The only thing that trainer Ron Burke might like better than winning stakes races is winning stakes races with offspring of Sweet Lou. On Friday afternoon, Aug. 8 at Harrah’s Philadelphia, two two-year-old pacing fillies from the Burke Brigade swept the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes (PASS) third preliminary round during a card where just over $300,000 was up for grabs in stakes action.
The quicker cut, a $94,907 division, featured a sight fans who go to the races 318 miles to the approximate west of Philly often witness: Ronnie Wrenn Jr. vs. Dave Palone in a close stretch battle, with the verdict going to Loua Dipa (dam Looksgoodinaromper), recording a second PASS win, and Wrenn by a head over Spoon Fed and Palone in 1:51.1, a new mark. Loua Dipa made favoured Imagine Heaven (also already with a Sire Stakes victory on her resume) work to get the lead well after a :27.2 opener, then yielded to sit the two-hole in fractions of :55.1 and 1:23.3. Spoon Fed had marched up uncovered to wrest command on the far turn and Wrenn was able to swing her out behind the new leader and then out-foot that one home for Pennsylvania's Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi. Loua Dipa has hit the board every time she has raced and is now three-for-five in her career, with earnings climbing into the six-figure range.
The other $94,351 division, with Burke and Sweet Lou again combining for a double Sire Stakes winner, opened the card, as a pair of fillies already with a PASS credit battled through the stretch, with Im A Lou Lou (dam Benear) a half-length ahead of Big Weekend at the end of a 1:52 mile. Again, the winner was a pocket rocket, as Im A Lou Lou, driven by Tim Tetrick, let Big Weekend and Matt Kakaley go after opening the action in :27.1, sat in the golden chair through splits of :56.1 and 1:24.4, then brushed home generating :26.4 speed from the two-hole to win for Burke Racing, Ohio's Knox Services, New Jersey's Lawrence Karr and Pennsylvania's Phillip Collura. With two wins and a third, she's earned more than $86,000 in three stakes starts.
The Sire Stakes-winning drivers, Tetrick and Wrenn, also each had a victory in one of four $27,778 Stallion Series divisions. The only repeat Stallion Series winner was the Stay Hungry-Zellweger Bluechip filly Lyons I Wanna Chip, equalling her mark of 1:53.1 despite the outside post eight for Tetrick (a four-time winner on the day overall), trainer Jim King Jr., and Threelyonsracing.
The other three Stallion Series winners on Friday were all daughters of Papi Rob Hanover, including the fastest one, Papi Knows (dam Strong Opinion), with whom Wrenn got a new mark of 1:53 after a clever steer for trainer Todd Schadel, the latter co-owner with Let It Ride Stables.
The maiden-breaking Pure Decision (dam Crooked Halo), whom Mike Cole brought home in 1:53.2, won to a mutuel tune of $37.80 as the longest shot on the board (while also helping to trigger a Superfecta carryover in the last race on the card) for trainer Åke Svanstedt, who also co-owns with Joe Sbrocco & JAF Racing.
Feisty Hanover (dam Fit To Frame) took a new mark of 1:54.1 winning for driver Andy Miller, trainer Nik Drennan and owners Joseph Davino, Brad Shackman and Drennan Stable.
A 12:40 p.m. card on Sunday will close out the racing week at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with the first race Superfecta carryover as mentioned above.
(With files from PHHA/Harrah's Philadelphia; photo of Ima Lou Lou from a previous win)