Jun 23, 2013 | Racing
June 19, 2013
Jim Morrill Jr. is the leading driver at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Chris Oakes has been the best Pocono-based trainer on the national scene for about a decade now. On Wednesday night at Pocono, they turned the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes into their own personal playground.
The driver/trainer combo swept the three Sire Stakes divisions held for three-year-old trotting fillies behind standout performances from Lady Broadway, Frau Blucher, and Classic Martine. Each of the three divisions carried a purse of $77,790.
In the first split, Lady Broadway (Broadway Hall-Lady SJ) made the front end on the front stretch and survived a tight stretch scare from the fast-closing pair of True Valentine and Drink The Wine, who finished second and third respectively. The filly, owned by Susan Oakes, Conrad Zurich, and Hauser Brothers Racing Enterprises, won by a half-length in 1:55:2. She now has three straight wins including two in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition.
Frau Blucher (Broadway Hall-My Angel) put on a show in the second Sire Stakes division with a scorching winning time of 1:52:3. Morrill guided her first-over to the lead on the back stretch and she rolled from there for a 1 ¾-length win over Coffeecake Hanover, with Curtsy Hanover picking up the show. Owned by Hauser Brothers, J&T Silva Stables, and Matt Tudisco, Frau Blucher is now a perfect three-for-three in 2013, with all of the victories coming in Sire Stakes competition.
In the final split, Classic Martine (Classic Photo-Drinking Days), who was making her first start for the Oakes barn, won a thrilling stretch battle with the game Royal Assets, prevailing by three-quarters of a length in 1:53:1. Chiptomylou finished further back in third. Owned by Hauser Brothers, Zurich, and Earl Gold, Classic Martine was making her first start at Pocono since winning the Weiss Series back in May. She now has five wins in eight races this season.
Jun 23, 2013 | Racing
June 14-20, 2013
What an amazing week of racing we all just witnessed at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. In a year that will see the track host The Breeders Crown in October, we’re already getting a taste of the incendiary action to come. This past week offered Stallion Series races, Pennsylvania Sire Stakes races, and a world record-matching performance. Let’s take a look at it all by passing out the Weekly Awards.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: GUCCIO
What is it about trainer Jimmy Takter and four-year-old trotting stallions at Pocono? On June 8 in a $25,000 Preferred trot, Takter trainee Uncle Peter delivered a stunning performance in his victory, trotting the mile in 1:51:1. That not only set a track record for the age and gender grouping but it also smashed a world record for the group on a 5/8-mile oval.
Takter was at it again in Saturday night’s Preferred event, only this time he brought in another 4-year-old stallion named Guccio. Guccio had been seasoned against ruggedly tough trotters at The Meadowlands and was made the 2-5 favorite in the race. Takter also did the driving and positioned his horse perfectly behind a speed duel that created unconscious fractions in front of him.
Guccio rolled by his competition in the stretch, ending up 1 ½ lengths out in front of the rest. And what do you think his winning time was? 1:51:1, meaning that he matched the world record that his stablemate just set. I guess the next time you see a Jimmy Takter four-year-old stallion trotting into Pocono, you should watch that timer close to see if another record-breaking performance is in the offing.
Other top trotters this week include: Valley Of Sin (Mike Wilder, John Butenschoen), whose rallying win on Sunday in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action for 3-year-old colts and geldings in a career-best 1:54:1 was his second straight victory at Pocono; Quantum Cashman (Jonathan Drury, Carmen Auciello), who moved up in class to win a claiming handicap trot on Tuesday night in a career-best 1:54:3, his third straight overall and second in a row at Pocono; and Lady Broadway (Jim Morrill Jr., Chris Oakes), a 3-year-old filly who won her third straight, the last two of which have come at Pocono, with a victory in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition on Wednesday night in 1:55:2.
PACER OF THE WEEK: BET ON THE LAW
Sometimes it takes a change of tactics to get a horse over the hump. In the case of Bet On The Law, a standout performer for trainer/driver Joe Pavia Jr., he had tried gunning out on the lead in his previous two starts in Preferred paces at Pocono, a style that had served him well in lower classes, only to get caught from behind when facing the best pacers on the grounds.
Saturday night’s $25,000 Preferred pace was loaded with big names and lots of up-front speed, so Pavia decided to try something different. He held Bet On The Law back in the field early while others battled for the lead and did all the work. He then wisely caught the cover of Hurrikane Kingcole on the back stretch to get his horse into contention with a minimum of effort.
In the stretch, while others had already used their best strides, Bet On The Law was just finding his. The 4-year-old gelding blew by his cover and everyone else to win by a length. His winning time of 1:48:4 marked a new career-best, but even more important, this talented pacer showed the versatility necessary to win no matter how a race plays out.
