By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The Cantab Hall colt Blackhawk Zette completed a clean sweep of the Bobby Weiss Trotting Series for trotting males on Monday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, capturing the $50,000 Championship while equaling his lifetime best of 1:54.2.
 
Four Sixes left strongly from post seven, just outside Blackhawk Zette, and quickly claimed the top; driver Matt Kakaley kept “Zette” gaining ground until wresting command past a :28 opener. The winner kept the lead through middle splits of :57.1 and 1:26.1, holding off the first-over bid of co-prelim sweeper Victor Laszlo, then was in hand holding off the pocketsitter by 1¼ lengths, with Victor Laszlo that same distance behind the second place finisher. Blackhawk Zette is now undefeated in five 2024 trips behind the gate for trainer Robert Baggitt Jr. and owner J L Sadowsky LLC.
 
In this Weiss group’s $20,000 Consolation, the Greenshoe colt Lammtarra moved out from the pocket behind the very fast pace (:27.1, :55.1, 1:24) set by All Too Well and passed that rival by 2½ lengths to break his maiden in 1:54.1. The $500,000 yearling, whose dam Dream Child has also produced You Ato Dream and Ari Ferrari J, was driven by Mattias Melander for trainer/brother Marcus and the ownership of Courant Inc.
 
A race later, another Greenshoe colt trained by Marcus Melander, Vic Zelenskyy, out of champion Mission Brief and purchased for $550,000 as a yearling, came uncovered after a slow half, charging home in :56.3 to get his maiden victory in 1:57.2 in only his second lifetime outing. Dexter Dunn was behind the strong-closing colt for S R F Stable and Holly Lane Stud East LTD.
 
Dunn/McMelander/Greenshoe came back again with the royally-bred colt Skydiver, the $350,000 yearling out of star filly Ariana G, who came out of the pocket to catch pacesetter (and slight favorite) Supernova Hanover, gaining into the :28 back split to take a maiden mark of 1:55.3 for Brixton Medical Inc., Marvin Katz, and Hatfield Stables.
 
None of these four colts paid more than 6 to 5, but other than these races it was very hard to predict who was getting home first. Three horses paid $50.00 or more to win, this first time that has happened at Pocono since August 17, 2019.
 
Marcus Melander led all horsemen with three wins, all as trainer; six drivers posted doubles: Braxten Boyd, Tyler Buter, Dexter Dunn, Matt Kakaley, Marcus Miller, and Anthony Napolitano.
 
The Weiss Series Championships conclude on Tuesday with a $50,000 Championship for three-year-old trotting fillies; Tactical Lori swept her preliminary races but will have no easy time of it, as four of her opponents were double winners in the Weiss prelims. After Tuesday’s 1 p.m. card, Pocono will dark for live racing on Kentucky Derby Saturday, but then the next day starts up its 2024 Sunday series of 6 p.m. cards. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The Big Jim gelding Santana Hanover took the inner path for most of Sunday’s $14,500 featured pace for developing horses at Harrah’s Philadelphia, then moved outside in the lane and went on to take a new lifetime mark of 1:50.
 
Driver Jack Pelling got the four-year-old forwardly-placed early as Storm The Court stormed by everybody early, with favored Stay Grounded bypassing a chance for the pocket nearing the quarter and going on to take the lead past that :27 station, proceeding to the half in :55.3. Storm The Court pulled from the two-hole to take on the leader down the backstretch but could not threaten past a 1:22.1 three-quarters, with Pelling sliding Santana Hanover up to the pocket around the final turn. The career winner of $233,630 then went by the leader in the lane to record a three-quarter length winning margin for trainer Jennifer Bongiorno and the partnership of JB Racing and J R and Collin Ryan.
 
In the $13,000 handicap pace for fast-class veterans, driver Andrew McCarthy decided not to take an early tuck with race favorite Camara Moment, going on to the lead past the :26.3 opener and then getting a breather to the half in :56. The Control The Moment gelding controlled the throttle the rest of the way, past a 1:23 three-quarters and then to the final clocking of 1:50.3, holding off late-closing Sport Secret by a length. The Michael Fiumenero trainee, winner of two of three locally and now over $200,000 in career earnings, is owned by James Borke, Mickey Suder, Brenton Harris, and Dewitt Stables.
 
