CHESTER PA – Avenir seems to like the recent addition of trotting hopples to her equipment card, as the sophomore filly rolled to her second straight triumph, winning the $12,600 featured trot over a Harrah’s Philadelphia oval rated “good +1” because of morning rain.
The daughter of Muscle Hill out of Chic Chick, a half-sister to millionaire Strong Yankee, was put right on the lead by driver Yannick Gingras, a four-time winner on the card, and came home in :56.3 to stop the timer in 1:54.3. In her previous start, a division of the Continentalvictory on Hambletonian weekend, she had won in 1:53.2 for trainer Ron Burke and the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Knox Services Inc., and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby.
The $22,500 winners-over pace at Philly on Sunday has an interesting new wrinkle this week – the presence of top pacing mare Lyons Sentinel, who will take on “the boys” while starting from post five, the best position from which to begin at the riverside oval. Program pages for the 12:40 card are available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.