Jul 20, 2012 | Racing
July 13-19, 2012
We have had such a bushelful of big-time stakes races of late at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs that I’ve devoted much of the space in these columns to those races. All the while, our overnight racing has raged on with the same intensity it has displayed all season. With that in mind, let’s turn the focus back on those races this week and get back to handing out our Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: DYNAMIC YOUTH
It’s seems like we can’t go more than a few nights without another track record falling. On Saturday night, it was one of our longest-standing records in this era of speed at Pocono that went by the wayside, courtesy of 3-year-old pacing gelding Dynamic Youth. The gelding loves Pocono, as evidenced by his two straight wins to start his season here in the spring.
Following that success, trainer Aaron Lambert took him to his home state of New York, where Dynamic Youth hit the board often but couldn’t break through in Sire Stakes competition. Back at Pocono, he faced all older horses in a tough condition for non-winners of $15,000 in the last three starts. Driver Andrew McCarthy wisely kept him off a blistering pace early, but, as the race progressed, the gelding started to pick off horses.
In the stretch, only Amillionpennies stood in his way, and Dynamic Youth blew by him to win by 1 ¾ lengths. His winning time for the mile, a scorching 1:49:2, broke the record for 3-year-old geldings on the pace of 1:49:4 that was set by Goddess’s Justin way back in 2008. Maybe this record-breaker will stick around Pocono a bit longer this time.
Other top pacers this week include: Hrubys N Luck (George Napolitano Jr., Cad Gregory), who jumped in class on Saturday to win a condition pace, his third straight victory, in 1:50; Splendid Kisses (George Napolitano Jr., Chris Oakes), who stepped up all the way to the $20,000 claimers and still picked up his third straight easy win on Saturday night in 1:51:3; and Kel’s Return (George Napolitano Jr., Pierre Paradis), who won his third straight and sixth in his last seven with a claiming victory on Tuesday night in 1:52:3.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: HE’S SPOOKY
Moving up in class is always a treacherous bit of business in harness racing, especially at the top rungs of the competitive ladder. Yet He’s Spooky was determined to move into our top condition class of winners of over $25,000 lifetime on Sunday night and do so in style.
The 5-year-old stallion from the Frank Antonacci barn made his first appearance at Pocono on July 8 after arriving from Canada and promptly beat a tough condition group in a career-best 1:52:2. In that start, he had an excellent trip, but, on Sunday night, driver Matt Kakaley sent him right to the front and dared everyone to play catch-up.
Each time a competitor would make a tentative move to the outside to challenge, He’s Spooky would pick up the pace and dissuade them. In the stretch, there was nobody close enough to make a serious move and the gelding rolled to a three-length win in 1:53:1. He’s Spooky made moving up in class seem so easy that everybody might want to do it.
Honorable mention on the trotting side this week goes to: Wingbat (Matt Kakaley, Antonino Gristina), a mare who reeled off her second straight condition victory on Friday night, this one in 1:54:4; H And M’s Hit (Matt Kakaley, David Duspiva), who moved up in class and won a condition on Friday night, his second straight victory, in 1:54; and Holier Than Thou (Yannick Gingras, Jonas Czernyson), whose victory in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition on Wednesday night came in a time of 1:53:1, which broke the track record and matched the world record for 3-year-old fillies on the trot.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: IT’SABOUTTIME
Just a few weeks after winning at 42-1, this pacer with John Kakaley in the bike stunned a group of $10,000 claimers on Sunday night with a win at 33-1, paying off $69.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: YANNICK GINGRAS
Gingras captured two of the three big-purse divisions of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes held on Wednesday night, continuing his excellence in the most lucrative races at Pocono.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: AARON LAMBERT
Lambert had an impressive training double on Saturday night. In addition to the track record he scored with Dynamic Youth, he also had the night’s featured pace winner in Townslight Hanover at 19-1.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Jul 4, 2012 | Racing
June 29-July 5, 2012
When I first heard that we at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs were going to be hosting not one, not two, but three major stakes races in a single day, I immediately thought back to the last time we had that kind of star-packed card, the 2010 Breeders Crown. While 3 stakes races can’t quite match up to the 12 we had that October night two years ago, the excitement and star power at the track was comparable.
