The Liberty Bell Stakes series continued on Friday afternoon, Oct. 31 at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with three-year-old fillies on both gaits contesting a pair of $42,254 divisions.

The “Ahle-Åke Show,” driver Johnathan Ahle and trainer Åke Svanstedt, had a big day here on Thursday and continued on that success with the faster of the trotting winners, the Southwind Frank-Mezcal Morning miss Hangover. She followed up a win in Pocono’s Simpson Stakes with a Liberty Bell engine win by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:54.1. The co-owners of the victress are Åke Svanstedt Inc., Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing, Little E LLC and Rivers Stable Inc.

The other trotting winner, the Bar Hopping-Bernis Hanover filly Bay Breeze Hanover, was the only one of the day’s four stakes success stories who wasn’t coming off a Simpson win (she was second to Hangover at Pocono), but bounced back to winning ways by taking a new mark of 1:54.2. A strong stretch headwind was a big factor on the day, but nevertheless this race had three across the wire, with Bay Breeze Hanover shooting the inside to defeat first-over Payback Moni by three-quarters of a length, with pacesetter Shes A Shoe In another neck back in third. Andrew McCarthy handled the winner for trainer Michael Seddon and owner Nick Shaw.

The Bettors Wish-Macharoundtheclock filly Time Of The Season and driver McCarthy saw a lot of early racetrack – they were four-wide, three-wide, two-wide and finally one-wide and on top at the quarter – but came home in :55.3 to be a clear winner in 1:52.1 in the faster pacing segment. Tim Twaddle conditions the winner of three of her last four for Birnam Wood Farms.

Papi Rob Hanover, who sired both pacing division winners on Thursday, added another credit when his Gigglingonthebeach (out of Always Giggling) finished off a Liberty Bell-Simpson-Lynch Consolation I triple within her last four starts, going through the headwind in :27.3 after a pocket journey in a 1:52.2 mile. Asphalt, the pacesetter, was three parts of a length off the winner, who was driven by George Napolitano Jr. for trainer Juan Cano and Hot Lead Farm.

Mark Herschberger had three wins on the day; Andrew McCarthy had a stakes double as noted. Also with two wins were the pairing of driver Kyle DiBenedetto and trainer Bo Sowers, both newly-arrived from Monticello.

Sunday’s card at 12:40 p.m. will close out the Philly racing week. There will be Liberty Bell stakes action on both next Thursday and Friday. 

(PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia; photo of Gigglingonthebeach from a previous win at Pocono Downs)