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 6, 2018 | Racing
June 2-8, 2018
Our Pacer and Trotter of the Week for this edition of the Weekly Awards have something in common. Both horses were struggling in the early part of the 2018 season coming off big campaigns a year ago. Both dropped down in class and picked up a win which seemed to ignite their confidence to move back up in class and beat even tougher horses the next time out. And both figure to be major factors going forward now that they’ve found their stride. Here is the lowdown on their exploits, as well as all of the other exciting action this past week at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
PACER OF THE WEEK: THE WAYFARING MAN
Last year as a five-year-old, this gelding from the Ron Burke barn put together a stellar season, earning over $110,000. He started this season off against the toughest pacers at Yonkers and Harrah’s but wasn’t able to do much damage. Then when he arrived at Pocono, he was saddled with back-to-back #9 posts, which he wasn’t able to convert into anything better than a seventh-place finish. On May 26 he dropped into the $11,000 condition group, and, even with another forbidding post (#8), The Wayfaring Man rolled to a sharp victory in 1:50.2.
On Saturday night, he moved back up the condition ladder to take on a $12,500 group, leaving from post position #6 as a 9-2 third choice. With Eric Goodell in the bike, The Wayfaring Man flashed with good early speed, then allowed race favorite YS Lotus to assume control of the lead. YS Lotus set nasty fractions, but The Wayfaring Man hung close in the pocket nonetheless. By the time they hit the stretch, YS Lotus was starting to feel the effects of the rapid pace.
The Wayfaring Man, on the other hand, came rushing up to take the lead once he had a clear look in the stretch. But his work wasn’t done, as Urban Renewal uncorked a late move and pulled up just about even at the finish line. When the dust settled, the photo showed The Wayfaring Man just out in front by a nose. His second straight victory came in a nifty winning time of 1:51.2, as he seems poised to hit the same heights that he reached a year ago.
Other top pacers this week include: Baby Kitty (Pat Berry, Eric Foster), who picked up a condition pacing win in Saturday night’s feature in 1:49.2, which was a new career-best and matched the fastest pacing time this week at Pocono; Tequila Monday (Brian Sears, Hunter Oakes), who followed up a win at Yonkers by scoring in the Great Northeast Open Series for mares on Sunday night in the slop at Pocono in 1:51; and Sidewalk Dancer (Brett Miller, Chris Oakes), who came in off a Sire Stakes win at Harrah’s and posted the fastest winning time of three divisions of the Pennsylvania All Stars for three-year-old fillies on Monday night with a 1:51.3.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: FRASER RIDGE
The move from three-year-old to four-year-old is often fraught with peril for Standardbreds. Horses go from facing primarily others of their own age to taking on experienced horses who are often much older than them. Fraser Ridge glided through his first two seasons of racing, earning six figures both years. But this year proved to be a bit confounding, at least to start things off, as the stallion trained by Chris Beaver found himself winless after three races.
Things started to cook for Fraser Ridge on May 26 at Pocono. Facing a $14,000 condition trotting group, he was cut loose on the front end and smoked the field to the tune of a sizzling mile of 1:52.1. He was back at it again on Sunday night, this time moving up to the $17,500 conditioners and facing an outside post in a field of seven. But the strategy was the same for driver George Napolitano Jr., as he sent Fraser Ridge to the front end with a swooping move around the first turn.
On a sloppy track, Fraser Ridge was able to open up a big lead and dare everyone to try to make their way through the muck and try to catch him. Nobody got even close. The winning time was a modest 1:55.4, but that was due to the sloppy conditions more than anything else. The proof of Fraser Ridge’s dominance came in his comfortable margin of victory over some high-class trotters. It looks like his four-year-old season might be as productive as his first two racing years after all.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: In Secret (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), an 18-1 long shot who stunned a field in the Great Northeast Open Series on Sunday night in the slop in 1:54.4; Homicide Hunter (George Napolitano Jr., Chris Oakes), who captured a division of the Great Northeast Open Series on Sunday night in just his second start of the year, winning in 1:55.1 in the slop; and Star Studded Cast (George Napolitano Jr., Gliberto Garcia-Herrera), who won his second straight claiming handicap and his third in his last four on Monday night, this one coming in 1:54.3.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: WILLIE B WORTHY
This trotting gelding started Sunday night off with a shocker in the first race, winning a condition with Marcus Miller in the bike at 37-1, paying off $77.20 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ERIC GOODELL
Goodell was a regular once upon a time at Pocono, and he still does damage in his sporadic appearances, such as on Saturday night when he rang up three victories.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: JENNIFER SABOT
Sabot made the most of limited starters on Saturday night, sending out horses from her barn in three races and picking up wins in two of them, with pacers Some Playa and Drunken Terror.
