Dial Or Nodial toted a four-race winning streak into Friday’s $75,000 Open Handicap for pacers at Harrah’s Philadelphia, but Mr Hasani N stepped up his game and turned a second-over trip into a 1:50.3 victory.
Mr Hasani N, in rein to Andy Miller, got away fifth in the early going while We Will See shot to the top from Post 6 and threw down first half fractions of :25.4 and :55.1. Dial Or Nodial commenced a first-over rally coming to the half, and Mr Hasani N was hot on his heels.
We Will See and Dial Or Nodial were separated by a little more than a length at the three-quarter pole in 1:22.2, but the battling took its toll on both pacers. Mr Hasani N, on the other hand, was fresh and brave while tracking those two from second-over, and when Miller pulled the trigger the gelding stormed home in :27.3 to post the win by 1-1/4 lengths over a dead game Dial Or Nodial. Rockin The House came on strong to finish third.
Darran Cassar trains the four-year-old son of Christian Cullen-Miss Sands for owner Joe Muscara of Huntingdon Valley, PA. The win was the pacer’s ninth of the season from 14 starts and the lion’s share of the purse pushed his lifetime earnings to $139,143. Prior to last week’s second-place finish in the same class at Harrah’s Philadelphia, Mr Hasani N owned a four-race winning streak of his own.