CLEARFIELD — Three more wins by driver Todd Schadel and a pair of close finishes in late races highlighted Clearfield County Fair harness racing for Pennsylvania Sire Stakes two-year-old pacers at the rain-pelted Driving Park Monday afternoon.
Schadel scored with Motive Hanover and Queen Bee Hanover in the first two dashes and came back with Find One More in the fifth of the seven races to turn the chase for the Charles “Buster” DiSalvo Trophy into a runaway with seven wins at the halfway mark.
That’s five more than 13-time DiSalvo Trophy winner Roger Hammer and Dave Brickell.
Second out of the gate in the PSS Colt & Gelding A group opener, Motive Hanover inherited the lead when App Hanover went off gait for driver Atlee Bender in the first turn, and the bay gelding went on to his Maiden Win in 2:01.4 in his fourth start.
Schadel, trainer and co-owner with his son Cody, had Motive Hanover 10 lengths in front rounding the lower turn for the second time, and he cruised under the wire 2½ lengths ahead of Seafarer to nearly double his earnings to $5,595 and claim the Dunlap-Swales Memorial cooler blanket.
Queen Bee Hanover got away third in the PSS Filly A Group Auto Mart Division but roared down the backstretch to for a 29.2 first quarter en route to a 2:03.4 trip that matched her lifetime mark set at the York Fair July 7 and left Marvalous Marg, driven by Chris Shaw, 13¼ lengths behind at the wire.
Schadel trains as well as drives the bay filly that sports $5,375 in winnings for owners George and Rose Bonomo of Naperville, Ill., after just three starts.
Find One More was fourth at the quarter pole after a zippy 28.4 pace set by TSM Turbo T, with Eric Neal in the sulky, and still third at the half before Schadel made his move that resulted in a one-length win in 2:06.2 over fast-closing Hammer and Doitdewey in the PSS Colt and Gelding B Group race.
Schadel also trains and co-owns, with wife Christine, the bay gelding that now sports two wins and two seconds for $4,099 in earnings to go with the Crawford Williams Memorial blanket.
Cup of Choice, driven by Chris Shaw for trainer Jason Shaw and owner Amanda Shaw of Scenery Hill, followed up Find One More’s narrow victory with an even more exciting win in the PSS Filly B Group.
Though Cup of Choice went gate to wire, the Kevin A. Beardsley Funeral Home blanket almost could have covered the bay filly and her two challengers.
She held off hard-charging April Ava, guided up on the outside by Neal, by just a neck with Ideal Bubby, driven by Wayne Long, just one length back.
The time was 2:10.1 for Cup of Choice’s second win in five starts, and the purse boosted her earnings to just under $4,494.
Dancin Yin and Crew Sock Hanover were the other A Group winners.
The only race decided in the stretch had Dancin Yin running down Schadel’s Way To Close stop the clock at 2:02.3 in the PSS Colt & Gelding Richie Salvatore Memorial Division.
The margin of victory was 1¾ lengths for the bay gelding owned by Omer Miller of Humboldt, Ill, and driven by Bender for trainer Erv Miller.
Dancin Yin has earned almost $7,000 with two wins and a second in five starts.
Crew Sock Hanover showed why she was the class of the PSS 2YO Filly A Group with her 2:07 twicearound in the Moyer’s Auto Body Pace.
The bay filly owns a 1:56.1 mark set at The Meadows in Washington, Pa., as well as four wins in five starts and $16,688 in earnings for driver-trainer Dave Brickell of Smicksburg and co-owner Mitchell York of Cranberry.
She set the Lycoming County Fair record with a 2:01.1 dash at Hughesville in mid-July.
Fair Life, which Hammer had on the front end for most of the first half and again rounding the final turn, finished 4¾ lengths back.
In the finale, Hammer drove Jukebox Hero to her Maiden win, receiving the E. Jay Master blanket for the second PSS Filly B Group race after the 2:06.2 trip.
She went under the wire 9½ lengths ahead of Shaw and Check Hanover
Jukebox Hero, a bay filly trained by Hammer for co-owner Vicky Fair of Bedford, had placed third in her only other start.
Eight races are on Tuesday’s card for three-year-old trotters, with 29 in the hunt for purses of $30,725.
Monday’s results, with horse’s name, number in parenthesis, and driver’s name:
PENNSYLVANIA SIRE STAKES TWO-YEAR-OLD COLT AND GELDING A GROUP PACE
Dunlap-Swales Memorial Division ($5,375) – 1. Motive Hanover (2), T. Schadel; 2. Seafarer (5), Hannah Miller; 3. Delightful Fashion (4), C. Shaw; 4. App Hanover (3), A. Bender; 5. Aquinas (1), K. Bolon. TIME: 2:01.4.
PENNSYLVANIA SIRE STAKES TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY A GROUP PACE
Auto Mart of Clearfield Division ($5,375) – 1. Queen Bee Hanover (4), T. Schadel; 2. Marvalous Marg (1), C. Shaw; 3. Turn Marvelous (5), R. Hammer; 4. Your Mom N Em (2), E. Neal; 5. Magic Speech (3), D. Brickell. TIME: 2:03.4.
PENNSYLVANIA SIRE STAKES TWO-YEAR-OLD COLT AND GELDING A GROUP PACE
Richie Salvatore Memorial Division ($5,375) – 1. Dancin Yin (4), A. Bender; 2. Way To Close (3), T. Schadel; 3. Rocky Meadow (1), C. Shaw; 4. Slickslidenaway (5), S. White; 5. Ultramatic (2), E. Neal. TIME: 2:02.3.
PENNSYLVANIA SIRE STAKES TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY A GROUP PACE
Moyer’s Auto Body Division ($5,375) – 1. Crew Sock Hanover (4), D. Brickell; 2. Fair Life (2), R. Hammer; 3. Shady Grey (1), T. Schadel; 4. Marvalous Marley (5), J. Lebo; 5. Sweet Tea Baby (3), S. White. TIME: 2:07.
PENNSYLVANIA SIRE STAKES TWO-YEAR-OLD COLT AND GELDING B GROUP PACE
Crawford Williams Memorial Division ($2,750) – 1. Find One More (4), T. Schadel; 2. Doitdewey (2), R. Hammer; 3. Marvalous Mar (1), C. Shaw; 4. TSM Turbo T (3), E. Neal; 5. Whiskey N Coke (5), W. Long. TIME: 2:06.2.
PENNSYLVANIA SIRE STAKES TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY B GROUP PACE
Kevin A. Beardsley Funeral Home Division ($2,700) – 1. Cup of Choice (4), C. Shaw; 2. April Ava (3), E. Neal; 3. Ideal Bubby (1), W. Long; 4. Hot Talker (2), K. Bolon. TIME: 2:10.1.
PENNSYLVANIA SIRE STAKES TWO-YEAR-OLD FILLY B GROUP PACE
E. Jay Master Memorial Division ($2,700) – 1. Jukebox Hero (2), R. Hammer; 2. Check Hanover (4), C. Shaw; 3. Dancin With Rose (1), J. Lebo; 4. Sptwinklintwilight (3), W. Long. TIME: 2:06.2.