WASHINGTON, PA, Aug. 21, 2018 — Nearly scratched after tying up Monday, Phaetosive turned in a gritty first-over performance that carried her to victory in Tuesday's $165,038 Pennsylvania Sires Stake at The Meadows. The event for 3-year-old filly trotters, known as the Meadow Bright, was contested over two divisions, with Miss Jubilee Hill taking the other split.
Following her second-place finish in the Hambletonian Oaks, Phaetosive was recovering nicely. Trond Smedshammer, who trains and drives the daughter of Explosive Matter-Phaeton, reported over the weekend that she was training well. That all changed Monday morning.
"She tied up pretty bad," Smedshammer said. "She was supposed to come here yesterday afternoon, but I decided to get her loosened up and turn her out in the paddock until midnight. We put her on the truck at 4 AM and shipped up.
"If she didn't feel normal warming up, I planned to scratch her. She felt okay, but she wasn't herself in the race. It's a big relief right now. I think I aged two years in one day."
Even at less than full strength, Phaetosive engaged Hey Blondie down the backside and finally lunged ahead of the game leader at the wire, defeating her by a neck in 1:54 over a "good" surface. The victory lifted her career bankroll north of $500,000 and propelled Phaetosive into the $252,000 PASS championship Sept. 2 at Pocono.
Even with a win Tuesday, Miss Jubilee Hill couldn't reach the final; she hadn't garnered a PASS point all season. But the daughter of Muscle Hill-Miss Majestic earned a fat check and a lot of respect when she followed the live cover of 2-5 favorite Seviyorum and blew by in the lane to score in 1:55.1 for Tim Tetrick and owner/trainer Mark Steacy. Megadolce rallied for second, 1/2 length back, while Seviyorum saved show.
"They said she's a little goofy behind the gate, and she was — she seems claustrophobic and changes her gait," Tetrick said. "But I got to follow good cover, and she cleared and held off the others."
$60,000 PA Stallion Series — 3-Year-Old Filly Trotters
Tuesday's card also featured three divisions of this event, with wins going to Bella Glos, Follow Streak and Worldly Hanover.
Bella Glos was the fastest winner, collecting a front-end victory in1:55.3, 1/2 length better than the fast-closing Msnaughtyashill. Front Circle rallied for show.
"I just wanted to keep her out of trouble, not do anything too quick," said winning driver Dave Palone. "I thought I had the best horse. When she was able to get her own numbers, I never thought she was in any trouble at any time."
Jimmy Takter trains Bella Glos, a daughter of Cantab Hall-Global Desire, for Black Horse Racing.
Follow Streak attacked Mighty Macko first over, cleared near the three-quarters and went on to a comfortable 3/4-length victory over Perfect Image in 1:56.2. First Class Act completed the ticket.
"She seems a little better when she's chasing horses. She likes to pass them," said Andy Miller, who piloted the daughter of Donato Hanover-Streak — now a $100,000 performer — for trainer Julie Miller and owners Andy Miller Stable and Lawrence Dumain. "She has a couple other stakes for PA breds, but I'm not sure where we'll go after the stallion series final."
Worldly Hanover gave Bryce Brocklehurst his first career stakes victory when she moved smartly down the backside and held off the Lightning Lane charge of Fish Is Fish to defeat her by a neck in 1:59.2. Rainbowinthewest rallied for show.
"I thought she was competitive in here," Brocklehurst said. "She doesn't have a lot of gate speed, but she has a lot of kick on the end of it. She'll keep racing here, maybe go to a couple fairs."
Harold Brocklehurst conditions the daughter of Donato Hanover-Wherley for Double R Farms, David Obley and Richard Williams.
In the $20,000 Filly & Mare Preferred Handicap Pace, Divas Image made it two straight — and four of the last five — with a front-end triumph for Tetrick, trainer Jennifer Bongiorno and owners Joe Bongiorno, Howard Taylor, Thomas Lazzaro and J&T Silva Stables. The 5-year-old daughter of Bettor's Delight-Rocknroll Diva now boasts a lifetime bankroll of $518,917.
Stake racing at The Meadows continues Wednesday with a pair of events for sophomore colt and gelding trotters — the Hickory Smoke, a $167,288 PASS, and a $40,000 PA Stallion Series stake. First post is 1:05 PM.
Reaching the Hambletonian is gratifying.
Winning your Hambletonian elimination and going off the favorite in the final is a major thrill.
Getting parked every step in that final — and still losing by only 1-1/4 lengths — is the pits.
That’s what Crystal Fashion, trainer Jim Campbell and owner Jules Siegel of Fashion Farms endured. Yet they’ve climbed out of the pit and regrouped, and they’ll lead the field in Wednesday’s Hickory Smoke, a $167,288 Pennsylvania Sires Stake for 3-year-old colt and gelding trotters, at The Meadows.
Crystal Fashion leaves from the rail in the first race, with Tim Tetrick aboard. Wednesday’s card also features a $40,000 PA Stallion Series stake for sophomore colt and gelding trotters. First post is 1:05 PM.
Campbell didn’t allow himself the luxury of time off following the bitter Hambletonian defeat.
“When you win the first heat, you’re all pumped up and hoping for the best,” he says. “It’s all very exciting to be in that race, and when you win one of the divisions, it gets you fired up. But we’ve continued to race at a number of tracks. This is the time of year you want to be busy.”
Crystal Fashion, however, did enjoy a breather.
“I didn’t think two heats would bother him, but he was obviously much better in the first heat that he was in the second. We gave him lots of time to come back from it. He seems good now, and he doesn’t require a lot of training.
“We could have gone to the Zweig with him, but Jules and I decided to give him an extra few days and get some points for the sires stake final.”
The Cantab Hall-Window Willow gelding, who has banked $645,252 for Fashion Farms, currently is tied for third in PASS points. With only five others in the Top 15 in the Hickory Smoke, Crystal Fashion seems a likely finalist.
Campbell also will send out Muscle M Up (race 4, post 6, Tetrick), a Muscle Hill-Fashion Athena colt making his PASS debut.
“Early on, we thought he was our best 2-year-old,” Campbell says. “”But there’s a dark cloud over him. At first he was more immature than anything else. Then he bled. Then he got sick a couple times. He’s had a good week, but he doesn’t have a lot of racing under his belt.”
by Evan Pattak, for The Meadows