Jul 20, 2012 | Racing
July 13-19, 2012
We have had such a bushelful of big-time stakes races of late at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs that I’ve devoted much of the space in these columns to those races. All the while, our overnight racing has raged on with the same intensity it has displayed all season. With that in mind, let’s turn the focus back on those races this week and get back to handing out our Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: DYNAMIC YOUTH
It’s seems like we can’t go more than a few nights without another track record falling. On Saturday night, it was one of our longest-standing records in this era of speed at Pocono that went by the wayside, courtesy of 3-year-old pacing gelding Dynamic Youth. The gelding loves Pocono, as evidenced by his two straight wins to start his season here in the spring.
Following that success, trainer Aaron Lambert took him to his home state of New York, where Dynamic Youth hit the board often but couldn’t break through in Sire Stakes competition. Back at Pocono, he faced all older horses in a tough condition for non-winners of $15,000 in the last three starts. Driver Andrew McCarthy wisely kept him off a blistering pace early, but, as the race progressed, the gelding started to pick off horses.
In the stretch, only Amillionpennies stood in his way, and Dynamic Youth blew by him to win by 1 ¾ lengths. His winning time for the mile, a scorching 1:49:2, broke the record for 3-year-old geldings on the pace of 1:49:4 that was set by Goddess’s Justin way back in 2008. Maybe this record-breaker will stick around Pocono a bit longer this time.
Other top pacers this week include: Hrubys N Luck (George Napolitano Jr., Cad Gregory), who jumped in class on Saturday to win a condition pace, his third straight victory, in 1:50; Splendid Kisses (George Napolitano Jr., Chris Oakes), who stepped up all the way to the $20,000 claimers and still picked up his third straight easy win on Saturday night in 1:51:3; and Kel’s Return (George Napolitano Jr., Pierre Paradis), who won his third straight and sixth in his last seven with a claiming victory on Tuesday night in 1:52:3.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: HE’S SPOOKY
Moving up in class is always a treacherous bit of business in harness racing, especially at the top rungs of the competitive ladder. Yet He’s Spooky was determined to move into our top condition class of winners of over $25,000 lifetime on Sunday night and do so in style.
The 5-year-old stallion from the Frank Antonacci barn made his first appearance at Pocono on July 8 after arriving from Canada and promptly beat a tough condition group in a career-best 1:52:2. In that start, he had an excellent trip, but, on Sunday night, driver Matt Kakaley sent him right to the front and dared everyone to play catch-up.
Each time a competitor would make a tentative move to the outside to challenge, He’s Spooky would pick up the pace and dissuade them. In the stretch, there was nobody close enough to make a serious move and the gelding rolled to a three-length win in 1:53:1. He’s Spooky made moving up in class seem so easy that everybody might want to do it.
Honorable mention on the trotting side this week goes to: Wingbat (Matt Kakaley, Antonino Gristina), a mare who reeled off her second straight condition victory on Friday night, this one in 1:54:4; H And M’s Hit (Matt Kakaley, David Duspiva), who moved up in class and won a condition on Friday night, his second straight victory, in 1:54; and Holier Than Thou (Yannick Gingras, Jonas Czernyson), whose victory in Pennsylvania Sire Stakes competition on Wednesday night came in a time of 1:53:1, which broke the track record and matched the world record for 3-year-old fillies on the trot.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: IT’SABOUTTIME
Just a few weeks after winning at 42-1, this pacer with John Kakaley in the bike stunned a group of $10,000 claimers on Sunday night with a win at 33-1, paying off $69.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: YANNICK GINGRAS
Gingras captured two of the three big-purse divisions of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes held on Wednesday night, continuing his excellence in the most lucrative races at Pocono.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: AARON LAMBERT
Lambert had an impressive training double on Saturday night. In addition to the track record he scored with Dynamic Youth, he also had the night’s featured pace winner in Townslight Hanover at 19-1.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
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].
Jun 3, 2012 | Racing
May 25-31, 2012
As the month of May comes to a close, the action at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs is so massive that it can no longer be contained by four nights of racing per week. Starting in June, Sunday nights will be added to the schedule for the next three months. That means extra action for the Pocono racing fans, and it also means the Weekly Awards stand to get even more competitive. Here is this week’s edition:
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: TUI
They say that records are made to be broken, but some more records are more vulnerable than others. Anybody who has watched Tui, a four-year-old mare from the barn of Don Wiest, this season knows that she represented a serious threat to the track and world record of 1:53:1 set by Stage Show in 2009. The only problem was that a record can only be set in a victory, and Tui’s rugged competition, mostly older male horses, made a win a difficult prospect.
On Friday night, the mare faced off against a tough condition group which contained six horses with more career earnings than her coming into the race. That didn’t stop the fans from making her the favorite at 3-2, and Anthony Napolitano drove her like she was the one to beat, sending her to the front and letting everybody else try and catch her.
On this night, nobody stood a chance. Tui blew the field away by 2 ¼ lengths and tripped the timer in 1:52:3, giving her a new track record and making her the fastest 4-year-old mare ever on a 5/8-mile oval. If she keeps up at this rate, the aged mares’ record of 1:52:1 will be in her sights in 2013.
Other top trotters this week include: Live Jazz (George Napolitano Jr., Ray Schnittker), who followed up a win at The Meadowlands with a condition win at Pocono on Friday night in a new career-best time of 1:53:4; Hot Shot Blue Chip (Joe Pavia Jr., Jonas Czernyson), whose victory in the week’s featured trot on Saturday night came in 1:52, matching the fastest trotting time posted at Pocono this season; and Keystone Torch (George Napolitano Jr., Pierre Paradis), a Trotter of the Week a few weeks ago who still has winning streak going following his fifth consecutive claiming win on Friday in 1:56:1.
PACER OF THE WEEK: ALL SPIRIT
It’s rare for one of the winners of our major awards to get the trophy after winning a race as a long shot. That’s because, to be considered, they must have performed well in recent weeks, which means that they’re usually considered to be one of the top picks in a particular race.
All Spirit is an exception to that rule. