Chester, PA — Real Cool Sam turned in an effortless performance in his pari-mutuel debut on Thursday afternoon (June 27) at Harrah’s Philadelphia, winning in 1:56.

David Miller kept the 2-year-old Muscle Hill-Cooler Schooner gelding in third for much of the mile, stalking Libero Hanover’s early fractions of :29.3 and :59 before angling out to challenge the leader before the 1:28 three-quarters. In a matter of strides, Real Cool Sam took over before using a :28 last quarter to keep runner-up Worthy Of Honor 4-1/2 lengths at bay. Jim Campbell trains the Fashion Farms homebred.

The extreme speed is right up front in the freshman’s pedigree: Muscle Hill won 20 of 21 races in his impressive career, while Cooler Schooner shocked the harness world when she won as a 2-year-old at Pocono in 1:51.3 in 2013.

The top purse contest of the day was an $18,000 event, in which Elysium Lindy sat patiently before rallying up the inside for his third straight victory, this one in 1:54. The Cantab Hall gelding yielded the early lead to Zagster near the :27.3 quarter before stalking a pressured middle half, in which Thisguyisonfire and Cash For Gold both took their shots at the pacesetter.

In the stretch, Yannick Gingras had the best-placed fresh horse with Elysium Lindy, and the pair won by 1-3/4 lengths. Ron Burke conditions the winner of $376,315 for the Burke Racing Stable LLC, Weaver Bruscemi LLC and Joseph Di Scalia Jr.