Whose Blues road the pocket behind favourite Sherry Lyns Lady and then reached up the inside for a 1:52.3 divisional track record in the second of three $63,462 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes events for three-year-old trotting fillies on Wednesday afternoon (July 15) at Harrah's Philadelphia.
Whose Blues and Daniel Dubé pushed favourite Sherry Lyns Lady past a :27.2 first quarter, and then yielded to the pocket to draft behind fractions of :55.3 and 1:24.3 forced by the first-over Creature Of Habit. Dubé pointed the Cantab Hall fiilly to the open stretch off the home turn, and after Sherry Lyns Lady got a bit rough in the stretch, Whose Blues found enough to win by a half length.
Luc Blais trains Whose Blues, a six-time winner in 11 starts, for Determination.
In the third division, Sister Sledge, a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion in 2019 and runner-up to Dan Patch Award winner Roman Hill in the Breeders Crown, tasted her first defeat of 2020 when Solsbury Hill chased her down for a 22-1 upset.
Solsbury Hill led through a :28.2 opening quarter, yielded to 1-20 favourite Sister Sledge and rode the pocket through middle splits of :57.1 and 1:25.1, and then came out and collared her rival by a neck in 1:52.4 in a thrilling stretch duel.
Scott Zeron drove the daughter of Muscle Hill to her fourth career win. Trainer Rick Zeron shares ownership with Howard Taylor, the Rojan Stables and Bill Donovan.
A pair of even-money shots clashed in the first Sire Stakes division, with Next Level Stuff equalling her lifetime best of 1:53.2. The daughter of Sebastian K S, driven by Tim Tetrick for trainer Jim Campbell and the Runthetable Stables, pressed past a :28 first quarter to clear Crucial with a lap to go before controlling middle fractions of :56.1 and 1:25.1 and turning back a stretch challenge from Crucial by 1-1/2 lengths.
Next Level Stuff has now won nine of her 13 lifetime starts, including seven in a row dating to last season.
Six $20,000 Stallion Series divisions highlighted the undercard. Three daughters of Muscle Hill won their splits: Hannah (1:53.3, Andy Miller), Dune Hill (1:53.4, Yannick Gingras) and Tuscany (1:55.1, George Brennan). Impressive Fashion (1:54.4, Dexter Dunn), Miss McKee (1:54.1, Tetrick) and Aunt Bee (1:56.3, Wilbur Yoder) won the other three divisions.
Tim Tetrick led all drivers with five wins on the program.
(with files from Harrah's Philadelphia)