Todd McCarthy, Andrew McCarthy, and Tim Tetrick won the last three races on the card, completing a driving triple for each of the trio; the first- and last-named are tied at the top of the Philly standings with nineteen victories in eight cards. Jeff Cullipher had the only training double of the day, and now leads the conditioners in wins at both Philly and Pocono.
 
This coming week there will be a variation in the basic schedule due to a Thoroughbred event to be held in Kentucky, as Philly will not race on Thursday, then go on Friday at 12:25, Saturday (Derby Day) at noon, and then Sunday at 12:40. Free program pages for all Philly races are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The stretch drive of the $50,000 Bobby Weiss Series Championship for three-year-old pacing fillies on Saturday at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania came down to two battlers unbeaten in the prelims, with Whassup Hanover edging Beautiful Roz by a nose in 1:53. In the companion event for males, 14-1 shot Reggie The Fourth kicked home 2½ lengths to the good in 1:50.4, joining the distaff champ in taking a new lifetime mark.
 
The Captaintreacherous filly Whassup Hanover, who won in the first two prelims and then took off last week, was second choice to Beautiful Roz, a prelim sweeper over the three legs. “Whassup” and driver Jason Bartlett (North American leader among moneywinning drivers) sat third as “Roz” put up early fractions of :27, :56.4, and 1:25.1, racing up uncovered from before the third station the rest of the way. The fight to the finish through the :27.4 last quarter was a classic, with Whassup Hanover proving a shade more photogenic for trainer Eric Ell, also co-owner with Lisa Ell.
 
The $20,000 Weiss Consolation for the fillies went to the Betting Line filly Showboat Hanover, the Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes champion of 2023 and continuing her form in 2024 while lowering her record to 1:51.4 for trainer/driver Todd Schadel, also co-owner with Christine Schadel and Caitlin Solt.
 
 Pocono’s top driver Matt Kakaley sent the Huntsville gelding Reggie The Fourth away like a shot to grab the racetrack early in the Championship for males, then yielded to favored Captain Caveman and sat in the garden spot during splits of :26.2, :55.2, and 1:22.3. Reggie The Fourth darted out of the hole when clearance materialized late on the far turn, and through the lane the issue was never in doubt for the Travis Alexander trainee, who is owned by Fiddler’s Creek Stables LLC.
 
The Captaintreacherous colt Port Royal Hanover picked an opportune time to break his maiden, being directed to the top in front of the stands by driver Marcus Miller and then keeping two-holer Dream Bird a half length away at the 1:51.2 finish for trainer Erv Miller and owner Douglas Overhiser.
 
It was a coolish (57 degrees), windy day at the mountain oval, yet the local season’s standard of 1:51 was beaten three times. Besides Reggie The Fourth, the 1:50.4 clocking was reached in the last race by Aflame Hanover, who recently matched the 1:52.1 all-age standard at Woodstock. But the fastest mile of the year was recorded at the other end of Saturday’s card, with the first race taken in 1:50.2 by Tam Major A, winning for the fourth straight week and going to a different barn afterwards for the fourth straight race after being claimed again for $30,000.
 
Jason Bartlett, Braxten Boyd, and George Napolitano Jr. each had three driving successes on the card; two of Bartlett’s were for trainer Per Engblom, the only conditioner to have a double.
 
Monday’s 1 p.m. card will feature the $50,000 Weiss Championship for sophomore trotting colts, with prelim sweepers Blackhawk Zette and Victor Laszlo the two early favorites on the morning line. That program will also have carryover money in the Pick-4 (race one), Pick-3 (race four), and Pick-5 (race five), as five favorites even money or less were defeated on Saturday.
 
Tuesday’s 1 p.m. card will be headlined by a wide-open $50,000 Weiss Championship for three-year-old trotting fillies.  The following week will see an alteration in the schedule: there will be no live racing on Kentucky Derby Saturday, but then Sunday racing returns the next night with a 6 p.m. post throughout the late spring and summer. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The highest-quality distaff pacers at Harrah’s Philadelphia took their turns in the spotlight during Friday afternoon’s card.
 
The Sweet Lou mare Absolute Power won for the second consecutive time since coming in from The Meadowlands, taking a $13,500 contest for developing distaffs in 1:52.4, just a tick behind her lifetime best. Todd McCarthy sent the filly to the lead approaching a :27.1 quarter, posted midrace fractions of :56.1 and 1:24.3, then found enough to repulse EA Audit, who had moved up rapidly around the far turn, by 1¼ lengths for the brother team of trainer Tom and owner John Cancelliere.
 
