Jun 20, 2019 | Racing
June 15 to June 22, 2019
For the next two weeks at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, we’ll be talking a lot about the upcoming Sun Stakes. The eliminations take place on Saturday night, June 22, while the finals take center stage on the following Saturday the 29th. Those races should provide a ton of fireworks. Then again, our overnight horses have been doing a good job supplying the excitement lately, as this week’s edition of the Weekly Awards should clearly demonstrate.
PACER OF THE WEEK: HEARTBEAT HILL
In his previous start at Pocono on June 8, this four-year-old gelding from the Bruce Clarke barn wasn’t given much of a chance in an $11,000 condition group. But thanks to a wily drive from Marcus Miller and some strong late kick, he came from behind to win at 12-1 while setting a career-mark in the process with his winning time of 1:50:3. On Saturday night, he decided to step up his game, taking on a $12,500 condition field this time around.
The favorite in the race at 6-5 was Stormont Czar, who was dropping down in class and had the inside post. Once again, Heartbeat Hill didn’t get much love, this time let go at 6-1 from a #5 post in a field of eight. But this time around, the game plan changed. Miller was aggressive in sending Heartbeat Hill after the lead, and once the horse made the engine, he set some imposing fractions. Meanwhile, Stormont Czar looked to be a major threat as he came up first over.
It wasn’t easy for Heartbeat Hill to shake Stormont Czar, as the favorite surged again in the lane after switching to the inside. But Heartbeat Hill had every answer, as Miller guided him home to a two-length victory in 1:51, with Stormont Czar fading to third behind fast-closing Rockin In the Hills in second. With two straight victories, Heartbeat Hill certainly looks like a contender going forward, even if he isn’t yet getting bet like one.
Other top pacers this week include: Rebellious (Tyler Buter, Michael Deters) who scorched a condition field with a victory on Saturday night in 1:49:2, a new career-best and the fastest pacing time of the week at Pocono; Baby Kitty (Eric Carlson, Eric Foster), who picked up his second straight condition win on Sunday night, this time in 1:52 in the slop; and Vorst (George Napolitano Jr., Gilberto Garacia-Herrera), who won Tuesday night’s featured condition pace for mares in 1:51:3, a new career-best.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: STAR STUDDED CAST
This eight-year-old gelding has put together a solid season overall, coming into Monday afternoon’s $15,000 to $20,000 claiming handicap trot with five wins in 15 races. His recent stretch has been particularly hot. It started with a win on June in an optional $15,000 claimer with a pocket trip in 1:56:2. He followed that up by proving he could get it done from a tough post with speed, winning a claiming handicap in 1:57 in the slop.
Star Studded Cast won both of those races while being trained by Carmine Fusco and driven by Anthony Napolitano. After a claim, however, Hunter Oakes took over on Monday, handling both driving and training duties as Star Studded Cast lined up on the outside of a field of eight. Like his previous two races, he wasn’t favored, going off as a 7-2 favorite behind Hank’s Tank, a horse he had beaten both times in his winning streak.
Oakes stayed aggressive with the horse, sending him to the front end and then retaking the lead on the front stretch after briefly ceding control. From there it was just a matter of Star Studded Cast playing keep away, which he did with no problems whatsoever. He pushed away from the pursuit late to pick up the victory in 1:55:1 by two lengths over Shivered. This gelding seems to be peaking right now, overcoming both tough post positions and barn switches in his three-race winning streak.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Optimist Blue Chip (Anthony Napolitano, Antonia Storer), who captured Saturday night’s featured condition trot in a career-best 1:53:1; Lindsey’s Pride (Marcus Miller, Erv Miller), who beat a condition field on Saturday night in a career-best 1:54:3 in his first start of the season; and Do You Wanna Dance (Corey Callahan, John Butenschoen), a filly who won the first two-year-old race of the season at Pocono with a victory on Tuesday in 1:59:3.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: CAN’T SAY NO
Two-year-olds can be unpredictable, and this freshman driven by Ray Schnittker proved it by winning a condition trot in his debut on Tuesday with a win at 38-1, paying off $78.60 on a $2-win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ERIC CARLSON
Carlson was a consistent threat this past week, scoring at least one win on all four racing nights and picking up doubles on three of the four.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: BRUCE CLARKE
Clarke found the hills, or the Hills as the case may be, very prosperous this week, winning with Heartbeat Hill on Saturday and Sapphire Hill on Tuesday.
