by PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia
Chester, PA — Rock Of Cashel, only a neck behind the streaking NF Happenstance last week, benefited from the absence of that competitor in winning the $22,500 winners-over handicap trot Thursday afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday (April 26).
Starting inside newcomers Gural Hanover and Melady’s Monet, Rock Of Cashel was sent out of the gate quickly by driver Corey Callahan, settling in the pocket behind Gural Hanover by the :27.1 quarter, with Melady’s Monet not leaving and racing from next-to-last. The victorious son of Majestic Son was content to sit in the golden chair through middle splits of :56.1 and 1:24.3, then moved outside in the lane and had plenty to go to the lead, winning in 1:53.2. Jack Vernon rallied up the inside to pass Gural Hanover and take second.
Rock Of Cashel raised his lifetime earnings to $581,063 with the victory. Mark Harder trains the consistent campaigner for Joseph Jannuzzelli and Jeffery Ruch.
Harder had three wins on the card, giving him six in the young season to tie him on top of the trainers’ standings with Ron Burke, and helping run his meet totals to 12-6-5-1-.753. The last time a Harder horse missed a check at any track was on April 9 at Yonkers; in the interim he has gone 17-9-6-1-1.
FINISHING LINES – Andy, Brett, Marcus and David Miller are not a barbershop quartet, but a hot foursome of drivers at Harrah’s Philadelphia. On Thursday they won half of the card’s 14 races, Andy, Brett, and Marcus had two each, David one, and they occupy four of the top seven spots in the win sulky statistics so far at this facility
The standings are:
1. George Napolitano Jr. 13, 2. (tie) Andy Miller and Tim Tetrick 11, 4. (tie) Brett Miller and Marcus Miller 10, 6. (tie) Yannick Gingras and David Miller 8.