In a $13,000 handicap for fast-class mares, Golden Quest N also became the winner of two straight starts, with the daughter of Bettor’s Delight overcoming the outside starting spot while taking a new mark of 1:51. Tim Tetrick tucked the mare during a :26.1 opener then was second-over behind contested middle fractions of :54.3 and 1:22.2, swinging wide for the drive and just catching favored Turn On The Charm, who lasted with tenacity after long first-over duties, by a nose for trainer Ashley Bako and owner Carmen Iannacone.
 
Corey Callahan guided winners in three consecutive races late on the card, including $108.80 bomber Happy That, to come away with the day’s honors among horsemen.
 
The week closes out with a Sunday card at 12:40, headed by a $14,500 “non-winners of nine races” pace which has Santana Hanover as the morning line favorite, and a $13,000 fast-class handicap pace where the early choice is 2024 debutant Sport Secret.
 
Next week there will be a variation in the basic schedule due to a Thoroughbred event to be held in Kentucky, as Philly will not race on Thursday, then go on Friday at 12:25, Saturday (Derby Day) at noon, and then Sunday at 12:40. Free program pages for all Philly races are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – The track record sheet at Harrah’s Philadelphia got a very-early-in-the-season alteration on Thursday afternoon, as the four-year-old Sebastian K S trotting gelding Benjamin Hanover won powerfully in 1:51.2, knocking three-fifths of a second from the local divisional standard held by Scirocco Rob since 2019.
 
Off a 1:52.3 impressive local bow for Hall of Famer Joe Holloway, Benjamin Hanover was elevated to the track’s $13,000 top trot and showed he could handle those horses with aplomb. Retaking the lead from Outside The Fire after a :27.3 opener for Holloway’s fellow Hall Of Famer David Miller, the talented gelding then went on to middle fractions of :55.2 and 1:22.4. Benjamin Hanover opened up a 2½ length lead on his pocketed rival through the far turn, then coasted home by 1¾ lengths while never threatened. Now a winner of ten of sixteen lifetime starts, Benjamin Hanover looks like a horse headed for better things for owners Sarah Andrews, Angela Correll, and Jarod Miller.
 
The supporting features, one on each gait, were raced for $12,000. The pacing group at this level was mastered by the Sweet Lou sophomore gelding Women Layer, undefeated after two starts in 2024. After he and favored Twin B Seamonster argued through fractions of :27, :54.1, and 1:22.2, Women Layer was able to put up a neck on the money while lowering his mark to 1:51.3. Jack Pelling drove the developing sidewheeler for trainer/father Brett Pelling and the ownership of Howard and Judith Taylor, Order By Stable AB, and Jerry Silva.
 
The winner of this class’s trotting bracket paid a local season’s high $137.00 to win, and came from the most unlikely of sources – driver Tim Tetrick, another Hall Of Famer and the three-time defending Philly dash champion who had never piloted a $100 winner here since records were begun in 2016. “Timmy T” got the call from owner/trainer Jim Shupe behind the E L Titan gelding Heza Scoundrel, saved ground throughout the mile, then dashed up the inside to equal his lifetime best of 1:57.3. Tetrick notched three winners on the day, putting him one behind Todd McCarthy 15-14 through six days of racing as he looks to add a fourth consecutive championship here.
 
Racing continues at the southeast Pennsylvania oval this Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40, with features for both up-and-coming and seasoned fast-class pacers – distaffs on Friday and then males on Sunday. There will be carryovers into two Friday races, a Superfecta carryover into race one and a Pick-5 carryover into race five.
 
Next week there will be a variation in the basic schedule due to a Thoroughbred event to be held in Kentucky, as Philly will not race on Thursday, then go on Friday at 12:25, Saturday (Derby Day) at noon, and then Sunday at 12:40. Free program pages for all Philly races are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – The only mare in the field, Passionate Promise, showed “the boys” how to get the job done when she won the $35,000 Game Of Claims Trotting Series Championship for $25,000 base-tag horses on Tuesday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
 
Even-money favorite Fight Song, coming off a sweep of his GOC Trot three prelims (including handing Passionate Promise her only loss in the competition), took control early from post two, with Passionate Promise settling right in behind the chalk. She rode the two-hole in early splits of :27.2 and :57.3, and maintained pocket positioning as Kinder Thinktwice, the other three-for-three Weiss prelim contestant, moved uncovered to give the leader hard pressure to a 1:25 three-quarters and beyond.
 
