CHESTER PA – The Father Patrick four-year-old gelding Amigo Volo, the 2020 sophomore trotting male champion, won his first race since the Matron at Dover nearly eleven months ago when he took the $13,000 fast-class trot Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Macmorris Hanover left well from the outside post eight and got the lead in a :27.2 opener, then backed off the half to :57.2. Amigo Volo and driver Victor Kirby were three lengths back in third at the midpoint, then trotted the third split raw in :27.2 to be nose-to-nose with the leader at the 1:25.2 three-quarters. Macmorris Hanover held with commendable tenacity, but Kirby appeared to know his trotter had the measure of the leader, and went by late to win in 1:53.2, trotting his own back half in :55.2 without cover in taking a half-length victory.
Top purse event on the afternoon was a $14,400 trot, won by the CR Excalibur mare Big Sky Ex in 1:55.3 for her third win in her last four starts. George Napolitano Jr., the big winner on the day with five sulky successes, also used first-over tactics in winning, getting command with a :27.3 individual third quarter and then withstanding a late charge by Boom Boom Bay by a half-length. Dennis Watson trains the developing distaff for owner Domenico Costagliola.
There are a pair of $14,400 events featured on the Friday afternoon card at Harrah’s, with trotters facing off in race two and distaffs locking up in race six. Program pages for the 12:25 card are available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.