More than $1.5 million USD will be on the line this Friday, Sept. 5 at Harrah’s Philadelphia, as the four divisions of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes (PASS) for two-year-olds will compete in their $300,000 USD championships, along with $50,000 consolations.
There will also be $100,000 USD in purses for established performers in the Invitational pace, mare pace and fast-class trotting categories.
A brief overview of each division of the Sire Stakes championships, plus a collective overview of the fast-class events follows.
Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championships
Colt & Gelding Pace (race 11)
The powerful Ron Burke barn will be sending out three entrants in this contest, and though all three have had spectacular moments already in their careers, most of the attention will be focused on the Stay Hungry-Francessa colt Frantic Hanover, who will start from post two with Tim Tetrick driving for Burke Racing Stable, Brad Grant, Knox Services and Weaver Bruscemi.
Frantic Hanover is perfect in five lifetime races, including a sweep of his four PASS preliminaries. Should he win Friday, his Sire Stakes earnings would total $288,364 USD, which would eclipse the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes record for most money won in a campaign, including all eight categories: the present record is $286,915 USD, which was won by the pacing filly Pure Country in 2015. Frantic Hanover would also become the third in his division to sweep the prelims and then add on the championship, in PASS history going back to 2002, when the history of point standings was first established.
Frantic Hanover’s fastest win was in 1:50; an even quicker time of 1:49.2 was put up in his last start, a PASS event at The Meadows, by Al Papi, a colt by Papi Rob Hanover (himself a 2018 two-year-old PASS champion) out of Baron Rem. The time was not only a divisional world record for five-eighths of a mile sized tracks, but also made him the co-fastest two-year-old of all time over the three-turn mile, equalling the gelding’s One More Laugh clocking right here in 2009. But Burke-trained Al Papi will have to solve the very difficult post eight with the guidance of Yannick Gingras.
The third Burke horse is the Sweet Lou-Rosemary Rose colt Melillo, who made a break yet was still third in Al Papi’s record mile, then had three PASS seconds before that. Ron Wrenn Jr. has the call and the pair will start from post three.
Filly Trot (race seven)
There was another “preliminary sweeper” in the freshman division this year: the Bar Hopping-Perfect Chance filly Ginger Tree Lex, trained by Steven Cook for the ownership of Sam Beegle, Ginger Tree Ventures, Knollview Stable 2 and Robert Reber Jr. Starting from post five for driver Andrew McCarthy, Ginger Tree Lex would become the fifth “grand sweeper” if successful in the championship.
Her main opposition figures to come from Islandgirl Hanover out of post two for trainer/driver Trond Smedshammer). The Captain Corey-Island Lily filly raced in three PASS prelims, winning two then being upset last week by a neck by 17-1 shot Little Town (in a consolation).
Filly Pace (race nine)
Loua Dipa, a daughter of Sweet Lou-Looksgoodinaromper, will give trainer Ron Burke a chance to sweep the pacing championships when she begins from post six for driver Ron Wrenn Jr. and the ubiquitous Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi. Loua Dipa won three preliminaries and was beaten just a head by Bahama Momma in the fourth; her winning on Friday would boost her PASS bankroll to $285,363 USD, tantalizingly close to both the divisional and all-category single-season record of Pure Country ($286,918 USD).
Bahama Momma (Tall Dark Stranger-Idyllic Beach) figures to have a big say in the outcome of this championship and she will begin from post two for driver Scott Zeron and trainer Joe Bongiorno. Bahama Momma won in the first two PASS prelims, then since has ventured to Kentucky, with recent 2-1-2 finishes at The Red Mile.
Colt & Gelding Trot (race eight)
The Captain Corey-Reilly K colt Mr Big Spender won three of his four PASS prelims; he was on the lead in the other, but he made “an untimely break.” He bounced back to win his last race and he’ll get a serious look from post six for driver Mike Wilder, trainer Norm Parker and owners Bart and Todd Brice.
Mr Penner, a gelding by 2020 PASS two-year-old champion Captain Corey out of Wet My Whistle, has the negative of the outside post eight, but two positives in that he comes from the high-win barn of Åke Svanstedt and he set a 1:54.2 Philly divisional track record in winning here earlier this summer.
Open Events
The $50,000 USD Send It In Invitational Pace (race 10) has a field with an average lifetime mark of 1:48.3, and Travis Alexander trainee Racing Rampage (post three, Matt Kakaley) recently won in that time via disqualification at Pocono Downs. The $25,000 USD Open Pace for mares (race five) may be headed by the Brett Pelling trainee Rocket Deo (post five, Andrew McCarthy), victorious in three of her last four. And if “PASS 2YO Championship Day experience” counts for anything in the $25,000 Open Trot (race one) that has several tough Swedish-breds, give the Marcus Melander-trained S I P (post five, Mattias Melander) an extra point – he won the freshman trotting colt championship in 2021.
Post time for the 15-race extravaganza at Philly on Friday is 12:25 p.m. Free Philly program pages will be available at phha.org.
(With files from PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia; photo of Frantic Hanover winning on Aug. 14 at Harrah's Philadelphia)