Leading trainer Ron Burke padded his lead in the standings at Harrah's Philadelphia with three wins on Sunday afternoon's (Aug. 23) program.
Wins with Twin B Tuffenuff ($3.20), Mr Ds Dragon ($3.40) and Braley Hanover ($6.20) enabled Burke to extend his lead over Gilbert Garcia-Owen to 34-28 in the local standings with just over one-third of the 2020 season complete.
Twin B Tuffenuff overcame significant traffic and rallied to a 1:51.4 score in a $10,000 fourth-level pace to kick off Burke's training triple. George Brennan secured the pocket with the five-year-old Rock N Roll Heaven gelding through a :26.4 quarter before being shuffled behind a tiring Incredible Shark up the backstretch. Brennan managed to escape traffic nearing the far turn, angling Twin B Tuffenuff into a live outer flow and ultimately fanning to the grandstand side in the stretch. In the final strides, Twin B Tuffenuff reached for a narrow win over Italian Delight N and Peace Out Posse.
Brennan and Burke also teamed up with Braley Hanover for a 1:50.2 score, while Simon Allard drove Burke's other winner — Mr D's Dragon — to a 1:54 victory.
A pair of $11,600 fifth-level conditioned events served as co-featured races on the program, with Pollack Racing LLC and Jeff Cullipher's Ana Afreet N ($4.80) earning top honours by way of a 1:49.3 victory.
In line to Simon Allard, the five-year-old son of Bettors Delight stalked in the clear from third through splits of :27.3, :55 and 1:21.4 before taking aim up the open stretch to collar Rockapelo by a neck in 1:49.3. Alluneedisfaith N finished third from the pocket.
The other co-feature saw Kinnder Jackson ($4.60) and Brennan dictate all the terms and evade the first-over Lying In Cash and pocket-rival Statement Made A by two lengths in 1:51. Jake Huff trains the five-year-old Allamerican Native gelding for the Our Three Sons Stable and Rosalia Huff.
Racing returns to Harrah's Philadelphia with a 14-race card on Wednesday (Aug. 26), which features a $1,792.65 carryover in the Jackpot Hi-5. Post time is 12:25 p.m. (EDT).
(Harrah's Philadelphia)