Day Lily blew up the tote board Monday at The Meadows, capturing the $40,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series championship for two-year-old filly trotters at a lusty 32-1.
The Meadows also hosted the three other PA Stallion Series $40,000 championships for freshmen, which were taken by UF Larry Alltheway (colt and gelding pacers), KY Lucky (colt and gelding trotters) and Half Past Seven (filly trotters). A quartet of $40,000 PA Stallion Series finals for three-year-olds highlights Tuesday’s program at The Meadows.
Day Lily finished off the board in her final two stallion series preliminary legs, when she left for early position but lacked a finishing kick, and it appeared she would follow the same script in the championship. But when Mike Wilder squeezed her off the cones at the top of the stretch, she responded with fire and scored in a career-best 1:57.2. She was 1-1/4 lengths better than the favourite, Fly Angel Fly. Alpha Alpha rallied for show.
“I didn’t get shuffled too bad, but I got kind of stopped,” Wilder said. “I really got lucky to squeeze out, but when I did, she was full of trot. She was sick her last two starts, but her trainer said she was over that and just put her in position. When I got out, she fired.”
Chris Oakes trains the daughter of Andover Hall-Filly At Bigs for Hauser Brothers Racing and Conrad Zurich.
UF Larry Alltheway won his third straight race by quarter-poling to the front for Dave Palone and prevailing in a swift 1:51.4 in the $40,000 final for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings. Hall Of Terror was second, 3-3/4 lengths back, while My Hero Ron earned show.
The Dragon Again-Varbo gelding, a $50,000 yearling acquisition, continues to be a pleasant surprise for trainer Kelly O’Donnell and owner Up Front Racing, as he showed little early promise.
“Training him down, he was probably the worst one I had all winter,” O’Donnell said. “He’d pull up, wouldn’t want to go. Once we got him behind the gate a couple times and baby-raced him, he’s been a totally different colt He throws last quarters in 27 like nothing. You wouldn’t have expected it training him down.”
He said UF Larry Alltheway will be pointed to the Standardbred at Delaware and the Keystone Classic at The Meadows.
When the leader, Longcat Hanover, broke stride in the stretch, KY Lucky took advantage of the opportunity, driving through the Lightning Lane to triumph in 1:59 in the $40,000 final for two-year-old trotting colts and geldings. He was half a length ahead of Wimborne Hanover, with Explosiveday third.
“I was pretty impressed because we got slowed almost to a stop before we got to the Lightning Lane,” said winning driver Marcus Miller. “He actually came back and trotted home pretty good. I thought we were second, but we got a little lucky.”
Tim Twaddle trains KY Lucky, a Malabar Millennium-Rosalita gelding who has finished in the money in all six career starts, for Craig Grummel, Curt Grummel and Chili Day Stables.
Half Past Seven moved first over, gobbled up the leader, Angel Or Terror, and rolled to a comfortable victory in 1:54.1 in the $40,000 final for two-year-old pacing fillies. Tony Hall guided the Mike Palone trainee to the win for owner Lone Wolf Stable. Icapella Hanover finished second, while Angel Or Terror completed the ticket.
“She’s really had to race pretty aggressive,” Hall said of the daughter of Western Terror-She’s Eligible. “With a trip, she’ll definitely get better and go some big miles here next year. The stallion series is a good fit for her.”
Elsewhere on Monday’s card, Continual Velocity matched the track record of 1:50.2 for older mares when she cruised on the front end in the $18,000 Filly & Mare Preferred Pace. Novascotia Hanover was second, with Scandalous Hanover third.
Dave Palone, who had five wins on the card, piloted the six-year-old daughter of Real Artist-Extreme Velocity, who now boasts $496,266 in career earnings, for trainer Ron Burke and owners Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.
(The Meadows)