CHESTER PA -- A trio of $11,200 events for up-and-coming younger horses, two on the trot and one on the pace, served as the headliners at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday afternoon.
On the pace, General Ward tucked third early and stayed inside, then found room midturn and overhauled the favored pacesetter Rockin The Blaze by three-quarters of a length. The Somebeachsomewhere sophomore came home in :55.2 to post a lifetime mark of 1:52.2. A recent addition to the barn of trainer Scott Di Domenico, the gelding has now won two straight, with Tim Tetrick driving for Triple D Stables Inc. Michael Farro, and M G Stable Inc.
In the other trotting feature, driver/co-owner Jackie Ingrassia rolled with the Andover Hall three-year-old filly Baby Donut, having an open-length lead from the middle of the first turn to the middle of the stretch, then held off first-over Doodle Hanover to her right and groundsaving Boom City to her left while taking a new speed badge of 1:57.3. Frank Ingrassia is the trainer of the filly, and Jackie’s partners on her are Donna Francetti and Thomas Doran.
Trainer Julie Miller, on her birthday, notched her 2000th training victory at Freehold when the trotter Keystone Orion, driver by her son Tyler, was victorious; just 56 minutes later, she put up her 2001st career triumph and continued the “All In The Family” theme when the Father Patrick – Pure Barre freshman gelding Padre broke his trotting maiden with a 1:59 score at Philly. Like Keystone Orion, Padre is owned by the Andy Miller Stable Inc. (And 15 minutes after that, Age Is A Number, owned by Andy Miller Stable Inc. and driven by Tyler Miller, won at Freehold to make the birthday girl a winner in all three of her stable’s starts on the day and a 2002-time winner in her career.)