It also helped that the conditions for Sun Stakes Saturday on June 30 were ideal for racing. There was even a track record matched before we got to all the six-figure races, as 5-year-old claimer Hrubys N Luck, trained by Cad Gregory and driven by George Napolitano Jr., paced to a victory in 1:48:2, matching the mark set by Pilgrims Toner for aged pacing geldings back in 2010.
With that sizzling mile as the appetizer, the three-part main course began in Race 8 with the James M. Lynch Memorial, a $250,000 stakes race for 3-year-old pacing fillies. The star attraction in that race was a filly named American Jewel, who came into the race with wins in 11 of her 13 lifetime races. One of those wins came in the Lynch elimination in a world-record matching time of 1:49:2, so it wasn’t too surprising that the gem of the Jimmy Takter barn was made the heaviest kind of favorite at 1-9.
Her foes were out to derail what the bettors thought was inevitable, and, as a result, American Jewel was forced to make a first-over move from the middle of the back on the back stretch. Such moves are treacherous, but this filly is special for a reason. Despite a good fight from pacesetter Economy Terror and a late challenge from Darena Hanover, driver Tim Tetrick was able to coax home American Ideal in 1:49:2, matching her world record time for 3-year-old pacing fillies on a 5/8 oval. I’ve been lucky enough to see some great fillies come through Pocono, including Southwind Tempo and See You At Peelers; American Ideal can go toe to toe with them all.
Remember how I said that a first-over journey can be perilous? 3-5 favorite Hurrikane Kingcole found that out the hard way in the $300,000 Max C. Hempt memorial for 3-year-old pacers. After matching a world record in winning his Hempt elimination the previous week, Hurrikane Kingcole tried to sweep by pacesetter Bolt The Duer on the back stretch in the final, but the leader wasn’t having any of it.
Meanwhile, sitting patiently about two lengths off the lead on the inside was A Rocknroll Dance. After a spectacular 2-year-old season which saw him earn a big chunk of change, this colt from the Jim Mullinix barn struggled early in 2012, winning just one of his first five races. As a result, he was somewhat overlooked at the betting windows and got away at 17-1.
On the final turn, driver Yannick Gingras saw a crack of daylight and wheeled A Rocknroll Dance to the outside. After saving ground the whole mile, he was full of pace and zipped by the tiring leaders to score a thrilling victory in 1:48:3. Some of the racing luck that had frowned on this colt in his earlier starts smiled on him on Saturday, but give him credit for being good enough to take advantage of it.
All that was left after that was the $500,000 Ben Franklin Pace, one of the nation’s premier showcases for older pacing talent being held for the first time ever at Pocono. Talk about a loaded field: Out of nine horses in the field, five had already earned at least a million dollars in their career.
Yet the 6-5 favorite was the youngest of them all, 4-year-old stallion Betterthancheddar. Pocono fans remember him from his win in the Cane Pace last year. His 2012 season heading into the Franklin final was just as impressive, as he had posted wins in four of five against superb competition for trainer Casie Coleman.
Driver George Brennan rolled the dice with Betterthancheddar, sending him on a first-over journey on the front stretch in an attempt to get the lead. We Will See was reluctant to give up his lead, and, as a result, the favorite was used hard before clearing for the lead. In the stretch, We Will See came back at him in the passing lane, but Betterthancheddar showed his mettle by holding off his rival by three-quarters of a length.
When the dust settled and the timer stopped, all in attendance saw what a special mile this was. Betterthancheddar paced the mile in an incredible time of 1:48, which matched the fastest time ever paced on a 5/8-mile oval in the history of the sport.
