by John Manzi, publicity director, Monticello Raceway
Monticello, NY — Impish Princess A and driver Herr (Bruce) Aldrich, Jr. took no prisoners when they used the front end route to score a two length victory in Monticello Raceway’s Pope Benedict Pace on Monday afternoon, May 23.
The event, which was the fifth leg of the tracks Heritage Drivers Series, was relegated to drivers of German descent and named in honor of the newly elected Pope who was the former Cardinal of Munich.
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Monticello Raceway Photo
Herr (Bruce) Aldrich, Jr. displays his trophy after he drove Impish Princess A to a 2:00 victory in Monticello Raceway’s Pope Benedict Pace.
Sent off as the betting favorite, Herr Aldrich gunned Impish Princess A right to the lead from post position three and had command before the first turn. From there she showed the way by the quarter in :29 and was strong when she paced by the half-mile pole in :59.1. Impish Princess A was still on cruise control when she passed the six furlong marker in a time of 1:29.3.
MT Pockets, second choice in the wagering driven by Herr (Greg) Merton, was doing her best to shadow Impish Princess A’s every move but Herr Aldrich’s mare was too strong. With Impish Princess A and MT Pockets still racing “one-two” around the final turn it appeared Herr Aldrich’s mare would prevail. And she did— by two lengths over Herr Merton’s pacer in a final time of 2:00. Third in the mile, six lengths behind the winner, was Gene Egg Torpedo, driven by Herr (Claude) Huckabone III.
“I guess the betting public had the race handicapped correctly even though Impish Princess (A) hasn’t won a race all year long,” Herr Aldrich said after his victory. “She had been racing tougher company but she’s honest and paced in 2:00 today, right where she has been going for the past four weeks.”
Impish Princess A, owned by Woody Hobitzell of Destin, Florida, was the odds-on favorite in the race and returned a paltry $3.60 win mutuel.
With his driving victory, Herr Aldrich has secured a berth in the Series Finale along with the winners off the previous Heritage Series preliminary legs. That event will be presented in late September.
Coming in June is the Godfather Pace, an event for drivers of Italian heritage.