Photo: Grace Zimmers
By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
CHESTER PA – In the blue corner (check the driver colors), there was Lyons Steel (Simon Allard), a noted lover of the Harrah’s Philadelphia oval and a winner of $868,996 going into the race. In the red corner was Christopher Dance N (Johnathan Ahle), a recent Stateside import who had won his last three races.
In the $13,000 fast-class featured pace at Philly, Lyons Steel got the inner post (two vs. three) and controlled the pace through dawdling fractions of :27.3, :56.4, and 1:25.1. In the stretch Christopher Dance N came from the pocket to challenge, and neither would give in a step.
The last quarter was in :26 flat. The mile was in 1:51.1. And Lyons Steel and Christopher Dance N were both winners – the photo finish could not separate them on the line. Lyons Steel, a Rock N Roll Heaven gelding, is trained by Jose Ramos for owner BD Racing LLC, while Christopher Guest N is conditioned by Jeff Cullipher for Pollack Racing LLC.
In the $11,000 co-feature for the fast-class pacing set, Seven Colors had a challenger at him most of the way in the mile, but still held on for victory in 1:49.3. The son of Stay Hungry, a winner of $1,079,436 including his Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship in 2023, went on past a :26.2 quarter as a parked challenger could find no hole, then finally got him in behind in a demanding :53.3 half. 19-1 Divine Right moved down the backstretch first-over and challenged the winner hard to and past the 1:22 three-quarters, but driver Jack Pelling kept his horse rolling for the tally over the first-up horse for trainer Andrew Harris, co-owner with William Pollock and Bruce Areman.
A $12,000 pace for developing male horses saw White Lotus make two speed moves during a :27 opener, then yield to favored Pack A Punch to sit in the two-hole during midsplits of :55.1 and 1:23.2. Simon Allard moved the Tall Dark Stranger three-year-old colt out for the stretch and outfought the pacesetter en route to reducing his lifetime best to 1:51.2 for conditioner Per Engblom and owner Morrison Racing Stables.
In an $11,000 handicap event for high-priced claiming horses, the Auckland Reactor N gelding Juddy Douglas A responded after a claim in his last start and moving into the barn of trainer Josue Garcia, winning in 1:51. “Juddy” was sent three-wide late in the backstretch by driver Jack Pelling and circled embattled leaders to the lead by the three-quarters after splits of :26.4, :56, and 1:23.4, maintaining a safe margin through the lane with a :27.1 kicker for owner Anthony Ventriglio.
And then there was the Sweet Lou gelding Easy Lou in a second-from-bottom conditioned class, where on the engine he went :26.4, :53.4, and 1:20.4 en route to lowering his mark by two seconds to 1:49.1. Simon Allard got maximum speed out of Easy Lou today for trainer Eddie Sager and owners Gary Weidelman and Howard Taylor. Allard had four driving victories to lead the Sunday sulky colony.
This week Harrah’s Philadelphia will be racing on Thursday and Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40, then will take a short break for track refurbishment, reopening on Friday, October 10. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
CHESTER PA – In the blue corner (check the driver colors), there was Lyons Steel (Simon Allard), a noted lover of the Harrah’s Philadelphia oval and a winner of $868,996 going into the race. In the red corner was Christopher Dance N (Johnathan Ahle), a recent Stateside import who had won his last three races.
In the $13,000 fast-class featured pace at Philly, Lyons Steel got the inner post (two vs. three) and controlled the pace through dawdling fractions of :27.3, :56.4, and 1:25.1. In the stretch Christopher Dance N came from the pocket to challenge, and neither would give in a step.
The last quarter was in :26 flat. The mile was in 1:51.1. And Lyons Steel and Christopher Dance N were both winners – the photo finish could not separate them on the line. Lyons Steel, a Rock N Roll Heaven gelding, is trained by Jose Ramos for owner BD Racing LLC, while Christopher Guest N is conditioned by Jeff Cullipher for Pollack Racing LLC.
In the $11,000 co-feature for the fast-class pacing set, Seven Colors had a challenger at him most of the way in the mile, but still held on for victory in 1:49.3. The son of Stay Hungry, a winner of $1,079,436 including his Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship in 2023, went on past a :26.2 quarter as a parked challenger could find no hole, then finally got him in behind in a demanding :53.3 half. 19-1 Divine Right moved down the backstretch first-over and challenged the winner hard to and past the 1:22 three-quarters, but driver Jack Pelling kept his horse rolling for the tally over the first-up horse for trainer Andrew Harris, co-owner with William Pollock and Bruce Areman.
A $12,000 pace for developing male horses saw White Lotus make two speed moves during a :27 opener, then yield to favored Pack A Punch to sit in the two-hole during midsplits of :55.1 and 1:23.2. Simon Allard moved the Tall Dark Stranger three-year-old colt out for the stretch and outfought the pacesetter en route to reducing his lifetime best to 1:51.2 for conditioner Per Engblom and owner Morrison Racing Stables.
In an $11,000 handicap event for high-priced claiming horses, the Auckland Reactor N gelding Juddy Douglas A responded after a claim in his last start and moving into the barn of trainer Josue Garcia, winning in 1:51. “Juddy” was sent three-wide late in the backstretch by driver Jack Pelling and circled embattled leaders to the lead by the three-quarters after splits of :26.4, :56, and 1:23.4, maintaining a safe margin through the lane with a :27.1 kicker for owner Anthony Ventriglio.
And then there was the Sweet Lou gelding Easy Lou in a second-from-bottom conditioned class, where on the engine he went :26.4, :53.4, and 1:20.4 en route to lowering his mark by two seconds to 1:49.1. Simon Allard got maximum speed out of Easy Lou today for trainer Eddie Sager and owners Gary Weidelman and Howard Taylor. Allard had four driving victories to lead the Sunday sulky colony.
This week Harrah’s Philadelphia will be racing on Thursday and Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40, then will take a short break for track refurbishment, reopening on Friday, October 10. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
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