Amigo Volo adds another career highlight

CHESTER PA – Amigo Volo (Father Patrick) added another highlight page to his already-stuffed scrapbook of harness racing career accomplishments, outfinishing Stormy Kromer in 1:52 to take the $22,500 handicap trotting feature on Thursday (Aug 18) afternoon at Harrah’s Philadelphia.

In the handicap field of seven the Race Office assigned Stormy Kromer post six and Amigo Volo post seven, and they got it just right. Stormy Kromer was away rapidly to clear JL Cruze, with Amigo Volo and Dexter Dunn dropping in the three-hole before the :26.4 quarter. With Scirocco Rob starting to come out of fourth at the :55.4 half, Amigo Volo was again moved to the outside, and the rest of the race was basically between the first-over and the temposetter, with Amigo Volo creeping up past the 1:23.1 three-quarters and battling the game Stormy Kromer to the finish, where the camera showed Amigo Volo the better by a head.

AMIGO VOLO REPLAY

Nifty Norman trains the five-year-old gelding, the leader of his three-year-old division and never far from the top of his class during his entire career. He now has 25 victories from 55 starts and earnings of $1,783,449 for Pinske Stables and David J. Miller.

The Break The Bank K gelding Double Account atoned for a miscue upon coming from North Jersey to Philly, winning the $16,200 co-featured trot in 1:52.3. Tim Tetrick, adding to his meet-leading total with six more winners Thursday, let favored Yanks Dugout go to the :27.1 quarter, quickly was back out to regain the throttle, and put up midsplits of :56.1 and 1:23.2 before beating the chalk by two lengths. Jeff Cullipher trains and is co-owner of the winner of $272,592 with Pollack Racing LLC.

DOUBLE ACCOUNT REPLAY

It’s hard to consider a winner of over $500,000 a “developing horse,” but the Creatine four-year-old gelding Take All Comers had won only five races in his career, so he was eligible to the $15,300 class usually thought of as a stage for up-and-coming horses. Take All Comers made short work of his field, rolling up to the lead near a :28.1 opener and then posting splits of :57 and 1:24.4 en route to victory in 1:53.1. Runthetable Stables owns the fast trotter, and the race reunited “Team Hambletonian Oaks,” driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Jim Campbell.

TAKE ALL COMERS REPLAY

This “Trottin’ Thursday” was just an amazing show all around, with three other trotters winning in 1:54 or less: Nylander (Muscle Hill) (1:54), River Otter (Mr Cantab) (1:53.2), and Sorella (Muscle Hill), who is just shy of a seven-figure career after a 1:53 victory.

The great racing continues on Friday at Philly with a pair of $22,500 handicap paces, one for each sex. In the contest for males, Jimmy Freight, rated #1 in the Top Ten polls earlier this year, returns after the better part of two months away; he did show his fitness by qualifying at Philly in 1:50.4 on Tuesday. Among the distaffs, Majorca N returns to the oval where she won the Betsy Ross Invitational in May. Both of these pacers have been assigned the outside starting slots in their respective fields of six. Racing begins Friday

For complete race results, click here.

From the PHHA / Harrah’s Philadelphia