Philly record-setter wins Friday feature

CHESTER PA —  The four-year-old Sebastian K S gelding Benjamin Hanover, who earlier this season trotted the Harrah’s Philadelphia oval in 1:51.4 for a divisional track record, didn’t quite go that fast winning the $15,000 fast-class handicap feature at the riverside oval on a Friday that saw snow fall through the last third of the card, but his 1:54 mile was very impressive in its own right.

Johnathan Ahle sent the eleven-time seasonal winner right to the lead and got moderate early fractions of :28.4 and :57.4. “Benjamin” picked up the pace to reach the three-quarters in 1:26.2, then sprinted home through the chill in :27.3 – and had to, as All Wrapped Up was a pesky pocket presence throughout and made the winner work in his 1¼ length decision for trainer Scott Di Domenico and owner Angela Cornell.

BENJAMIN HANOVER REPLAY

A $14,000 co-feature trot for developing horses saw the Bold Eagle mare Golden Rain S remain undefeated in North America by taking a new mile mark of 1:54.4 for driver George Napolitano Jr., trainer Per Engblom (who sent out three winners on the card), and owner Thomas Lind-Holm. Golden Rain S, who set a rapid pace, withstood a big late rally by slow-clearing Intl Blockade by a half-length.

GOLDEN RAIN S REPLAY

Filly and mare pacers also had their turns in the Philly spotlight. In the $13,500 top contest for these distaffs, the Huntsville three-year-old miss Blue Point made an early pace-controlling move, then withstood the comeback of the horse she passed early, the inside-skimming Twin B Sunkissed, by a neck in 1:54 Meet-leading driver Tim Tetrick, who won five times at Philly Friday after triumphing seventeen times in the last three days at Dover, had the sulky seat for trainer Jeff Cullipher and Pollack Racing LLC.

BLUE POINT REPLAY

In a very competitive (the morning line favorite was 4-1) $13,000 handicap event for the lady sidewheelers, Ambushed found room late between horses and outcharged a fast-closing Vibrance (Always B Miki) by a nose in 1:52.3. Simon Allard got her home first for trainer Hunter Oakes and the ownership of D Racing Stable Inc. and Donald Mac Rae.

AMBUSHED REPLAY

Only five more cards are left in the 2024 Philly season: this week there will be more racing on Sunday at 12:40 and then a Christmas Eve Tuesday program at 12:00, before which the Dan Patch Awards divisional champions will be announced at approximately 11:00 and can be seen on the signal. To close out the year, there will be racing on Friday the 27^th at 12:25, Sunday the 29^th at 12:40, and then New Year’s Eve Tuesday the 31^st at 4 p.m. Free Philly program pages are or will be available at www.phha.org.

For complete race results, click here: US Trotting results.

From the PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia