by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway

Monticello, NY — The finals of the Sherry Lutman Memorial Pacing Series went to post on Thursday afternoon, Jan. 28, at Monticello Raceway and when the results were declared official Against The Best won the $9,300 Horse and Gelding Final and Summer Vacation copped the $7,300 Fillies and Mares Final. Against The Best scored in a time of 1:58.4 while Summer Vacation was an eased-up winner in 2:00.

Against The Best won the horse & gelding division of the Sherry Lutman Memorial.

In their division driver Kyle DiBenedetto sent Against The Best to the lead from the two-hole and they had command on the first turn. From there DiBenedetto set sails with the 10-year-old Albert Albert gelding and they led the field the entire way but the race proceeded to get really crowded as the field approached the finish line with five horses rushing at the leader but none overtaking him before the photo-finish camera snapped.

And when it did Against The Best was determined to be a nose winner over a fast-closing Osmosis (Greg Merton) with Radical Reaction (Billy Dobson) another head behind in third place.

DiBenedetto, whose wife Robin owns the winner, was a happy man when he had his picture taken in the winner’s circle. It was there that he was asked why did he race Against The Best on the front-end when the pacer shows coming from behind on all the official program charted lines?

“He’s good on the engine but I usually never get a chance to get him to the front,” DiBenedetto said of the pacer that won 10 races last year and now has two wins in five starts this season. “He’s gritty and he digs in at the end of a mile and boy, we needed that last surge to get the job done, today.”

Geri Schwarz photos

Summer Vacation and Mike Forte were all alone in their victory in the filly & mare division.

It seems that the front-end was the place to be in the Lutman Memorial Series because Mike Forte, who drove the winner of the mare’s final, Summer Vacation, used that same strategy. But for Forte and his pacer the battle was a heck of a lot easier for them.

Forte sent Summer Vacation to the lead from post position four and once on top they made a laugher out of it. Summer Vacation paced easily through fractions of :29, :59.2 and 1:29.2 with a commanding lead on her competition the entire way. As they rounded the final turn Summer Vacation easily had an eight length lead and Forte just sat still and eased-up his mare in the final strides but they were still a 2-1/2 length winner over Julia’s Girl and driver Billy Dobson. Julie Julie took home the show dough for Jimmy Marohn.

“I was ready for a big battle but that never materialized,” Forte said after the race. “Hey I’m not complaining — thankfully we got away cheap today.”

It was the fifth consecutive victory for the daughter of Keystone Raider whose victory pushed her lifetime earnings over $100,000. She’s currently owned by Elisha Lafreniere.

Lafreniere’s GE’s Scott also won the $3,200 Lutman Memorial Horse and Gelding Consolation in 1:59.1 with Mike MacNeill at the controls and Michelle Logothety’s Jeffrey’s Girl copped the $3,200 Fillies and Mares Consolation in 2:02.2 for Billy Dobson.