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].
Jul 19, 2018 | Racing
July 14-20, 2018
It was another busy week of stakes action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with Pennsylvania Sire Stakes, Pennsylvania All-Stars, and Stallion Series racing all holding court. Our two top horses this week, however, battled for the honors on Monday night, which featured nothing but overnight racing. It just goes to show you that every night is witness to something special at Pocono, as this edition of the Weekly Awards makes plain.
PACER OF THE WEEK: FUTURE LIFE
Sometimes a winning streak is only as impressive as whom you beat. In the case of Future Life, she came into a $15,000-$20,000 claiming handicap pace for mares on Monday night having picked up a victory in her previous race against lower claiming competition. The nine-year-old mare trained by Andrew Adamczyk had churned out a come-from-behind win on July 9 in 1:53.0. But the field that she faced on Monday night included five of eight horses who had won their previous start, including Unbeamlievable, who had been the dominant force in the division.
Future Life started from post position #2 in a field of eight at long odds of 16-1, likely because of the move up in class. As a horse who doesn’t mind coming from off the pace, driver Tyler Buter kept her out of the early battle for the lead, which was eventually won by Unbeamlievable. The mare began her journey on the back stretch by making a third-over move, meaning that she had a lot of traffic to overcome on her way to the front.
In the stretch, Buter tipped Future Life out four-wide to get a clear look at Unbeamlievable, who was still battling away on the front end. The momentum that Future Life gathered proved too much for the favorite, as she blew by to win it by a half-length in 1:53.4. That gives the mare five wins on the year and two in a row, and in neither of the last two races was she favored. She’ll probably get more betting attention next time around.
Other top pacers this week include: De Los Cielos Deo (Dave Palone, Ron Burke), a two-year-old colt who moved to two-for-two in his young career with a Pennsylvania All-Stars victory on Saturday night in 1:52.4; Ginger Tree Cash (George Napolitano Jr., Robert Bath), who moved up in condition to win his second straight on Saturday, this one in 1:52.0; and Warrawee UBeaut (Yannick Gingras, Ron Burke), who captured the second straight win to start her career on Tuesday night and did so in 1:52.1, the fastest time of four divisions of the Pennsylvania All-Stars for two-year-old pacing fillies.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: PAT MATTERS
This three-year-old filly trained by Paul Kelley didn’t race as a freshman. At the start of her career this year, she had issues staying flat in her races, which was odd because of how sharp she was in qualifiers. On June 24, she finally found her form under the lights, picking up her maiden victory in 1:59.2 on a sloppy track. Pat Matters followed that up with an impressive second place finish on July 2, with only an extremely fast mile from Urban Legend beating her.
On Monday night, Pat Matters took on a group of non-winners of two trotting fillies and mares as a 4-5 favorite. It was a pretty solid field she faced in this one, including several horses that were coming off sharp efforts in Stallion Series races. Leaving from post position #5 in a field of nine, the filly fired early to the front end. Driver Matt Kakaley then chose to stay in the pocket with Pat Matters when Strength Of A Woman made a play for the lead on the front stretch.
Strength Of A Woman and Pat Matters stayed one-two in the order for most of the mile until the home stretch rolled around. That’s when Kakaley asked for more from Pat Matters, who immediately swooped on by to pick up the victory by two lengths in a new career mark of 1:56.1. The filly seems to have put those breaking problems well behind her, which means that she could be ready for more rugged competition in the near future.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Crosbys Clam Bake (Pat Berry, Randy Bendis), who scored a condition victory in the slop on Saturday night in 1:55.4; Homicide Hunter (George Napolitano Jr., Chris Oakes), who continued his dominance in the Great Northeast Open Series on Sunday night with a win in 1:52.2, his fourth consecutive victory; and Magic Vacation (John Kakaley, Travis Alexander), who handled a condition field on Sunday night in a career-best 1:54.2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: PYRO
Even stakes races can provide long shot winners, as this two-year-old colt driven by Pat Berry proved when he scored a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes win on Saturday at 29-1, paying off $60.20 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: COREY CALLAHAN
Callahan had a big night on Sunday during the Stallion series for two-year-old pacing colts and geldings, winning three of the six divisions.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: BRIAN BROWN
Brown always seems to make his presence felt come stakes time, and he did it again on Saturday night by sending out two winners in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes action for two-year-old male pacers.
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 25, 2017 | Racing
October 21-27, 2017
We are only about a month away from concluding the 2017 racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. As a result, there will only be a few more editions of the Weekly Awards before we use the space in this column to wrap up the meet. The racing was quite spicy the past week, as the action shows no sign of letting up as we get nearer to Closing Night. Let’s see who takes the honors for the week that was at Pocono.
PACER OF THE WEEK: JJ FLYNN
Moving up the condition ladder is never an easy task. In the case of this four-year-old gelding trained by Josh Green, it seemed like it would be a monumental undertaking on Saturday night. Not only was JJ Flynn stepping up to face a $16,500 condition group after winning a notch below that in his previous race on October 14 in a career-best 1:50:1, he was also entering a field especially full of classy pacers, with Luck Be Withyou and his over $1.4 million in career earnings looming particularly large.