Around the final turn Fight Song, trying to produce more, made a break and went to the infield, allowing Kinnder Thinktwice to clear to the top and also giving Passionate Promise room. Matt Kakaley snapped the Creatine distaff to the outside, caught the new leader with relative ease, then held off Vegas Ticket, who had raced third-in most of the mile, and his late charge by 1¼ lengths in a lifetime best 1:54.2, with Kinnder Thinktwice well ahead of the rest of the opposition in third.
 
Passionate Promise had won four straight races before the four-year-old distaff was haltered for $39,875 two weeks ago, and she has already earned back $21,875 of that purchase price for Northfork Racing Stable and trainer Hunter Oakes.
 
Tuesday also saw four $20,000 divisions of the final preliminary of the Bobby Weiss Trotting Series for sophomore fillies, with horses looking to secure spots in the $50,000 Championship in seven days time.
 
Three of the double winners in the first two prelims took this week off; the one who didn’t, the Tactical Landing filly Tactical Lori, made a sweep of the Weiss legs by winning in 1:56.2 for driver David Miller, trainer Nifty Norman, and owners Melvin Hartman and Enzed Racing Stable Inc. Tactical Lori made from midpack near the three-quarter pole and still won by 3½ lengths.
 
The Father Patrick filly Happy Chopper won her second Weiss prelim with a 1:57.1 tally despite the outside post in her cut, succeeding for trainer Mark Harder, co-owner with Dean Lockhart and Deena Rachel Frost. The sulky success was one of five on the day for 24-year-old driver Braxten Boyd, who is now fourth in the local standings, and the quintet included a winner trained by each of three members of Team Wine (Jill, Brandy, and Tee).
 
The Six Pack filly Meetmeatthebar lowered her mark by 3 3/5 seconds when she won the quickest Weiss prelim, 1:55.4, for trainer Pierre Paradis and driver Daniel Dube, the latter co-owner with Jean Claude-Dessureault. And the Crazy Wow miss Communion Money took 2 4/5 seconds off her lifetime best when she won in 1:57.4 for driver Scott Zeron, trainer Ashley Bako, and owners Jared Bako and Ann Yurenka.
 
This coming racing week at Pocono is Bobby Weiss Series Championship Week, with the four $50,000 finales for the best of each sophomore group on the line. Saturday’s 1 p.m. card will have both events for pacers: no male won all three of his prelims, but the trio who won two of them have the inside posts in a competitive event, while Beautiful Roz, who did sweep in her filly prelims, figures the horse to beat despite post seven in her field of eight. Free Pocono programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Dean Eckley made all the right moves heading into Monday afternoon’s $17,500 Championship of the Game Of Claims Pacing Series for horses base-tagged at $10,000, and reaped the benefits with a 1-2 finish headed by Team Mac and his 1:51.4 victory at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania.
 
Eckley claimed Team Mac for his own account in the final prelim last Monday, and he became the trainer of Fredneck after that horse also was purchased from his heat. Team Mac would set the pace of :27.1, :55.2, and 1:23.1 in the Championship, then would open a bit of daylight entering the stretch and had enough strength left to withstand second-over Fredneck by 1½ lengths while taking a new mark. It was the third straight victory for the successful Bettor’s Delight gelding, who missed a sweep of the GOC only by being beaten a nose in the first prelim …  by, ironically, Fredneck.
 
The Monday action at The Downs also saw Blackhawk Zette and Victor Laszlo sweep their three preliminary rounds of the Bobby Weiss Series for three-year-old trotting colts, with those two establishing themselves as the major dangers for next Monday’s $50,000 series Championship.
 
A dedicated closer to date in 2024, the Cantab Hall colt Blackhawk Zette used track geometry after starting from the rail and took the shortest way home on the engine for driver Matt Kakaley, coming his back fractions in :57.1 - :28.1 to win  by 1¾ lengths in 1:54.3, a tick off his lifetime-best win time of the previous week. Blackhawk Zette is undefeated in four seasonal starts for trainer Robert Baggitt Jr. and J L Sadowsky LLC.
 
