Tattoo Artist and Allywag Hanover, second and third, respectively, in the $810,000 Breeders Crown on Oct. 29, lead a field of seven this Thursday in Rosecroft Raceway’s signature race of the year, the $125,000 Potomac Pace Invitational.
The seventh edition of the Potomac Pace will highlight a 14-race program with a 7:15 p.m. first-race post. The Potomac Pace will go off as the 11th race and the $25,000 Maryland Preferred Invitational will go as the 12th.
Allywag Hanover (pictured above), the 8-5 morning-line favourite, became the fastest gelding in harness racing history when beating likely Horse of the Year Bulldog Hanover on Oct. 9 in the Allerage Farms Open Pace at The Red Mile in 1:46 flat. In the Breeders Crown, Allywag Hanover followed Tattoo Artist past a 26-second opening quarter before taking the lead but quickly getting tested by Bulldog Hanover and going a half in :53.1.
Despite getting beaten for the place by Tattoo Artist, trainer Brett Pelling said Allywag Hanover, a five-year-old who has won more than $1.7 million, comes into the Potomac Pace as good as ever.
“There’s been no setbacks,” said Pelling. “He’s come back well.”
Tattoo Artist, 2-1, comes into the Potomac Pace with victories this year in two legs of the MGM Borgata Pacing Series at Yonkers, the Joe Gerrity Jr. Memorial at Saratoga, and the #SendItIn Invitational at Scioto.
The 2020 Potomac Pace champion, Leonidas A (8-1), returns after finishing sixth last year to upset winner Enavant. Leonidas A has won three of his last six and 10 of 20 starts this year.
This Is The Plan, trained by Ron Burke, will be pacing in his third Potomac Pace. The seven-year-old gelding was seventh last year, fifth in 2020, and was a late scratch in 2019.
Lous Pearlman, winner of the 2021 Little Brown Jug, was sixth in the Breeders Crown and has all three wins this season in overnight races.
Workin Ona Mystery finished 10th in the Breeders Crown.
Two horses who will not be racing in the Potomac Pace are Bulldog Hanover and Abuckabett Hanover. The initial plan was to race Bulldog Hanover at Rosecroft Thursday, but trainer Jack Darling told Trot Insider the shipping plans from Ontario did not work out. Meanwhile, Abuckabett Hanover, fourth in the Breeders Crown, won’t be coming after being sold last week for $534,000. New trainer Andrew Harris said it was simply “too quick a turnaround.”
The complete field for the Potomac Pace is listed below in post position order.
$125,000 Potomac Pace
Post - Horse - Driver - Odds
1. Workin Ona Mystery - David Miller - 6-1
2. Sonny Weaver N - Tim Tetrick - 20-1
3. Lous Pearlman - Simon Allard - 10-1
4. Allywag Hanover - Todd McCarthy - 8-5
5. Tattoo Artist - Dexter Dunn - 2-1
6. Leonidas A - Austin Siegelman - 8-1
7. This Is The Plan - Yannick Gingras - 8-1
(With files from Rosecroft Raceway)