Fresh off a pair of wins at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, Respect Our Flag ($4.80) made it three in a row with a sharp 1:50 score in Sunday's (Aug. 9) featured $14,400 top-level pacing event at Harrah's Philadelphia.
Driver Joe Bongiorno hustled Respect Our Flag to the early lead through a :27 first quarter before yielding to Lyons Steel, who handled the bulk of the pacesetting duties. While Lyons Steel controlled a :55.3 half and faced mild outside pressure from Rock The Devil past three-quarters in 1:22.3, Respect Our Flag drafted comfortably in the pocket and awaited clearance.
Once the field turned for home, Bongiorno ducked Respect Our Flag to the open stretch, and the four-year-old Roll With Joe gelding powered clear by one-and-three-quarter lengths under vigorous encouragement. Rock The Devil lasted for second; Lyons Steel finished third after giving way in the final sixteenth.
Breeder Barbara Bongiorno co-owns nine-time winner Respect Our Flag with Bill Lambos and Dionisios Liberatos. Jenn Bongiorno handles the training duties.
Joe Bongiorno and George Napolitano Jr. led all drivers on the card with three wins apiece.
The Jackpot Hi-5 carryover continues to grow, now standing at $20,677.97 in advance of Wednesday's (Aug. 12) card. The Jackpot Hi-5 is a 20-cent base wager available in the fifth race each day, with the carryover only paying out in the event of one unique winning ticket.
Post time for Wednesday's 14-race card is 12:25 p.m. (EDT).
(Harrah's Philadelphia)