Harness: Talent aplenty in PA Sire Stakes Finals

There will be more than $2 million in purses on the line this weekend in Pennsylvania as champions will be crowned in each division for 2- and 3-year-olds over the two-day event scheduled at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono and Harrah's Philadelphia. Juveniles go first with four $253,000 divisions on Saturday afternoon followed on Sunday at Harrah’s as the cream of the 3-year-old crop in the Quaker state go at it for $252,000 per division with just eight horses lining up behind the starting car.

Pennsylvania arguably produces more top pacers and trotters than any other state or province and this weekend's clashes feature some certain mismatches along with a string of ultra-competitive contests where upsets should be expected.

Since getting a glimpse of this year's crop of 2-year-old colt trotters in Pennsylvania back in early July, it has become apparent what an impact first-year stallions have had in 2020. Just consider that eight of the nine 2-year-old colts and geldings in the field are by first-croppers, including one by a stallion that had his first crop in Pennsylvania in this grouping. We're talking specifically about Captain Corey, a colt by Googoo Gaagaa that enters Saturday afternoon’s contest a likely prohibitive favorite. The Ake Svanstedt-trained and driven colt looks more like a 4-year-old on the track and should get plenty of respect from his rivals given the value of finishing second or third to them. While Captain Corey's fastest time came in his first Sire Stakes score at The Meadows, a 1:54 1/5 mile, I wouldn’t be shocked to see him trot in 1:52 or better on Saturday, though it's doubtful he'll need to.

For my money, the two juvenile pacing finals could draw the most fireworks given the post draws and other factors that may make favorites vulnerable. In the tenth race on Saturday, the final for 2-year-old colts and geldings, trainer Ron Burke has 45 percent of the field. including three that drew inside the first four positions. Adding further intrigue was the poor draw of the only two horses in the field to break the $100K mark in earnings this year. Always A Miki and Chase H Hanover go from posts eight and nine, respectively. with both entering the contest in top form. Though Always A Miki, a compact colt from the first crop of Always B Miki, was outsprinted in last week's final preliminary, the Nancy Takter-trained colt has the talent to bounce back.

The once unbeaten Lou's Pearlman proved he wasn't invincible, going down as the chalk two starts back, but he rebounded with a solid third-place finish last Saturday afternoon at The Meadows and is one of two serious threats for trainer Burke. The other is Southwind Gendry, who won at nearly 10-1 last week, odds you may never see again from this altered son of Always B Miki. Southwind Gendry is interesting in that he’s won all three of his races when he hasn’t made a break in stride.

Trainer Brian Brown has a pair of Somebeachsomewhere-sired colts that he was high on before they debuted this season and they have lived up to his billing just to reach the Sire Stakes final. The Legend Hanover and Bayfield Beach are likely longshots on the tote board but have enough ability to upset.

On paper some may say that Grace Hill (post 4) is the odds-on favorite to capture the juvenile pacing filly final, race 12 on Saturday’s card, but the race is far from a walk-over. As a matter of fact, again Ron Burke has four of the fillies in the field, with a few that are more than capable. As for Grace Hill, who has taken all three of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes preliminaries she appeared in, the major question is what has she done lately? The answer is she hasn’t raced since August 10 when she captured a bitterly-fought division at Pocono by a nose. That nose was just ahead of Continualou, a Burke ownership homebred that may be every bit her equal. While Grace Hill has been off the track, Continualou put in a huge mile while finishing seventh in a hotly-contested single Sire Stakes dash last Friday. That Joe Bongiorno returns to the bike makes Continualou (post 6) a major player in this field. Trainer Linda Toscano does have a logical choice in this group with Marsala Hanover (post 2), a daughter of Captaintreacherous. Marsala Hanover has shown that she can sit and she can sprint, and that should work to Scott Zeron's advantage in this group. Marsala Hanover was able to overcome a Burke barrage in last week's Sire Stakes leg and she will likely have to do so again.

Of Sunday's four Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championship events for 3-year-olds, race 12 is the one that is likely to get the most attention and not just because the undefeated Party Girl Hill is in the race. While on paper having drawn the pole position it would be easy to convince oneself that Party Girl Hill is a lock in this field, but that couldn’t be further from reality. Despite an unblemished record thus far, it is in fact possible that the draw as well as the bona fide excellence of the field could make things a bit complicated for Party Girl Hill’s driver Dexter Dunn.

Breaking down the contenders in the field of eight in post order, we find Baby Your The Best in post two as a legitimate threat to be the first horse to defeat Party Girl Hill. You could say there hasn’t been an unluckier filly in North America this year than Baby Your The Best. Until the draw for Sunday's contest, Baby Your The Best raced seven times with her best starting position post five. She drew post 10 in two Meadowlands stakes appearances and posts eight and seven in two other stakes races. Given clear sailing in her last start, Baby Your The Best was vicious winning a Kentucky Sire Stakes at The Red Mile in a career best 1:50 1/5 clocking. She will be joined by her richer stablemate in the Linda Toscano barn, Rocknificent (post 5). On the board in all eight starts this year, Rocknificent has never faced Party Girl Hill in her career. Rocknificent tuned up for the final accepting a two-hole journey and finishing second behind JK First Lady in a Pennsylvania All Stars division at Pocono.

Adding serious punch to this field will be JK First Lady (post 6), a homebred daughter of Western Ideal from former Horse of the Year JK She'salady, and last year's divisional champion Lyons Sentinel (post 7), who has just one victory in six starts this year but five second-place finishes, including an epic overland journey in the Mistletoe Shalee.

Let's not give less mention to Party Girl Hill, the winner of last Saturday's Fan Hanover at Woodbine Mohawk Park. Trainer Chris Ryder has been associated with many champion-caliber fillies, with Put On A Show and I Luv The Nitelife a pair that stood above the crowd as 3-year-olds. Should Party Girl Hill defeat this incredible collection of sophomores and remain unbeaten, she could very well exceed Ryder’s past stars.

In a year that has been filled with its disappointments, I'm looking forward to some great racing action in Pennsylvania this weekend and that race in Kentucky, too.