Black Horse Racing's superstar pacing mare Katie Said is off to a fast start in 2016. The five-year-old daughter of Well Said came into the featured event at Harrah's Philadelphia on Friday afternoon (May 13) in red hot form, winning her first two races of the season vs. Open company at The Meadowlands.
She was in for a stern test in this winner's over $25,000 lifetime event, however, starting from post eight. The field was deep in talent as well. Directly to her inside starting from post seven was last year's Bluechip Matchmaker and Milton Stakes winner Venus Delight. The race also included Divine Caroline (2015 Dan Patch Award winner), Devil Child (multiple stakes winner as a three-year-old), and the red-hot Jonsie Jones, who won three of her last four races by open lengths.
Katie Said's prospects looked dim from the start, however, as she took back to last, and had to deal with excess cover for the first three-quarters of a mile. Devil Child (George Napolitano Jr.) set the tempo, challenged by Ron Burke trainee Aniston Seelster (Tim Tetrick), who was first over from the half. Katie Said (Brett Miller) was fourth over, and didn't begin her move until after three-quarters. She briefly followed Divine Caroline (Dave Miller) before fanning four-wide as they entered the stretch. She used a :27.3 final quarter in the off going to complete the last-to-first sweep in 1:52.2, getting the jump on Jonsie Jones (Pat Berry), who closed sharply up the inside to finish second. Venus Delight (Yannick Gingras), who enjoyed a second-over trip, settled for third.
Katie Said is now a perfect three-for-three on the season, and is now a 17-time winner out of 45 starts in her career. The Jimmy Takter trainee paid $6.80 to win.
(With files from Harrah's Philadelphia)