by Gerry Connors, for the PA Harness Racing Commission

Erie, PA — While Googoo Gaagaa and Stormin Normand were struting their stuff at Pocono Friday night (June 15) in the Earl Beal eliminations, the sport’s pacing “glamour division” was putting on a fine show during the afternoon card at Harrah’s Philadelphia, in four divisions of a $319,136 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes.

The best was saved for last, as the Four Starzzz Shark colt All Star Legend buzzsawed a :26.2 final quarter en route to a 1:48.2 triumph. That time beat the season’s record (held by Sweet Lou), earned All Star Legend a line in the Harrah’s track record table, and came within one tick of Custard The Dragon’s divisional world record and two ticks from the all-time five-eighths-mile track standard of Artistic Fella, Mister Big, and We Will See. Tim Tetrick sulkysat for trainer George Teague, Jr. and the partnership of Brittany Farms and John Cherveny.

In all, Tetrick handled three of the four Sire Stakes winners.

The meet’s leading driver got the call behind the Western Terror gelding E Z Noah from a fellow former Illinoisian, trainer John Butenschoen, and controled the pace to a 1:50.3 tally for the VIP Internet Stable LLC and the Baron Racing Stable.

Tetrick got another sub-1:50 in this stake with the McArdle gelding Bakin OnThe Beach, who parlayed a second-over trip into a 1:49.4 triumph for trainer Mark Harder, co-owner with Bruce Soulsby.

Anotherson of McArdle, the colt I Like Dreamin, won in the other SS cut, setting a pressured pace and then holding off Mcerlean, second to Sweet Lou in the last Sires prelim, to be good by three-quarters of a length in 1:50.4. Sam DePinto conditions the winner for Lomangino Standardbreds and Leo Lomangino Sr., with Corey Callahan — hours away from a world record performance by Googoo Gaagaa at Pocono — here in the sulky.

Nap watch likely ends Sunday: Driver George Napolitano, Jr. entered Friday with 4,996 career victories, and he earned three more in Philadelphia-Pocono double-duty. Pocono is dark Saturday night, but with George down on eight at Philadelphia and all 15 at Pocono Sunday, you’ll likely be reading his name in this space Monday morning.