Benjamin Hanover drew the second tier, a rare occurrence in a Harrah's Philadelphia overnight race, but he overcame post nine to defeat eight rivals over a track rated good in the $24,658 Winners Over Trot on Sunday, Dec. 28 for his fifth straight victory and second in a row in that class.
Tim Tetrick kept Benjamin Hanover’s nose tight on inside starter Little Expensive (Tyler Miller) to get away mid-pack as favoured Ari Ferrari J (Jim Marohn Jr.) broke while challenging for the lead in a :27.4 first panel. Little Expensive, who was second to Benjamin Hanover last time, brushed to the top in front of the stands and led to the half in :56.4.
Resolve To Win (Corey Callahan) started a determined bid uncovered on the backstretch, giving perfect cover to Benjamin Hanover through three-quarters in 1:25.1. The first-over horse wore down the pacesetter, but Benjamin Hanover was poised to pounce, and he beat Resolve To Win by a length in 1:54.1. Golden Rain S (Jonathan Ahle) finished third.
Benjamin Hanover has won five straight races for trainer Scott Di Domenico and owner Angela Cornell. The five-year-old Sebastian K S gelding is 11-for-20 for the season and has 30 wins in 52 trips to the gate lifetime. He returned $9 at the windows.
The top pacing purse was $18,493 in an upper-level conditioned event. The victory was taken by the Betterthancheddar-Shes A Dewar sophomore colt Tito N Cheddar ($4.80) in his second start since moving to Philly from Woodbine Mohawk Park, with Corey Callahan in the sulky for trainer Joe Bongiorno and owner Hutt Racing Stable. Last week, Lochlan Hanover won in this class as he got the jump on a late-clearing Tito N Cheddar; this time, Callahan took control of the pace, and Tito N Cheddar shrugged off the tough uncovered bid Lochlan Hanover (Tetrick) into a :56.1 last half, winning by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:53.4. Lazarus Star (Ridge Warren) came up the inside and beat out Lochlan Hanover for second.
The six-year-old Always B Miki-Traceys Delight gelding Vanderbilt N impressed in his stateside debut after competing against tough foes Down Under, winning a $17,808 conditioned pace in 1:52.1. The Heidi Cushing trainee, owned by driver Ron Cushing in partnership with Kevin Swywk, hustled early to the lead, yielded to Lyons Steel (Tetrick), then was shuffled to third as Leonidas A (Austin Siegelman) blasted to the top in quarter three with a :26.2 own panel. After the big expenditure by the new leader, Lyons Steel came back out for more on the turn, and Cushing tipped the Enzed pacer out behind him, swung him wide for the drive, and Vanderbilt N was a going-away winner by three lengths against solid opposition. Divine Right (Mark Herschberger) got up for second over Leonidas A.
The 15-year-old pacer Iammrbrightside N was retired after competing in an amateur-drivers event. Iammrbrightside N compiled a commendable 29-7-2-7-$61,959 scorecard this season for owner/driver Tony Verruso and trainer Veronica Spicer. His lifetime tally reads 364-63-55-54-$753,597.
Tetrick had another solid day at the office, posting the only driving triple of the 14-race program. He has 21 December victories at Philly in six cards of action. Doubles on the day were rung up by trainers Scott Di Domenico (both winners driven by Tetrick) and Mark Ford, and by drivers Callahan, Geovany Hernandez, and George Napolitano Jr.
Harrah’s Philadelphia will conclude its 2025 meet on New Year’s Eve, with a special starting time of 4 p.m. The leading drivers and trainers for the meet will be recognized, and the fans will have the bonus of mandatory payouts on the last iteration of the normal carryover wagers.
(With files from Harrah's Philadelphia; photo of Benjamin Hanover winning on Feb. 4)