JJ Flynn left from post position #6 in a field of nine as the 9-2 second choice on the board. He sat mid-pack early on, while Luck Be Withyou, the 1-2 favorite, unsurprisingly set the pace. Had the favorite been able to get away with an uncontested journey, JJ Flynn might have been doomed. But a first-over challenge by Nimble And Quick kept Luck Be Withyou honest. JJ Flynn followed the cover of Nimble And Quick to get into striking position.
On the home stretch, JJ Flynn stepped wide of Nimble And Quick and zipped past him, but still had to get past Luck Be Withyou. Just a few yards before the finish line, it still seemed like the favorite would get home. But that’s when JJ Flynn, with Anthony Napolitano in the bike, surged and sped past to win it by a neck. His second straight victory was made even more memorable by the fact that he did it in 1:50, resetting his career mark.
Other top pacers this week include: Motor City Marco (John Kakaley, Travis Alexander) who once again won in the condition claiming ranks on Sunday, this time in 1:54:4 to give him four in a row; Montana Pablo A (George Napolitano Jr., Mark Kesmodel), who picked up his second straight claiming handicap win on Saturday night in 1:51:2; and Big N Bad (Jim Marohn Jr., Rob Harmon), whose victory on Monday night in a condition came in 1:49:2, the fastest time of both his career and the week at Pocono.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: CLASSICALITY
In order to beat the enemy, you have to properly identify it first. Classicality, a seven-year-old gelding trained by Lisa Dunn, has been making a lot of enemies himself lately. His last three starts: a win at The Meadows in 1:53:4 on September 7; a win at Pocono on September 24 in 1:53:2; and another win at The Meadows in 1:53:1 on October 11. And he wasn’t facing chopped liver either, going for $20,000 purses in each race, which is also the purse for which he competed on Sunday.
Classicality was the 5-2 second choice, however, as Centurion ATM, a stallion who had faced stakes competition for his past several starts, was made the favorite at even money. Centurion ATM also benefitted from a much better post position in the #3 hole, while Classicality was on the outside in the field of eight. Simeon set the pace, but Centurion ATM came stalking on the outside on the back stretch. Classicality, with Marcus Miller in the bike, knew whom he had to follow and quickly latched on to the favorite second-over.
Having identified his main enemy, Classicality was set to take him on. Centurion ATM took over the lead from Simeon, but it was short-lived. Classicality possessed more trot in the stretch and came up a winner by a neck in 1:53:2. That makes it four in a row for the gelding, which, considering the caliber of the competition he’s been facing, is quite an impressive streak.
Honorable mention on the trotting side this week goes to: Catch A Mission (Marcus Miller, Erv Miller), a mare who stayed perfect on the year with her third straight win, the last two of which have come at Pocono after a condition victory on Sunday night in 1:54:4; Silvermass Volo (Simon Allard, Michael Holcman), who churned his way to his second straight condition win on Sunday night and did so in a new career-best time of 1:54; and CR Blazin Beauty (Anthony Napolitano, Al Annunziata), a filly who has followed up an extended winning streak at smaller tracks in the Midwest with back-to-back victories at Pocono, the latest coming on Monday night in a condition trot in a career-best 1:55.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: WILD BILL M
In Saturday night’s final race, this condition pacer with Simon Allard in the bike overcame an outside post to pull off an upset at 60-1, paying off $131.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: TOM JACKSON
The steady veteran driver had an effective week at Pocono, putting up a driving double on Sunday and then scoring on Monday with 55-1 shot Sinspirational.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: DOUG HAMILTON
Hamilton enjoyed a race in honor of his retirement on Tuesday night, but first he made sure he put up one more win in the ledger when Pilgrims Tide scored a win on Sunday.
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].
Mar 9, 2016 | Racing
The first Qualifiers of the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono’s 2016 season were held at the track in Northeast Pennsylvania on Tuesday morning, March 8th. Under partly sunny skies and a temperature of nearly 60 degrees, 6 trotting and 5 pacing qualifying races were held.
The fifth qualifying race, a trot, saw the fastest time of the trotters of 1:56.4 for Chipoffthewall, a three-year-old black gelding trained by Syl King Jr. and driven this morning by one of Pocono’s leading drivers, Anthony Napolitano.
The fastest pacing time belonged to Toatsmygoats in the eighth race. John Kakaley drove the four-year-old gelding trained by Nick Surick, who finished in 1:54.
The second Qualifying races of the season are set for Wednesday morning, March 9th, at 10:00a.m., with 11 more on tap. Next Wednesday, March 16th, is also set aside for qualifiers, and each Wednesday after that.
The track opens for their 2016 season on Saturday, March 19th with a Post Time of 6:30p.m. In March, racing will be held on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and in April, racing moves to the regular schedule of Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday.
