THAI HANOVER, WESTERN TWISTER STARS AT WASHINGTON (PA)

By: Jerry Connors, Jr. 
WASHINGTON PA – The Pennsylvania fair circuit commenced a very busy week with Fair Sire Stakes action on Sunday and Monday at the Washington County Fairgrounds, known as Arden Downs during its Grand Circuit heyday, in southwestern Pennsylvania, not far down the road from The Meadows.
 
Rain came before the Sunday morning session for two-year-olds, but the moisture did not dampen the standout performance on the card – a 2:04.2 victory by the Father Patrick – Wind Of The West trotting filly Western Twister. Not only was the time the fastest of the day, bar neither colt nor pacer, but it was only a fifth of a second off the divisional standard at Washington, which had been set ten years to the day earlier by Lovebeinglucky. Western Terror is also the first fair horse to get to six Fair Circuit victories in 2026, in an undefeated campaign for driver Eric Neal, trainer Tom Loughry Jr., and owner Brocious Racing Stable Inc. (aka Lefty’s Mountain Top stable).
 
Winning for the fourth straight time in an unbeaten summer at the twicearounds was the Always B Miki – Cheyenne Deo pacing colt Kurt, who also has a pari-mutuel Stallion Series to his credit. Aaron Johnston handled the driving from the second tier for owner Stephan Brochu and trainer Bill Daugherty Jr.
 
Daugherty has a reputation for being more a colt trotting man than on the pacing side, and he showed he hasn’t lost those talents with an “A” win with Bright Blue Chip and a “B” triumph with Lindy Mischief in races for the diamondgaited boys. This “A” section at Washington also saw another Stallion Series winner triumph, the Bar Hopping – Finnary Hanover gelding SA’s Tiki Bar (driver Shawn Johnston and trainer Gary Johnson, the latter co-owner with Darren Zielinski), who also has a third and a fourth in the pari-mutuel Sire Stakes as well.
 
Monday saw the three-year-olds take the track over the historical oval, and though a filly trotter led the way the day before, it was the “glamour division,” the three-year-old male pacers, who grabbed the headlines here, led by a terrific 1:57.4 mile by the Stay Hungry gelding Thai Hanover. That clocking was almost three seconds faster than any other mile recorded at Washington 2026, and only two ticks of the clock behind Washington’s all-age track record of 1:57.2 delivered sixteen years to the day ago by Straight Character. Thai Hanover, who had won in 1:51 at The Meadows two starts back, was driven by Eric Neal for trainer Mitchell York, co-owner with Erin York.
 
This group’s other “A” section saw the Captain Crunch gelding Commander Crunch, who won twice in 1:55.2 at Bedford, needing only 2:00.3 to succeed here.
 
The Always B Miki filly Dancin Sweet Heart, the 2025 Fair Championship winner, came through with a 2:01.4 victory for trainer Abigail Wright and owner Grace Wright, allowing driver Shawn Johnston to be perfect with three-year-old pacing fillies, as he also guided both the other “A” winner and the “B” success story.
 
The Steve Schoeffel barn, on a very good roll in the first half of the year, had wins in both “A” sections of the sophomore male trot, with Family Guy (in 2:04.1, just edging out the remarkable time posted by the filly Western Twister for the quickest diagonally-gaited mile of the meet) and Clark (2:04.3).
 
Aaron Johnston sulkysat behind the two “A” winners among Monday’s trotting fillies: Patricks Belle (2:04.4) and Hot For Her (2:05.3).
 
There was a three-way tie for Washington’s leading driver status: Eric Neal had five sulky successes, joint-top with brothers Aaron (who had four Monday) and Shawn Johnston (who had four Sunday). On the trainers side, Tom Loughery Jr. edged out Bill Daugherty Jr. 4-3 (those two have a personal bond since Loughry, along with “Muck” McMullen, helped save Daugherty’s life in the paddock at Belle Vernon in 2011 after a cardiac incident).
 
The next stop on the Pennsylvania Fair Circuit is at Dayton Fair, which races at 11 a.m. Wednesday the 19th and noon on Thursday the 20th, and for which entries have been already drawn. There is also action this Friday and Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Crawford County Fair in Meadville, the only overlap on the PA Fair Circuit this year (PA rules dictate that a colt or a filly can race at the fairs only once every three days); entries for Meadville will be drawn Wednesday.