Rich And Miserable three-for-three in Stallion Series
July 19, 2018,from PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia
Chester, PA — Rich And Miserable kept himself in position for a possible sweep of the Pennsylvania Stallion Series for 3-year-old trotting colts and geldings on Thursday afternoon (July 19) at Harrah’s Philadelphia, running his record to three-for-three in the competition with a 1:54.1 lifetime best effort.
Tyler Buter kept the Todd Buter trainee in the two-hole as favored pacesetter Max’s Beast and first-over New Plymouth dueled through a :27.3 third quarter, then dipped to the open stretch and went by under confident handling. Rich And Miserable, who had come off a 26-day layoff, returned a generous $8.60 to win. The Explosive Matter gelding is owned by the Gene Oldford Farms LLC, Lynette Buter, and William and Carol Fuhs, the exact same partnership who owned 2016 Stallion Series 2-year-old champion Two AM, who just happened to win the very next race after Rich And Miserable’s victory.
Trainer-driver Trond Smedshammer now faces a difficult decision with his Donato Hanover gelding Donatover, who overcame a first-up journey to tally in 1:55. The sophomore, owned by Purple Haze Stables LLC, had a win and a third-place finish in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes earlier in his campaign, and for the fourth leg at The Meadows, Smedshammer will have to decide which level to commit to — and whether he’ll have enough points to make the series’ respective championships.
Im Your Captain, after a third and fifth in Sire Stakes racing, enjoyed the drop to the Stallion Series, taking a new mark of 1:54 in a wire-to-wire victory. The win by the Muscle Hill colt, owned by the Andy Miller Stable Inc. and Black Horse Racing, came in the middle of a “natural hat trick” for driver Andy Miller, and was also the start of a consecutive double for trainer Julie Miller.
The Muscle Hill gelding Spartan now has won three in a row and five of his last six after powering strongly the last three-eighths for driver Tim Tetrick to tie his personal best of 1:55.1. A Stallion Series leg winner earlier this season, Spartan proved a dominant winner for trainer Anette Lorentzon, co-owner with Fayette AB and ACL Stuteri AB.