Trainer Ron Burke will send four freshman pacing fillies into Tuesday’s (Aug. 13) $183,040 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at The Meadows, but the two most promising of the quartet, Sweet Ace and Shouldabeenatd — are behind the 8-ball, so to speak, stuck with extreme outside post positions.
Known as The Meadow Cheer, the stakes will go as races seven and eight, with first post at 1:05 p.m.
Burke Racing Stable, Larry Karr, Jason Melillo and J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby picked up Sweet Ace for $20,000 at Lexington, an unexpected bargain for a daughter of Sweet Lou and One Ace Too Many.
“I saw her in the field and knew I wanted to have her,” Burke says. “She seems to have high speed, and she seems to do whatever you want her to do. She’s working on being a very good horse.”
Sweet Ace has a PASS victory to her credit and missed another by a head. She rallied for an Arden Downs win in a swift 1:50.4; none of the fillies she’ll face Tuesday have gone as fast. She’ll leave from post eight with Dexter Dunn.
Sweet Ace, shown in a July 20 victory, seeks a second Pennsylvania Sire Stakes win over the Meadows on Tuesday.
“Dexter has done a good job of not putting her in bad spots,” Burke says.
Shouldabeenatd has been nearly as fast as her stablemate, but she’s presented Burke with something of a rigging challenge.
“She’s very, very fast but steers a little funny,” Burke says. “We basically have all the equipment on her that you can have on a horse so that she’ll steer a little better. She seems to be better if she’s forwardly placed but not on the lead. I think she’s a little better following, but you don’t want to be too far behind because of her steering issues.”
The homebred daughter of Sweet Lou and Breakeart Pass, who races for Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, also has a PASS win to her credit. She’ll go from post eight with Yannick Gingras.
Burke also will be represented by Primrose (race seven, post two) and Dance Club (race eight, post four). Matt Kakaley has the call on both.
Monday’s (Aug. 12) card at The Meadows, with first post at 1:05 p.m., features an $80,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series event for two-year-old pacing fillies.
(Meadows Standardbred Owners Association)