Amigo Volo added another highlight page to his already-stuffed scrapbook of career accomplishments, outfinishing Stormy Kromer in 1:52 to take the $22,500 handicap trotting feature on Thursday afternoon (Aug. 18) at Harrah’s Philadelphia.
In the handicap field of seven, the Race Office assigned Stormy Kromer post 6 and Amigo Volo post 7, and they got it just right. Stormy Kromer was away rapidly to clear JL Cruze, with Amigo Volo and Dexter Dunn dropping in the three-hole before the :26.4 quarter. With Scirocco Rob starting to come out of fourth at the :55.4 half, Amigo Volo was again moved to the outside, and the rest of the race was basically between the first-over challenger and the temposetter. Amigo Volo crept toward the leader past the 1:23.1 three-quarters and battled the game Stormy Kromer to the finish, where the camera showed Amigo Volo the better by a head.
"Nifty" Norman trains the five-year-old Father Patrick gelding who was the leader of his three-year-old division and never far from the top of his class during his entire career. He now has 25 victories from 55 starts and earnings of $1,783,449 for Pinske Stables and David J. Miller.
The Break The Bank K gelding Double Account atoned for a miscue upon coming from North Jersey to Philly, winning the $16,200 co-featured trot in 1:52.3. Tim Tetrick, adding to his meet-leading total with six more winners Thursday, let favoured Yanks Dugout go to the :27.1 quarter, was quickly back out to regain the throttle and put up middle splits of :56.1 and 1:23.2 before beating the chalk by two lengths. Jeff Cullipher trains and is co-owner of the winner of $272,592 with Pollack Racing LLC.
It’s hard to consider a winner of over $500,000 a “developing horse,” but the Creatine four-year-old gelding Take All Comers had won only five races in his career, so he was eligible to the $15,300 class usually thought of as a stage for up-and-coming horses. Take All Comers made short work of his field, rolling to the lead near a :28.1 opener and then posting splits of :57 and 1:24.4 in progress to victory in 1:53.1. Runthetable Stables owns the fast trotter while Jim Campbell handles the training.
This “Trottin’ Thursday” was just an amazing show all around, with three other trotters winning in 1:54 or less: Nylander (1:54), River Otter (1:53.2) and Sorella, who is just shy of a seven-figure career after a 1:53 victory.
The great racing continues on Friday (Aug. 19) at Philly with a pair of $22,500 handicap paces, one for each sex. In the contest for males, Jimmy Freight, rated No. 1 in the Top-10 polls earlier this year, returns after the better part of two months away; he did show his fitness by qualifying at Philly in 1:50.4 on Tuesday. Among the distaffs, Majorca N returns to the oval where she won the Betsy Ross Invitational in May. Both of these pacers have been assigned the outside starting slots in their respective fields of six. Racing begins Friday at 12:25 p.m. (EDT).
(PHHA / Harrah's Philadelphia)