Sep 9, 2013 | Racing
September 5-11, 2013
There were only two nights of racing in the past week because of the Oktoberfest celebration at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. Those two nights were full of great racing, however, thanks to the finals of the Stallion Series that were held on Friday and Saturday night.
These Stallion Series are a chance for some excellent two-year-old and three-year-old horses to compete for purses that they might not otherwise get the chance to earn. The races take place all summer, with the best performers earning tickets to the finals, which were each worth $40,000 each.
On Friday night, the 2-year-olds took center stage, followed by the 3-year-olds on Saturday night. Here is a look at how those finals went down.
TWO-YEAR-OLD PACING COLTS AND GELDINGS
In a thrilling race, 4-1 third choice Jack Attack, with George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, led much of the race, but had to deal with the 1-2 favorite So Surreal in the stretch. The two came to the line in a photo finish, and, when the dust settled, Jack Attack was the winner by a nose. Trained by PJ Fraley, the 2-year-old gelding paced the mile in 1:52:2, giving him a perfect record in Stallion Series action.
TWO-YEAR-OLD TROTTING COLTS AND GELDINGS
When Ron Pierce couldn’t make it to Pocono on Friday night, Tyler Buter got the catch drive aboard Who Wants Soup, who was coming off back-to-back wins in the preliminaries. Buter made the most of his chance, rallying the gelding from the barn of Jim Campbell from off the pace to take the late lead and hang on by a head over Faust for the victory in 1:56:3. It was a new career mark for Who Wants Soup.
TWO-YEAR-OLD TROTTING FILLIES
Nitro Nittany, a filly from the Jim Raymer barn, was coming off the first loss of her career after three straight Stallion Series wins. She atoned in the best way possible. Driver Howard Parker sent Nitro Nittany behind the cover of even-money favorite Tweet Me on the outside, and she blew by in the stretch for the victory in a career-best 1:56.
TWO-YEAR-OLD PACING FILLIES
Considering that she had won her previous start against tougher Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition, it was no surprise that Weeper, from the barn of Kelly O’ Donnell, was the 3-5 favorite in this group. The filly didn’t disappoint, blowing by her competition with a huge first-over brush on the back stretch and pacing away for a 1 ¾ length victory in 1:51:4, giving her three straight wins.
THREE-YEAR-OLD TROTTING FILLIES
As part of an entry that went off as a 3-5 favorite, Choose Happy, trained by Virgil Morgan Jr., got off to a slow start and had to make a first-over move to reach the front of the pack. Not only did she get past the leader around the final turn, but she held back closers who had much better trips than she did, prevailing by a head with Brett Miller in the bike for a victory in 1:54:2.
THREE-YEAR-OLD PACING FILLIES
Trained by Amber Buter, Antigua Hanover came into Saturday night’s final with just two wins in 16 races this season. She found her stride at the right time though, starting fast, finding the pocket, and then blowing by the favorite Mattwestern late to pace away for the victory by 2 ½ lengths. Tyler Buter did the driving for Antigua Hanover, who paced the mile in a career-best 1:50:4.
THREE-YEAR-OLD TROTTING COLTS AND GELDINGS
The combination of driver Howard Parker and trainer Jim Raymer, who won a Stallion Series final on Friday with Nitro Nittany, were at it again with Rossini. Despite being a 3-1 third choice, Parker sent Rossini to the front end and dared everyone to catch him. The result was an easy 3 ¼ length win in 1:53, which narrowly missed a track record for 3-year-old geldings on the trot.
THREE-YEAR-OLD PACING COLTS AND GELDINGS
The final Stallion Series race of the season was a thriller. Ultimate Beachboy was the 3-5 favorite after back-to-back wins, one of which matched a track record. But he was pressured on all sides throughout the mile in the final, until Shock It To ‘Em, trained by Chris Oakes and driven by Ron Pierce, rallied in the stretch from the pocket for a half-length win in 1:50:1.
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 19, 2013 | Racing
July 16, 2013
Trainer Tony Alagna picked up a pair of victories in Stallion Series action on Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. There were seven divisions held on the night for 2-year-old colts and geldings on the pace, each carrying a purse of $20,000.
