Pocono: Bella Bellini, Lady Chaos win PA Sire Stakes races

Bella Bellini and Lady Chaos added their names to the list of 3-year-old trotting fillies who have won a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes event this season, taking the two divisions of the third preliminary leg at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono during a twilight card.

The Bar Hopping filly Bella Bellini posted a clocking of 1:53 1/5, a fifth off her lifetime-best, but it was her last quarter of 26 3/5 which really drew the eye. Bella Bellini sat fourth while You Ato Dream, who won in the first two legs of the PaSS, led the field to a 27 1/5 quarter, then yielded to favored Anoka Hanover, a first-round prelim winner, who got to the half in 57 2/5. The pace-setter got to the three-quarters in 1:26 2/5, but by that time Bella Bellini was roaring up uncovered at her with Dexter Dunn, and the two fillies went at each other with fury all the way to the wire, where "Bella" beat out her game rival by half a length.

Winless at two, Bella Bellini is now 6-4-2-0 in 2021, with the two seconds by a half-length and three-quarters of a length in PaSS races. Nifty Norman trains the much-improved filly for David McDuffee, who raced first and second dams Bella Dolce and Pizza Dolce with much success.

Breeders Crown winner Lady Chaos had her luck improve after starting the season with a fourth and a third in PaSS races, using the famed Pocono Pike to take a 1:53 4/5 victory by a length over Donna Soprano. It was Donna Soprano to whom Lady Chaos yielded after the 27 2/5 quarter (favored Love Muffin, coming off two sire stakes wins, made an early break), and continued to track her in middle splits of 57 2/5 and 1:25 3/5. 2020 PaSS champ Flawless Country made a huge move at the pace-setter in the latter part of the backstretch and actually got a small lead into and through some of the turn, but Donna Soprano fought on, only to see Lady Chaos pass her on the inside late.

The Cantab Hall filly Lady Chaos, who was let go at 10-1 from the outside post eight, was driven by David Miller for trainer Linda Toscano and the partnership of Richard Gutnick, Thomas Pontone, Joseph Lozito Jr., and Enviro Stables LTD.

--press release (PHHA/Pocono)--