Fashion Feline pounced on her Pennsylvania Sires Stake field Thursday at The Meadows, winning wire-to-wire in a stakes record clocking of 1:57
.
The $255,520 event for two-year-old trotting fillies, known as the Meadow Gladys, was contested over four divisions, with Barham Hanover, Lady Sorro and Action Broadway taking the other splits. All four winners crushed the previous stake record of 1:59 held jointly by Lost Photo and Broadway Paige.
Arlene and Jules Siegel had reason for modest expectations for Fashion Feline; their Fashion Farms LLC bought her back for $9,000 at Harrisburg. But the Broadway Hall-Sly Fox youngster has won four of five starts, and Thursday’s triumph pushed her bankroll past $100,000. In her only dull effort, a sixth-place finish in the final of the Merrie Annabelle, she had a major excuse.
“She was very distressed after that race,” trainer Jim Campbell said. “We drew blood, and it showed she had tied up.”
In the Meadow Gladys, Fashion Feline and Dave Palone thwarted the first-over bid of even-money favourite Bone A Fide, who subsequently broke stride. Fashion Feline prevailed by more than two lengths over Fortunes Dream, with Miss Ridge third. Campbell said Fashion Feline is ticketed for the Goldsmith Maid.
Barham Hanover won her fourth straight - all stakes - and made it look easy after a decisive quarter-pole move to the lead for Mike Wilder. The daughter of Cantab Hall-Bar Queen scored in 1:57.2 and won by more than four lengths over Bullet Express. Greathallofchina was third.
Dan Altmeyer, who trains Barham Hanover and owns with Heather Wilder, Richard Kelson and Jack Piatt II, had high praise for the filly.
“She’s by far the best trotting filly I’ve ever trained,” he said. “She’s mostly in Pennsylvania and at Lexington this year, though she has quite a bit next year. I gave only $15,000 for her, and I’m one who believes it’s kind of crazy to spend $15,000 in stake payments when you paid only $15,000 for the horse.”
Lady Sorro moved to the lead before the quarter pole and wasn’t challenged thereafter, winning in a career-best 1:57.2 for Aaron Merriman, trainer Sam Beegle and owner Neil Chasen. Perfect Chance was just over a length back in second, with Up Front Juansteen third.
Beegle purchased the Tom Ridge-Texas Sorro filly, sight unseen, for Chasen in late June before her pari-mutuel debut; since then, she’s won two PASS legs for her new connections.
“I’ve bought horses over the phone before,” Beegle said. “I once bought about 20 horses from New Zealand over the phone. You have to know who you’re dealing with. This filly had been trained by Tye Loy. I know Tye. He does a good job, and he’s a man of his word. She’s a nice filly. She gets better every start.”
(The Meadows)