Colossal Stride A, who went uncovered against fellow Aussie Pat McGarry A in the Harrah's Philadelphia feature last week and had to settle for second to that one, saw his rival get used harder to set the pace on Sunday (Dec. 18), and this time the Bettors Delight gelding kept going after another raw journey to catch his rival this week at the end of a 1:51.2 mile.
Pat McGarry A had to pay a :26 price to make the lead this week; he did get to back off the half to :55.3, but then had to pick it up to the 1:22.4 three-quarters as Colossal Stride A and driver Andrew McCarthy steadily advanced through the backstretch and around the turn. In the stretch, Colossal Stride A had plenty left in the tank and went by Pat McGarry A by 1-3/4 lengths. Candace Brandstatter trains the winner of $246,472 for Royal Rock Racing LLC.
Another son of Bettors Delight, The Wild Card, let Bettor Not Talk go around him early in order to sit a pocket trip, then came out and overhauled that determined foe by a head to take the $16,200 co-featured pace in 1:52. The Yonkers shipper, a winner of $324,448, was driven by Simon Allard for trainer Ron Burke and the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.
The top pacing contest for developing horses, which went for $15,300, saw Stonebridge Karis continue his excellent form run since being claimed on Aug. 30 by owner Eric Provost and trainer Darren Taneyhill, getting a two-hole trip and a clear path to the wire to win for driver Tim Tetrick in 1:53.2. The sophomore Sweet Lou gelding has posted a record of 16-7-5-1 and has earned in excess of $62,000 since joining Team Prevost/Taneyhill.
Unless the racing office programs 18 races a card for the remaining four days of the season, Tim Tetrick has mathematically clinched his eighth Harrah’s driving crown, with his six winners on Sunday bringing him to 251 for the meet, 71 ahead of second-place Simon Allard.
For the final two weeks of the 2022 racing season, and indeed 2022 itself, Harrah’s Philadelphia will feature live racing on Friday and Saturday afternoon. This week, the trotters and pacers will go to the gate at 12:25 p.m. on Friday the 23rd and noon at Saturday the 24th; next week, racing starts at 12:25 p.m. on Friday the 30th and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday the 31st.
(PHHA / Harrah's Philadelphia)