Alagna trains the night’s first Stallion Series winner Maxi Bon (Somebeachsomewhere-Knock Three Times), who, with Simon Allard aboard, won in 1:52:1. Later on, Tim Tetrick drove Some Playa (Somebeachsomewhere-Venusinbluejeans), also trained by Alagna, to a Stallion Series victory in 1:53:4.
Other Stallion Series winners on the night: Official Warning (Art Official-Bang The Door), driven by Howard Parker and trained by Charlie Norris, in 1:54:2; Gymokee Jerry (The Panderosa-Simply Liz), driven by David Miller and trained by Roland Mallar, in 1:54:1; Here Comes William (Dragon Again-Miracles Delight), driven by Jim Morrill Jr. and trained by Bob Barnard, in 1:53:1; Jack Attack (Allamerican Native-Pocket Queens), driven by Ron Pierce and trained by Joe Pavia Jr., in 1:52:1; and A OK Hanover (Yankee Cruiser-Aw Shucks Hanover), driven by Andy Miller and trained by Roger Hammer, in 1:52:3.
Aug 31, 2012 | Racing
August 24-30, 2012
As the summer months come to a close, it means we’re also drawing close to the end of stakes season at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. It will end with a flourish with the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championships, featuring some of the best young horses around. Before that, however, some outstanding overnight races took center stage this past week, giving us a bevy of great candidates for the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: MCSOCKS
It’s hard to say why fortunes change for the better for some horses at certain times in their careers. Take the interesting case of McSocks, a 4-year-old pacer who came into the season with a modest record of four wins in 30 races. His 2012 campaign was even less impressive for a while, as he entered the month of August with just one victory in 20 starts.
On August 4, he raced against the $25,000 claiming pacing 4-year-olds, a group against which he had finished 5th and 7th in his previous two races. That’s when the proverbial light came on and he went gate-to-wire for a victory in a career-best 1:51. He promptly followed that up with two more wins in front-running fashion against the very same class.
On Saturday night, he joined the Peter Pellegrino barn in his quest for four straight wins against the class. With Tyler Buter in the bike, McSocks once again gunned to the front end and dared everyone to play catch-up. As his foes neared him in the stretch, he found another gear and kicked away to win easily by 2 ¼ lengths, re-setting his career mark in the process with a mile of 1:50:2. He was claimed again, and the new owners just have to hope that the light doesn’t go off as August ends.
Other top pacers this week include: Fall Toy (Joe Pavia Jr., Paul Holzman), who moved up into a new class and joined a new barn but still scored his second straight win on Saturday by beating the $20,000 claimers in a new career-mark of 1:50:2; Rockincam (Brandon Simpson, Nifty Norman), who won the week’s featured pace on Saturday night with a late move in 1:49, the fastest pace at Pocono this week; and Mr Govianni Fra (Matt Kakaley, Ken Rucker), who took 35 races to get his first career win but now has two in a row after his victory on Sunday in 1:54:3.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: DEFINITELY MAMIE
One of the ways that trots differentiate from paces is that it’s much more common for female horses to compete in the same races with male horses on the trotting side. It’s not a matter of trying to beat the boys so much as it is the best opportunity for mares to make solid money once they move out of the period where they can race for big stakes.
As such, it’s not unusual to see mares like Definitely Mamie take a shot in tough condition trots like the non-winners of $13,000 in the last five grouping that she faced on Sunday night. The five-year-old mare from the Brewer Adams barn has been a very consistent trotter no matter whom she has faced over the past several seasons at Pocono, so she was up for Sunday night’s challenge even though she was considered a relatively long shot at 9-1.
