The diverse stories behind the four winners of respective $40,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series Championships for two-year-olds that were contested yesterday at Harrah’s Philadelphia have two things in common: all four winners set or equalled the stakes record, and all four were driven by Hall of Famer Ron Pierce.
In the span of two hours, Pierce achieved what had not been done in series history: guide four stallion-series finals winners to victory lane --- and he piloted the winners despite having driven two of the horses only once before, and the other two times hopping up behind them for the first time.
First to triumph was the Yankee Glide colt Smoother Ride, thus becoming the only PA stakes participant to win all four of his preliminaries and his final this year. Smoother Ride was sent to the lead down the backstretch, and his sixth straight win was never in doubt from there. The colt's 1:56.3 clocking dropping his personal and stakes mark by one fifth of a second. Trainer Steve Elliott co-owns the promising freshman with Angelo Frassetto.
In another division, driver Tim Twaddle and Allamerican Native colt Eddie Sweat rallied from just off the dueling leaders to lower his career mark for the La Salle Racing Group. The 1:52.1 clocking equalled the stakes record. Pierce and Eddie Sweat were sent off at odds of 21-1.
Owner Howard Taylor, after seeing his star 3YO pacing filly Economy Terror set her second consecutive world record in winning a PA Sire Stakes Championship Saturday at Pocono, may have another top Western Terror miss in Want Answers, who reduced her mark to 1:53.1 in the filly pace. Trainer Steve Elliott joined Pierce back in the Philadelphia winner's circle after Want Answers lowered the divisional stakes record from 1:54.4.
Completing the sweep for Pierce was the Broadway Hall filly Tattoo You, who also benefited from laying just off contentious 'front-enders' before trotting to the fore in 1:58.1. The clocking lowered the stakes record by two fifths of a second. Conditioner Deborah Brunet is also co-owner with Y.J. Brunet and Ted Gewertz.
(With files from Harrah's Philadelphia)