CHESTER PA – The crowd settled on the right favorite in a well-matched, hard-to-handicap $18,000 featured trot at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon, as the Yankee Glide gelding Max held off a late charge by the mare Kenziesky Hanover by ¾ of a length in 1:54.3.
Yannick Gingras hustled the winner away quickly and forced Kenziesky Hanover to tuck behind him, then yielded to the $900,000 winner Top Flight Angel past a :27.3 quarter. Top Flight Angel guided the field to the half in :57, then increased the tempo to 1:25.2 at the three-quarters, with Cruising In Style coming first-over and Kenziesky Hanover slipping out behind that one’s cover.
The heavy favorite Hill Of A Horse looked to be in good position nearing the far turn of the $17,000 co-featured trot, advancing second-over behind cover, but it certainly didn’t hurt him when the leader, third-over, and fourth-over all made breaks on the final curve. The victorious altered son of Muscle Hill overhauled his cover, Mystical Wynn, by 2¼ lengths in 1:55.2, posting his tenth lifetime win in but 28 starts for driver Marcus Miller, trainer/father Erv Miller, and Andray Farms.
Drivers Gingras and George Napolitano Jr. each won three times during the Thursday afternoon action.