Also unbeaten in four 2024 trips to the gate, the Chapter Seven colt Victor Laszlo used exactly the reverse tactical strategy from his fellow Weiss-sweeping foe: Mark MacDonald, after winning on the lead in the first two prelims, raced Victor Laszlo off the pace as Wall Street Edge set an untaxing engine tempo.  Rallying wide from second-over in the stretch, Victor Laszlo outdistanced the pacesetter by 2¼ lengths in 1:56.2 for trainer Ray Schnittker and the partnership of Schnittker Arnold, Paul Bordogna, Ted Gewertz, and Arden Homestead Stable.
 
In another Weiss prelim, the Bar Hopping gelding Usain Hanover kept his head when all about him were losing theirs, passing first one breaking leader and then another in the last quarter under Dexter Dunn’s guidance to be clear by six lengths in 1:56.2. It was the sophomore’s second straight win for trainer Nifty Norman and his Enzed Racing Stable Inc after a second in the first leg to Victor Laszlo.
 
The other Weiss split was taken by Greenshoe gelding Green Pastures, bouncing back off a break to scoot clear by 3¼ lengths while taking a new mark of 1:55.1 for driver Jason Bartlett, trainer Per Engblom, and the ownership of VIP Internet Stable LLC, Engblom Stable LLC, R A W Equine Inc., and Marco Greico.
 
Matt Kakaley and George Napolitano Jr., who between them have won every Pocono dashwinning title since 2009 (George eleven, Matt three including the last two), tied for the afternoon’s honors with three sulky visits each to Victory Lane.
 
Tuesday’s 1 p.m. card closes out the local racing week, and it is headed by the $35,000 Game Of Claims Trotting Series Championship for horses with a $25,000 base-tag (Fight Song and Kinnder Thinktwice swept their three prelims), along with four $20,000 divisions of the final Weiss Series preliminary leg for sophomore trotting fillies. Free Pocono programs are available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – All Class repeated in the top class at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Sunday afternoon, winning one of two $13,000 divisions of the fast-class pace, while Ervin Hanover shipped in and promptly won the other headlining split.
 
All Class, a son of Heston Blue Chip, followed similar tactics to those he employed last week for driver David Miller, moving to get the lead after a :27.2 quarter, then reaching the middle stations in :55.1 and 1:23.1, at the latter point under attack from first-over Camara Moment. The uncovered challenger moved from fifth at the half to give good chase in the closing panel but came up a half-length shy in the 1:50.4 mile as All Class won for the tenth time in but 27 career starts, with Per Engblom training him for Morrison Racing.
 
Ervin Hanover had to endure the early part of the mile on the outside, but he paced right on past the :26.4 opener for command in front the stands, then tripped the timer in 55.2 and 1:22.4 before recording a final time of 1:50.3. Shazam Hanover, who had shot right to the lead and then made the winning son of Captaintreacherous work hard for the top, tried hard from the pocket but came up 1¾ lengths shy on the money. Jeff Cullipher conditions the winner of $375,200, who was driven by Todd McCarthy, for Pollack Racing LLC.
 
Todd McCarthy would then go on to capture both halves of the Late Double, his three wins tying him with George Napolitano Jr. for Sunday honors, and also boosting him to the top rung of the young meet’s standings, with a 14-11 advantage over Tim Tetrick.
 
Racing will resume at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon at 12:25. It’s the track’s traditional “Trottin’ Thursday,” and the featured $13,000 handicap finds virtually all the entrants able to make a decent case for their chances of success in the well-matched field. Free Philly programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WILKES-BARRE PA – Upsets were the order of the day on Saturday afternoon at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, as in seven $20,000 third and final prelim events of the Bobby Weiss Series for three-year-olds (four for males and three for females), the only favorite – the only horse who paid less than $10 – was Beautiful Roz, who completed a sweep of her prelims in a lifetime best 1:53.
 
Jack Pelling guided the daughter of Always B Miki – Pleasant Beauty, a $270,000 yearling purchase, to the lead and cut out splits of :27, :56.4, and 1:24.3, seeing off her opposition by 3¾ lengths while returning the minimum $2.10 to win. Beautiful Roz missed a nose in her first start after going unraced at two, and since has ripped off four straight for trainer Brett Pelling and the partnership of Melvin Segal, Kentuckiana Racing Stable, and Bud Hatfield, stamping her as the one to beat for next Saturday’s $50,000 Weiss Championship for the group.
 
In another Weiss cut, another daughter of Always B Miki, Big City Daisy, set the pace and then benefited from traffic confusion on the far turn, winning in a career best 1:53.3 for trainer Emily Bost, co-owner with Bruce Potter and Steve Salerno, and driver Jim Pantaleano. Jim’s son Jacob sent out his first winner five days short of his 23rd birthday later in the card.
 