Such a command performance was truly extraordinary, and yet it was the only fitting way to close out such a memorable night of racing. Maybe it wasn’t 12 stakes races, but Sun Stakes Saturday was pretty spectacular in its own right, and, hopefully, a tradition in the making.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Jun 14, 2012 | Racing
June 8-14, 2012
Over the next several weeks, some of the finest horses in the country will be stopping at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs as our stakes season begins in earnest. As if anticipation, the overnight horses on the grounds have ramped up their performances. On Saturday night alone, there were four miles of under 1:50; back in the day, we wouldn’t have four miles under 1:50 all season. It’s been a particularly competitive battle for the Weekly Awards. Let’s see who comes out on top.
PACER OF THE WEEK: ROCKIN GLASS
This four-year-old gelding has found his stride in the 2012 season, tripling his career earnings with his performance this year. He arrived at Pocono in May to race against the $25,000 claiming class, winning against that group in his second MSPD start in a career-best 1:49:4. He was claimed from that race and joined the barn of trainer Cad Gregory.
Gregory and his new connections decided to try Rockin Glass against the condition pacers, and he showed he was up to the test with a victory on June 2 in 1:50:4. For Saturday night’s races, he stepped up into the non-winners of $25,000 condition, one of the toughest groupings on the grounds. With George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, the gelding found himself chasing some sizzling fractions.
In the stretch, Rockin Glass made his move out wide, blowing by his competition in a blistering 1:49:2. Not only was that a new career-best for the gelding, it was also the fastest time posted on the Pocono oval last week. With 9 wins in 19 races this season, this is one pacer who is loving his 2012 season, and there’s still a lot of racing to go.
Other top pacers this week include: White Liar (Eric Carlson, Erv Miller), a three-year-old colt who scored his third consecutive condition victory on Friday night, doing so in a career-best time of 1:50:4; Touch Of Steel (Matt Kakaley, Linda Kakaley), who moved up into the $12,500 claiming ranks on Saturday night from the $10 claimers and notched his third straight win, this one coming in 1:52:1; and Twin B Passion (Matt Romano, Andrew Adamczyk), a mare who moved up in class but still scored her third straight claiming win on Wednesday in 1:53:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: SPICE IT UP LINDY
This 9-year-old gelding is still trotting at an extremely high level. The pride of the Santo Zuzolo barn, Spice It Up Lindy returned to the Pocono racing wars on Sunday night after a highly successful stint at Tioga Downs, where he won back-to-back starts including an Open on June 2.
Considering that he had set a career-mark of 1:53 at Pocono in a race in 2011 and has had several solid wins here in the past, Spice it Up Lindy was a well-known commodity in the condition field he faced on Sunday night. Driver Tom Jackson sent him to the front end early and dared everyone else in the field to play catch-up with him.
Several took their shots, but none could get it done. Spice It Up Lindy powered home to win by a length-and-a-half. His sizzling time of 1:52:4 set a new career mark and also matched the fastest trotting time at MSPD last week. The gelding made it known has is back at Pocono, and all other trotters must take notice.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Windsun Galaxie (Mark MacDonald, Tyler Raymer), who led gate-to-wire to win the week’s featured trot on Sunday night in 1:52:4, a new career mark; All Munky Business (Jim Morrill Jr., Jean Drolet), who followed up a win at the Meadowlands with a condition victory at Pocono on Wednesday night in a career-best 1:55:1; and Sonny McDreamee (Larry Stalbaum, Celine Harvey), who captured Wednesday night’s featured condition trot in a sizzling, career-best mile of 1:53.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: PEGASUS MAN
Despite a tough first-over trip, this trotter with David Ingraham in the bike surprised a field of condition trotters on Tuesday night at 24-1, paying off $51.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
George had a huge week, including a six-win night on Saturday, making him the first driver in the Pocono colony to go over the 100-win mark for the 2012 meet.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: ROB HARMON
Harmon just started training once again at Pocono recently, but he has quickly made his presence felt. This week he picked up wins on three out of five racing nights.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
