by John Pawlak, the U.S. Trotting Association

Delaware, OH — The $63,100 Standardbred for 2-year-old trotting fillies, raced in two $31,550 divisions, led the Grand Circuit portion of Wednesday’s (Sept. 22) card at the Delaware County Fair.

USTA/Mark Hall photo

Pacific Splash, driven by Charlie Norris, won the first division in a stakes and track record-equaling mile timed in 1:59.

Robert Key’s Pacific Splash, driven by Charlie Norris, began the Grand Circuit portion of the Little Brown Jug meet by winning the first division in a stakes and track record-equaling mile timed in 1:59.

Pacific Splash contested the issue at the start from post four, but Norris let Lyrical Lady and driver Roger Hammer set a moderate early pace while the winner tucked-in second. They remained in that order until the field of six passed the three-quarter pole, where Norris eased the Rich Gillock-trained daughter of American Winner-Pacific Kathryn to the outside.

From there, Pacific Splash moved past her rival and led the charge for the wire. Jogging Home (David Miller) came on to finish second and Finaltab Hanover (Luc Ouellette) was third. Lyrical Lady tired for Hammer and finished fifth.

“With the issues she has had, she was a little bit grabby behind the gate and maybe I could float her to the lead,” Norris said in the winner’s circle. “But Roger Hammer’s horse is used to racing on the front end at the Pennsylvania Fairs and he is known for that and his horse is very surefooted, so I kind of had to go wherever I landed.

“I was pretty confident on the backside when no one was on the outside of him. I had to give her a shot because she’s a very game filly and she seemed to handle the track well.”

Asked whether Pacific Splash has a particular racing style, Norris said, “No, not really. With all the issues she’s had — she has had a limited number of starts — so you really can place her anywhere, but on a track like this (a half-mile track) you want to be close to the front.

“I drove her twice before at Chester and Pocono, and racing against these Pennsylvania fillies is tough competition. But there are a couple good fillies she beat today in Finaltab (Hanover) and Jogging Home, who I drove for three or four starts — and they are both very nice fillies.

“After I warmed her up I thought she was pretty sharp and it’s the best I’ve seen her this year.”

USTA/Mark Hall photo

In the second division, the stakes record set in the first division fell to Hall-N-Flori and driver Yannick Gingras, who went wire-to-wire to win in 1:58.3.

Pacific Flash, a homebred out of the Crowning Point mare Pacific Kathryn, has had problems staying healthy and flat in her four freshman starts, but was absolutely perfect on Wednesday while establishing a new stakes mark, which had last been lowered in 1987 by Anamosa Hanover, who won in 1:59.1 for driver Jan Nordin.

In the second division, the stakes record set in the first division fell in short order to Dean Davis’ Hall-N-Flori and driver Yannick Gingras, who went wire-to-wire to win in 1:58.3 — which was also a new divisional track record at Delaware.

Hall-N-Flori (Broadway Hall-Rose Run Flori) won for the fourth time in eight freshman starts under the direction of trainer Kent Sherman, but came into today’s race having made early breaks in two of her past four starts.

She was absolutely perfect today.

Swing Anna Cash and driver Don McKirgan tried to take a tip from the winner of the first division by sitting in the two hole, but unlike the earlier winner was unable to close and finished second, just ahead of Cheetah Hall (Brett Miller).

“It actually was (easy),” Gingras said. “I hate to say that but it really was. She just cruised around there and there was never an anxious moment. I knew they had broken the track record the race before, and I knew Kent (Sherman) would be real happy if we could break it, so I just let her go the last part of it to get the record.”

“(Trainer Kent Sherman) kept telling us she was a nice filly — and we knew it, too,” owner Dean Davis said. “We didn’t think she was going to set all these records. This was her last race and she is now done for the year and we will bring her back next year.

“We are very happy with her. We bought her right before her first race. We saw her first couple qualifiers and she left real good, plus she was bred by one of our neighbors down the road (Double Spring Farm). So we knew about the filly and said this would be the one to buy. We’ve almost doubled our money back on her — usually it goes the other way.”

— Kim French also contributed to this report