Sharp front-end score for Heaven Needs Me

CHESTER PA – The sophomore Heaven Needs Me, an altered son of Capt Midnight, won for the second straight time in taking Sunday’s $12,000 pacing feature for developing harness racing horses at  Harrah’s Philadelphia, with the 1:52.3 win clocking missing his lifetime best by a tick.

HEAVEN NEEDS ME REPLAY

Heaven Needs Me has been coming from off the pace in recent starts, but today driver Simon Allard sent him right to command, where he put up moderate early fractions of :28.2 and :57. Heaven Needs Me then sprinted home in :55.3 – :27.3 to maintain a safe advantage over first-up challenger In The Moonlight while winning for trainer Clay Faurot Jr. and owner Chelsey Faurot.

Fast-class pacers battled for $11,000 in a race won impressively by the Bettor’s Delight gelding Leave It To Leo in 1:51.4. The fractions were quick, to be sure, but Leave It To Leo still had to come uncovered from sixth from just before the half (covering his third quarter in :26.4). His forward mission never faltered while defeating second-over 40-1 shot Back Pocket Miki for driver Corey Callahan, trainer Dylan Davis, and the combine of Stephen Messick, Michael West, and Dylan Davis Racing.

In the $11,000 claiming handicap pace for the top-priced horses at Philly, another Bettor’s Delight gelding was victorious. Santafe’s Coach, who won a Hempt Pace elimination back in 2017, showed there is plenty of life left in his legs as he took advantage of a pocket trip and was along in 1:53.2 for driver Anthony Napolitano, making a rare Philly appearance. Trainer Darren Taneyhill and P T Stable lost the horse to a $22,000 claim here, but in his four starts for that pair since he had been claimed by them on September 20, “Coach” had made $10,050, and they also got $2000 more than what they paid to acquire him.

Mark Herschberger and George Napolitano Jr. tied for the day’s driving honors with three wins apiece. Two of Herschberger’s scores came for trainer Eddie Sager, the lone conditioning doubler.

The Liberty Bell Stakes series will be conducted on the next two Thursdays and Fridays at Harrah’s Philadelphia, with two stakes divisions each day. On Thursday, two-year-old colts will be racing for $133,200 in aggregate; three-year-old fillies will go on Friday during a card that has a special post time of 2:30, since it is Breeders Cup weekend. 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