The biggest surprise of the entire day’s action came when the Sweet Lou miss Sweet Lexi Lou closed well to break her maiden in 1:54.3 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Christopher Freck, and owner Anthony Olswfski while giving a $68.40 win return to her scattered backers.
 
The quartet of Weiss races for “the boys” scrambled the forecast for their $50,000 Weiss Championship next Saturday, with perhaps the biggest lesson to be learned is not to overlook any horse driven by 24-year-old Braxten Boyd, who is up to fifth in the local drivers derby.
 
One division’s expected showdown between Howlenthehills and Bonaparte, the two previous double Weiss winners, didn’t come off when the former was scratched, and then the latter was used hard early and fell back late as Southwind Celsius and Boyd equaled his mark of 1:52.3, taken when he won his prelim seven days earlier. The Captain Crunch gelding is undefeated in two Lasix starts for trainer Mark Ford and the partnership of David Hamm, Glenn Phillips, and Pit Bull Stable LLC.
 
Boyd posted a second win in the Weiss action for males with the In The Arsenal gelding Who Said I Can’t, the fastest of all Weiss winners Saturday as he took a lifetime mark of 1:51.2, knocking over four seconds off his mark. Mark Harder conditions the improving sophomore for Joseph Jannuzzelli and Steven and Joseph Williams.
 
The Betting Line gelding Ante Up Hanover, the winner of the PA Fair Sire Stakes Championship at two, added his name to the group of two-time Weiss winners while lowering his mark to 1:53. Trainer/driver Todd Schadel co-owns the winner of eleven of twenty lifetime starts with his wife Christine.
 
Ain’t Nostopn Time, second and third in his previous Weiss prelims, couldn’t be stopped late as he rolled to an engine triumph while earning a new speed badge of 1:52.4. Jason Bartlett was sulkysitting behind the Lazarus N colt for owners FAC Racing LLC, Joseph Di Scala Jr., and Yannick Gingras and trainer Per Engblom.
 
Engblom and the meet’s top trainer, Jeff Cullipher, each had a double on the card; Boyd and Buter each had three successes in the sulky.
 
Action resumes at Pocono on Monday and Tuesday at 1 p.m., with both cards having the same feature format: a Game Of Claims Series Championship and a final Weiss prelim for trotters. Free Pocono programs can be found at www.phha,org.

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – Todd McCarthy made a clean sweep of the Friday features for pacing distaffs at Harrah’s Philadelphia, triumphing with Absolute Power in the $13,500 headliner for developing horses and then coming back with Blood Moon A to get the big share of the $13,000 purse in the contest for fast-class mares.
 
The outside post seven proved to be little challenge for the Sweet Lou four-year-old mare Absolute Power, who led at every call, with fractions of 27.1, :56.2, and 1:24.3. Vel Miss Taylor gave good stretch chase from the pocket, but Absolute Power stayed in control by 1¼ lengths in matching her lifetime best of 1:52.3, set here two years ago. The powerful team of trainer Tom Cancelliere and brother/owner John own the swift winner.
 
The Pet Rock mare Blood Moon A enjoyed a pocket trip in the event for proven older females while Kickupyaheels N set fractions of :27.1, :55.3, and 1:23.1. Blood Moon A was moved outside for the stretch and managed to work by the pacesetter by a neck, with Turn On The Charm a hard-closing third, just pictured out for second. The victory was the first on North American soil for Blood Moon A in three starts since her importation, which means the 1:51.2 final time is her new mark for trainer Jeff Cullipher and Pollack Racing LLC.
 
The race after Blood Moon A won, McCarthy piloted the Meadowlands shipper to Decision Day to victory, giving him four visits to the winners circle Friday at Philly – and then he headed off to The Meadowlands for nighttime competition over the Jersey mile oval.
 
There are a pair of $13,000 paces for the fast-class set when racing resumes at Philly on Sunday at 12:40. The seventh race division appears the tougher of the two, with All Class, a 1:49.3 winner here last Sunday, starting from the rail and having Dragononthebeach just to his right – a far easier spot than the outside post the “Dragon” faced last week. Should the latter prevail, trainer Jeff Cullipher could be in a good spot to sweep the headliners, as he has early favorite Ervin Hanover in the tenth race feature section. Free programs for Harrah’s Philly racing are available at www.phha.org.