Hambo-bound drivers receive mid-flight scare

 

“The whole hydraulic system shut down, which made the landing wheels come down,” said MacDonell shortly after finally arriving at the Meadowlands. “We couldn’t go on and land at Teterboro because they said the runway wasn’t long enough to accommodate how we needed to land, so the only choice was to go back to Toronto.”

 

All four drivers said they were shaken a bit by the incident, especially after seeing emergency vehicles waiting near the Toronto runway. Jamieson said as soon as the plane came to a stop upon landing they were ordered to immediately jump to the ground. Although affected by what transpired, the drivers all boarded another plane to complete their trip to New Jersey. “It wasn’t a good feeling,” Moiseyev said after arriving at the Meadowlands.

 

The incident caused Ouellette to miss his scheduled drive on Nimble Kronos in the Merrie Annabelle, the second race on the program. Three races later, trainer Mark Ford waited patiently in the Meadowlands’ front paddock as he readied She’s A Fan for the Mistletoe Shalee, who was to be driven by Jamieson. Ford was on the phone getting up-to-date reports on Jamieson’s status and with a couple of minutes to post the trainer said he expected the driver to arrive any minute.

 

Yannick Gingras had already climbed into the sulky to post parade She’s A Fan but Jamieson, driven on the track directly to the paddock, made it in time to replace Gingras. It wasn’t until after Jamieson drove the 30-1 longshot to a ninth-place finish that he was able to pick up his traveling bag and head to the drivers’ room.

 

Jamieson later also finished ninth with Federal Flex in the Hambletonian, with Ouellette finishing eighth with Triumphant Caviar. Moiseyev, who finished seventh with Amour Ami in the Nat Ray, then finished second in the Oaks with Raising Rachel, with MacDonell and Elusive Desire third.