Photo: Grace Zimmers
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.
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.
RSS Feed