That will do it for this week at Pocono, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Jun 13, 2019 | Racing
June 8-14, 2019
Once again it was a bit of mixed bag weather-wise for the past racing week at The Downs at Mohegan Sun. But the good news is that, for the first time all season, we were able to enjoy some big-purse races in something less than a total downpour. Those races included another stellar performance from Highalator in the Great Northeast Open pacing series on Saturday and four divisions of the Pennsylvania All-Stars for three-year-old trotting fillies on Sunday. Let’s take a look at who earned top honors in our Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: SHADOW CAT
As a three-year-old in 2018, Shadow Cat battled his way to just over $100,000 in earnings. His four-year-old campaign has been more of the same, especially when he’s been at Pocono. The four-year-old gelding, trained by Jennifer Bongiorno, won here back on April 21. After four unsuccessful starts at Harrah’s and The Meadowlands, Shadow Cat returned on June 2 and put together an impressive victory in a condition pace for winners of four but no more than seven lifetime races, winning in a career-best 1:50:3 in the slop.
On Sunday night he faced that same field again in an effort to capture the winner’s share of the $17,000 purse. Only this time around, he had to deal with a much tougher post position, leaving from the #8 spot in a field of nine. But the game plan didn’t change for driver George Napolitano Jr. He made sure that Shadow Cat rumbled towards the front of the pack early. The gelding made the lead as they straightened out on the front stretch for the first time.
Shadow Cat received a breather in the second quarter, which readied him for the second half of the mile, where he was an absolute powerhouse. He paced the final two quarters in 54 seconds even, keeping an excellent group of pursuers at bay. The gelding paced home two lengths in front of second-place Youcaniknow, resetting his career-best with a mile of 1:50 and picking up his second straight win overall, his third straight in front of the Pocono faithful.
Other top pacers this week include: Sweet Lucy Lou (Andrew McCarthy, Robert Cleary), a three-year-old filly who followed up her maiden win with a condition victory on Monday afternoon in the slop, setting a new career-best of 1:53:4 in the process; Alex Tye (Tyler Buter, Amber Buter), a three-year-old gelding who moved up the condition ladder to win his second straight at Pocono on Sunday night, posting a new career mark of 1:51:4; and Cashendash Hanover (Marcus Miller, Bruce Clarke), who switched barns but still racked up his second straight claiming handicap win on Sunday night, getting it done in 1:52:2.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: MILLIES POSSESSION
At this point of the season, most of the three-year-old horses doing the damage in stakes competition are those who have established themselves as two-year-olds as well. That kind of experience usually comes in handy when you’re facing top-flight competition, such as those three-year-old fillies battling it out in Pennsylvania All-Stars action on Sunday night. Yet Millies Possession, unraced as a two-year-old, went off as a 2-5 favorite in her $30,000 All-Stars division on Sunday night.
Why was that the case? Well the filly, trained by Jim Campbell, won the first four starts of her career. The last three of those, including a victory at Pocono in her previous start on May 26, came against Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition. That’s a pretty good record no matter when you start racing. On Sunday night, leaving from post position #2 in a field of seven, Millies Possession started a bit slow, but brushed to the lead by the half-mile marker.
It was by no means an easy lead, as she faced outside pressure for most of the second half of the mile. But Millies Possession, with help from driver Dexter Dunn, never seemed to be pressing. She stayed out in front all the way to the line, eventually winning by 1 ½ lengths over Jezzys Legacy in an effortless 1:54:1. Now with five wins in five races, four of them for stakes and the last two at Pocono, Millies Possession is clearly making up for lost time.
Honorable mention on the trotting side this week goes to: Asiago (Yannick Gingras, Per Engblom), a filly whose All-Stars win at Pocono on Sunday night in 1:55:3 was her second straight stakes win at the track; Star Studded Cast (Anthony Napolitano, Carmine Fusco), who defeated a claiming handicap group on Monday in the slop in 1:57 for his second straight victory at Pocono; and Lord Cromwell (Marcus Miller, Edward Hart), who moved up in class on Saturday night and managed his second straight victory, scoring in 1:53:4.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: MARCO BEACH
With John Kakaley in the bike, this three-year-old gelding overcame a tough outside post to win a condition pace on Monday in the slop at 30-1, paying off $63.60 on a $2-win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: YANNICK GINGRAS
Big races seem to suit Gingras, as he proved on Sunday night when he captured two of the four of divisions of Pennsylvania All-Stars, winning with The Ice Dutchess and Asiago.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: CARMINE FUSCO
The Fusco barn has really been heating up in recent weeks, and this past week it produced winners in three of the four racing nights.
