Top ranked sophomore colt Sweet Lou prepped for the $1.5 million Pepsi North America Cup with a 1:50.3 winning mile over a sloppy track in Friday night's Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action south of the border at The Meadows

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After switching race bikes due to a flat tire prior to the race, driver Dave Palone fired the overwhelming 1-9 favourite Sweet Lou to the lead from post five and led the seven-horse field through fractions of :27.2, :56, and 1:22.4 en route to a 1:50.3 open length victory in the second $93,645 of three PASS divisions for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Fellow Cup eligible Mcerlean came in second off a pocket trip. All Week advanced first up and dropped into third before the stretch.

The Ron Burke trainee is now two-for-two this year with both of his wins in PASS action. He paid $2.10 to win.

“I’m speechless,” said Palone, whose seven wins on the card leaves him just 64 away from matching Herve Filion’s North American win record of 15,180. “The track is horrendous and he just plowed right through it with his earplugs in and shut down. I never released him. He couldn’t be going into the North America Cup any better.

“At the end of last year, when most colts are losing weight and tucking up, he got bigger and more intimidating. To me, he looks like the Adios statue.”

The Yankee Cruiser-Sweet Future colt, who is the early 3-1 favourite in Trot Magazine's Spring Book for Canada's richest race, is owned by Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Lawrence Karr, and Phillip Collura. Eliminations for the Cup are slated for next Saturday, June 9.

Shady Breeze ($2.60) and Palone went wire-to-wire to win the first $93,645 division in 1:53.2 over Mcboogie and My Sugar Daddy.

“He has a high turn of speed, but he’s really better from off the pace,” said owner, trainer and breeder Judy Welty of the Nuclear Breeze-Myternintheshade ridgling. “I’d like to see him start coming from there because he might be in tougher and tougher.”

The $94,045 third split went to the pylon-skimming Star Recruit ($7.60) and Mike Wilder in 1:53.1 over Bakin On The Beach and Mc Attaboy.

“He’ll stay in Pennsylvania for now, but later in the year, he’s eligible for stakes worth about $750,000 in Indiana and Chicago,” noted Bruce Riegle, who conditions the Dragon Again-Remarkable Star gelding for owners Peggy and Steven Carter, Robert Reid, and Chuck Grubbs.

During Friday's undercard, six-year-old Tremor Hanover ($7) notched her third straight win in the $22,500 Filly & Mare Not Listed Preferred/Preferred Pace. Brian Zendt steered the Allamerican Native-Terrie Lesgo miss to a 1:53.2 front end victory for trainer Aaron Johnston and owners Charles Moses and Shawn Johnston. Jans Luck finished one length behind in second and My Drag Queen was third.

(With quotes from The Meadows)