A number of big name performers made their way to Harrah’s Chester on Sunday afternoon, with trotters clashing in the $40,000 second leg of the Maxie Lee and pacers sparring in the $70,000 Open Handicap
.
We Will See, the runner-up in last year’s Pepsi North America Cup, went to the front and didn’t look back for driver Ron Pierce in the Open Handicap. The Sam De Pinto-trained, four-year-old son of Western Hanover-Aberdakara free-wheeled on the lead through panels of :26.3, :55.3 and 1:22.3 en route to winning by 1-1/2 lengths over Macraider N in 1:49.3. Whiskey Pete, who did the first-over work, was third.
Shannon De Pinto and Earl Smith of New Jersey along with Jerry Silva of New York share ownership on the 11-time winner who is a little more than $15,000 shy of becoming harness racing’s newest millionaire.
Neighsay Hanover opted to skip the opening leg of the Maxie Lee, which went to Looking Hanover in 1:53.2, but he wasn’t about to miss out on getting his picture taken in the winner’s circle in Sunday’s second leg.
Jeff Gregory left quickly from Post 7 with the Ray Schnittker trainee, who managed to work his way into an early pocket trip behind Looking Hanover. That foe sped by the quarter pole in a :28-second clip before Gregory roused Neighsay Hanover to the outside and immediately brushed to the top. Once in charge of the tempo, the five-year-old son of Muscles Yankee-Nans Conway zipped through panels of :57.4 and 1:25.4 while feeling pressure from the first-over Pilgrims Chuckie. A head separated those two at the head of the lane, and Buck I St Pat was about to join the fray after track cover from second over. Neighsay Hanover dug in, however, and used a :28.1 closing panel to post the quarter-length score over Buck I St Pat in 1:54. Ageless veteran Corleone Kosmos rallied late to pick up the show dough.
The victory was the sixth of the season for Neighsay Hanover, who is now a 16-time winner in his career for the partnership of Ted Gewertz, Leif Alber, Charles Iannazzo and Ray Schnittker. This year’s bankroll of $192,625 has helped the trotted push his career earnings to $906,658.