Northfield, OH – Stoney Ridgetop, enjoying a picture perfect journey from owner-trainer John Konesky III, took top honors in the Great Lakes Amateur Driving Association (GLADA) feature on Sunday night (Sept. 13) at Northfield Park.
The 7-year-old Wishing Stone gelding, lightly raced this semester, earned his second win in only five starts with a handy 1-1/2-length victory in 1:58 over the pace-setting Mister Sweet, handled by Terry DiCicco, who was two-lengths clear of Manhattanup No Ice, with Edward Miller in the bike.
The favored Kandy Sweet was another half-length back in fourth, just a neck better than B Medithree and Joseph Kramp, who picked up the nickel.
Konesky, leaving from post 2, was alert off the wings as Mister Sweet also left with alacrity and assumed control, opening up a 1-3/4-length lead at the quick :27.2 initial quarter with Kandy Sweet settling into third and Trump The Warrior next.
Positions remained unchanged through subsequent times of :57.4 and 1:27, with Stoney Ridgetop beginning to gnaw away at the leader at the top of the lane.
Choosing an outside route, Stoney Ridgetop easily blew by Mister Sweet for the win as the fast-closing Manhattanup No Ice, dead last turning for home, rallied for third.
In a post-race interview, Konesky said, “We bought this horse as a yearling for $17,000 and he’s always been a real consistent performer over the years and, tonight, the conditions were perfect for a good performance from him … and he delivered.”
The win was the 38th in 80 career starts, vaulting his lifetime earnings over the $200,000 plateau, now at $200,799 for Konesky, who co-owns with Patrick Konesky.
John Konesky III, by the way, at 78 years of age, is enjoying his 50th season in harness racing and has 1,732 driving wins in 7,013 starts and has five seasons with a .500 (or plus) batting average — one over .600 — 11 more over .400 and only three seasons previously under .300.
Stoney Ridgetop returned $4.80 as the second choice in the wagering.
The GLADA club has long been a staunch advocate of bringing harness racing to the public through the club’s donations to local and national charitable causes, including programs for retired Standardbreds in new therapeutic careers for “children of all ages.”