Harrah's Philadelphia: Rocknroll Gold, Energetic Hanover win Simpson Memorials

A rank outsider and a heavy favorite won the two divisions of the $86,800 Albatross, the John Simpson Sr. Memorial stake for 3-year-old pacing males, at Harrah's Philadelphia on Thursday afternoon.

The racing week opened with a 30-1 shot in the very first race both last Thursday and this. Rocknroll Gold, a gelded son of A Rocknroll Dance, was able to utilize the rail to sit in the pocket behind Bloodhound's fractions of 26 2/5, 54 2/5, and 1:21 4/5, then came up the inside for driver Art Stafford Jr., caught the pace-setter, and went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths in a new mark of 1:50 4/5. Favored Pleaseletmeknow, the NYSS champion, never got going and finished fourth. Rocknroll Gold, a winner of $147,972, is trained by Ed Gannon Jr. for Zippett Racing Stable.

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Chalk players were rewarded for their 1-5 support of the Captaintreacherous gelding Energetic Hanover, who had rewritten his mark to 1:50 in winning his last start, and then lowered it again by a tick here. Energetic Hanover laid off fractions of 26 3/5 and 55 1/5 set by Layton Hanover, moved uncovered to challenge that one by the 1:22 3/5 three-quarters, then continued on strongly in the lane to leave the pace-setter 3 1/2 lengths in arrears at the wire. Todd McCarthy drove the winner, unraced at two but now an earner of $164,139, for trainer Brett Pelling and owner David McDuffee, Melvin Hartman, Steven Arnold, and Paul Bordogna.

--press release (Harrah's Philadelphia)--