Henny Jenney rallies to win Northern Fling

Henny Jenney and jockey Ronnie Allen Jr. took advantage of a quick pace in the one-mile Northern Fling Stakes at Presque Isle on Sunday and rallied from off the pace to defeat the favored Power of Snunner by three-quarters of a length.

Power of Snunner, making her first synthetic start, went right to the lead in the Northern Fling and set fractions of 23.96 seconds and 47.63. Keystone Kelly went after Power of Snunner nearing the far turn and took the lead in upper stretch.

Power of Snunner came back on to retake the lead briefly in midstretch but could not contain the late run of Henny Jenney and just held on for second by a head over the late-running Bound.

Henny Jenney benefitted from a well-timed ride by Allen. She advanced toward the top two nearing the stretch and took the lead nearing the sixteenth pole.

The $78,500 Northern Fling, for Pennsylvania-bred fillies and mares, had a field of 12. Henny Jenney, who is trained by William Connelly in Kentucky, covered the mile in 1:37.70 and paid $13.80 as the second betting choice behind the 6-5 Power of Snunner.

Henny Jenney now is 4 for 5 at Presque Isle. The Northern Fling was her first start beyond seven furlongs and her first around two turns.

A 4-year-old daughter of Henny Hughes, Henny Jenney now is 5 for 15 in her career and has earnings of $245,843.

Leematt: Dynamic Strike wins synthetic debut

Dynamic Strike never had raced on a synthetic track before and had failed to hit the board in three turf tries in his 23-race career, but he handled the Tapeta track at Presque Isle well Sunday and won the $75,000 Leematt Stakes by three-quarters of a length.

Never far back in the one-mile race for Pennsylvania-breds, Dynamic Strike joined the leaders three wide on the backstretch, opened a clear lead in the stretch, and held off the late bid of the runner-up Roadhog.

Forward Thinker finished a closing third, a half-length behind Roadhog.

Forward Thinker, trained by Graham Motion, was coupled in the wagering as an Augustin Stable entry with Beyond Smart, who is trained by Jonathan Sheppard. Bet down to 4-5 favoritism, both halves of the entry broke through the gate simultaneously before the start, which may have compromised their chances.

Beyond Smart, who may have been the more attractive half of the entry, never got involved in the race and finished last in the eight-horse field. Both runners deserve attention in their next start.

Dynamic Strike, trained by Mike Trombetta and ridden by Willie Martinez, paid $13.60 as the fourth choice. He was timed in 1:37.60 following relatively soft fractions of 25.09, 49.10, 1:12.84, and 1:24.98.