Driver Joe Pavia Jr. did a nice job of getting a pocket trip for the mare behind the pacesetter. As others faltered, Definitely Mamie revved up for the stretch drive and zipped by to win by a head in 1:53:2, a new career-best. In what has been an excellent career, the victory marked a high point for the mare. She is a force no matter what gender her opponents might be.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Imperial Count (Howard Parker, Nifty Norman), who topped the field in the week’s featured condition trot in 1:53:2, a new career mark for the 4-year-old gelding; Talladega Hanover (George Napolitano Jr., Dan Walski), who arrived from The Meadows to capture a tough condition trot on Sunday night in 1:54:1, fastest time of his career; and Ginger Tree Jimmy (George Napolitano Jr., Steve Salerno), who switched from the conditions to the claimers for a Saturday night in 1:54:1.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: WORTHYS MAGIC
With Greg Merton in the bike, this gelding surprised a group of claiming pacers on Sunday night at 43-1, paying off $88.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: JASON BARTLETT
Bartlett only makes occasional stops at Pocono, but he often makes his presence felt, as he did on Sunday night by winning the final four races on the card.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: BRIAN BROWN
Brown had a monster night on Tuesday night in Stallion Series action, as his horses won four of the eight divisions held for 2-year-old colts and geldings on the pace.
That will do it for this week, but feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]
Aug 24, 2012 | Racing
August 17-23, 2012
Each week I hand out the Weekly Awards for the racing at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, and each week it gets harder and harder to narrow it down to just a few select horses and horsemen. That’s a testament to how competitive the racing has been this season. This week was typically tough to make my selections, but I gave it a shot anyway, knowing that some worthy horses, drivers, and trainers are going to be left out.
PACER OF THE WEEK: TOUCH THE ROCK
One of the most difficult feats for a horse to accomplish in the sport of harness racing is to come back strong after a peak performance. Such was the daunting task before Touch The Rock, a five-year-old gelding from the barn of James Eaton. The gelding was coming off a condition win on August 4 in 1:49:2, a sizzling time that was a new career-best.
To make things even tougher, Touch The Rock moved up into a tougher condition group on Saturday night and had to deal with the #7 post position, not exactly prime real estate. In the past, the gelding has had difficulty stringing together good races, but he was ready to turn the page this week.
Driver Tyler Buter kept him away from a sizzling early pace before setting him in motion on the outside on the back stretch. Spinning wide off cover to go four-wide in the stretch, Touch The Rock grooved right past the leaders in the lane to get the win in 1:49:4, becoming that rare horse at Pocono to win back-to-back races in sub-1:50 times.
Other top pacers this week include: Grandstand Hitter (Ron Pierce, Douglas Berkeley), who continued his amazing climb up the claiming ladder with a victory on Saturday night, his fourth straight, in 1:51:1; Townslight Hanover (Andrew McCarthy, Aaron Lambert), who came flying late to win Saturday night’s feature pace in 1:48:4, a new career-best, fastest time of the week, and just one-fifth of a second off a track record for 4-year-old geldings; and Mcsocks (George Napolitano Jr., Jason Robinson), who ripped off his third straight gate-to-wire win over the $25,000 claimers on Saturday night, this one in 1:51:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: OPENING NIGHT
It’s always interesting to see how a horse that was decorated as an underclassman does when it moves up to face older horses exclusively. Opening Night had a marvelous 3-year-old season, earning in excess of $540,000, much of it coming in stakes competition against his own age. His 4-year-old campaign hasn’t been quite as lucrative, but he has been rounding into form of late.
The stallion showed his mettle earlier in the season with back-to-back wins at Pocono and Harrah’s, and he was trying to pick up his second straight victory at MSPD on Sunday night after a nice condition win on August 12. This time around though, Opening Night, trained by Jim Campbell, had to face off with the toughest trotters on the grounds in the week’s featured trot for $25,000.
Going for big stakes is nothing new for this trotter, so Opening Night was more than ready for this tough assignment. Benefitting from an excellent trip in the pocket, the stallion waited until driver Matt Kakaley urged him by his foes in the stretch for the victory in 1:53:3. It seems like this trotter is adjusting to life as an upperclassman quite nicely.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Emily Do (Tyler Buter, Bill MacKenzie), a mare who jumped up in class and scored her second straight claiming win on Sunday night in 1:56:1; Zooming (Jason Bartlett, Erv Miller), who dominated a condition group on Sunday night for a victory in 1:53, the fastest trotting time of the week; and Idadazzle (Joe Pavia Jr., Gareth Dowse), whose claiming victory on Tuesday night in 1:57 was his second straight and 14th win of the season.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: TATTLE TELL TEEN
In one of our biggest shockers this season, Tattle Tell Teen, with Howard Parker in the pike, rallied from way back for a condition pacing win on Friday night at 95-1 for a $193.20 payout on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ERIC CARLSON
Carlson has really found his groove in his first season at Pocono, and he showed his comfort level by ripping off a combined seven wins on Friday and Saturday night.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: NEAL EHRHART
Ehrhart has been a factor at Pocono for several seasons now; his training double on Friday night highlighted a week that included three wins overall.
