No April Fool’s Joke, 30-1 longshot wins Preferred

It was no April Fool’s Joke at Freehold Raceway Saturday (April 1) afternoon as 30-1 Baron Michael (Western Terror) swept three-wide from eighth (last) place at the three-quarter mile mark to pull off the harness racing upset victory in the $12,000 Preferred Pace.

The 11^th race feature started off with Saranac Blue Chip (Eric Abbatiello) taking the early lead away from Galante A (Shaun Vallee) by the first quarter in :28.

Saranac Blue Chip continued to lead the field past the half mile marker in :57.3 as race favotire Pat Mcgarry A (Austin Siegelman) started up first-over from fifth place. Rau Ru (Troy Beyer) quickly grabbed the second-over cover.

Coming into the backstretch, Pat Mcgarry A was able to put his head in front of pacesetter Saranac Blue Chip by the three-quarters in 1:26.1. And in last place was Baron Michael and driver Jacob Cutting, who had momentum and was sweeping three-wide from eighth place on the final turn.

Saranac Blue Chip was able to regain the lead off the final turn and heading for home as both Galante A and Rau Ru were coming after them, but fastest of all on the outside was Baron Michael, who was able to nail Galante A at the wire to win by a head in 1:55.3. Saranac Blue Chip was third by a neck.

BARON MICHAEL REPLAY

It was the first win in ten starts this year for Baron Michael, who is trained by Dan Morrissey for owner Leona Morrissey and paid $63.60 to win.

Yogi Sheridan powered off a parked mile and John Calabrese caught a loose leader in the final strides to take their respective $9,000 divisions – both from post 8 – of the American Harness Drivers Club (AHDC) Trots at Freehold Raceway on Saturday.

In the first division, Sheridan floated his charge Its A Horse (Full Count) and raced wide as Midnight Cookie (driven by Anthony Verruso) inherited an easy lead to a :29 first quarter. Judge Ken (Matt Zuccarello) sat in the pocket while King Cast (Jacob Stillwell) jumped stride and retreated from his challenge for the lead, leaving Midnight Cookie alone.

Midnight Cookie clocked a :59.1 half and faced pressure to the backstretch from Its A Horse as he continued to grind along the rim, now with Vendor Bill (Maria De Bruijn) following his cover. Its A Horse took over the lead from a leg-weary Midnight Cookie to three-quarters in 1:29 and stubbornly held the top off the turn while Vendor Bill dug into the leader late.

Its A Horse hit the beam a neck better than Vendor Bill in 1:59.2 with Shoemaker Hanover (John Calabrese) rallying for third and My Big Kadillac (Mike Polansky) taking fourth.

Peter Pellegrino trains Its A Horse, a 10-year-old gelding for owner Barry Franklin. He paid $9.60 to win.

ITS A HORSE REPLAY

Finnick Odair (Tony Beltrami) appeared to have clenched victory in the second division, but Turbochargedpete (Uncle Peter) and driver John Calabrese collared the tired odds-on favorite in the final strides.

Sent the 4-5 choice, Finnick Odair secured an easy lead to a :29.2 first quarter with Brickyard King (Jacob Stillwell) sitting the pocket. Finnick Odair then began peeling away from the field to a :59.3 half, prompting Masster Blue (Anthony Verruso) to circle a stalled Brickyard King to the third turn.

Beltrami hit the accelerator to three-quarters and opened a five-length lead with Finnick Odair, clocking the third station in 1:29.1 and maintaining his advantage through the final turn. And as he appeared to be cleared for landing, Turbochargedpete came rolling three wide down the center of the track and barreling after the short-strided leader late.

With the momentum, Turbochargedpete put a head in front at the finish of a 2:00.3 mile with Masster Blue settling for third and Lionhead (Yogi Sheridan) taking fourth.

Scott Di Domenico trains Turbochargedpete, a six-year-old gelding, for owners Chris Page and Triple D Stables Inc. He paid $21 to win.

TURBOCHARGEDPETE REPLAY

AHDC action returns to Freehold Raceway on Friday afternoon (April 7) for divisions of the AHDC Pace. First-race post time at Freehold is 12:30 p.m. (EDT).

For complete race results, click here.

by Steve Wolf, for Harnesslink, and Ray Cotolo, for the AHDC