Harrah's Philadelphia: Rookie colt, gelding trotters spar in Liberty Bell Stakes

Two-year-old male trotters were in the spotlight on Friday afternoon at Harrah's Philadelphia in a couple of $35,000 Liberty Bell showdowns.

In the first grouping Put Option Hanover (Jim Pantaleano) was in the lead at the 29 4/5 quarter but gave way to sit in the pocket behind Samwise The Brave (Corey Callahan) on the way to the 59 4/5 half. Put Option Hanover then tipped back to the outside coming to the 1:29 2/5 three-quarters, as he was flushed out by White Shoe Hanover (Brad Chisholm).

Put Option Hanover forged his way around and got back to the cones ahead of Samwise The Brave on the final bend, leaving White Shoe Hanover uncovered. Despite losing the helmet he was following, White Shoe Hanover rallied in the lane and was able to out-foot Put Option Hanover to the wire, scoring by three-quarters of a length in 1:57 4/5. Global Moni (Troy Beyer) was third.

White Shoe Hanover, a Greenshoe gelding, is trained by Nifty Norman for owner Robynlee Reichard. The Hanover Shoe Farms-bred has four wins in nine starts, has banked $56,677 and returned $3.40 to win as the favorite.

► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter

Poisonpoke (George Napolitano Jr.) posted fractions of 30, 59 4/5 and 1:28 1/5 in the other split and was almost home-free when he made a break nearing the finish line. He did hit the wire first but was lapped-on by pocket-sitter Southside Bar (Johnathan Ahle), which meant that Southside Bar was second-placed-first and Poisonpoke was moved back from the win to the runner-up. Going Green (Marcus Miller) overcame an early break to get third.

Noel Daley trains Southside Bar, a Bar Hopping gelding, for owners Patricia Stable, N Daley & Sjoblom Racing, Dean Ehrgott and L. A. Express Stable LLC. Bred by Dr. William Solomon, Southside Bar has a record of 2-2-0 from five trips behind the gate, has put away $28,525 and paid $7.80 to win as the 5-2 second choice.