That will do it for this week. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Jun 7, 2012 | Racing
June 1-7, 2012
Even though the summer weather didn’t quite arrive with it, the month of June brought hot racing action to Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. In fact, it was the first week of our new five-night-a-week summer schedule. All of those races mean that the battle for the Weekly Awards was extremely competitive. Let’s see who gets the nod.
PACER OF THE WEEK: OL’ MAN RIVER
This 7-year-old gelding has a name that suggests a slow and steady kind of pacer. Yet he has been anything but that at Pocono the past few weeks. He won back-to-back condition paces on May 16 and May 25, the latter coming in a career-best 1:50:1. Trainer and driver Matt Romano decided to change the scenery for Ol’ Man River and try him out against our toughest claimers for an $18,000 purse on Saturday night.
What has been impressive in the winning streak for Ol’ Man River has been his ability to win in different ways. His versatility has allowed him to win on the front end and from the pocket, and on Saturday night he was forced to sit back off the pace due to blistering early fractions. Romano found some cover for him on the outside, allowing him a clear shot in the stretch.
Ol’ Man River wasn’t about to blow that opportunity. He zipped by his cover to pick up the win in another sizzling mile of 1:50:3. That makes three in a row, meaning that Ol’ Man River is certainly rolling along, albeit in much faster fashion than his name might imply.
Other top pacers this week include: Cinderella Guy (Eric Carlson, Ken Rucker), whose condition win on Saturday night was his third victory in his last four and came in the week’s fastest pacing time of 1:49:3; Ahead Ofthe Curve (Eric Carlson, Paul Holzman), who moved up in class to beat a group of $15,000 claimers on Saturday night, which was his third straight win and came in a career-best time of 1:50:4; and Kel’s Return (George Napolitano Jr., Pierre Paradis), who churned out his third straight claiming win on Sunday night, a victory over $7,500 claimers in 1:51:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: BIG RIGS
Each week the best trotters on the Pocono grounds go toe-to-toe in a condition for winners of over $25,000 lifetime. It’s always quite a battle, and the horses pegged to be the favorites often find the target on their backs to be a bit daunting. In this week’s contest, held on Sunday night, the favorite’s mantle was hung on shipper Big Rigs.
The 4-year-old stallion from the barn of trainer Kelly O’Donnell was a top competitor in Open competition at Harrah’s earlier this year and recently finished 4th against a knockout field at the Meadowlands in the $210,000 Cutler Stakes. As a 1-5 favorite on Sunday night, Big Rigs found himself having to come from off the pace and go out wide in the stretch.
Even with those concerns, the stallion was ready to roll once the field straightened out in the stretch. Showing some serious late kick, Big Rigs rolled on by the leaders, winning by a half-length in 1:52:4, easily the fastest trotting time of the week. The win was his 11th career victory, which might not seem like much until you see that his lifetime earnings now stand at $634,436.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Decolletage (Tom Jackson, Fred Grant), a mare who knocked off the boys in a Friday condition trot and overcame an off-track to post a career-best time of 1:55:1; Four Starz Conway (Brandon Simpson, Peter Pellegrino), who followed up a win at Monticello with a victory at Pocono against the $7,500 claimers in 1:58:4; and Mama Made Me Blue (Brandon Simpson trainer and driver), who moved up in class and matched his career best of 1:54:4 in his second straight condition trotting win on Wednesday night.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: K SLATER
This shipper from Yonkers was overlooked in a condition pace on Saturday night to the tune of 23-1, but, with Howard Parker in the bike, he rallied late for the upset, paying off $48.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: TOM JACKSON
Jackson has been a factor at Pocono for the better part of a decade, and he’s heating up in 2012, picking up 7 wins this week, including doubles on Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: PAUL HOLZMAN
Holzman is a relatively new face on the Pocono scene, but that hasn’t stopped him from racking up the wins, including three more this week with a training double 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].
