Northfield, OH-– In what turned out to be a hotly contested event Emanuel Miller went down the road and rebuffed all challengers while hustling Riverdancing Diva to a 1:57.4 victory in a harness racing leg of the Great Lakes Amateur Drivers Association trot at Northfield Park on Saturday night, March 20th.
In a race where half of the field went for the lead when the wings of the mobile gate folded Emanuel Miller gained command with the 7-year-old daughter of Jailhouse Jesse from the five-hole and wouldn’t relinquish command despite challengers whom were both two and three wide as they headed to the first quarter which was clocked in :28.4.
The betting favorite, Back Door Man, driven by Floyd Rhodes, was persistent in his quest to gain the lead and just kept going forward from post seven. Despite being parked three-deep Rhodes was relentless as he sought the front-end as Back Door Man circled his second-over cover, Ubangi (Eddie Miller), and took aim at the pacesetter as the half-mile timer flashed :58.3.
When the field passed the third stanza in 127.3 Riverdancing Diva still showed the way and when the field headed for home Emanuel Miller’s charge, despite being tired, reached down for more and kept a stubborn Back Door Man at bay to score a 1:57.4 triumph. Mark Rocovich, who had a pocket trip along the pylons with Fort Commander, gained the show dough.
RIVERDANCING DIVA REPLAY
Riverdancing Diva, is owned by Double Ee Meadows and trained by Mervin Schmucker. He paid $18.40 for win.
For full race results, click here.
by John Manzi, for GLADA