Shartin N continued her dominance among distaff pacers on Sunday afternoon (July 7) at Harrah's Philadelphia, winning the $30,000 Great Northeast Open Series feature in 1:49 under wraps.
After nearly a month on the sidelines following her win in the Roses Are Red at Woodbine Mohawk Park, the six-year-old daughter of Tintin In America left mildly from the pole to land in third behind Reclamation and Bettors Up before Tim Tetrick angled her off the pegs to brush into a :27.3 first quarter. Shartin N cleared with just over a circuit to go and coasted through middle splits of :55.1 and 1:22.3 with nary a challenger in sight since first-over Write Me A Song only worked into a joint second before fading on the final turn.
As Write Me A Song faltered, she paved the way for Reclamation to take her shot at Shartin N with an eighth of a mile to go, but the champion mare accelerated immediately upon cornering for the finish. She earned the 35th win of her career while three-quarter lengths better than Reclamation with plenty in reserve. Bettors Up was another four-and-three-quarter lengths back in third while Write Me A Song faded to fourth.
"That's kind of her MO," trainer Jim King Jr. said about Shartin N's immediate response at the top of the stretch. "Timmy [Tetrick] always says, 'I should just sit still and let her do the work.' She likes it, that's for sure."
Shartin N has now won nine of her 10 starts this season for owners Richard Poillucci, JoAnn Looney-King and Tim Tetrick LLC. She paid $2.20 to win.
"I felt we would be better off having a place to go instead of having four weeks between races," King said. "This was the only choice we were left with rather than go to New York, and I would rather not be handicapped with the eight-hole on a half-mile track. It was our choice to come here, and fortunately they had a spot for her."
Shartin N will next race in the Golden Girls at The Meadowlands on Saturday, July 13.
In the sub-featured $18,000 top-level conditioned pace, Lyons Steel ($11.00) stalked Tiger Thompson N through splits of :27, :55.2 and 1:23 before pulling pocket at the eighth pole and dueling down the pacesetter to prevail by a neck in a lifetime-best 1:49.4. George Napolitano Jr. drove the four-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven gelding for trainer Dennis Watson and owner Bryan Dzugan.
The Jackpot Hi-5 carryover continues to grow after a 4-8-1-3-2 combination keyed by Lyons Steel resulted in a $463.34 dividend payable to multiple players. Wednesday's (July 10) fifth race will now have a $34,828.36 carryover in the Jackpot Hi-5, a 20-cent wager that requires players to select the first five finishers in order. The carryover is payable in the event of one unique winning ticket.
Post time on Wednesday is 12:25 p.m. (EDT).
(Harrah's Philadelphia)