Faraldo takes NAADA Winter Special

YONKERS, N.Y.— Joe Faraldo launched a late-stretch assault off cover with Turbochargedpete (Uncle Peter) to grab victory in the $13,000 North American Amateur Drivers Association (NAADA) Winter Special at Yonkers Raceway on Thursday night (Nov. 30).

Odds-on favorite Sheena Soldier (driven by James Slendorn) pushed for the lead through a :28.4 first quarter after relinquishing control to Call Me Thefireman (Andrew Adamczyk) as he launched a bid out of post 8. Sheena Soldier retook control from Call Me Thefireman, who then began a retreat through the second quarter while All Rise (Tony Beltrami), tipping out of fourth, pressed first over towards the lead.

All Rise cleared control after a :59.1 half, at which point Faraldo found himself on brief cover with Turbochargedpete as Fair Glider (Robert Ciavardini) angled outside before finding a spot to the cones into the next turn. Motoring up to three-quarters in 1:30, All Rise encountered a challenge from Sheena Soldier as he popped pocket to the final turn with Turbochargedpete looming.

All Rise remained resilient to the inside through the lane while Faraldo fanned Turbochargedpete onto open road and soon zipped by in the final strides to secure a neck win in 2:02.2. He repelled a late charge from Classy Guy (Yogi Sheridan), who settled for second, with Sheena Soldier taking third and Judge Ken (Jacob Stillwell) fourth.