Arnold N Dicky overcame an awkward first quarter and powered to victory in a stakes record 1:54.2 in Wednesday’s (Aug. 12) $204,720 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at The Meadows.
Fly Light captured the other division, giving Dave Palone a sweep of the stakes for freshman trotting colts and geldings known as the Florida Pro. Both splits were conducted as off-the-card, non-wagering events.
Arnold N Dicky found himself between horses early and ultimately stranded outside, forcing him to press ahead for the lead. But the son of Bar Hopping and Kalibrated, who was named for cousins of his trainer, Chuck Sylvester, swelled up on the front, drawing off to defeat Ethan T Hanover by 5-1/2 lengths, with Padre third. The time erased the previous stakes mark of 1:54.4 shared by Real Cool Sam and Sutton.
“I figured the next time around he’d be in the Sire Stakes,” said Palone, who piloted Arnold N Dicky to a July 20 Pennsylvania Stallion Series win. “He’s just a likeable horse. His little ears were working the whole time he was on the front. There were a couple long shots in there; I wanted to see where they played out. I thought I could let them get around me and work my way back to the front.”
Sylvester owns the winner with Amy Stoltzfus, Neal Goldman and Gilbert Short.
Following a scratch, Fly Light found himself facing only three rivals. Palone said the short field helped dictate his strategy — get in front, slam on the brakes.
“You don’t get too many opportunities in a four-horse field,” he said. “I thought my best chance to beat the favourite was to walk around there and, soon as I heard him coming, hit the gas. That’s what we did. He finished well within himself. He’ll make an awfully good colt.”
In Range, who saw his career unbeaten streak snapped at three, was a length back in second while Tart Tongue completed the ticket. Åke Svanstedt conditions the son of Father Patrick and Hustle Heart, who broke his maiden in 1:56.3 for Åke Svanstedt Inc. and Stable Why Not.
$100,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series — Two-Year-Old Colt and Gelding Trot
Sunny Crockett and Mister Boinga both won their third straight in Wednesday’s sub-feature while The Irishman, Lindys Booze Cruz and Killer Instinct took the other splits. Tim Tetrick (Mister Boinga, The Irishman) fashioned a stake double.
Sunny Crockett was hammered down to 1-5 but had his hands full with the upstart maiden Roberts Hanover. The son of Father Patrick and Moonlight In Miami put his nose in front at the wire to eke out a 1:56 victory, with Father Pats Secret third.
“I moved him a little quicker than I should have, and I thought the leader was a little emptier than he was,” said Andy Miller, who drove for trainer Julie Miller and owner Willow Oak Ranch. “But my horse dug in. He’s been steadily improving.”
Mister Boinga made the point with a quarter-pole move and scored in a career-best 1:57.1 for trainer Jill Roland and owner Bernard O’Brien. Ginger Tree Knox was 1-3/4 lengths back in second while Massive Matter earned show.
“He pretty much did it on his own,” Tetrick said. “But he has an ear hood on and a blind bridle so he can’t see or hear me, so I just kind of touched him with the whip and moved the lines a little. He got home in :28 — pretty good for a young trotter.”
Live racing at The Meadows resumes Saturday (Aug. 15), when the 15-race program features a pair of stakes for three-year-old trotting fillies — a $186,382 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and a $60,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series event — as well as a $10,874.71 carryover in the final-race Super Hi-5. First post is 12:45 p.m.
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)