When the best freshman colt and gelding trotters in Pennsylvania invade Hollywood Casino at The Meadows for Friday’s $157,760 Pennsylvania Sires Stakes (PASS), they’ll have to get by a pair of locally based youngsters to make off with any booty. Trainer Steve Schoeffel sends out the pair, Reformation and Bird And Grenade, who have been more than competitive in stakes action so far.
The stakes, known as the Florida Pro, goes as races one, three and six. The card also features an $80,000 PA Stallion Series event for two-year-old male trotters. First post is 5:10 p.m.
Schoeffel picked up Reformation and Bird And Grenade, both gelded sons of Father Patrick, at Harrisburg. Each went for less than $30,000 and each has outperformed his auction price. Reformation won a July 3 PA All-Stars split at Pocono in his career debut and followed that up by finishing second in the year’s opening PASS leg at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
“He’s a big, good-looking horse,” said Schoeffel. “I don’t know why he went as cheaply as he did, but we scooped him right up. I thought he’d be more of a front-runner, but he loves a target. As soon as we put him behind other horses, he came full force. He can really track them down and get them. He’s a little bit bigger and stronger than Bird And Grenade and it’s starting to show.”
Reformation has a heavy schedule of PA stakes and also is eligible in Kentucky. He’ll go in race three from post two with Brady Brown driving for owners Kathy Schoeffel, Dan Goehle, Stephen Lander and Maxx Fortune Stable.
For his part, Bird And Grenade hasn’t taken his mark yet, but he’s finished second in all three starts — each a stakes race.
“He was sick in his last start; his blood work didn’t come back well. Hopefully he’ll be better Friday.”
Kathy Schoeffel and Four Cousins Stable campaign Bird And Grenade, who has PA stakes and the Peter Haughton on his dance card. He will leave from post five in race six for Brown.
Schoeffel has developed a number of outstanding trotters in recent years. Stickler Hanover and Guido D, for example, boast combined earnings exceeding $500,000. (Through a quirk of scheduling, both will perform on Friday’s card.) But with his current pair of freshmen, Schoeffel has found himself developing as well.
“They both like to close, which is unlike most of my horses,” said Schoeffel. “I like to train them to race from the front. I like to make other horses try to beat me. That’s my mentality, but I’m learning to adjust.”
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)