Freehold, NJ—John Calabrese sat back in fourth position until after the half and then moved Dark Pool off the pylons and rallied the veteran harness racing trotter to a 1:59.3 triumph in the $9,000 American Harness Drivers Club trot in the third race Saturday at Freehold Raceway.
Sent off as second choice in the eight-horse field, Dark Pool paid $6.60 for the win.
When the starterĀ turned the field loose Tony Beltrami sent Latoka to the front and they had two lengths on My Big Kadillac (Mike Polansky) when they passedĀ the firstĀ stanza in :29.
The two then raced one-two past the half in :59.1 and by the three quarters in 1:29. But as they were approaching that marker Calabrese had Dark Pool in high gear and they rushed up to join the leaders.
When they headed for paydirt Dark Pool was the strong horse and he overtook his competitors and rallied to a solid one length triumph. My Big Kadillac finished second while Latoka faded and finished third.
DARK POOL REPLAY
It was the fifth seasonal driving victory -and fifth second place finish- in just 17 seasonal starts for Calabrese.
Dark Pool, a 9-year-old Cantab Hall gelding, is owned by Barry Franklin and trained by Paul Fusco. He paid $6.60 for the win.
For full race results, click here.
by John Manzi, for the American Harness Drivers Club