That will do it for this week at Pocono, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Oct 19, 2017 | Racing
October 14-20, 2017
The weather finally got a little bit chilly in the middle of this past racing week at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, but not so much that it had a profound effect on the racing conditions. It was still a fast and frenzied four nights of racing at Pocono. As is so often the case, there were many excellent candidates for the Weekly Awards, so read on and see who gets the honors.
PACER OF THE WEEK: DOREL
When a horse steps up its game and pulls off a performance that is much better than any other that it had previously managed, it’s easy to assume that said performance was a fluke. Dorel probably had some people thinking that about him as he prepared to take on a non-winners of five pacing group on Sunday night. In his previous race, the three-year-old gelding trained by Chris Ryder tore up a condition claiming group from a #8 post at 10-1, going gate-to-wire for a career-best win in 1:50:4.
The field was tougher on Sunday night, including an impressive sophomore shipper named Daiymir. That colt was the even-money favorite and assumed control of the early lead, but needed a blistering 25:4 opening quarter to get there. Dorel, who went off as a 9-2 third choice from post position #4 in a field of eight, settled for the pocket spot, which turned out to be the right place to be.
On the back stretch, Daiymir started to labor and driver Anthony Napolitano quickly guided Dorel around him and into the lead. For the last quarter mile, the gelding dug deep and had to endure a late-closing threat from Crossfirehurricane. He held tight to win by three parts of a length in 1:52:4. One great win could be a fluke, but two excellent performances in a row is starting to look like a trend for this rising star.
Other top pacers this week include: Regalanthropist (Matt Kakaley, Bruce Clarke), who switched barns and moved up in class but still managed a victory in a claiming handicap on Saturday night in 1:51:4; About The Benjamins (Matt Kakaley, Daniel Renaud), who captured his third consecutive win against the $7,500 claimers on Monday night, with this one coming in 1:55; and When Sharks Fly (Jim Marshall III, Donna Marshall), a mare who moved up the condition ladder on Tuesday night and scored her second straight win, this time in the distaff feature in 1:51:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: SOUTHWIND WARSAW
Anytime a horse reaches double figures in the win totals in a calendar year, it’s an impressive accomplishment. Southwind Warsaw, an eight-year-old gelding trained by Lou Pena, stood on the precipice of that achievement when he faced off against a $10,000 to $12,500 claiming handicap field to start off the racing action on Monday afternoon.
In an eight-horse field, Southwind Warsaw left from post position #6 as a 1-9 favorite. The heavy betting attention was understandable, as the gelding was coming off a 3 ½ length win the previous week in the same class in front-trotting fashion. Once again driver Anthony Napolitano was aggressive with the favorite, sending him to the front end early in the mile. From that point it was just a matter of keeping the fractions under control while not allowing any pressure to rankle his horse.
Napolitano handled that task expertly, and Southwind Warsaw did the rest, lengthening the lead steadily until no one else was in the picture. He coasted home effortlessly 6 ½ lengths in front in 1:54:1. Not only was that his second straight victory, but it was put him at the ten-win marker for the season with a couple months to spare. Who knows? If he stays in this kind of groove and keeps after it into the winter months, he might threaten 15 wins for the year.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Skates N Plates (Anthony Napolitano, Andrew Harris), whose condition victory on Saturday night came in 1:53, the fastest trotting time posted this past week at Pocono; Checkmate Time (Donald Dupont, Marie Dupont), who followed up a win at Harrah’s win with a victory on Sunday night at Pocono in 1:56; and Up Front Billy (George Napolitano Jr., Mark Ford), who returned from Harrah’s for a condition victory on Saturday night in 1:54:2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: DECISION DAY
This 2-year-old pacer’s maiden win on Sunday night is not one either he or his backers will forget, as he rallied with Eric Carlson in the bike to win at 60-1, paying off $124.40 to win on a $2 ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: MATT KAKALEY
Kakaley amassed double figures in the win column this past week and, on both Monday and Tuesday, ripped off three wins in a row at one point on the program.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: ROB HARMON
Harmon wasted no time making an impact at Pocono on Sunday night, as he scored training victories in two of the evening’s first three races.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Oct 11, 2017 | Racing
October 7-13, 2017
It’s pretty difficult to believe that we are in the final quarter of the racing season here at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. (The warm weather is quite deceiving, because it certainly hasn’t seemed like autumn around here.) It will be soon be time to pick out yearend honors at Pocono, but that can wait a bit. For now, let’s be content to find the finest horses of the past week as we hand out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: SI SEMALU
This seven-year-old gelding from the Bruce Clarke barn has been a solid performer for much of the season both here and at Harrah’s, but he seems to really be peaking here at the tail end of the meet. On September 30, Si Semalu dropped into a $12,500 condition pace and worked out a trip from an outside post, coming up late for a win in 1:50:1 as a 16-1 long shot. The winning time was a new career-best mark.
