In the game of sires it's hard to draw quick conclusions. Just look at Papi Rob Hanover. The son of Somebeachsomewhere standing at Hanover Shoe Farms saw his first crop hit the track in 2024 to modest success, offering pause to some as they looked towards his second crop. Within the last few weeks of this year, suddenly a pair of fillies emerged that reflect an entirely different image on the stallion. Specifically, two Pennsylvania Sire Stakes winners named Good As You and Asphalt from the opening leg at The Meadows gave strong indication that they were far more advanced as sophomores than as freshmen. The pair will join last year's brightest daughter of Papi Rob Hanover - Papi Grad - in one of two Sire Stakes divisions on Saturday (6/21) at Pocono. Trainer Trent Stohler is based in Indiana, and he's sent Aaron Lambert the homebred Good As You for her second Sire Stakes start. "I'm just babysitting," said Lambert, who got the call from Stohler prior to the victory at The Meadows. "It was easier for them than shipping her all the way from Indiana." Good As You had a limited number of starts at Harrah's Hoosier Park last year. "We liked her," said Stohler. "But she got sick on us and we just thought it best to stop and bring her back this year." A bigger and stronger Good As You returned this year and impressed Stohler enough in her first few starts to think about stakes races on her schedule. "That first start (May 15) she had some problems and got sideways behind the starting car," said Stohler. "They had her 18 lengths back at the half. It was a horribly windy night and horses were getting home in 30 seconds, but she came her last quarter in 27 1/5." The big closing mile was followed up by a couple of victories, with the second a front-end score that impressed the trainer. "She's not much of a trainer and I wasn't sure how she'd be on the front-end," said Stohler. The homebred Good As You drew off easily with a 26 4/5 final quarter at Hoosier, giving him confidence to send her to The Meadows for the June 7 stakes event. Stohler thought Good As You would have a shot starting from the rail in a field that included the stakes-savvy Looksgoodinloulou, a two-time sub-1:49 winner as a freshman that included a Breeders Crown elimination score for trainer Ron Burke. "That wasn't the trip I envisioned," said Stohler about the first-over grind that Andrew McCarthy would have to employ with Looksgoodinloulou, the 2-5 favorite, cutting the pace. "She paced really hard down the backstretch, and Andy took a hold of her on the final turn. He said when Ronnie (Wrenn Jr., driving Looksgoodinloulou) started to chirp to his filly, ours took off." Good As You paced a 54 1/5 final half, drawing off at the wire in a career-best 1:50 3/5 clocking. The Pennsylvania Sire Stakes victory coming overland showed a filly with power and determination, qualities that perhaps extend from her young sire. "She looks like a lot of the Papi Robs," said Stohler. "Big and strong." Good As You drew post five among seven fillies in a division of the second leg of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes on Saturday, and she'll be outside of another Papi Rob Hanover-sired filly in Asphalt. ► Sign up for our FREE DRF Harness Digest Newsletter Asphalt's freshman year resembled that of Good As You in that she only started a handful of times with just one victory. "She has a funny kind of gait," said trainer Brett Pelling. "We knew last year that she would need to develop in order to work things out." For Asphalt, the transformation has been astounding, though those that follow pedigrees probably could have anticipated her arrival. The homebred out of the Bettor's Delight-sired Road Bet is a half-sister to champions Cattlewash and Niki Hill, with the dam also hitting with the top NYSS fillies of the last few years in Earthwindfire and Tarrific. Asphalt captured a pair of minor stakes events at the Meadowlands and Pocono before making her Pennsylvania Sire Stakes debut at The Meadows. Raced more aggressively by Jack Pelling, Asphalt zipped an opening quarter in 27 1/5 and parked a rival nearly to the half in 54 2/5. Pelling pulled on the backstretch, and Asphalt just wore down the leader and paced off to a 1:50 career-best effort, looking totally in-hand. "She just wants to do it. She wants to go out and beat you," said Pelling of the characteristics of Asphalt that would have been hard to assess last year but now make her look like a horse that may live up to the stakes ability of her more famous siblings. Good As You and Asphalt managed to avoid Fan Hanover winner Miki And Minnie in this leg of the Sire Stakes as the division leader drew into the other $56,120 (race eight) split, but they won't be able to sidestep Papi Grad, the daughter of Papi Rob Hanover that came out swinging as a freshman, and for some time appeared the best filly in North America. That time would not last, with Papi Grad finishing second in four of her last five starts as a freshman. Papi Grad made her sophomore debut in the opening Sire Stakes leg and drew post seven in a field that included Asphalt. She was taken to the back of the pack and showed solid pace finishing out her mile. Despite being second again, given the fast clocking, it was a useful prep for the coming weeks. Whether Papi Grad will regain her spot in the division or just among daughters of Papi Rob Hanover this year remains to be seen. What may prove more interesting in the long run is whether the more lightly-raced fillies can challenge Miki And Minnie at the elite level of this division. For Stohler's Good As You, that is likely not to be the case. "In addition to the Sire Stakes she's got the Adioo Volo at The Meadows and is eligible to all of the late-season races here at Hoosier Park," said Stohler of Good As You. No stranger to top pacing mares, Stohler campaigned the Breeders Crown champion Extreme Velocity in the late 90's. The daughter of Camtastic won $856K with 40 wins during six years on the racetrack. Good As You, as impressive as she's been as a sophomore, will need to do a lot more before she can be compared to Extreme Velocity. "She's only had a couple of races," said Stohler. "Extreme Velocity was a horse that could win from anywhere on the track and did it over a long career."