Pocono: Party Girl Hill, Rocknificent prevail in PA Sire Stakes

The progression of Party Girl Hill from "precocious newcomer" to "potential monster" took another significant step during the Sunday twilight card at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono when the 3-year-old Captaintreacherous pacing filly won her $93,542 division of the third prelim of her division's Pennsylvania Sire Stakes in 1:49, two-fifths of a second off the world record in only the sixth start of her undefeated career.

Party Girl Hill settled in third as a 26 1/5 quarter was argued, then moved to the outside for driver Dexter Dunn and quickly brushed to command, hitting the half in 54 4/5, then shrugging off the two-wide tier going to a 1:22 2/5 three-quarters. With next to no coaxing from Dunn in the lane, the powerful filly came home in 26 3/5, winding up 4 1/2 lengths to the good of JK First Lady and leaving little doubt that Kiss Me Onthebeach's 1:48 3/5 standard, set at Pocono, could have been within her grasp if extended at all.

Unraced at two and now a winner of $190,381 in the 59 days of her purse career, Party Girl Hill will be a major force in whatever competition she enters for trainer Chris Ryder and owner Tom Hill. One of her upcoming races is her PA Sire Stakes Championship at Harrah's Philly on Sunday, September 7, and she already has an invitation to that dance being the only filly to win in all three PaSS prelims so far.

In the other Sire Stakes cut, Rocknificent went out in 26 4/5 for driver Scott Zeron to make the lead, surrendered the front to last year's divisional champion Lyons Sentinel, then came her own last panel of 26 3/5 to get past the pace-setter by a neck in 1:50 4/5. Completing the PaSS siring double for Captaintreacherous, Rocknificent now has two wins and a third in the Sire Stakes this season, and she now has $423,429 in career earnings for trainer Linda Toscano and the partnership of Enviro Stables LTD., South Mountain Stables, and Little E LLC.

--press release (PHHA/Pocono)--