A pair of $16,901 paces for up-and-coming females were the lead races at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Friday afternoon, July 24 with co-owner Matthew Stolte watching half of his four-horse stable sweep the features.
The Always B Miki-Road Bet sophomore filly Car Keys got her motor running early in the faster division and headed down the highway before stopping the timer in 1:51. Patrick Ryder made the lead in the :27.1 opening quarter, eased off the accelerator a bit to a :56.2 half, then came her last half in :54.3 with a :27 final quarter to defeat a tough pocket-sitting Luckylady Hanover (Trae Porter) by 1-1/4 lengths. Car Keys, a recent Development Fund winner in New Jersey, was successful for Team Ryder (trainer Chris is Patrick’s father) and the ownership of Stolte and Margaret Dey.
In the other division of the featured class, the Papi Rob Hanover-Bet On Luck filly Greenstreet was content to sit second behind Funky Billie Chin (George Napolitano Jr.), who got soft early numbers of :28.2 and :58.4. Carl Douglas fans had hopes for “Billie” after the dawdling half, but Greenstreet was able to summon a :55.3 last half to just edge the tempo-setter by a neck while establishing a mark of 1:54.3. Greenstreet was driven by Bradley Chisholm for trainer Brett Pelling, with Stolte co-owning this filly with Peter Mercatili.
The four drivers who had multiple victories on the Friday card each drove at least two of their winners for a conditioner with multiple wins. U.S. Hall of Famer Tim Tetrick, also Philly’s leading driver, finished first four times, three times for fellow U.S. Hall of Famer Linda Toscano; Bradley Chisholm had three tallies, two for Brett Pelling. Niko Karna had a double along with Noel Daley, and Patrick and Chris Ryder tasted success together twice as well.
The Philly racing week closes out on Sunday at 12:40 p.m., with Captain Optimistic, who already has two sub-1:47 miles to his credit, the horse to beat in the $16,000 USD handicap pacing feature.
(PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia)