By: Jerry Connors, Jr.
CHESTER PA – Benjamin Hanover won his third straight $16,000 fast-class handicap trotting feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon – but the result was about the only carryover from the dynamics of this class recently.
Little Expensive, returning to Philly after a highly-successful meet at Oak Grove, gunned right to the top from the outside post six, and Ari Ferrari J, who had won two showdowns with “Benjamin” before finishing second him in the last two, hustled out to the pocket from post four, one spot inside Benjamin Hanover. The last-named, driven by Philly’s top driver Tim Tetrick, didn’t even eye a possibly-developing three-tuck, shifting to an even-higher gear to make the top nearing the :27.4 quarter, then set fractions of :56.1 and 1:24.
Ari Ferrari J (sent off at 6-5 behind Benjamin’s 3-5 after being the favorite in the previous four matchups) was starting to advance uncovered towards the leader nearing the far turn but suddenly lost his gait, and the race seemed down to the pacesetter and pocketsitter. Little Expensive trotted home strongly from the two-hole after 22 days off, but Benjamin Hanover had the determination to withstand his late bid by a neck. Benjamin Hanover, now with 36 wins in his 73-start career, is trained by Scott Di Domenico for owner Angela Cornell.
The $13,000 fast-class subfeature went to Howlingathemoon DK, who enjoyed both a drop from the top level and a chance to control the pace from the inside starting slot, cutting fractions of :27, :56.3, and 1:24.3 before arriving home in control in 1:53.4 Simon Allard had the seat behind the victorious Cantab Hall gelding for trainer-owner Pat Lachance.
In the $14,000 feature for developing horses, the sophomore Greenshoe filly Berry Good News enjoyed a break from tough stakes competition from her Pennsylvania peers and produced an authoritative 1:55.1 score, lowering her mark by a tick. Andrew McCarthy regulated fractions of :29, :58.3, and 1:26.3 before winning in hand with the Nifty Norman-conditioned miss, owned by Melvin Hartman and David Mc Duffee.
Tim Tetrick led the drivers’ scorecard with three victories on the day; winning twice in the sulky were Croey Callahan, Andrew McCarthy, and Patrick Ryder.
Friday’s Philly features are for pacing distaffs looking to advance their careers, with the $14,000 headliner spotlighting shipper Two Twenty Swift, a championship winner in both the New York and Massachusetts programs last year. There will also be several races for two-year-olds looking to make their mark in upcoming Sire Stakes / Stallion Series action at the riverside oval. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
CHESTER PA – Benjamin Hanover won his third straight $16,000 fast-class handicap trotting feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon – but the result was about the only carryover from the dynamics of this class recently.
Little Expensive, returning to Philly after a highly-successful meet at Oak Grove, gunned right to the top from the outside post six, and Ari Ferrari J, who had won two showdowns with “Benjamin” before finishing second him in the last two, hustled out to the pocket from post four, one spot inside Benjamin Hanover. The last-named, driven by Philly’s top driver Tim Tetrick, didn’t even eye a possibly-developing three-tuck, shifting to an even-higher gear to make the top nearing the :27.4 quarter, then set fractions of :56.1 and 1:24.
Ari Ferrari J (sent off at 6-5 behind Benjamin’s 3-5 after being the favorite in the previous four matchups) was starting to advance uncovered towards the leader nearing the far turn but suddenly lost his gait, and the race seemed down to the pacesetter and pocketsitter. Little Expensive trotted home strongly from the two-hole after 22 days off, but Benjamin Hanover had the determination to withstand his late bid by a neck. Benjamin Hanover, now with 36 wins in his 73-start career, is trained by Scott Di Domenico for owner Angela Cornell.
The $13,000 fast-class subfeature went to Howlingathemoon DK, who enjoyed both a drop from the top level and a chance to control the pace from the inside starting slot, cutting fractions of :27, :56.3, and 1:24.3 before arriving home in control in 1:53.4 Simon Allard had the seat behind the victorious Cantab Hall gelding for trainer-owner Pat Lachance.
In the $14,000 feature for developing horses, the sophomore Greenshoe filly Berry Good News enjoyed a break from tough stakes competition from her Pennsylvania peers and produced an authoritative 1:55.1 score, lowering her mark by a tick. Andrew McCarthy regulated fractions of :29, :58.3, and 1:26.3 before winning in hand with the Nifty Norman-conditioned miss, owned by Melvin Hartman and David Mc Duffee.
Tim Tetrick led the drivers’ scorecard with three victories on the day; winning twice in the sulky were Croey Callahan, Andrew McCarthy, and Patrick Ryder.
Friday’s Philly features are for pacing distaffs looking to advance their careers, with the $14,000 headliner spotlighting shipper Two Twenty Swift, a championship winner in both the New York and Massachusetts programs last year. There will also be several races for two-year-olds looking to make their mark in upcoming Sire Stakes / Stallion Series action at the riverside oval. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.
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