Mississippi Storm upends Scirocco Rob

CHESTER, PA – The Cantab Hall gelding Mississippi Storm outrushed Scirocco Rob to the early lead, then out brushed him in the last 1/8 to earn a 1:52.3 triumph in the $16,200 handicap trot feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon.

Mississippi Storm, handicapped to the outside post seven because of recent earnings and possibly the 11-10 second choice to Scirocco Rob’s 9-10 for that reason , left swiftly to take command nearing the 1/8 pole in a :27.2 opener, then was able to back off the middle fractions to :56.3 and 1:25 for driver David Miller.

Through the lane the two big favorites were in a sprint to the wire, with Mississippi Storm’s :27.3 strong finish enough to keep Scirocco Rob a half-length back to the line. Tom Fanning conditions the winner of $521,343 for owner Joseph Smith.

MISSISSIPPI STORM REPLAY

Hall of Famer David Miller also captured the $14,400 co-featured trot with the Explosive Matter gelding Bang Bang Boinga in 1:56.4. With two rivals outside and challenging early, Miller drove a smart race, forcing one to back into a tuck then yielding to the other to sit the two-hole trip.

When the inside passing lane came into play, Miller took the four-year-old there and rallied for the half-length tally over Bountiful Britney for trainer Joseph Poliseno and owner Ellie Sarama.

BANG BANG BOINGA REPLAY

Besides sweeping the features, Miller added two more victories to top all Philly drivers with four wins. He has won 24 races during the last ten Philly cards in which he has participated, elevating him to second place for the season behind Tim Tetrick.

Friday’s card at Philly is headlined by the second preliminary round of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series for two-year-old trotting fillies.

There will be two divisions of the Sire Stakes and five sections of the Stallion Series – which local fans will be watching especially closely, because Sunday, September 5 is the $320,000 Pennsylvania Stallion Series Championship day right here at Philly. Both Sire Stakes divisions will feature a first-round PaSS winner – Dreamonhigh in race two and Mimi Ocean Hanover in race six.

Program pages for the 12:25 card are available here.

For full race results, click here.

From the PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia