Two-year-old trotting filly Cooler Schooner, who astounded the world of harness racing last week at Pocono Downs when she became the fastest juvenile trotter of all-time, regardless of size track, will return Friday at Harrah’s Philadelphia in a division of a $252,984 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes.
Cooler Schooner will need a first or second-place finish here just to be in position to reach the PASS final.
A homebred daughter of Broadway Hall owned by Fashion Farms (Jules Siegel), Cooler Schooner had been showing both talent and temperament early in her career for trainer Jim Campbell and driver John Campbell. The filly rolled in her world-record performance last time out, as she put up fractions of :26.4, :54.4 and 1:23.2 before withstanding the challenge of Merrie Annabelle winner Shake It Cerry in the stretch. When all was said and done, Cooler Schooner trotted to an amazing clocking, 1:51.3, a mark which also equalled Check Me Out's time as the fastest female trotter regardless of age on a five-eighths-mile track.
"She gets over the ground so easily," Jim told Trot Insider after the record mile, adding that "there is just no wasted motion in her. John said that he couldn't believe how quickly she was getting it done out there."
The Pocono race was 'Cooler's first in the PASS, and thus 12 rivals have more points than her going into Friday’s last preliminary leg. Only eight fillies will advance to the $260,000 PASS Championship, which will take place on the afternoon of Sunday, September 15 at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
For her test this Friday (Race 5), Cooler Schooner has drawn Post 3 in a field of seven, which gives her a large positional edge over the two joint-top-point-earners to date: A Perfect Gem (PP6, Marcus Miller) and Designed To Be (PP7, Andy Miller).
The other pair of PASS divisions for the two-year-old trotting fillies have been carded as Race 2 and Race 8 on the Friday program.
First-race post time for the Friday card is 12:40 p.m.
(With files from PASS)