A pair of New Zealand-bred pacers — Shes Pukka N ($2.80) and Jacks Shadow N ($4.40) — proved too tough in their respective $16,200 featured events on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 12) at Harrah's Philadelphia.
In the week's top distaff pace, Shes Pukka N sprinted to a clear lead from post 5 through a :27.1 first quarter before Corey Callahan rated her through a :29.3 second split. That breather proved to be more than enough for the six-year-old Betterthancheddar mare, who used a :55.3 back half to stave off pocket rival Sunny Dee by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:52.2. Betsea finished third after tracking the top pair throughout.
Brian Malone trains 21-time winner Shes Pukka N for Peter Venturini.
Jacks Shadow N and driver Tim Tetrick employed similar tactics in the featured event for male pacers, backing into pocket rival Tito Rocks through a :56 half before hitting the accelerator up the backstretch and evading that rival by two lengths in 1:50.4. Tyga Hanover, who made a mild first-over bid up the backstretch, leveled off and finished third.
Scott DiDomenico trains Jacks Shadow N, a seven-year-old Shadow Play gelding with 26 career wins and nine this season, for the Triple D Stables, Oompa's Farm and Robert Mondillo.
Tetrick led all drivers with four wins on the 10-race program.
Live racing returns to Harrah's Philadelphia on Wednesday (Sept. 15); post time is 12:25 p.m. (EDT).
(Harrah's Philadelphia)