Deep Impact and Impacter, half-brothers out of the Yankee Glide mare Glide Power, may have close genetic backgrounds, but the routes they took in winning the twin $14,500 featured trots at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday (Oct. 4) couldn’t have been more different.

Five-year-old Donato Hanover gelding Deep Impact was first to race, and driver George Napolitano Jr. pointed the classdropper right to the front. They go to the quarter in :27.3, ‘rested’ to the half in :58.2 and then reignited the speed. Deep Impact reached the three quarters in 1:26.1 en route to a 1:55 victory. He was three lengths clear at the finish for trainer Åke Svanstedt and the Van Camp Trotting Corporation.

A year younger than his half-brother, Impacter had no straight shot on the lead to victory lane. Trainer/driver Vince Copeland tucked the altered son of Muscle Hill third in the :27 opening quarter, kept him in past the :56.2 half, then backed him out to third-over position well before the 1:25.2 three-quarters clocking. When the horses in front of him didn’t gain quickly through the turn, Copeland sent Impacter four-wide into the lane, and he got to the wire first in 1:55.4, three quarters of a length ahead of Shady Mccoy, for owner David D. Miller.

This week’s Friday card at Harrah’s Philadelphia will be an evening affair which will start at 6:30 p.m. After the usual Sunday action (which will begin at 2:05 p.m.), there will be a special live card on Columbus Day (Monday, Oct. 8, at 12:25 p.m.), with over $200,000 in stakes action in the John Simpson Sr. series, which will see three-year-old colts of both gaits each contesting three divisions.

(PHHA / Harrah’s Philadelphia)