from the PA Fair Harness Horsemen’s Association

Bloomsburg, PA — A day after the final set of Pennsylvania Fair Sire Stakes for 2-year-olds had to be canceled due to track conditions, the last Sire Stakes card for the 3-year-olds was held Wednesday (Sept. 28) in this northeast Pennsylvania town. The Bloomsburg activity gave fans of the twicearound circuit some insight as to what they may see and not see on the $200,000 Pennsylvania Fair Championship Night at The Meadows on Saturday (Oct. 8).

Tuesday’s rainout could potentially compromise the chances of some fast freshmen who are on the bubble for making the championship based on point standings, while a win at Bloomsburg would have raised their chances some. One example would be the trotter Vegas Chuck. He was five for five on the fair circuit, and a win at Bloomsburg, where he was declared in, would have put him in his division’s top 10; now, he sits 13th, as all 12 horses above him in the standings were also in to go at Bloomsburg, and he’ll need quite a few defections to reach the championship.

Seth Dowling photo

Dragon Strikes was a 1:58.2 winner.

For the most part, Wednesday’s winners among 3-year-olds confirmed the sharpness of the divisional leaders. The colt pacing division, for example, saw its two winningest and fastest performers take their divisions, the faster going to Dragon Strikes, an Art Official colt who notched his eighth fair win and fourth 2:00 mile on the circuit with a 1:58.2 score, going three-wide at the half en route to an eight length win for driver Brady Brown, trainer Mike Gillock and owner Bob Key.

The other division went to the Western Terror gelding Star Of Terror, who has five 2:00 miles on the Ferris wheel circuit, but didn’t add one at Bloomsburg, although the speed in his 2:00.3 victory came at the end, when he rocketed home in :27.3 to win for the 11th time at the fairs for driver Chris Shaw, who had four wins on the day, trainer Jason Shaw, and Fortunate One LLC.

In the featured division of the sophomore filly pace, the Shaws struck again, with the Moon Beam filly Unbeamlieveable taking advantage of drawing the rail against archrival Vorst’s drawing post four, going wire-to-wire in 2:02, last half :58, last quarter :28.4. Chris and Jason Shaw are also the team behind this filly, who is owned by Jason’s son Mason, and she closes out her remarkable fair career with a 27-22-4-0 slate, with the ninth of her year here defeating Vorst, who came in to the race with four straight victories, three 2:00 miles, and two track records. At least Vorst’s second moved her up to ninth place in the unofficial point standings (the Pennsylvania Commission could have the official totals by the time you read this).

The spotlight division of the colt trotters saw the top five divisional point leaders meet, with the victory going to the red-hot SJ’s Caviar gelding Shady McCoy, who now has three straight wins and triumphs in five of his last six fair outings after a :28.2 last panel propelled him to victory in 2:00.3 for trainer/driver Dave Wade, co-owner with Delores Wade.

Second to Shady McCoy was defending Fair champion Major Matter; his counterpart on the female side, the Explosive Matter miss Waterview Hanover, also won Wednesday on the engine, holding on by a nose against the late-charging Catch The Bouquet after a mid-race battle which included the fastest half of the day, trot or pace, at :58.3. Waterview Hanover won for the third straight time, with Chris Shaw again in the perch behind a winner, this time for trainer Bill Daugherty Jr. and owner Susan Daugherty.

Since Bloomsburg has only a three-day slot for racing, some of these sophomores will be right back at work, weather permitting, Thursday morning, competing in the time-honored Bloomsburg Stakes; the 2-year-old Bloomsburg Stakes are also on this card, hopefully giving the freshmen who were rained out Tuesday a chance to stay sharp on their “March to The Meadows” and their $25,000 divisional championships.