Honorable mention on the pacing side goes to: Best Ears (Jim Morrill Jr., Rene Allard), who followed up a condition win in his previous race with a victory over $25,000 claimers on Saturday night in a scorching career-best time of 1:49:4; Ideal Matters (George Napolitano Jr., Gilberto Garcia-Herrera), who won for the third time in his last four starts with a conquest of a condition pacing field on Saturday in 1:49:3; and Drop The Ball (Corey Callahan, Ross Croghan), who won Sunday night’s Preferred pace for mares in 1:50.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: CAGE FIGHTER
With Andrew McCarthy in the bike, this claiming pacer spiced up the early Daily Double on Wednesday night with a rallying win at 44-1, paying out $91 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: MATT KAKALEY
Kakaley has been on fire for much of the season, but he turned it up with double-figures in wins for the week, including a five-bagger on Tuesday night.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: RON BURKE
Burke started the week off with three training wins on Friday night and didn’t let up from there, as he has slowly but surely ascended to the top of the Pocono training colony in victories for the meet.
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 2, 2013 | Racing
May 25-31, 2013
There were only three racing nights in the week that was at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, and yet we were overflowing with standout performances in that span. In just a week, Pocono will be switching to a schedule of five nights per week, which means that it’s going to be even harder each week to decide who might be the best among the pacers and trotters competing at the track. With that in mind, here is the latest edition of the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: C’MON BUZZ OFF
One of the most competitive classes at Pocono has been the $25,000 claimers for four and five-year-old pacers. It’s been hard for any single horse to gather up any momentum in the class due to the extreme competitiveness of the group, but C’Mon Buzz Off has been able to manage the feat. In fact, he came into Saturday night’s race having won three of his last four starts with his powerful, front-pacing style.
Such early speed usually favors a horse with an inside post position, but C’Mon Buzz Off had to deal with an extreme outside post on Saturday when he drew the #9 hole. In his first start for the Chris Oakes barn, the 4-year-old stallion didn’t change his style at all, as driver Jim Morrill Jr. sent him hurtling to the front end despite the outside post.
Once C’Mon Buzz Off stepped to the front end, his muscle memory took care of the rest. He held a solid group of claimers at bay and scored the win in 1:51:2, giving him three straight victories and four wins in his last five. He’ll be joining a new barn for his next start, but it doesn’t seem to matter what barn or post position this pacer is dealing with these days. He’s going to be hard to beat in any scenario.
Other top pacers this week include: Verdad (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who rumbled to his second straight high condition win on Saturday night and did so in a new career-best time of 1:50:1; Annieswesterncard (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who won the week’s featured Preferred pace on Saturday night in 1:49, which was a new career-mark and the fastest time posted at MSPD this week; and Duel Cheeks (George Napolitano Jr., Chris Oakes), a mare who took a significant jump in class on Wednesday night and still scored her second consecutive win, this one coming in 1:51:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: CLARISSA HALL
There hasn’t been a trotter any more consistent than this 6-year-old mare. Since she arrived from Freehold at the start of April, she has hit the board in five straight races at Pocono, including three straight wins heading into her $10,000 to $12,500 claiming handicap on Tuesday night.
Clarissa Hall has managed to move up in class during the winning streak, which began in the $7,500 claimers. In addition, she has done it despite changing barns for each and every one of those wins. Tuesday night was her first time in the Chris Oakes barn. Early on, driver George Napolitano Jr. settled her in the pocket, but a slow pace by the leader meant that a bunch of horses were close up in the stretch, making for a congested rush to the finish.
With horses on all sides of her, Clarissa Hall stayed strong to the line and came out on top in a tight finish in 1:58:1 on the sloppy track. Not only is that her fourth straight victory, but she also continued a streak of being in the money in every one of her 14 starts this season. She was claimed from the race; her next barn can rest assured knowing it is getting one tough trotter.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Blomkvist (Jim Morrill Jr., Chris Oakes), who powered his way to a victory against the highest-priced claiming handicappers on the grounds on Saturday night in 1:54:1, which is a new career-best; Lightning Storm (George Napolitano Jr., Lou Pena), whose victory in a condition trot on Saturday night came in a career-best 1:53:2; and Keystone Thomas (Andrew McCarthy, Joe Pavia Jr.), who won Wednesday night’s featured condition trot in 1:53:1, a new career-best and the fastest trotting time at Pocono this week.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: DAVE PANLONE
Using a pocket trip, this condition pacer surprised the faithful in the very first race on Tuesday night, rallying for the win at 17-1 in the slop for a win payout of $37.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: MIKE SIMONS
Year after year, Simons, a Pocono fixture, keeps delivering the goods. He’s been at it again in 2013, and he rolled through the slop on Tuesday night with three victories on the card.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: CHRIS OAKES
The Oakes barn is a factor on the national level, but Chris saves plenty of ammunition for his home track, as evidenced by a four-win night on Saturday and six wins overall this week.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
May 20, 2013 | Racing
May 18, 2013
Pence Hanover relied on a pocket trip and powerful late kick to pick up a win in Saturday night’s featured Preferred pace at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race carried the night’s top purse of $25,000.
