The Well Said mare Drama Act, who closed powerfully from last in the Betsy Ross Pace at Harrah’s Philadelphia last Sunday to miss only by 2-1/4 lengths, was sent to the top in Friday afternoon’s $20,000 Open Handicap Pace at the southeastern Pennsylvania oval and paced home in a blistering :53.2 to win in 1:50.
Several horses were interested in front-end positioning, as is usually the case at Philly and especially on this hot day. Simon Allard got the most early speed from Drama Act as she grabbed the racetrack, getting to put up “soft” fractions of :27.2 and :56.3. Mikayla, who left from the outside post seven as the slight 6-5 favourite over Drama Act and settled in fourth, started an uncovered move as the field entered the backstretch. By pacing up the backstretch in :25.3, she drew almost evenly to the pacesetter by the 1:23 three-quarters, leaving the rest in the dust. Mikayla battled on gamely but couldn’t quite sustain that kind of burst, with Drama Act having enough left in the tank to prevail by a length.
Drama Act, who is owned by The OK Corral, won for the 36th time in only 78 lifetime starts (46 per cent) and pushed her bankroll to $961,828.
She was one of six sulky success stories on the day for Simon Allard, who even won a race where the mutuels had to be refunded because of a system failure (the event stood for racing and purse purposes).
The Roll With Joe gelding Joesstar Of Mia A matched the feature’s 1:50 time after he made two speed moves as the favourite to defeat Rockin On Venus by 2-1/4 lengths. The winner, driven by George Napolitano Jr., has now taken two straight and boosted his lifetime earnings to $597,425. Gareth Dowse is the trainer for Dowse Racing Inc.
The three-year-old pacing fillies will make their debut in 2023 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes / Stallion Series action during the Sunday 12:40 p.m. card at Philly. Beach Cowgirl, undefeated lifetime and the winner of the 2022 Sire Stakes Championship in a world record 1:50, will make her 2023 debut in one of three divisions. There will also be a $20,000 Open Handicap for each gait and six divisions of Stallion Series action. Program pages for all races at Harrah’s Philadelphia will be available on the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association website.
(With files from PHHA/Harrah’s Philadelphia; Photo of Drama Act winning at Yonkers Raceway)