There were six $20,000 divisions of the second preliminary round of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series for two-year-old trotting colts at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday, and in defiance of the usual concept of “avoid first-over,” five of the winners went the uncovered route en route to victory.
Red-hot driver Tim Tetrick won three of the six Stallion Series divisions en route to racking up seven total victories on the day, and he guided the fastest winner, the Explosive Matter-Afterimage colt Overserved, who lowered his mark to 1:57.1 though first-up.
The George Ducharme trainee nevertheless powered off by 2-3/4 lengths over Swipe Right for owners W J Donovan, Stephen Michaels, Joe Sbrocco, and Jim Winske.
Tetrick was also in charge of the next two fastest winners, both of whom were breaking their maidens and both of whom are trained by Jim Campbell.
Going 1:57.3 was the Father Patrick–Muscle Amour gelding Saxon, the only non-first-over StS winner as he went on the engine and posted the biggest end margin of the sextet, 4-1/4 lengths over pocket sitter Kyrie Deo, for the Runthetable Stables
Just a tick behind Saxon’s time was the Muscle Hill–Oyster Kronos colt Beyond Kronos, coming home 2-1/2 lengths ahead of Don Grigio for his first purse win for owners Jeffrey and Michael Snyder .
Hall Of Fame driver David Miller, who would have stolen the show most other days with four sulky successes of his own, was behind the Cantab Hall–Scream And Shout gelding Rock Party, who also broke his maiden in a 1:58.3 triumph, 1-1/4 lengths ahead of Hopeusteponalego, for trainer John Butenschoen and owners Lewis Whitaker, Jr. and Charles Rowe.
Another Hall Of Famer, trainer/co-owner Chuck Sylvester, sent out the Andover Hall–Lady Luck Hanover gelding Loyal Fox Hanover, who lowered his mark to 1:58.3 in winning by two lengths over Matter Of Focus under the guidance of Victor Kirby.
Sylvester’s partners on the baby are Steve Jones, Mary Kinsey Arnold, and Paul Bordogna.
The other StS winner was the longest-priced one at $17.60, the Sebastian K S–Mauresmo gelding Roger Rabbit, who made the stretch lead then held off closer Daytona Dreamin by 1-1/2 lengths while taking a 1:59 maiden mark for trainer Trish Adams and owner John Barnard.
The Stallion Series races were a microcosm of the unusual positioning bias at Philly all day Thursday – four winners raced on the engine, and the other ten all came first-over!
(PHHA / Harrah’s Philadelphia)