Rock Of Cashel didn’t mind the introduction of a couple of other hard-hitters to his stomping grounds, capturing the $22,500 winners-over handicap trot Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
Starting inside newcomers Gural Hanover and Meladys Monet, Rock Of Cashel was sent out of the gate quickly by driver Corey Callahan, settling in the pocket behind Gural Hanover by the :27.1 quarter, with Meladys Monet not leaving and racing from next-to-last. The victorious son of Majestic Son was content to sit in the golden chair through middle splits of :56.1 and 1:24.3, then moved outside in the lane and had plenty to go to the lead, winning in 1:53.2. Jack Vernon rallied up the inside to pass Gural Hanover and take second.
NF Happenstance, last week's winner in this class, was scratched due to sickness.
Rock Of Cashel raised his lifetime earnings to $581,063 with the victory. Mark Harder trains the consistent campaigner for Joseph Jannuzzelli and Ontario's Jeff Ruch.
Harder had three wins on the card at Philly Thursday, giving him six in the young season to tie him on top of the trainers’ standings with Ron Burke, and helping run his meet totals to a stunning 12-6-5-1-.753. The last time a Harder horse missed a cheque at any track was on April 9 at Yonkers; in the interim he has gone 17-9-6-1-1.
FINISHING LINES – While we’re looking at horsemen’s statistics...“The Four Millers” are not a barbershop quartet, but a hot foursome of drivers who are making beautiful victory music at Harrah’s Philly. Today they won half of the card’s 14 races (Andy, Brett, and Marcus had two each, David one), and they occupy four of the top seven spots in the win sulky statistics so far at Philly:
1. George Napolitano Jr., 13
2. (tie) Andy Miller and Tim Tetrick, 11
4. (tie) Brett Miller and Marcus Miller, 10
6. (tie) Yannick Gingras and David Miller, 8
(with files from Harrah's Philly)