Machnhope and Shnitzledosomethin proved toughest of all in their respective $22,500 Winners-Over pacing features on Sunday (June 6) at Harrah s Philadelphia, both upending favourites on their way to victory.
In the afternoon s featured event for fillies and mares, Blue Chip Matchmaker winner Machnhope made a sustained push to the fore, clearing Eclipse Me N just beyond a :26.2 first quarter. After Andy McCarthy rated the six-year-old daughter of Mach Three through a :55.2 midway breather, she dug in to fend off sustained outside pressure from Marloe Hanover up the backstretch and through the far turn. Not only did Machnhope have enough to parry eventual third-place finisher Marloe Hanover s bid, but she also kept a late charge from Eclipse Me N three-quarters of a length at bay to score in 1:50.1. Odds-on choice Lyons Sentinel only mustered a fourth-place finish after tracking live cover into the far turn.
Fred And Ginger, a world record-setting pacer who earned $1.05 million in his career, passed Monday (May 31) at Farriers Acres Farm in Illinois, where he was standing as a stallion, the horse’s former owner Howard Taylor said. Fred And Ginger was 14.
A son of Real Artist out of Graceful Motion, Fred And Ginger was the younger full brother of millionaire mare Ginger And Fred. He won 26 of 89 lifetime starts, with his most lucrative victory coming in 2010 at age three in the $300,000 Max C. Hempt Memorial at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Another memorable triumph came in a preliminary round of the 2013 TVG Series at The Meadowlands, where Fred And Ginger defeated future Hall of Famer Sweet Lou by a head in a world record 1:47.3. The field also included Modern Legend, Pet Rock, Dancin Yankee, Golden Receiver, Warrawee Needy and Bettors Edge.
Test Of Faith, the fastest two-year-old of 2020, showed she’s ready for whatever her opponents may throw at her with a sensational qualifying victory on Tuesday (May 25) at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
The Art Major filly, trained by Brett Pelling for Melvin Segal, Kentuckiana Racing Stable and Eddie Gran, was reserved off early fractions of :28.2 and :58.2 by driver David Miller, sitting third, four lengths off at the half. Test Of Faith moved up to second, still six lengths off the lead, by the 1:26 three-quarters, but she roared her individual last quarter in :26 to be a 1-1/2 length winner in 1:53.1. Test Of Faith now has two winning qualifiers in preparation for 2021, a year after her 1:48.4 win at Lexington was quicker than even “the boys” among freshmen.
Soho Burning Love A delivered a decisive 1:50.1 score in Sunday afternoon s (May 2) $22,500 winners-over distaff pacing feature at Harrah s Philadelphia just the second appearance at the riverside raceway from the seven-year-old mare.
Soho Burning Love A used two moves to achieve control of the terms out of her assigned outside post one to float into third on the first turn, and a second to seize control from early pacesetter Crazy Cute just beyond a :27.1 first quarter. And after the daughter of Auckland Reactor N reached the lead, there was simply no catching her. She was awesome, as good as I ve seen her, said Tim Tetrick, who drove Soho Burning Love A to her fourth victory of the year. She was just out for a Sunday afternoon stroll; she was on cruise control.
Southwind Gendry solidified his spot as one of the tops in his division Saturday (May 1) at The Meadows when he blazed a Pennsylvania Sires Stake (PASS) split in 1:49.4. Literl Lad Hanover captured the other division in the $153,856 event for three-year-old pacing colts and geldings, known as the Bye Bye Byrd, giving trainer Ron Burke a stake sweep.
Purchased as a yearling for a relatively modest $30,000, Southwind Gendry exceeded expectations by winning the PASS Championship, the Matron and divisions of the Bluegrass and International Stallion stakes in progress to banking $583,069 for owners Burke Racing Stable, Phillip Collura, Knox Services and J&T Silva-Purnel & Libby.