The three pacing winners of the four $12,600 featured events for up-and-coming horses on Wednesday (Aug. 25) at Harrah’s Philadelphia all took lifetime marks.

The fastest winner was Tapped Teen, who took one of the two splits for male pacers by seven lengths in 1:51.2. Favourite Comanche Creek broke before the start, opening the door for Todd McCarthy to move Tapped Teen to the lead past the quarter then rolled him home in :55.2. Owner-trainer Aaron Lambert had the the sophomore Sweet Lou gelding in peak form coming off of a scratch and a break before that.

The other pace for males went to the Panther Hanover gelding Moonlight Shadow, who put up big numbers of :26.3, :55 and 1:22, then withstood the late charge of favoured Copper Teen by a neck under a Simon Allard drive for owner-trainer Joe Karrat.

Joe Bongiorno won with the Sweet Lou filly Briar in the headliner for distaffs. Bongiorno initially sat in third at the half as the outer tier formed, but found room to attack up the backstretch, first putting away pacesetter Natchez Belle before withstanding inside closer Lyons Softassilk by a head in 1:53.2. Ron Coyne Jr. conditions the winning sophomore for his Ron Coyne Stables Inc., along with Blair Corbeil, Mike McAllister and Edward Pachuta.

Only the trotting feature did not yield a lifetime best, but it yielded an impressive effort nonetheless from the Cantab Hall mare Billie Claire in 1:55. Front-end tactics again proved successful for Allard here, with favoured Sweet Bouquets coming to level terms in mid-stretch, only to see Billie Claire resurge to win by a neck for trainer Jonas Czernyson and the partnership of Consus Racing Stable Inc. and Inev Stable Inc.

The Thursday (Aug. 26) program at Harrah’s Philadelphia will features $14,400 events for non-winners of five races, along with a $13,000 contest for the fast-class older set. Post time is 12:25 p.m.; program pages are available at the PHHA website.

(PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia)