In his three previous victories this year, Captain Optimistic had secured the front end by the half. So when his backers at Harrah's Philadelphia on Sunday, July 26 saw him sixth and wide nearing the first turn, they might have been worried about the 1-9 choice’s chances. But driver Scott Zeron backed off the early speed battle, raced Captain Optimistic from second-over position, and preserved enough late kick to take the $22,535 Winners Over Handicap Pace.
More than half of the field of seven had left the switch quickly in the feature, with Lous Starr (Corey Braden) first on top then yielding to Smooth Dream (Jonathan Ahle) past the :26.1 quarter. Smooth Dream, a Graduate Series cheque getter, maintained the top at the :54.2 half, after which Goliath Hanover (Corey Callahan), claimed for $27,778 five starts ago, came up with a speedy first-over challenge, with Captain Optimistic sticking right with his lively cover through the 1:21.4 three quarters.
Zeron tipped his charge three-wide approaching the stretch, but then found Goliath Hanover resilient and 47-1 shot Blue Lou (Jim Marohn Jr.) swinging even wider from off his back and gaining. But the class of the four-year-old son of Captaintreacherous-Cinamony showed as a :27 final quarter carried him to a three-quarter-length victory over Goliath Hanover in 1:49.2, with Blue Lou another half length back,
Captain Optimistic, now a winner of $1,834,767, got the job done for trainer Nancy Takter and the Captain Optimistic Syndicate. He is four-for-seven this year with a victory in the Graduate Series final and is 16-for-38 lifetime. He paid $2.20.
Veteran pacer Iminurblindspot prevailed off a contested front-end trip to tally his 50th career victory in a $10,563 conditioned pace. Art Stafford Jr. hustled him out of post five to be second behind Girldad (Troy Beyer), then swung him to the lead nearing a :27 quarter. Lyons Black Magic (Trae Porter) brought a first-up bid through :57 and 1:24.4 middle fractions and kept the pressure on the leader into the lane, but Iminurblindspot comfortably held off that foe by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:53.3. Ramblin Reck (Jonathan Ahle) finished third.
Iminurblindspot, trained by Mike Polhemus for Backstreet Racing LLC since 2023, hit the milestone in his 241st career start while upping his bankroll to $491,301. The Bettors Delight-Armbro Tussle gelding needed a single win in his 2026 campaign to reach 50 lifetime, and he hit that mark in his fifth start of the year. He was a $6 winner.
In the $18,310 sub-featured conditioned fast class pace, Taranaki ($2.80) was away strongly for the pocket behind pacesetting Water Sports Teen (Troy Beyer) through fractions of :26.1, :54.2 and 1:22.1. He found room to go up the inside to a mid-stretch lead, then had a group of late challengers threatening his advantage but maintained the victory in 1:50.2 for driver Jonathan Ahle. Dontmesswithles (Trae Porter), a 49-1 shot, was nearest the winner, a neck back. Cranbourne N (Simon Allard) was third. The victorious roan son of Huntsville-Free Fi Girl has won two races in a row and four of his last seven for trainer Paul Jessop, who co-owns the five-year-old with Laurie Molnar.
Favoured Toby Ornot Toby ($3.60), two weeks after racing in the Meadowlands Pace Final, was quarter-mover number two in the $19,718 conditioned event for developing horses, made the top in front of stands, and paced nicely to defeat his field by two lengths in a lifetime-best 1:50.4. Charlies Wish (George Napolitano Jr.) took second over Ayr Dave Gb (Simon Allard). Jim Marohn Jr. handled the Tall Dark Stranger-Mackie Hanover sophomore gelding for trainer Scott Di Domenico and the partnership of Oompa’s Farm Inc. and Joseph Barbera.
The list of doubling drivers at Philly on Sunday ran the gamut from A to Z – Simon Allard and Scott Zeron visited the winner's circle twice. The only training double went to Johnny Crites Jr.
Racing resumes at Harrah’s Philly on Thursday at 12:25 p.m., with the $16,000 USD Winners Over Handicap Trot featuring Ari Ferrari J and Benjamin Hanover looking for the upper hand after splitting the last four top trots at Philly. This week, they will be joined by Little Expensive, shipping in from Oak Grove after winning four times in the top class at that track's spring meeting.
(With files from PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia; photo of Captain Optimistic winning on June 12)