Chester, PA — Benjamin Hanover won his third straight $16,000 fast-class handicap trotting feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon (July 30) – but the result was about the only carryover from the dynamics of this class recently.
Little Expensive, returning to Philly after a highly-successful meet at Oak Grove, gunned right to the top from the outside post 6; and Ari Ferrari J, who had won two showdowns with Benjamin Hanover before finishing second him in the last two, hustled out to the pocket from post 4, one spot to Benjamin Hanover’s inside. Benjamin Hanover and driver Tim Tetrick didn’t even eye a possibly-developing three-hole tuck, instead shifting to an even higher gear to make the top nearing the :27.4 quarter before then setting middle fractions of :56.1 and 1:24.
Ari Ferrari J, who was sent off as the 6-5 second choice behind Benjamin’s 3-5 off odds after being the favorite in the previous four matchups, was starting to advance uncovered towards the leader nearing the far turn but suddenly lost his gait, and the race seemed down to the pacesetter and pocket sitter. Little Expensive trotted home strongly from the two-hole after 22 days off, but Benjamin Hanover had the determination to withstand his late bid by a neck.
Benjamin Hanover, now with 36 wins in his 73-start career, is trained by Scott DiDomenico for owner Angela Cornell.
The $13,000 fast-class sub-feature went to Howlingathemoon DK, who enjoyed both a drop from the top level and a chance to control the pace from the inside starting slot, cutting fractions of :27, :56.3 and 1:24.3 before arriving home in control in 1:53.4. Simon Allard had the seat behind the victorious Cantab Hall gelding for owner/trainer Pat Lachance.
In the $14,000 feature for developing horses, the sophomore Greenshoe filly Berry Good News enjoyed a break from tough stakes competition from her Pennsylvania peers and produced an authoritative 1:55.1 score, lowering her mark by one-fifth of a second. Andrew McCarthy regulated fractions of :29, :58.3 and 1:26.3 before winning in hand with the Nifty Norman-conditioned miss, owned by Melvin Hartman and David McDuffee.
Tetrick led the drivers’ scorecard with three victories on the day; winning twice in the sulky were McCarthy, Corey Callahan and Patrick Ryder.
Friday’s (July 31) Philly features are for pacing distaffers looking to advance their careers, with the $14,000 headliner spotlighting shipper Two Twenty Swift, a championship winner in both the New York and Massachusetts programs last year. There will also be several races for 2-year-olds looking to make their mark in upcoming Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series action at the riverside oval. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.