Harrah's Philadelphia: Betsy Ross Invitational goes to Shartin N

Shartin N, the winner of the Matchmaker and Chip Noble Memorial, continued her outstanding season to date with a 1:49 3/5 score in the $150,000 Betsy Ross Invitational for pacing mares on Sunday afternoon at Harrah's Philadelphia.

Darlinonthebeach (David Miller), Agent Q (Brett Miller), and Pure Country (Yannick Gingras) were away best from the gate, with Darlinonthebeach leading to the 26 3/5 opening quarter before Pure Country pulled from third to take charge. Shartin N (Tim Tetrick) settled in fourth, then came first-over, and was next to Pure Country at the 54 4/5 half-mile marker.

Pure Country tried to keep Shartin N on the outside, but it was to no avail, as Shartin N cleared just before the 1:21 1/5 three-quarters, then opened a gap on the field around the final bend. Blue Moon Stride (Corey Callahan), who was stalled on cover from second-over after Shartin N made front, came with a nice rally in the lane, but Shartin N found the wire half a length to the good. Diva's Image (Joe Bongiorno) came on to get third, followed by Darlinonthebeach and Agent Q.

"She's done that before. She's pretty strong and usually keeps going," said trainer Jim King Jr. about the winning trip. "She was under a pretty hard press from the toteboard right til she started in the last turn. I was worried about her clearing, but not about her winning after that."

A 5-year-old daughter of Tintin In America, Shartin N is trained by King Jr. for owners Richard Poilucci and Jo Ann Looney-King. Shartin N is now ten-for-12 in the win column in her initial North American campaign and has 17 career victories. She has earned $418,975 this year and $495,092 lifetime. She paid $4.40 to win as the 6-5 favorite.