Chester, PA — The annual late-season run of the Liberty Bell Stakes series began at Harrah’s Philadelphia over a sloppy track on Thursday afternoon (Oct. 30), with 2-year-old males featured – each gait had two divisions, with $134,200 aggregate on the line in the four contests. It was a good day for pacing sire Tall Dark Stranger and trotting sire Captain Corey, as both studs accounted for the two winners on their respective gaits.
The three drivers who each had three victories on the Thursday card – Simon Allard, Jack Pelling and Johnathan Ahle – took down a division of the stakes racing in a photo decision, with the fourth won by Tim Tetrick, Philly’s leading driver, by a country mile.
The quickest mile was naturally on the pace, and it was won by Really Bright, who is out of the quality mare Economy Terror. Allard got the pacer to the early lead, yielded to sit the pocket, and then came up the inside to defeat Another C Note by a neck in 1:53. Really Bright was the second in a successful consecutive collaboration for Allard and trainer Per Engblom, and the four-time winner, never worse than third in 1- career starts, is owned by Howard Taylor and Chuck Pompey.
The other Liberty Bell pace was taken by Southwind Spencer (out of Sansovia Hanover), who came from last at the stretch call to get up over passing-lane contender Easy Breeze by a head in 1:53.4. Pelling, who had won the early double, completed his triple with the Doug Snyder trainee for owner Geraldine Poerio.
On the trotting stakes side, Jim Beam (out of Melania) bucked the photo-finish trend of the other stakes, going straight to the top and winning by 7-3/4 lengths while equaling his mark of 1:56. Tetrick was in the sulky for the winner of two straight after doing well in many powerful stakes events in the summer, with Scott DiDomenico training the winner for owner Allen Wenc.
The best combination of the day was between driver Ahle and trainer Åke Svanstedt, as they hooked up for three victories, one of them the other Liberty Bell trot winner, the striking piebald Nebbiolo (dam Via Lattea IT). Nebbiolo, owned by Knutsson Trotting Inc., had to be very good to get by the stubborn pacesetter — and stablemate — Dublin Hanover (driven by Åke’s wife, Sarah), but he got the feat accomplished by a neck in 1:57.1.
Ahle and Svanstedt also won the $16,000 fast-class trotting handicap with Mr Bluebird, a son of Six Pack who since returning to Philly in August now has five wins and one second in six starts for Åke Svanstedt Inc., Little E LLC and Torbjorn Swahn Inc. Mr Bluebird was yet another neck winner, and he also got the better of a Svanstedt stablemate, favored Khaosan Road, in a 1:54 mile that featured a last split of :27.2.
The pair also teamed up to win with the Chapter Seven-Inspired By Life freshman filly Who Dares Wins, who broke her maiden easily in 1:56.1 in the goo for Order By Stable AB.
The Liberty Bell stakes will continue with 3-year-old fillies of both gaits on Friday’s (Oct. 31) card, which will have a special 2:30 p.m. post time because of the Breeders’ Cup weekend at Del Mar. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.