The Meadows: Hillexotic stretches win streak to three
Three-year-old colt and gelding trotters competed in two non-wagering Pennsylvania Sire Stakes contests on Monday afternoon at The Meadows, and Gangster Hanover and Hillexotic were triumphant.
In the first $93,766 grouping EL Ideal (Trond Smedshammer) led the way through panels of 28 1/5, 58, and 1:26 1/5, but in the lane Gangster Hanover (Ake Svanstedt) came to the outside, and he had plenty of trot, going by EL Ideal on his way to a 1:54 victory. EL Ideal held second in a Svanstedt-trained 1-2 finish, and Chestnut Hill (Tony Hall) came in third.
"He wasn't so sharp his last race, but today he was sharp again," Svanstedt said. "He's a very good horse when he's sound, so I hope he can stay sound now."
Svanstedt also co-owns Gangster Hanover, a Father Patrick colt, with breeder Brittany Farms LLC. and S R F Stable. This was Gangster Hanover's fourth win from nine career starts, and he has now earned $191,173.
Hillexotic (Smedshammer) moved up on the outside to take away the lead from DD's Redemption (Svanstedt) beyond the 28 3/5 opening quarter in the other $94,166 division, and it was all Hillexotic from there. He was unchallenged to the 58 second half and the 1:25 2/5 three-quarters, and he pulled away to the wire, winning by 6 1/4 lengths in 1:53 3/5. Romanee Blue Chip (Aaron Merriman) got up for second, with DD's Redemption third.
The victorious Muscle Hill colt is owned by Purple Haze Stables LLC. Unraced as a rookie, Hillexotic has a record of 3-0-1 from six appearances in 2020 and pushed his bankroll to $131,499.
"Immature is not the right word, but he was fragile. You couldn't do much with him," Smedshammer said about Hillexotic not racing in 2019. "He just wasn't ready to be pushed at all. I had him staked to the Hambo, and I thought he could have been that kind of horse, but he caught some kind of bug and wasn't quite himself. He's eligible for the Breeders Crown, so we'll see. He should have some upside."
--quotes courtesy of The Meadows--