Harrah's Philadelphia: Svanstedt's Captain Corey colts clean up in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes

Five years ago to the week, trotter Captain Corey and horseman Ake Svanstedt teamed to win the Earl Beal Trot up the road from Harrah's Philadelphia at Pocono Downs. Five years on and the pair are stlll teaming for winner's circle visits, as now-sire Captain Corey and trainer-driver Svanstedt combined to win the two divisions of the fourth and final preliminary leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for 2-year-old male trotters on Sunday at Philly, which offered $170,842 between the two PaSS divisions and three sections of the PA Stallion Series.

The faster of the two sections was the 1:55 mile by Jimdougie Armitage (dam Quick Bet), a $750,000 yearling who recorded a second straight Sire Stakes prelim win. For seven-eighths of this mile, things went as they appeared they would on paper, with Dream Shaq, who won his first two Sire Stakes legs, taking the leading after a 28 second quarter and going to the half in 57 1/5, with "Jimdougie" starting an uncovered move midway down the backstretch that saw the two leaders battling at the 1:24 4/5 three-quarters. Red Andray was staying semi-connected in third, and the rest of the field seemed closer to the Philly Airport than the front of the pack.

The first-over horse looked ready to take the measure of the pace-setter, which wouldn't be unusual since he beat him last week, but then the two hooked up in a fierce battle in mid-stretch. That too wasn't strange given the quality the two had demonstrated - but what was unexpected was that Red Andray was gaining good ground and two from the far-end of the field were similarly narrowing rapidly. The last quarter went in 30 1/5, with Jimdougie Armitage living up to his pedigree and purchase price by lowering his mark to 1:55. He defeated "Shaq" by three-quarters of a length, with Red Andray only a neck off place and five horses in all within three lengths at the finish.

Jimdougie Armitage is owned by S R F Stable, Knutsson Trotting Inc., Brochart Stable Inc., and Svanstedt & Midnight Sun - and now new Hall of Famer Svanstedt has 15 days to get the colt (who had heretofore failed to beat 29 1/5 home only over a sloppy oval) set before his $300,000 Sire Stakes Championship, to be held Labor Day Monday at Pocono.

Things weren't quite as dramatic in the other Sires cut, as Big Time Trot S (dam The Grand Filly) sat second behind Svanstedt stablemate Red Storm Hanover through fractions of 28 1/5, 57 2/5 and 1:26, then was set down by Ake and went by to be 1 1/2 lengths good on the money while taking a maiden mark of 1:55 1/5. Fourth, third, and second in his prior Sires prelims, Big Time Trot S looks to be trending well for most of the same connections as his stablemate: Knutsson Trotting Inc., Double S Stables, S R F Stable, and Svanstedt & Midnight Sun.

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We spoke of Pocono and Captain Corey / Svanstedt winning the Beal in 2021 - Pocono also figures heavily in the Stallion Series tale, as the oval's leading driver, Tyler Buter, won all three of the StS splits, a boost for those horses eyeing their $40,000 series Championship at The Meadows on September 5. Buter had one Captain Corey winner - the gelding Strapped (dam Borrow And Spend), who has two straight StS victories after tallying in 1:56 2/5 for trainer Nick Devita and owners David Hamm and Glenn Phillips.

The other Stallion Series success stories were Friday Night Fats, a Cantab Hall-Lovely Liv colt who won his third straight StS race while equaling his mark of 1:57 for trainer Matthew Burkholder and Dark Horse Farm LLC., and the Greenshoe-Tuscany colt Scarpa, also undefeated in two straight Stallion Series races after posting the quickest time of the today in this division, 1:56 (a new mark), for trainer Nifty Norman, whose Enzed Racing Stable Inc. shares ownership with Mel Hartman.

Buter won for three different trainers, but other doublers had a trainer-driver connection: Svanstedt, of course, as trainer/driver; driver Jim Marohn Jr. and trainer Scott Di Domenico; and driver Trae Porter and trainer Howard Birney.

Next week Harrah's Philly will be racing on its usual weekly schedule of Thursday and Friday at 12:25 and Sunday at 12:40. The top attraction of the period will be the final Pennsylvania Sire Stakes / Stallion Series preliminary of the season during the Sunday (August 30) card, when 3-year-old trotting males will be looking to finalize spots in their Sire Stakes Championship (Sunday, September 6) at Philly, or the Stallion Series Championship (at The Meadows the day before).

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