Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association
  • Home
  • Welcome!
  • About the PHHA
  • Join the PHHA
  • PHHA PAC
  • Philanthrophy
  • PA Harness Week
  • PHHA Blog
Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association

DUTCH HORSEMAN MICHEL HEIJNEN NOW 1-FOR-1 WITH PACERS AFTER PHILLY FEATURE WIN

7/26/2021

0 Comments

 
By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
CHESTER PA – All victories are memorable, but one of the three triumphs in the $12,600 features at Harrah’s Philadelphia Friday afternoon may stand out a little bit more for one driver.
 
Michel Heijnen, a horseman from The Netherlands who usually drives only his own small stable of trotters (his previous catch-drive was four years ago), picked up the mount behind a three-year-old filly from trainer Luc Blais and owner Determination – Viva La Deo, a daughter of Somebeachsomewhere out of the $2.2M-winning Rocklamation, a $200,000 yearling. And this was his first-ever drive (in North America, anyway) behind a pacer!
​But ignoring all that and any pressure from 3-5 favoritism, Heijnen placed Viva La Deo right behind Ideal In Miracles through fractions of :27.2, :57.4, and 1:25.2, then wheeled her out in the stretch and got the decision by the smallest possible margin in 1:54.2 for the memorable triumph.
 
All of the fancied competitors were prominent early in the top pace for males, with favored Toronto circling Whole Lotta Lou after Tapped Teen made a broke challenging for the lead nearing the :27.4 quarter. The Sweet Lou gelding Whole Lotta Lou was content to sit behind Toronto’s fractions of :56.3 and 1:24.3, moved out to challenge him in the stretch, and swept by the leader to win by a length in 1:52.1, equaling his previous best set at The Meadowlands. Todd McCarthy drove the promising sophomore for trainer Stacy Chiodo and Timothy Tobias Stable LLC.
 
In the trot headliner, the Muscle Hill gelding Southwind Sylvestr let Boom City get the top after a :28.2 opener and post middle splits of :58 and 1:26.4 while repelling the favored first-over I Am The Storm to and past the latter station. “Sylvestr” then went up the inside to catch the leader by a length in a career mark of 1:57, completing a feature sweep of pocket rockets. Allan Davis guided the winner perfectly for trainer Joseph Hundertpfund Jr. and owners William Sartin and Richard Ashley.
 
Recent double sub-1:50 winner Aflame Hanover squares off with the very consistent Vettel N and six other solid pacers in the $16,200 feature on the 12:40 Sunday card at Harrah’s Philadelphia. There will also be an $8,945.63 carryover into the third race Super Hi-5. Program pages are available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture
Picture