A pair of $88,647 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes divisions and three $27,778 Stallion Series divisions brought two-year-old pacing fillies to a rain-soaked Hollywood Casino at The Meadows on Thursday, Aug. 20.
Drivers Scott Zeron and Dave Palone didn't mind the conditions, with Zeron sweeping the PaSS divisions, known as the Meadow Cheer, and Palone scoring a natural hat-trick in the Stallion Series splits.
JK Lady Liberty ($3; pictured above) added to her growing résumé with a near wire-to-wire effort in her PaSS division. Scott Zeron landed JK Lady Liberty a close-up third but was out and moving before the quarter. Once settled on the lead, the daughter of Captain Crunch-JK Shesalady reached the half in :55.2 and three-quarters in 1:23.4. The final quarter saw JK Lady Liberty fend off runner-up Positive Princess (Dave Palone) on her left and Loyal To The End (Andy McCarthy) on her right, stopping the timer in 1:52 to win by a neck.
The win was the fourth in a row and third Sire Stakes victory for JK Lady Liberty, who is trained by Nancy Takter for 3 Brothers Stable of New York. She's now a winner of $131,730 in her career.
Zeron used the rail to perfection with Fauvette Hanover ($58.80) to score a 28-1 upset in the first Pass division. The daughter of Papi Rob Hanover-Fashion Ecstasy sat third behind the two betting favourites — clearing to the top Gold Impact (Mike Wilder) and Aestas (Corey Callahan) — through an opening quarter of :27. Middle panels of :57 and 1:25.3 brought little movement, but that changed at the head of the stretch. Aestas popped the pocket and went after leader Gold Impact, leaving the passing lane for Fauvette Hanover. It would take the length of the stretch, but the Britney Dillion pupil nosed out Aestas for the 1:53.2 victory.
William Hartt of Maine and Britney Dillion of Michigan own Fauvette Hanover, now a two-time winner of $84,168 lifetime.
The three Stallion Series divisions kicked off the Thursday card, with Palone heading to the winner's circle aboard Linda Toscano-trained Step It Up (1:53.1; $2.10), Virgil Morgan pupil Odds On Wonderful (1:53.4; $3) and Boardwalk Babe (1:52.2; $2.10) from the Joe Pavia stable.
Live harness racing resumes at The Meadows on Friday, Aug. 21, featuring a single six-horse PaSS division with a purse of $129,491 USD. First-race post time is 5:10 p.m.
(Standardbred Canada; with files from MSOA)