Iluvtomakemoney completed his sweep of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series four preliminary legs with a hard-fought victory in Tuesday’s $60,000 leg at The Meadows.
The event for freshman colt and gelding pacers was contested over three divisions, with Like Clockwork and No Easy Day taking the other splits.
The Meadows will host all eight stallion series championships, each offering a $40,000 purse, on Saturday, Sept. 2.
Hammered down to 3-5, Iluvtomakemoney was expected to make short work of the field. But his competitors had other ideas, as the Well Said-Symphony In Motion gelding found himself widest in a three-ply, :26.4 battle for the early lead. He reached the point for Tony Hall and held off the rallying Someboysomewhere by a neck in 1:54.3, with Dancinat Midland third.
“He gets really grabby in a hole, so my instructions today were: do what you have to do to get to the front,” Hall said. “I don’t know why we had to do a quarter in 26.4 — it got very confusing. I wasn’t sure if he had enough left, but he toughed it out and got the job done.”
Mark Harder trains the homebred Iluvtomakemoney for Joseph Jannuzzelli.
Like Clockwork extended his career unbeaten streak to four, including three stallion series victories, by quarter-poling to the lead for Mike Wilder and scoring easily in 1:53.3. Early leader Aleppo Hanover was second, 3-3/4 lengths back, while Dew A Little Dance earned show. Tim Twaddle trains the Ponder-Macharoundtheclock gelding for owner/breeder Birnam Wood Farms.
“He doesn’t act like a two-year-old,” Wilder said. “Everything comes easy for him. He doesn’t show much greenness. I keep pushing him to the lead to keep him out of trouble, but it doesn’t seem to bother him. He has a quiet demeanour but a big motor.”
No Easy Day was dropping down from PA Sires Stake events; the class relief showed as he rocketed by four horses in the stretch to notch his maiden victory in 1:53.3 for Dan Charlino, trainer Ron Burke and owner Thomas Dillon. Beach Watch was 1-1/4 lengths back in second while Yupper completed the ticket.
“Ronnie said he’d be really good, just race him from the back,” Charlino said of the son of Somebeachsomewhere-Wish All You Want. “He was kind of ‘colty,’ just kind of goofing around back there, until I popped the plugs. When I asked him to go, he shifted into a gear these colts don’t have.”
In the $20,000 Filly & Mare Winners Over $10,000 Life/Preferred Handicap Trot, Jewels In Hock enjoyed escort service from her stablemate, Classical Annie, then blew by her in the lane to triumph in 1:54. Wilder drove for Burke and owner Crawford Farms Racing.
The five-year-old daughter of Credit Winner-Jewels Galore extended her career bankroll to $512,955.
It was one of three wins for Wilder on the 14-race program.
Wednesday’s card at The Meadows features a pair of events for three-year-old filly trotters: a $142,654 PA Sires Stake known as the Meadow Bright and a $100,000 stallion series stake. First post is 1:05 p.m.
(The Meadows)