CHESTER, PA – The Credit Winner gelding Bluffinner is currently in career-best form after lowering his speed record to 1:53.2 while taking the $14,400 harness racing trotting feature at Harrah’s Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon.
Shinkansen, just favored over Bluffinner in the wagering, kept his rival outside past a :27.4 quarter, but once trainer/driver Trond Smedshammer and Bluffinner got to the lead, the rest were racing for second money.
Middle fractions of :57 and 1:25 preceded the final clocking, with Bluffinner drawing clear down the backstretch and going on to his third straight win for Purple Haze Stables LLC.
BUFFINNER REPLAY
There were also a pair of $13,000 fast-class trots for the older set. In the first, favorite Patriarch Hanover set the piece, but the Theo Josseln mare Eva Dairpet FR, driven by Dexter Dunn, ground him down late to get home first in 1:53.4.
The lightly-raced seven-year-old (this was only her 20th lifetime start) now has two wins and two seconds since crossing the Atlantic from Ireland for owner Alan Wallace of that country and trainer Nancy Takter, and in those four starts she has won almost as much money ($15,900) as she did during her European campaigning ($16,768).
In the other co-feature, the fans knew “Jack” about the winner, but they didn’t know if it was Jammin Jack or Jack Vernon until the photo finish revealed that Jammin Jack had closed just strongly enough to catch pacesetting favorite Jack Vernon in a lifetime best 1:54. Victor Kirby is the owner, trainer, and driver of the successful Angus Hall gelding, who boosted his bankroll to $265,952.
A quartet of $12,600 contests for developing horses on both gaits top the betting menu at Harrah’s Philadelphia Friday. Program pages will be available at https://www.phha.org/harrahspps.html.
For full race results, click here.
From the PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia