April 15, 2014
Three $15,000 divisions of the Bobby Weiss series for three and four-year-old fillies and mares were held at a sloppy, snowy Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs on Tuesday night. The winners were: Envious Hanover, driven by Matt Kakaley and trained by Ron Burke, in 1:56:1; Prima Dragon, driven by Brett Miller and trained by Michael Dowdall, in 1:53:4; and Sweet Charity, driven by Andrew McCarthy and trained by Aaron Lambert, in 1:55:4.
WILKES-BARRE PA – Fillies and mares will have the spotlight shine on them during the early-week cards at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, as pacing distaffs will contest the fourth and final preliminary leg of the Bobby Weiss Series on Tuesday, and their trotting counterparts going on Wednesday.
The Weiss Series, honoring the recently-retired trackman who honed the Pocono 5/8-mile oval into a top surface acclaimed by one and all, holds four $15,000 preliminaries as an early-closer for developing horses; the top horses emerging from the prelims come back to contest a $30,000 Championship.
In Tuesday’s pacing action, slotted for races 10 through 12, R Journey Together and Envious Hanover both hope to bounce back after winning their first two prelims but suffering defeat in the third leg. Envious Hanover goes in race ten from post five for the familiar Kakaley/Burke team, with her main rival looking like A And G’s Design, who won for the first time in the Weiss last week.
If R Journey Together hopes to regain her winning ways, she’ll have to do it from post eight in the 12th race for driver George Napolitano Jr. while facing three other fillies who have won in the Weiss. The middle division is headed by Prime Dragon (post three, driver Brett Miller), who posted the fastest clocking for this section last week while winning in 1:52.1.
The redoubtable Perfect Alliance will look to keep her 2014 record perfect in her eighth seasonal start as she headlines the two Weiss divisions for diamondgaiters Wednesday. Starting from post one for Team Miller in race 10, Perfect Alliance posted crushing prelim victories in 1:53 and 1:54 (tilting the tote board with a huge place following) before sitting out the third prelim, but this miss, who may have names like Maven and Bee A Magician on her dance card in the future, seems tons the best of her gathering.
In the other split, race 8, two-time series winners Take The Money (post two, also Team Miller) and Dough Dough (post five, driver Mike Simons) should attract most of the play.
The Weiss colt pacing Championship will be held this Saturday, April 19. Pocono will be dark on Easter (April 20), so both the trotting colts and pacing fillies will contest their Championships a week from tomorrow (April 22), with Perfect Alliance “set for coronation” on Wednesday the 23rd.
April 13, 2014
Ray Hall and You Rock My World picked up victories Sunday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in the Bobby Weiss late closer series. There were two divisions of the Weiss held for three and four-year-old colts, stallions, and geldings on the trot, each carrying a purse of $15,000.
Ray Hall (Justice Hall-Comebyrail), driven by Tim Tetrick and trained by Mark Harder, made it a perfect four-for-four in the Weiss with a win in a career-best 1:53:3. You Rock My World (Muscle Mass-Disco Inferno), driven by Matt Kakaley and trained by Ron Burke, rallied for a win in 1:55:3, a new career-mark.
April 6, 2014
Sixteen Mikes and Ray Hall completed sweeps of the preliminary legs of the Bobby Weiss series to highlight action on Sunday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. There were three divisions held of the third leg of the Weiss Series for three and four-year-old colts, stallions, and geldings on the trot, each of which carried a purse of $15,000.
Sixteen Mikes (American Mike-Sweetsixteenkarets), driven by Mike Simons and trained by Gail Wrubel, pounced from the pocket in his split to move to three-for-three in the series with a win in a career-best 1:55:1. Ray Hall (Justice Hall-Comebyrail), with Tim Tetrick in the bike for trainer Mark Harder, completed his sweep with a big move on the last turn to set his career mark of 1:54.
In the final division, Mustodian (Muscles Yankee-Madison County), driven by Matt Kakaley and trained by Kent Sherman, rallied in the final strides to score in a career-best 1:55:3.
March 29-April 4, 2014
We saw a little bit of everything this past week at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. There was persistent rain on Saturday night, a wintry mix that made a real mess on Sunday night, and then, finally, some springlike weather on Tuesday and Wednesday. The one constant was excellent racing the entire week through, which we’re about to highlight with our Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: BLATANTLY GOOD
Saturday night marked the beginning of our second week of racing, which meant that horses that won their first time out in the meet would get a chance to establish themselves as more than just one-week wonders. One of those horses was Blatantly Good, a 10-year-old stallion from the barn of trainer PJ Fraley, whose first start of the ’14 campaign at Pocono resulted in a sizzling condition victory in 1:49:4.
Coming off that, he moved up a notch in the condition wars on Saturday night to face off with a group of non-winners of $20,000 in the last five starts. As if the tough foes he was facing in the race weren’t enough of a collective obstacle, he also had to deal with seriously sloppy racing conditions that made it a tough night for favorites on the whole.
Several horses battled for the early lead, leaving Blatantly Good far back in the back. But driver Brett Miller never panicked and brought him to the outside to begin picking off horses on the back stretch. With one sweeping move around the final turn, the standout stallion blew by his competition on his way to a win going away. The winning time of 1:53:4 was obviously affected by the track condition, but it was nonetheless another impressive victory for this stellar veteran.
Other top pacers this week include: Donna Party (Brett Miller, Kent Sherman), who stepped up to a tougher group of claiming handicap mares on Wednesday night and still won her second straight, this one coming in 1:52:3; So Take That (Tyler Buter, William Adamczyk), who moved to two-for-two on the meet with a first-over grind to victory in 1:52:2 on Saturday night against our highest claiming group; and Leaveumlady (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), a mare who won her second straight condition on Wednesday, stepping up in class for the victory in a career-best 1:51:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: DAYLON MIRACLE
This 5-year-old mare from the barn of trainer William Bercury had an incredible hot streak earlier this season at The Meadows. In February and March, she rolled to four consecutive victories. Those races were all against her own gender, however, which might have led to some skepticism about her chances when she faced the toughest male trotters at Pocono.
On March 22 at MSPD, she took on Modern Family, one of the top older trotters in the country, and battled him all the way before coming up just short in 3rd. Without that star in Saturday night’s $25,000 Preferred Handicap field at Pocono, the fans were on board Daylon Miracle, making her the even-money favorite. It was just a matter of going out and delivering.
It wasn’t easy, as the mare had to grind it out first-over to get by Tober, the race pacesetter. In the stretch, Coraggioso, who had been placed perfectly in the pocket, closed to try to steal the win. But Daylon Miracle answered the challenge, digging in for the victory by three-quarters of a length. The winning time of 1:56:1, skewed by the sloppy track, doesn’t reflect the outstanding effort of this distinguished distaffer.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Extracurricular (Simon Allard, Marty Fine), who delivered a thrilling condition win on Wednesday night, his second straight, and matched a career-best of 1:54:3 in the process; First Aqua (George Napolitano Jr., Gilberto Garcia-Herrera), who moved up in class to beat the top claiming handicap group on the grounds in 1:54, giving him two straight impressive wins to start the meet; and Wind Of The North (Mike Simons, Clifton Green), who moved to two-for-two on the meet with a condition in on Wednesday night in 1:54:2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: CEE PEE PANIC
In a $20,000 claimer on Saturday night, this gelding, with Tyler Buter in the bike, came swooping through the slop in the stretch for a win at 30-1, paying off $62.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: BRETT MILLER
Miller is making Pocono his permanent home so far in the meet, and it’s paying off. On Saturday night, he had his best night yet by reeling off four victories.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: WILLIAM ADAMCZYK
Adamczyk sent out just two horses on Saturday night, but they were both winners, one of whom was out long shot of the week, Cee Pee Panic.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].