Chester, PA — Khaosan Road, a pupil of Åke Svanstedt, wore down his old stablemate Asteroid then trotted away to a career-best 1:52.2 win in the $15,000 feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on a sunny Thursday afternoon (Sept. 12).
Public choice Asteroid, in his first outing since leaving the Svanstedt stable, was pointed frontward early but received stern resistance from Stormont Divide, who pushed him past a :26.4 opener before yielding the lead. Asteroid continued setting the pace through middle fractions of :55.4 and 1:24.1; nearing the latter station, George Napolitano Jr. guided Khaosan Road outside to challenge.
The 4-year-old International Moni gelding moved powerfully when asked, put away the favorite fairly easily, then won by 1-1/2 lengths over Stormont Divide, who beat out Asteroid by a neck for the place spot. The victor, last year’s Dexter Cup winner and Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship runner-up, now has earnings of $382,896 for Knutsson Trotting Inc. and Little E LLC.
Lava Field, now a winner of three of his last four races, pulled off a $45.80 upset in the $13,000 co-featured trot. Tim Tetrick, who led all drivers with four wins on the card, got away well on the inside with the victorious Muscle Mass gelding, keeping JL Cruze two-wide while Dire Straits broke stride amid a three-wide leave attempt. Lava Field yielded to sit in the two-hole behind JL Cruze then came up the inside to win by a half length in 1:53.4, his fastest win clocking, for trainer Jeff Cullipher and Pollack Racing LLC.
Other victorious trotters going in 1:55 or less on the card were Jas Bluestone and Shinkansen (both 1:53.3, a mark for the former), Keystone Apache (1:54.2 for three in a row), Fifty Ways (1:54.4) and Green Zone (1:55, also a lifetime best).
Racing at Philly continues on Friday (Sept. 13) at 12:25 p.m., with high-priced claiming events providing several features; Sunday’s (Sept. 15) 12:40 p.m. program has a strong $14,000 fast-class handicap pace. On the following two Fridays (Sept. 20 and 27) Harrah’s Philadelphia will be racing under the lights, with a first post of 6:30 p.m. Free Philly programs are or will be available at www.phha.org.