On Saturday night, he stepped back up into the $14,000 condition group, a class that had given him problems earlier this season. This was a pretty stacked race, with a field that included million-dollar earner Lucan Hanover as the odds-on favorite. Si Semalu got away third from the #7 post as an 8-1 shot with Jim Marohn Jr. in the bike, while Lucan Hanover called the early shots. The pace was quick and the leader was pressured throughout.
On the home stretch, Marohn had room to nudge Si Semalu to the outside. After saving so much energy to that point, he powered home past a tiring Lucan Hanover and held off closer Sports Bettor by three parts of a length. His winning time was 1:50:3, giving him two straight victories with sizzling times and a lot of confidence heading into whatever comes next.
Other top pacers this week include: Unbeamlieveable (Matt Kakaley, Vincent Fusco Jr.), a mare who overcame an outside post and a barn switch to capture her second straight claiming handicap on Monday, getting it done in a career-best 1:52; Motor City Marco (John Kakaley, Travis Alexander), a three-year-old who rolled on the front end on Sunday to his third straight condition victory, picking up the victory in a new career-best of 1:53:3; and Allstar Partner (Anthony Napolitano, Andrew Harris), whose condition victory on Saturday night in a career-best 1:49 represented the fastest pacing time of the past week at Pocono.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: MONEYDONTBUYULOVE
It has been an impressive streak put together of late by this four-year-old gelding from the Rene Allard barn. He came into a condition trot on Sunday night having won his last four consecutive starts. One of those was at Pocono in a non-winners of three condition group on September 5 on a sloppy track in 1:57. There was also a victory at Saratoga and back-to-back scores at Yonkers amassed by Moneydontbuyulove during the hot stretch.
On Sunday night, Moneydontbuyulove faced his toughest test yet, going up against a noon-winners of five class for a purse of $16,000. The fact that he was stepping up didn’t scare off the bettors, who made him a 1-9 favorite in a short field of six. His toughest competition figured to be from Arch Credit, a three-year-old who was coming off a sharp qualifier and sure enough hustled to the lead.
Arch Credit attempted to set nasty enough fractions to shake the favorite, but even getting to the three-quarter mark in 1:24:4 didn’t do the trick, as Moneydontbuyulove stayed attached. In the stretch, it was essentially a two-horse race, and Moneydontbuyulove utilized the passing lane to make his play for the lead. With Simon Allard in the bike, he glided by to beat Arch Credit by 1 ¾ lengths. For the icing on the cake, his fifth straight victory came in a new career mark of 1:54:1.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Catch A Mission (Jim Marohn Jr., Erv Miller), a mare who followed up a win at Harrah’s with one at Pocono in a condition on Sunday night in 1:53:4, which was the fastest trotting time of the week; Silvermass Volo (Mike Simons, Michael Holcman), who rallied from far back for a condition win on Sunday night in 1:54:3; and Stormont Wizard (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who moved up in class to knock off a condition group on Tuesday night in 1:54, which was a new career-best time.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: SIBSON
This trotter previously had issues staying on stride, but, with Anthony Napolitano in the bike, he was flat and fast in a condition win on Tuesday night at 33-1, paying $68.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: JOHN KAKALEY
The veteran driver had just four drives on Sunday night but won with two of them, scoring with pacer Motor City Marco and trotter Swiss Platinum.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: BRUCE CLARKE
The Clarke barn scored three wins on the week, highlighted by a training double on Sunday night and the second straight win by Si Semalu on Saturday night.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Oct 4, 2017 | Racing
September 30-October 6, 2017
While we didn’t quite reach the 90-degree temperatures of the previous week, the weather in Northeastern Pennsylvania still cooperated with an excellent stretch of pleasant autumn weather, giving us four straight fast tracks at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono for the racing week. The action was predictably slick as well, yielding plenty of candidates for the Weekly Awards, the best of which you can find right here.
