when the horses finish in the exact order that they lined-up after the start,” acknowledged NAADA president Joe Faraldo. “Obviously the short field played a part.”
Sent off as the favourite in the race, Five Towns, a 10-year-old Andover Hall gelding, notched his eighth seasonal victory and paid a paltry $3.50 for win. He's owned by RBH Ventures and Spagnola Racing LLC and trained by Kyle Spagnola.
(NAADA)