by John Manzi, for the Billings Series
Saratoga, NY — The ever-traveling CKG Billings Amateur Driving Series, now in its second half of the 2017 season, made a stop at Saratoga Hotel and Casino on Saturday evening (Aug. 19) and ‘homeboy’ “Tough Tony” Ciuffetelli made short work of the contest when he rallied EJ’s Last Dance to a come-from-behind victory over five others in a 1:59 clocking.
Ciuffetelli, a former corrections officer, got away slowly from the four-hole and sat back off a torrid early pace with the 5-year-old Conway Hall trotting mare They were sixth and last at the first stanza some eight lengths off the leader, Shez All Muscles in rein to “Buffalo Bob” Davis , as the timer flashed :28.
Davis’s trotter was still in command at the halfway point in :57.2 as EJ’s Last Dance moved up a position, but still seven lengths in the rears. When the field straightened up the backside the second time around “Tough Tony” asked his mare for more and she responded when he moved her three-deep to range alongside the leaders. But from there it was ‘Katie bar the door’ as EJ’s Last Dance rallied to a 1-1/2 victory.
With a strong finish in the stretch Windsun Fireball and “Yankee Joe” Lee got up for the place money. And although Billings president, Tony the Capo” Verruso, and Sam’s Honeybee had the shortest trip the veteran mare didn’t fire in the lane and they had to settle for third place.
“I figured that there would be early speed so I wanted to sit back a bit. But there were gaps between the (racing) horses that I didn’t figure on so I moved earlier than I had planned,” Ciufettelli said via telephone after the race. “And once I got my mare in high gear she caught the leaders and she was the strong horse down the stretch to win it easily.”
Sent off as the odds-on favorite the winner paid $3.00 for win.
EJ’s Last Dance is owned and trained by Brett Derue. It was her third seasonal victory. And for Ciufettelli, it marked his sixth seasonal driving victory and the 47th of his amateur career