YONKER, NY– John Calabrese never relented and Mike Polansky rolled onto the road to score road race victories in their respective $13,100 divisions of the North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) winter series, which opened Thursday evening (Jan. 22) at Yonkers Raceway.
Calabrese held on against odds-on favorite Cal Miles N Shell (Trixton) to score a 1:59.2 victory in the first NAADA division. From the pylon post, Calabrese pushed to take the lead before handing control to the 50-1 shot Show The Will (driven by Yogi Sheridan) after a :29 first quarter.
Cal Miles N Shell steadily moved up from the pocket to a :59 half and later left his position to make a first-over attack on Show The Will, heading to three-quarters in 1:29.2.
Show The Will gave way to the turn and Cal Miles N Shell strolled to the finish to win by 2-1/2 lengths. Roger Rabbit (Scott Keppler) rallied from second to take second to Show The Will while I’m Out (Andrew Adamczyk) finished fourth.
CAL MILES N SHELL AND JOHN CALABRESE REPLAY
Darran Cassar trains Cal Miles N Shell, a 6-year-old gelding by Trixton, for owner Calabrese Farms LLC. He paid $3.90 to win.
Mike Polansky later went from pillar to post with 6-1 pick Certify in a 2:01.1 mile. Polansky came to the fore en route to a :29.4 first quarter, with Kilamanjaro NL (Joe Lee) securing the pocket. Polansky managed to steal a breather to a half of 1:01.2 and accelerated for the backstretch, with few challengers threatening. After clocking three-quarters in 1:30.4, Certify pulled away to take a four-length victory over Kilimanjaro NL, while Velociraptor (Bob Krivelin), the even-money favourite, gave chase to finish third and Mr Contestant (Yogi Sheridan) settled for fourth.
CERTIFY REPEAT
Michael Fiumenero owns and trains Certify, a 10-year-old gelding by Credit Winner. He paid $15.44 to win.
NAADA action resumes next Thursday (January 29) with the second preliminary round of the club’s winter series. The winter series will consist of six preliminary rounds culminating in a final at Yonkers Raceway on Thursday, March 5.
The post time for the first race at Yonkers Raceway is 6:45 PM (EST).
For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
Through Ray Cotolofor the Naada
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