Harrah’s Philadelphia hosted the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes (PASS) Championships for three-year-olds on Sunday, Sept. 6, with four $416,667 finals for each gait/sex combination and $69,444 consolations for each group as well.

Pacing Fillies

Miss Jum Jabber gave a performance for the ages in the pacing-filly event, grinding first-over against 2025 Dan Patch divisional champion Loua Dipa, wearing that filly down, and then holding off 64-1 shot Say Goodnight, who won this group's PASS Championship last year, in 1:49.2.

Andrew McCarthy got the winning filly, sent off as the 4-5 favourite, away in midpack as Darlins Angel (Lauren Tritton) overcame post eight to make the top during a :26.3 opener then ceded the lead to Loua Dipa (Ronnie Wrenn Jr.) well before the :54.4 half. Miss Jum Jabber got the grinding lasso out late on turn two and inexorably muscled up to Loua Dipa to the 1:21.4 three-quarters, with Say Goodnight (Tyler Buter) right on Miss Jum Jabber's back.

Miss Jum Jabber and Loua Dipa began their competition back on May 1, when the former came from last to photo out the latter, and four months later they were still locked in battle, with McCarthy and his filly finally getting a discernible edge in midstretch. Say Goodnight had a prime cover trip and narrowed in, but Miss Jum Jabber showed her grit by holding on by a neck; Loua Dipa settled for third.

Brett Pelling trains Miss Jum Jabber, the only leading prelim point-winner to win among the sophomores Sunday. Pelling Racing LLC owns the Bettors Wish-Treacherous Reign filly, now the winner of 11 of 13 starts with $508,251 in earnings after not racing at two. The win price was $3.80.

Lyons I Wanna Chip ($3.80), who won her Pennsylvania Stallion Series Championship in 2025, upgraded her ticket nicely in the 2026 PASS consolation, lowering her mark to 1:50.4. Jason Bartlett went to the top with the daughter of Stay Hungry-Zellweger Bluechip after the quarter, and there were no anxious moments after that for trainer Petter Engblom and owner Threelyonsracing.

Pacing Colts And Geldings

The "glamour division" produced a chess match, and when the game was over, Melillo emerged the king of the division in 1:48.2, a new mark and only a fifth off the PASS Championship all-time record set by Seven Colors at Philly in 2023.

Papi Rick (Andrew McCarthy) bulleted from post eight to the lead; Melillo was looped and pressed on for Ronnie Wrenn Jr. to get the lead shortly past the :26 quarter. Wrenn backed the tempo down sharply in front of the stands, and Yannick Gingras, sensing the developing situation, moved from third with Al Papi, getting to the lead by a :55 half and then rocketing down the backstretch to reach the three-quarter pole in 1:20.3. Melillo was close behind and Sneaky Squeaky (Tim Tetrick) advanced some despite the rapid split.

Sneaky Squeaky melted a bit in the drive to the wire, and it came down to a late showdown between the members of the Burke Brigade. Melillo went to the inside of the pacesetter and gradually worked his way past, the final margin three-quarters of a length. Sneaky Squeaky finished third. 

The victory upped Melillo's earnings to $1,434,588 for Burke Racing Stable LLC, Jason Melillo and Weaver Bruscemi LLC. The Sweet Lou-Rosemary Rose colt is now six-for-27 lifetime. He returned $2.80 to win.

Toast Of The Town ($2.10), an altered son of Sweet Lou-New Year who was ninth in his preliminary standings and thus just missed the big-money championship, was in absolute charge in his consolation, coming home in :54 - :26.3 to complete his mile in 1:50.1.The Noel Daley trainee has won his last three starts for Let It Ride Stables Inc., Morrison Racing Stables, Jesmeral Stable and Alberg Racing LLC.

Trotting Fillies

Little Road, the Fordham Road-A Little Laid Back filly bred, owned, and trained by Roger Hammer, dug down deeply to resist the stubborn first-over bid of favoured Carve to win her Championship event, giving driver Brady Brown what he called “the biggest thrill of my career.”

After winning her PASS consolation in 2025, Little Road handled the step up with perfection. Brown had her away swiftly, racing three-wide to the eighth pole and two-wide to the :27.3 quarter to make the front, then got a bit of a breather to a :56.4 half. But the tempo picked up for the rest of the mile as Carve (Andrew McCarthy), just a neck off victory in the Hambletonian Oaks, made her move in the middle of the backstretch and went up to pressure the leader through a 1:24.3 three quarters.

This duo battled each other fiercely through the stretch, with Little Road showing plenty of moxie to turn back the favourite by a neck. Shimmering Hanover (James MacDonald), who sat a pocket trip, came up the inside for third.

Little Road won for the sixth time in 12 career starts and raised her earnings to $462,756. Her backers received $7.80 for a $2 bet.

The Greenshoe-Hillarmbro filly Nuance ($6.40), coming off three straight second-place finishes, made the breakthrough in her consolation, equalling the clocking she posted in a Meadowlands qualifier by stopping the timer in 1:52.2. Todd McCarthy was out almost to the three eighths with her in a protracted early battle before going to the lead, but in the stretch none of her rivals could stay with Nuance, who succeeded for trainer Marcus Melander and Courant Inc. Last year, when Little Road won the 2025 consolation, second in that race was Nuance.

Trotting Colts And Geldings

The Captain Corey-Crystalline gelding Geologic went to early command, yielded for the pocket, backed out behind the first-over horse around the far turn, and finished strongly to win in 1:52.1, equalling his mark and missing the track record by a tick.

There was no shortage of front-end action during challenging splits of :26.4, :54.2 and 1:22.4, with Fineline Hanover (Todd McCarthy) making an uncovered bid for the fourth lead change of the race. But there was one more change to come, with Geologic able to swing out from the pocket, first two-wide behind the leader then three-wide for the drive home to be the fresh horse to the wire in a three-length triumph. Hamlet Hall (Mike Wilder) closed for second, followed by Captain Vodka (Jim Marohn Jr.).

Paul Kelley is the trainer of the winner of four of his last six starts for Go For Glory Stable LLC, Matthew Lamont, Paul Kelley Racing Stable and VIP Internet Stable LLC. Geologic recorded his seventh win in 18 starts and built his bankroll to $541,774. He paid $4.80 to win.

Captain Corey continued his fine season as a sire when his son Jim Beam, the heavy favourite who also was ninth in his preliminary point standings, went right down the road while taking a new mark of 1:52.1. Tim Tetrick and his colt, out of Melania, did not have an anxious moment throughout the mile in winning for trainer Scott Di Domenico and owner Allen Wenc. A tote malfunction caused the race to be refunded.

The sophomore Stay Hungry-Sweeter Lulu gelding Mardi Gras Man extended his streak in an $18,750 overnight to start the card. The Stacy Chiodo trainee, who started his career zero-for-seven, has built his win rate to 50 per cent with seven straight victories since returning from a layoff in July. He again raced from off the pace for Trae Porter on Sunday, sitting fourth in a strung-out group through :26.2 and :54 splits before grinding up uncovered through three-quarters in 1:21.2 and cruising clear by 1-3/4 lengths. He stopped the timer in a career-best 1:49.2 while defeating Pa Luke (Tim Tetrick) with In The Moonlight (Troy Beyer) third. Mardi Gras Man has now earned $62,015 for owner-breeder Timothy Tobias Stable LLC. He paid $4.60 to win.

(With files from PHHA/Pocono; photos clockwise from top left of Little Road, Miss Jum Jabber, Geologic and Melillo)