CHESTER PA – The up-and-coming younger performers attracted the Friday spotlight at Harrah’s Philadelphia, ahead of two consecutive cards with Pennsylvania Sire Stakes races for two-year-olds, with three $12,600 events for the various classifications.
The Somebeachsomewhere sophomore colt Literl Lad Hanover, a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes winner earlier this year, got back on the winning track with a lifetime mark of 1:50.4 going wire-to-wire against the pacing males. Driver George Napolitano Jr. put the three-year-old quickly on the lead and hung up splits of :27.1, :55.3, and 1:22.3 while boosting his lifetime earnings to $172,611 for the meet’s leading trainer, Ron Burke, and the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby, and Wingfield Five LLC.
In the trotting feature, the Explosive Matter gelding Boom City had a lifetime scorecard of 39-1-11-8, but in his second start for trainer Joe Karrat, Boom City was ready to make some noise, lowering his mark 5 4/5 seconds to 1:55.2. George Napolitano Jr. positioned the Joseph Riad-owned winner behind heavy favorite College Tuition as that one rang up fractionals of :27.4, :58, and 1:26.4, and the elusive winners circle was well within the power of Boom City today as he powered right on by.
Temptation Eyes broke her maiden in a spectacular way by catching pacesetter Fasterthanarumor in 1:55.3 and returning $101.00 to win for driver Mike Cole, trainer Eli Scott Jr., and Chesapeake Equine Clinic Inc. Since June the 6th, Philly has had six horses pay $100 or more – and four of them came during the track’s Late Double (races thirteen and fourteen)
Sunday finds the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes / Stallion Series two-year-old colt pacers coming to town for their second preliminary round. All three PaSS first round winners will be here, Night Hawk and Wearinmysixshooter starting from post one and two in the sixth race and I Did It Myway in the tenth. There will be five divisions of the Stallion Series action, giving the fans a good look at horses they will see again on Sunday, September 5 in their Stallion Series Championships here. There will also be carryovers into the first Pick 3, Pick 4, and Super Hi-5 wagers on the card. Program pages for the 12:40 card are available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.