Leaving from post position #4 in a field of eight as the 9-2 third betting choice, Pence Hanover (Western Hanover-Popcorn Penny), a 7-year-old gelding from the Aaron Lambert barn, was able to sit the pocket behind pacesetter Meirs Hanover. Even though the fractions weren’t too taxing, driver Andrew McCarthy was able to urge Pence Hanover to a rallying stretch win in the final strides over Meirs Hanover in 1:50:2. Here We Go Again picked up the show.
Pence Hanover, owned by Carl Cito Jr., won for the fifth time in 14 2013 starts. The victory was the 25th of his career and pushed his lifetime earnings to $257,955.
Saturday night’s racing at Pocono also featured eight $20,000 divisions of The Stallion Series for 3-year-old colts and geldings on the pace. The first of those divisions was the fastest of the night, as Matt Kakaley guided the Ron Burke trainee The Pan Poobah (The Panderosa-Pandalay Bay) to a scorching win in 1:50:4.
Kakaley would crank out four Stallion Series wins on the night at Pocono, including two with Burke and two more for trainer Ron Potter. He won again with Burke with UF Dragons Cruiser in 1:53:3. With Potter, he scored with Ilikeitrealhot in 1:51:2 and My One True Desire in 1:52:3.
Driver Jim Morrill Jr. and Chris Oakes connected on a pair of Stallion Series winners: Big Time Promise in 1:52:4 and Shock It To Em in 1:52. Morrill added a third win aboard Moonliteonthebeach for trainer Eddie Hart in 1:51:3. The other Stallion Series split was captured by Some Kinda Beach and the father-son team of driver Marcus Miller and trainer Erv Miller in 1:52.
Mar 29, 2013 | Racing
Opening week at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is officially in the books, and it was a great four nights of racing. Although Mother Nature hasn’t yet cooperated with better racing temperatures, at least there were fast tracks all week long. That allowed for some sizzling racing regardless of the weather. With that in mind, let’s not waste any more time. We’re handing out 2013’s first edition of the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: SILENT SWING
We’ve got a bunch of official records detailing the fastest times in the history of Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs as separated by age and gender; they can be found in our racing program. We don’t keep official records on the best performances on Opening Night, but I’ve been watching the live races now for more than fifteen years, and I can guarantee that no one has ever been better on the first night of the season than Silent Swing was on Saturday night.
The 11-year-old gelding from the barn of Mark Ford had some help in his standout performance from Drumfire A, who gunned to the early lead and set blistering fractions. That allowed Slient Swing to stay tucked in the pocket and have energy left for the stretch drive.
At that point, driver George Napolitano Jr. gunned Silent Swing right past the defenseless Drumfire A and won going away in 1:49:4, an incredible time considering the frigid temperatures. I have a feeling that scorching mile is going to be a harbinger of the faast times to come in the upcoming season at Pocono.
Honorable mention on the pacing side goes to: Jerseylicious (Corey Callahan, Wayne Givens), whose romping victory in the first leg of the Bobby Weiss Series for 3-year-old pacing fillies on Tuesday night followed four consecutive wins at Dover to start the season; Gallant Major (Mike Simons, Gail Wrubel), who followed up a win ay Yonkers on Saturday night with a victory over the $25,000 claimers in 1:54:2; and Betterthanlynx (George Napolitano Jr., Peter Pellegrino), who now has three straight wins after shipping in from Monticello and knocking off a field of claiming handicap pacers on Sunday night in 1:52:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: PHOTO KING
The featured condition trot of the week came on Saturday night and carried a purse of $21,000. There were some rugged trotters in that group, with all eight horses in the field having earned well over six figures in their careers.
Photo King, a six-year-old gelding from the Bill Mullin barn, got seasoning early this year facing tough trotters at The Meadowlands. He entered Saturday night’s race as the 5-2 second choice behind 3-2 favorite Spice it Up Lindy and had a tough #7 post position. Come race time though, he was up to all challenges.
The gelding, with Jim Morrill Jr. in the bike, fought hard through a contested stretch drive and came up with a gutsy victory in 1:55, matching the fastest trotting time of the week at Pocono. Now with three wins in eight starts this season, Photo King seems poised for a huge campaign at MSPD.
Other top trotters this week include: Sand Wyndham (Joe Pavia Jr., Rene Allard), who followed up a win at Saratoga with a condition win on Sunday night in 1:55:2; Keepin The Chips (Matt Kakaley, Brooke Vermett), a gelding whose win at Pocono on Sunday night in 1:56 came on the heels of win at Chester in his last start; and As Ya’ll Like It (Tyler Buter, Chris Oakes), who opened up racing on Wednesday night with a powerful winning performance in a claiming handicap in a career-best 1:55.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: SAND SUMMERFIELD
A pocket trip helped this pacer driven by Marcus Miller to the upset of an excellent condition pacing field on Saturday night at 24-1, paying out $50 for a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: TYLER BUTER
Not only did Tyler get off to a sizzling start to the 2013 meet at Pocono with a big first week, he also scored his milestone 2,000th lifetime driving win on Wednesday night aboard Zooming.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: AMBER BUTER
The first week was all about the Buters at Pocono. While Tyler has been a driving dynamo, Amber finds herself near the top of the trainers’ standings in the early going.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