PACER OF THE WEEK: KING OF THE CROP
Trained by Wayne Short, this six-year-old gelding struggled his way through much of the summer, with many finishes well up the track. In an effort to get him going again, his handlers dropped him to the lowest condition level on September 18, and the gambit worked. King Of The Crop came up first-over for a victory in 1:52:4 that night, and moved back up in class this past Saturday night to face an $11,000 group.
With Tom Jackson in the bike, King Of The Crop left from post position #6 in a field of nine and didn’t garner too much betting attention at 8-1. He sat sixth early on as East Coast Cruiser set a menacing pace. Jackson started the gelding up on the back stretch, and after a quick pass of a tiring horse on the outside he found himself first-over. For a while he was stalled a few lengths back, as it appeared East Coast Cruiser might be able to pace out the clock.
But in the stretch the pacesetter started to feel the burden of the fractions and King Of The Crop began to surge. Despite being on the outside on the last turn he gathered momentum under the guidance of Jackson and took over as the line approached to win it by a head in 1:52:2. Now with two straight wins, King Of The Crop will likely make another move up the condition ladder, but his recent performances suggest he’s ready.
Other top pacers this week include: Si Semalu (Jim Marohn Jr., Bruce Clarke), who overcame an outside post to win a condition pace on Saturday night in 1:50:1, which was a new career-best and the fastest pacing time of this past week at Pocono; Pappy’s Pal (Jim Marohn Jr., Matias Ruiz), who followed up a win at Harrah’s with a victory in Saturday night’s featured condition pace in 1:50:2; and Iwillnotbemached (Simon Allard, Amanda Payson), who switched barns, moved up in class and picked up his second straight claiming win on Saturday night, this one coming in 1:52:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: SIMEON
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold, but Simeon didn’t have the luxury of waiting long for another chance at his nemesis. The five-year-old gelding from the Toni Freitas barn was an impressive winner on September 18 in the $15,000 to $20,000 claiming handicap trotting group, scoring in 1:55:3. But the following week Simeon was stymied with a fourth-place finish behind Warrawee Onyx, who won his second straight in the class.
On Monday night Simeon was back at it in the same class, and once again he had to deal with Warrawee Onyx, who left as the even money from post position #8 as the even money favorite. Simeon, meanwhile, was let go as the 5-1 second choice. Warrawee Onyx dictated the pace and faced some stiff competition for the lead, but was still on top around the final turn. Simeon, by contrast, sat third on the inside and waited patiently for an opening.
That opening finally arrived around the final turn, which is when driver Jim Marohn Jr. guided Simeon quickly to the outside for a furious charge. Warrawee Onyx was defenseless as Simeon hustled by to win it by 2 ¾ lengths in 1:54:1. That was a career-best time for the gelding, making his revenge pretty sweet, even if it wasn’t all that cold.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Chocouture (Anthony Napolitano, Tom Wine II), who scored a condition win in 1:54:4 on Sunday night, earning a new lifetime mark; Jurgen Hanover (Matt Kakaley, Jenny Bier), who followed up a condition win at Harrington with a victory in 1:55:2 from an outside post on Monday in a claiming handicap ; and Justice Jet (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who handled a condition field on Tuesday night in 1:53:1, which was a new career mark and the fastest of the week at Pocono.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: LEAN ON YOU
This pacer driven by Tom Jackson started Monday off with a surprise for the faithful, winning a condition at 17-1 and paying out $37.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ANTHONY NAPOLITANO
A-Nap had a monster evening on Sunday, ripping off wins on six of the 14 races on the program for one of his finest performances of the season.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: WAYNE SHORT
Short made the most of his training efforts, winning with the lone starter he sent out on both Saturday (King Of The Crop) and Sunday (Moonshine Runner.)
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
