Rich And Miserable kept himself in position for a possible sweep of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series for three-year-old trotting colts on Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia, running his record to three-for-three in the competition with a 1:54.1 lifetime best effort.
Tyler Buter kept the Todd Buter trainee in the two-hole as favoured pacesetter Maxs Beast and first-over New Plymouth argued through a :27.3 third quarter, then dipped to the inside for the stretch and went by under confident handling. The crowd wasn’t so confident about the winner, though, as he was coming off a 26-day layoff, so the double-now-triple winner returned a generous $8.60.
The Explosive Matter gelding is owned by the Gene Oldford Farms LLC, Lynette Buter, and William and Carol Fuhs; they are the exact same partnership who owned 2016 Stallion Series two-year-old champion Two AM – who just happened to win the very next race after Rich And Miserable’s victory.
Trainer/driver Trond Smedshammer now faces a difficult decision with his Donato Hanover gelding Donatover, who overcame a first-up journey to tally in 1:55. The sophomore, owned by Purple Haze Stables LLC, had a first and a third in the Sire Stakes, one level up, earlier in the campaign, and for the fourth leg at The Meadows Smedshammer will have to decide which level to commit to – and whether he’ll have enough points to make the series’ respective Championships.
Im Your Captain, after a third and fifth in Sire Stakes racing, enjoyed the drop to the Stallion Series, taking a new mark of 1:54 in a wire-to-wire victory. The win by the Muscle Hill colt, owned by the Andy Miller Stable Inc. and Black Horse Racing, came in the middle of a “natural hat trick” for driver Andy Miller, and was the start of a consecutive double for trainer/wife Julie. (“Team Orange Crush” also had two seconds in the other Stallion Series legs.)
The Muscle Hill gelding Spartan now has won three in a row and five of his last six after powering strongly the last 3/8 for driver Tim Tetrick to tie his personal best of 1:55.1. A Stallion Series leg winner earlier, Spartan and his victory may have cheered the day of trainer Anette Lorentzon, co-owner with Fayette AB and ACL Stuteri AB, whose family patriarch John Erik Magnusson recently passed away.
Tomorrow the three-year-old trotting colts will be on display at Philly in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes – races whose impact includes both the horse who could make the Sire Stakes Championship and, more immediately, contemplation of entering The Hambletonian on August 4. Beal Championship winner Crystal Fashion is among the three fields of seven in the Friday feature.
(PHHA / Harrah’s Philadelphia)