CHESTER PA – On a day that proved not very kind to betting favorites, the Walner sophomore filly Wallandar had her “A” game – including the perfect decorum she had been missing in recent outings – to take the $12,600 trotting feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia in a new mark of 1:56.3 while paying $50.40 to her scattered win backers.
Andy Miller got the $250,000 yearling, who has names such as Credit Winner and Me Maggie in her immediate parentage, away cleanly and to the top by a :28.4 quarter, then yielded to odds-on favorite Candy Bomber and sat behind the one through middle fractions of :58.2 and 1:27.3. Miller showed Wallandar racetrack nearing headstretch, and the three-year-old came home in perfect order to defeat the chalk by a half length for trainer Julie Miller and the partnership of Andy Miller Stable Inc. and Little E LLC.
The “Illinois Millers” may have won the feature, but it was the “Ohio Miller,” David Miller, who led all drivers with three winners today.
Harrah’s next goes to the gate on Thursday at 12:25, with a $3664.38 carryover in the Pick-4 wager starting in the very first race.
The cards on Friday (12:25) and Sunday (12:40) both feature sterling $20,000 Open handicap events. Ruthless Hanover, the world’s fastest Standardbred on a 5/8-mile track with a 1:46.3 victory in the Joe Auger Pace here on Super Sunday on May 28, will start from the outside in a field of six pacers Friday; on Sunday the outside post six has been assigned to the winner of the 2022 Maxie Lee Trot, Lovedbythemasses.
Program pages for all races at Harrah’s Philadelphia are or will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.