Trailing by five lengths as they turned for home, Samosa found the “superspeed” gear and overtook heavy favourite Dreamonhigh to spring the 18-1 upset in the Pennsylvania Sires Stake on Saturday (May 21) at Hollywood Casino at The Meadows.
Two divisions were contested for a total purse of $133,980. The other division of the event for three-year-old filly trotters, known as the Meadow Bright, also went to a long shot, as 9-1 Palermo Hanover overpowered 2-5 favourite Mon Cheval to score.
Samosa had raced without hopples for her last four starts, but after she broke stride in the PASS opener at Harrah’s Philadelphia, trainer Charlie Norris decided to restore them.
“Charlie told me she has a high turn of speed but be careful getting out of there,” winning driver Mike Wilder said. “I was careful and kind of raced her the way a long shot should be raced. She did the rest. I moved her, and she was gone.
“I think the hopples helped, especially as quick as she can get into gear. There was never a moment when I thought she would run. She was crisp as ever.”
Once Wilder unleashed her, the daughter of Cantab Hall-Kolachke not only erased the deficit, but she also downed the 1-2 Dreamonhigh by 1-1/2 lengths, meaning she improved her position by 6-1/2 lengths in the stretch. That move is even more impressive when you consider that Dreamonhigh is the reigning PASS champion and the fastest two-year-old trotter ever at The Meadows. Danznqueen Hanover completed the ticket.
Samosa triumphed in a career-best 1:54 and soared over $117,000 in lifetime earnings for owners Fred Hertrich III and Scott McEneny.
Once Mon Cheval secured the point and got a reasonable :57.3 half, it appeared the others were racing for cheques. Dexter Dunn, however, had other ideas. When he moved Palermo Hanover first over from fourth, the daughter of Father Patrick-Personal Style gobbled up Mon Cheval and defeated him by 2-3/4 lengths in 1:53.3, fastest win of her career. Virgin Mary S was third.
“With a small field, I was either going to be first up or caught in the three hole,” Dunn said. “She’ll follow speed all day, and she finishes it off, so you never know how good she might turn out to be.”
Noel Daley conditions Palermo Hanover and owns with Lenny Zelin and The Gandolfo Stables.
$60,000 PA Stallion Series — Three-Year-Old Filly Trotters
In Saturday’s sub-feature, Ill Have A Lindy, Gumdrop Hanover and Baptism each captured a $20,000 split.
Ill Have A Lindy was stalking from the pocket when the leader, Vogue, broke stride. Winning pilot Yannick Gingras said the daughter of Cantab Hall-Martini Lindy handled the situation flawlessly.
“That didn’t change anything for her,” Gingras said. “She’s the same filly she was last year. She’s pretty simple and does her job. She was very mature last year.”
It was the second straight stallion series victory for Ill Have A Lindy, a homebred who’s trained by Domenico Cecere for Greathorse.
Wilder collected four wins on the 13-race card.
Live harness racing at The Meadows resumes Wednesday when the program features a pair of carryovers: $11,587.03 in the final-race Super Hi-5, $5,239.35 in the Jackpot Pick 5 (race 4). First post is 12:45 p.m.
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)