A milestone of sorts was reached very quickly at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon.
The milestone came in Race 1, as Shock It To Em became the first Pennsylvania Stallion Series competitor to post a sub-1:50 mile (1:49.4).
The Stallion Series is regarded as the Grassroots, Silver, or Excelsior equivalent in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes program. The races are for the horses that are still developing, or may not be at quite the very top level. But a 'B' horse, thus defined, recording a win in 1:49.4? Shocking, indeed.
Shock It To Em's win lowered the record, 1:50, which was set last year by Friday At Five at Pocono Downs.
Shock It To Em, a three-year-old Western Terror gelding driven by Ron Pierce, earned the lead after the :26.4 opening quarter. He then got a breather to the half, which he clicked off in :55.3.
Soon after passing the half-mile station, Shock It To Em was challenged by Eddie Sweat, last year’s Stallion Series champion. 'Eddie' and 'Shocker' motored through a :26.1 third quarter. Shock It To Em had a three-length lead as he passed the three-quarters of a mile pole in 1:21.4, but Shock It To Em and Eddie Sweat were just a neck apart at the head of the lane.
Shock It To Em was finally able to put away his game foe in the lane. He went on to win by two and a half lengths in the record clocking.
Shock It To Em, now with a perfect record after three Stallion prelims, is trained by Chris Oakes. He is owned by Hauser Brothers Racing Enterprises LLC, Chuck Pompey, Susan Oakes and Timothy Cable.
It’s not known whether a five-eighths-mile track had ever averaged a 1:50 Daily Double, but we know it’s happened now, as former stakes horse McErlean won the second contest in the shadow of the Liberty Bell in 1:50.1.
At press time, one other Stallion Series leg had been completed, with Ultimate Beachboy getting the nod in 1:50.3. Five more Stallion divisions are set for the rest of the card, and 1:49.4 may be beaten today – but Shock It To ‘Em will have his distinction as a pioneer.
(With files from the PHRC)