By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
CHESTER PA –$240,752 was on the line Thursday afternoon during the second preliminary round of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series for two-year-old trotting fillies. Favorites did not do well in the stakes, coming up only one for nine, and there was only one repeat winner, but every equine visitor to Victory Lane either set or equaled her mark.
And on the unusual day of an all-trot 15-race card, it was good to be among this group: Team Orange Crush; Todd Schadel; Dexter Dunn; and sires Bar Hopping and Captain Corey.
Fastest of the three Sire Stakes divisions was the 1:55.1 mile turned in by the Captain Corey – Island Lily filly Islandgirl Hanover, who moved uncovered against favored Atlantic Summer then left her 2¾ lengths behind. Islandgirl Hanover came her back half in :56 and took a new mark for trainer-driver Trond Smedshammer and Purple Haze Stables LLC.
The sole repeat winner in the stakes action was the Bar Hopping – Perfect Chance miss Ginger Tree Lex, who flew home in :56.2 to equal her mark of 1:57.1 while capturing her second Sire Stakes. Andrew McCarthy guided the winner for trainer Steve Cook and owners Samuel Beegle, Ginger Tree Ventures LLC, Knollview Stable 2, and Robert Reber Jr. (And we have already mentioned the sires of seven of the nine stakes successes, as Bar Hopping had four offspring triumph and Captain Corey had three, including both of these Sires victories.)
The only stakes chalk to triumph the entire day was the third PaSS winner, Next Big Think (Greenshoe – Iteration), who broke her maiden in 1:57. Dexter Dunn (who won a division of the PaSS and the PaStS as well as an overnight) was in the sulky behind the Marcus Melander trainee for Courant Inc.
Trainer Todd Schadel may have had eight freshmen rained out at the Bedford (PA) Fair, but he still harnessed two Stallion Series winners, including the fastest one in Snow Queen Hanover (Bar Hopping – Snowflake Hanover) , who won in 1:55.3, like all her fellow Stallion Series winners a maiden no more. Schadel co-owns the winner with Jim Simpson, and she was guided by Andy Miller, about whom more in a bit. Schadel and Bar Hopping also came together with another Bar Hopping miss, Amber Ale Hanover (dam Abbie Hall), in 2:00.2 for driver David Miller.
Bar Hopping got his third StS winner and fourth stakes winner on the card with Be Mine Hanover (dam Birgitta Hanover), who came from the pocket to win in 1:57.2 for trainer-driver Åke Svanstedt.
We mentioned Andy Miller and Team Orange Crunch earlier, and they opened the card with the biggest outsider of the day ($29.40) and one of the two Captain Corey Stallion Series winners, Just Teasing (dam Just Joshing), who came home uncovered in :56.3 to win in 1:56.2. In all, Julie Miller trained three winners for the stable, and Andy won four races, which almost became five in the last race until son Tyler overhauled him with I See A Star.
The other Captain Corey winner was the only one involved in a photo finish, Handle Station (dam Harness Am), who won by a neck in 1:58 over Caviart Queen Emma for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Lucas Wallin. The final Stallion Series winner was making her first purse start, Pray For A Win (Father Patrick – Andover The Prize), and she is now one-for-one after tallying in 1:57 for trainer Nancy Takter and driver Dexter Dunn.
Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series action for trotting fillies continues on Friday at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with the three-year-olds contesting their third-round preliminaries. There will also be a carryover into the fifth race Pick 5 pool. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
CHESTER PA –$240,752 was on the line Thursday afternoon during the second preliminary round of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series for two-year-old trotting fillies. Favorites did not do well in the stakes, coming up only one for nine, and there was only one repeat winner, but every equine visitor to Victory Lane either set or equaled her mark.
And on the unusual day of an all-trot 15-race card, it was good to be among this group: Team Orange Crush; Todd Schadel; Dexter Dunn; and sires Bar Hopping and Captain Corey.
Fastest of the three Sire Stakes divisions was the 1:55.1 mile turned in by the Captain Corey – Island Lily filly Islandgirl Hanover, who moved uncovered against favored Atlantic Summer then left her 2¾ lengths behind. Islandgirl Hanover came her back half in :56 and took a new mark for trainer-driver Trond Smedshammer and Purple Haze Stables LLC.
The sole repeat winner in the stakes action was the Bar Hopping – Perfect Chance miss Ginger Tree Lex, who flew home in :56.2 to equal her mark of 1:57.1 while capturing her second Sire Stakes. Andrew McCarthy guided the winner for trainer Steve Cook and owners Samuel Beegle, Ginger Tree Ventures LLC, Knollview Stable 2, and Robert Reber Jr. (And we have already mentioned the sires of seven of the nine stakes successes, as Bar Hopping had four offspring triumph and Captain Corey had three, including both of these Sires victories.)
The only stakes chalk to triumph the entire day was the third PaSS winner, Next Big Think (Greenshoe – Iteration), who broke her maiden in 1:57. Dexter Dunn (who won a division of the PaSS and the PaStS as well as an overnight) was in the sulky behind the Marcus Melander trainee for Courant Inc.
Trainer Todd Schadel may have had eight freshmen rained out at the Bedford (PA) Fair, but he still harnessed two Stallion Series winners, including the fastest one in Snow Queen Hanover (Bar Hopping – Snowflake Hanover) , who won in 1:55.3, like all her fellow Stallion Series winners a maiden no more. Schadel co-owns the winner with Jim Simpson, and she was guided by Andy Miller, about whom more in a bit. Schadel and Bar Hopping also came together with another Bar Hopping miss, Amber Ale Hanover (dam Abbie Hall), in 2:00.2 for driver David Miller.
Bar Hopping got his third StS winner and fourth stakes winner on the card with Be Mine Hanover (dam Birgitta Hanover), who came from the pocket to win in 1:57.2 for trainer-driver Åke Svanstedt.
We mentioned Andy Miller and Team Orange Crunch earlier, and they opened the card with the biggest outsider of the day ($29.40) and one of the two Captain Corey Stallion Series winners, Just Teasing (dam Just Joshing), who came home uncovered in :56.3 to win in 1:56.2. In all, Julie Miller trained three winners for the stable, and Andy won four races, which almost became five in the last race until son Tyler overhauled him with I See A Star.
The other Captain Corey winner was the only one involved in a photo finish, Handle Station (dam Harness Am), who won by a neck in 1:58 over Caviart Queen Emma for driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Lucas Wallin. The final Stallion Series winner was making her first purse start, Pray For A Win (Father Patrick – Andover The Prize), and she is now one-for-one after tallying in 1:57 for trainer Nancy Takter and driver Dexter Dunn.
Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series action for trotting fillies continues on Friday at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with the three-year-olds contesting their third-round preliminaries. There will also be a carryover into the fifth race Pick 5 pool. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
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