Sand Royal Blue, half-brother to 2011 Pennsylvania
2-year-old filly champion Sand Violent Blu, flashed some of the family
talent Wednesday (July 25) at The Meadows when he captured a harness racing
division of a $60,000 Arden Downs stake in his career debut.
The Grand Circuit event for freshman colt and gelding
trotters, known as the Henry Oliver, was conducted over
three divisions, with Smoother Ride and Shockoe Hanover,
both piloted by Dave Palone, taking the other splits.
Despite his greenness, Sand Royal Blue followed cover
beautifully for Aaron Merriman, peeling off in the lane to
score in 1:57.4. Whicked Hanover was second, 2-1/2 lengths
back, with Waikiki Hanover third.
Sand Violent Blue is a notorious stall-kicker whose
antics forced trainer Tye Loy to line her stall with
protective padding. But Loy, who also conditions Sand Royal
Blue, said the youngster hasn�t demonstrated his sib�s
temperament yet.
�I hope he doesn�t get that way,� Loy said. �He just
talks a lot. He�ll sit in a hole, and he�ll get home good.
He�ll go to Indiana now for sires stakes.�
Bill Sanders bred and owns the son of Jailhouse
Jesse-Sand Lavender Blu, who is eligible for the
Breeders Crown and Matron.
Smoother Ride was away second, enabling him to get the
jump down the backside on Tigress�s Legacy and defeat that
rival by 1-3/4 lengths in 1:58.1. Markup Hanover earned
show.
�We train them to pass horses, so we were surprised last
week when he went to the front,� said Toni Rose, assistant
to winning trainer Steve Elliott. �He�s just perfect. He
does everything right, and he�s nice to be around.�
Elliott and Angelo Frassetto own Smoother Ride, a son of
Yankee Glide-Mazda Hanover.
Shockoe Hanover won his second straight stake in
front-end fashion, prevailing in 2:00.2. New Fontaine was
second, 1-1/2 lengths in arrears, with the first-up Extra
Cash third.
�He�s kind of long winded, and he needs to get a little
more aggressive,� Palone said. �I thought he�d have enough
to hold them off. He lets them get right to his head, then
he picks them up. I knew I had plenty of trot. He�s just big
and lazy.�
Ron Burke trains the son of Donato Hanover-Sharise
Seelster for Burke Racing Stable, Weaver Bruscemi LLC,
Panhellenic Stable and Phillip Collura.
Grand Circuit action continues Thursday at The Meadows
with three divisions of the $75,000 Judge Joe McGraw for
2-year-old filly trotters. The festivities also include the
ever-popular Miss Adios Contest. First post is 6:55 PM.
The Meadows