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].
Apr 11, 2016 | Racing
Second round action for pacers of both sexes in the Bobby Weiss Series of contests at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono brought some fast times and spirited racing on Sunday , April 10th.
The first division for males had end-to-end action, with Settlemoir leaving to the top and Iwillmakeyousaywow, the fastest winner at 1:51.4 last week, having to go three-wide well past the 1/8 and two-wide past the scorching 26 opener to take command, keeping the lead through middle splits of 54.1 and 1:22.2.
But underway from midpack was the Camluck gelding Midnight Lightning, who had been reserved off that swift pace, and the battle between two of the first-round winners became joined as Midnight struck on the far turn and into the stretch, finally wearing down the game Iwillmakeyousaywow, gallant in defeat, by a head in 1:51, with Settlemoir, who had swung wide in the stretch, missing taking the whole shebang by a half-length while moving fastest of all at the wire.
Matt Kakaley guided the four-year-old Midnight Lightning to a new mark by a full second in the hard-fought triumph for trainer Shaun Vallee, co-owner with D P V Racing Stable.
Driver Corey Callahan took the other two Weiss divisions for “the boys,” using fast last quarters to guide sophomore geldings back to Victory Lane. In the first, Options Are Adream kept his record unblemished in eight career starts, going to the lead off the first turn and then coming home in 27 flat to turn back early leader Rollaroundtheworld in 1:52. The son of If I Can Dream joined Midnight Lightning as a two-time winner in the Weiss for trainer Dick Lewis and owners David Banks and Layfield Horses LLC.
Callahan and Sentencing Memo came home even faster in the other Weiss male division, sprinting home in 55.1 – 26.4 to defeat first leg winner Maxdaddy Blue Chip while equaling his career best of 1:52. The son of Western Terror used a more favorable draw this week to turn the tables on his conqueror of seven days previous for trainer Eric Foster and owner Arty Foster.
In the four divisions of the female sector, the only division that matched two first-round Weiss winner saw Candy Corn Hanover remained undefeated in her two-start career, sitting second-over while first-up Southwind Tango, the other winner last week, battled pacesetter Nip’s Beach Girl through a 27.4 third quarter, then rolled by them both late in 1:52.3, reducing her mark by 4/5 of a second. The Dragon Again filly was again handled by Anthony Napolitano for trainer Travis Alexander and the Fiddler’s Creek Stables LLC.
Candy Corn Hanover paid $32.80 in her debut victory, but the fans caught on quickly and she paid only $4.80 tonight. Similarly, Some Fancy Filly went from a $50 win mutuel last week to a $3.20 for $2 proposition in her Weiss cut, and she too made it two straight in the series while lowering her mark 2/5 of a second to 1:53. David Miller, who added two winners at The Downs to the five he brought home at Harrah’s Philadelphia in the afternoon, was sulkysitting behind the Somebeachsomewhere-Fancy Filly filly for trainer Nancy Johansson of JK She’salady fame and owners Courant A B.
Mystery Writer, who had to settle for second last week behind Some Fancy Filly, bounced back to record her sixth win of the year in another division for the females, going out in 26.4 then coming home in 56.3 – 28 and needing every bit of her 1:54.2 clocking to withstand American Image by the shortest of margins. Jim Morrill Jr. drove the Sportswriter mare for trainer Kevin Lare and owner Frank Chick.
The final Weiss cuts for the ladies saw the Somebeachsomewhere filly Albany Girl parlay a pocket trip to a career-best win in 1:55 while winning an exciting three-way stretch duel with Winners Over and Q T Pie Hanover. Brett Miller got the sulky call from trainer Jimmy Takter as Albany Girl won for owners Christina Takter, John Fielding, and Joe Sbrocco.
