by Jack Chevalier, for Harrah’s Chester

Chester, PA — Always A Virgin and May June Character reaffirmed their standing as 3-year-old pacing powers on Sunday (August 19) by winning divisions of the $250,000 Battle of the Brandywine at Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack.

Grey skies and light showers could not spoil a happy afternoon for Delaware Valley harness fans as the Battle of the Brandywine came back to life with five divisions after 19 years in the attic. The first 30 “Battles” took place at Brandywine Raceway, just across the state line in Delaware, and Pershing Square held the stakes record of 1:53.4 since his victory in the 1985 edition.

Always A Virgin erased that as the 1-9 favorite in his division, roaring to the lead before the half-mile (:55.4) with Brian Sears driving aggressively. The colt’s speed put away five rivals by stretch time and he still had enough to hold off Artzina, rallying from seventh place, by three lengths in 1:51.3. Always A Virgin has won six of seven races since June 16, but the one loss was costly: he broke stride while surging to the lead in the $1 million Meadowlands Pace.

“There’s no sure thing in harness racing,” trainer Joe Holloway said. “I learned that many years ago at Brandywine Raceway when I bet my whole paycheck, $75, on Albatross to show. I was working for Father Tierney at the time, and I figured that was a good way to make an extra $10. But that was the only time in Albatross’ career that he finished out of the money. He came in fourth behind Nansemond, Isle of Wight and Kentucky – and I haven’t forgotten.”

(The Rev. Francis Tierney, a priest and Standardbred trainer in Delaware, was known as the Pacing Preacher in the 1960s.)

Always A Virgin didn’t let his backers down at Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack and earned another $25,000 for owners Joe Hurley of Wilmington, Del., and the Bluewood Stable and Val D’Or Farms of New Jersey. His seasonal total is up to $303,600.

Artzina, last year’s 2-year-old pacing champion, is still looking for his first victory of 2007. He closed impressively with Tim Tetrick driving to beat out Tiber Hanover for second place. It was the first start for Artzina since July 7, and Tetrick said, “He seemed fine to me. It was my first time driving him, and he obviously has a lot of talent.”

May June Character, champion of last weekend’s $420,125 Adios Pace at the Meadows, made it two stakes triumphs in nine days by taking command of his “Battle” division on the backstretch and storming to a two length victory over Honky Tonk Hanover in 1:52.1. Sutter Hanover set the early pace, yielded the lead grudgingly, and challenged May June Character through the stretch before fading slightly to third place with Tetrick driving.

George Brennan drove the winner, a son of Shady Character who is owned by A Bunch of Characters from Oceanside, N.Y., and Sandy Goldfarb of Westbury, N.Y.

“I think the 3-year-old pacing division is wide-open, and that’s a good thing,” Brennan said. “Always A Virgin and May June Character are two of the good ones. But a lot of colts will have big figures (earnings) beside their names.”

The contenders, including $1 million winner Southwind Lynx, are tuning up at many locations for the traditional Little Brown Jug at Delaware, Ohio, on September 20.

Brennan also piloted Artist’s View to a 1:52.3 success in the third division of the Battle of the Brandywine. Trained by George Sholty, Jr., Artist’s View came third over on the final turn and paced past Big Business in the lane. Rendarosa rallied for third place.

Sholty’s father, the late Hall of Famer, drove Rivaltime (1965) and Sonsam (1979) to victories in the “Battle.”

Holloway and Sears also enjoyed a second trip to the Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack winner’s circle when Fresh Deck took the fourth division in 1:53.1. Once Fresh Deck overtook Hennessy Hanover on the backstretch, he opened up a four length lead, just enough to withstand a whirlwind finish by Mr Aviator, a 5-1 shot reined by Delaware’s Kevin Sizer.

“If Fresh Deck had faced a little more pressure in the third quarter, we might have caught him,” Sizer said.

Fresh Deck is owned by Val D’Or Farms, another double winner Sunday, in partnership with Ted Gewertz of New York City and Schoor Racing of Manalapan, N.J.

Tetrick made his Battle of the Brandywine debut by winning the other division with Truey’s Legacy, a 9-5 shot who came three wide in the stretch for a 1:53.1 score after Ruff Me Up and Rusty’s For Real tired each other out on the front end. Noel Daley trains Truey’s Legacy for Darius Oshidar of Wrightstown, N.J., and Michael Nelin of Coram, N.Y.

Ron Pierce brought Pardon You from way back for a second-place finish, just ahead of Lindy’s Bandit.

The only colt to break stride in five divisions was Springlake Artist, even-money favorite in the race won by Artist’s View at 7-2 odds. That mild upset was the stake event’s only surprise.

Harrah’s Chester Casino & Racetrack will change its post time to 12:45 p.m. on Monday (August 20) and stay with it through December.