Northfield, OH – Mister Sweet, getting picture-perfect rating from driver Terry DiCicco, had no problem wiring his eight opponents in the Great Lakes Amateur Driving Association (GLADA) feature at Northfield Park on Sunday night (Sept. 6).
The 5-year-old gelded son of Mister Anson zipped off the wings to assume command during a :28.4 opener and was able to lollygag through a :31 second quarter unchallenged with daylight over the field and then sprinted a final half in :57.4 to score in 1:57.3.
The margin was 2-1/4 lengths over a pocket-sitting Whiskey Finish, driven by Madison Angus, with Trump The Warrior and Eli Swartzentruber teaming up for third.
Fox Valley Nautica finished a much improved fourth for Larry Ferrari while the 1-2 favorite, Rumbleinthevalley, picked up the nickel for driver Ryan Deaton, the third week in a row that Deaton has drawn the second-tier post 9, but unable to improve his position early, hindered by traffic flow.
For DiCicco, it was his first driving success of the year — he only drives sparingly each season — as he enjoys his best season as a trainer in terms of wins and purse money.
Mister Sweet is trained by Heather France as she, herself, is basking in her best season — this being her 100th training success of the year — having vaulted over the $1 million mark in training successes for the first time in her career, at $1.19 million, while enjoying a “batting average” of .333.
The winner was second choice in the betting and returned $12.20 to his faithful.
France owns Mister Sweet with Sara Potts, as they witnessed his second success of the year with his yearly bankroll now at $27,176 and $156,920 lifetime.
GLADA is one of several amateur driving clubs in the U.S. known for their charitable exploits in many areas, including local charities and national outreach programs, including training retired Standardbred horses for therapeutic use.