Gatka Hanover defeated previously unbeaten Speak To Me in one of four $67,347 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes divisions for two-year-old trotting fillies Wednesday night at Pocono Downs.
Speak To Me came into her division having won her first four races in convincing fashion, but on Wednesday night it was Gatka Hanover, trained by Ron Burke and driven by Matt Kakaley, who pounced from the pocket to defeat Speak To Me by 1-1/2 lengths in 1:56:1. The daughter of Muscle Massive-Girlie Tough now has four wins in six lifetime starts, including three Sire Stakes victories without a loss.
Wild Honey took her division in 1:55 in gate-to-wire fashion for driver Yannick Gingras. The Jimmy Takter-trained lass threw down fractions of :27.4, :58.1 and 1:27 before roaring home in a :28-second clip en route to posting the win by 1-3/4 lengths over Smokinmombo. Third prize was earned by Livininthefastlane.
The victory was the third of the season for the daughter of Cantab Hall-U Wanna Lindy, who is owned by Christina Takter, John Fielding, Herb Liverman and Jim Fielding. The $35,000 purchase from last year’s Lexington Select Yearling Sale has potted more than $87,000 in earnings.
Jersey Strong powered to the lead in the second quarter and drew clear of the competition in her division, winning in 1:56.2 for the tandem of driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Mark Harder. Sent off at odds of 7-5, the trotting miss rolled through middle splits of :57.4 and 1:27.2 before firing home in a :29-second clip to win by 2-3/4 lengths over Kirsi Hanover. Rounding out the top three finishers was Pad Princess.
The daughter of Muscle Massive-Vacations Over improved her rookie record to 3-1-0 from five tries with the victory, and her bankroll climbed in excess of $64,000. The $20,000 purchase from last year’s Harrisburg Yearling Sale is owned by Harder and partner Joseph Junnuzzelli of Manalapan, New Jersey.
Sweet Thing also won as she pleased in the final PASS division on the card. The Homer Hochstetler-trained trotting lass carved out fractions of :28.1, :57.3 and 1:26.1 for driver Charlie Norris before using a :29.4 kicker to win by a half-length margin over Smexi in 1:56. Catherines Melody grabbed the show dough.
Sent off as the 8-5 favourite, the daughter of Chocolatier-Berdine Hanover clicked for the third time in six starts this season. The homebred, who is owned by Illinois partners Connie Hochstetler of Crete and Robert Buddig of Hinsdale, pushed her cash stash to $62,865 with the win.
(With files from Pocono Downs)