Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review Oct. 21-27, 2011

Oct 27, 2011 | Racing

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review
October 21-27, 2011
As October rolls to a close, it’s impossible to avoid the fact that the 2011 season is really winding down at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. With just a few weeks of racing left, the action hasn’t slowed down one bit, as evidenced by some of the stellar efforts we witnessed the past few programs. Here is just a taste in the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK:  MR MASSIMO
A five-year-old gelding from the barn of Aaron Lambert, Mr Massimo seems to be getting better as he gets older. He didn’t do much in his career until busting out last year with nearly $100,000 in earnings. He has more than doubled that this season, and came into Saturday night’s featured pace for winners of over $25,000 lifetime with a win and a show in his last two starts in that tough company.
Still, Mr Massimo was something of an afterthought at 6-1 in the betting. The reason for that was the presence of Atochia, a super-classy veteran pacer who had been facing a steady diet of big-stakes competition and had won his last start at Pocono back in August with a superb effort. Although Mr Massimo held the lead, it looked short-lived as Atochia charged at him on the back stretch.
That set up a truly thrilling stretch duel, with the two combatant inches apart. In the final yards, it was Mr Massimo, with Andrew McCarthy in the bike, who persevered just a tiny bit better, winning by three-quarters of a length. The winning time was a scorching 1:49, doubly impressive because it was a career-best and because it came in chilly weather conditions.
Other top pacers this week include:  Segundo Hanover (Andrew McCarthy, Sarita Mosher), who continued his outstanding season with by stepping up to beat the $15,000 claimers on Saturday night, giving him his 13th win of the season and his fifth victory out of six; Fool’s Gold (Daryl Bier, Daryl Bier), who shipped in from the Midwest and continued his winning ways with a condition win on Saturday night in 1:50, his 10th victory in 14 2011 races; and Annika S (Anthony Napolitano, Rene Allard), whose win on Wednesday night over the $10,000 claiming fillies and mares in 1:53:3 was her second straight and fourth in her last five.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK:  TAC’S DELIGHT
The fact that a horse can somehow lose his form seemingly overnight is one of the most confounding aspects of the sport of harness racing. Tac’s Delight is just one example of this phenomenon. Last year, he won eight times and earned over $132,000, but he came into the month of October without a win in 2011 and having broken stride in his previous three starts at Pocono.
Yet it often takes just one race to turn things around. For Tac’s Delight, that race took place on October 4, when he romped to a 14-length win on the Pocono oval in a ripping 1:53:4. Buoyed by that, the 6-year-old gelding from the Rene Allard barn followed up with an easy win at Chester on October 10. On Friday night back at Pocono, Tac’s Delight jumped several condition classes in a monumental step up the ladder.
The way that he’s racing right now, it doesn’t really matter how much he jumps. Driver George Napolitano Jr. cut him loose and the gelding did the rest, destroying the excellent field by 5 ½ lengths in 1:54:1. Expect another jump in class from there, and don’t be surprised if it’s another successful leap. Just call Tac’s Delight Mr. October.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to:  Affirmed Action (Mike Simons, John Grasso), who swept by the field late to capture the week’s featured trot on Friday night in 1:54:3, his second win in the last three; Intimidator (Andrew McCarthy, John Duer), who moved up in class but rallied for his second straight condition win on Wednesday night in 1:55, matching his career-best; and Bambino Hall (Don Irvine Jr., Tyler Raymer), a 3-year-old gelding who once handled older horses in a condition trot on Wednesday night, winning his second straight in 1:54:3.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK:  OK DESTINY
With Anthony Napolitano doing the driving, this filly powered by late to win a claiming pace on Friday night at 30-1, paying off $63.20 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK:  ANTHONY NAPOLITANO
Earlier this month, Anthony became the sixth driver to reach the 100-win plateau in 2011 at Pocono, joining his brother George, Matt Kakaley, Tyler Buter, Joe Pavia Jr., and Andrew McCarthy.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK:  AARON LAMBERT
In an impressive display on Saturday night, Lambert’s trainees won three times in a four-race span. They were only horses he trained that night, and they won races with purses totaling $73,000.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].

Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs Week in Review, September 22-28, 2011

Sep 29, 2011 | Racing

One of the most fun parts of witnessing all the racing action at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs the past few seasons has been all of the superstar horses who have made their way to the track to show off their skills. This week we were blessed with a few of harness racing’s elite, and not only did they fulfill expectations, they left us slack-jawed in awe at their stunning performances. Needless to say, those horses highlight the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: WE WILL SEE
One of the finest pacers in the country, We Will See came in to Saturday night’s $50,000 pace with over $1 million already in his 2011 bank account. He has been absolutely dominant in the Open class at Chester this season, and, in his previous start, put together a monster effort in winning the Canadian Derby at Mohawk in Canada. Ironically, he was 0-for-4 at Pocono in his career coming into Saturday, but the star of the Sam DePinto barn changed all that in a huge way.
In an Open filled with top-flight horses, driver Ron Pierce settled We Will See in the third position early, allowing Bettor Sweet to set some nasty fractions. Pierce then cut the 4-year-old stallion loose on the back stretch, and he corralled Bettor Sweet around the final turn. The stretch run proved to be dramatic, as Dial Or Nodial, who was sitting in the pocket, tipped out to make his charge.
As a result, We Will See had to go all out in the stretch, and he came home a winner by three-quarters of a length. One look at the timer showed just how special a mile this was, as the winning time of 1:48 was the fastest ever paced in the history of the Pocono oval. In addition, he matched the world record for fastest time on a 5/8-mile oval as he closed in on $2 million in lifetime earnings.
Honorable mention on the pacing side goes to: So Easy Baby (Andrew McCarthy, Erv Miller), who highlighted the Equinox Late Closer series for 2-year-olds on Thursday afternoon by beating a group of fillies in 1:54:1 for her second straight win at Pocono; Malicious (Dan Dube, Mark Ford), who followed up an Open win at Saratoga with a condition win on Saturday night in a career-best 1:50:1; and B Lo Zero (Matt Romano driver and trainer), who rallied in the slop on Tuesday night for his third claiming handicap win, this one coming in 1:52:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: LUCKY JIM
You don’t get much more accomplished than this 6-year-old gelding from the Erv Miller barn. In 2009, he won 17 of 18 starts, ending the season with a Breeders Crown championship. He’s been adding to that record ever since, pushing his career earnings past $1.8 million. But one hiccup came in the 2010 Breeders Crown Open trot at Pocono, when his attempt to repeat as champ ended quickly when he went off-stride.
Friday night’s $50,000 Open trot offered him an opportunity for some redemption, as he faced off with a fantastic field that featured another Breeders Crown champ, the mare Buck I St Pat. In sloppy conditions, Lucky Jim, with Andy Miller doing the driving, watched as Lolique gunned out to the lead and set ridiculously fast fractions in the off-going.
While the rest of the field faded, Lucky Jim came roaring up on the outside. Lolique put up a fight, and would have beaten just about every other trotter in the country with his performance, but he couldn’t hold back Lucky Jim. The stunning winning time of 1:51:4 was one of the fastest trotting efforts in track history, made all the more amazing by the fact that it took place in the slop.
Other top trotters this week include: Sand Top Gun (Andrew McCarthy, Tyler Raymer), who stepped up in class on Friday night and captured a condition trot in 1:55:2; Di Manggio (Tyler Buter, Jim Raymer), who jumped a few classes and still ripped off this third straight condition win on Friday night, this one coming in a career-best 1:54:1 in the slop; and Cora Louise (Tyler Buter, Hermann Heitmann), a filly who picked up her second straight condition win on Friday in a time of 1:57:3, a new career-best.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: ALL SHUTTLE
With Tyler Buter in the bike, this gelding stormed first-over to a victory on Saturday night in a $12,500 claiming pace at 24-1, paying off a hefty $51.60 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ANDREW MCCARTHY
McCarthy had a rock-solid week with multiple wins on several nights, and he was the star of the Equinox Late Closer series on Thursday afternoon, picking up three victories.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: SARITA MOSHER
The Mosher barn had one of its best weeks of the season, achieving a training double on Saturday and then adding single wins on Tuesday and Wednesday.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].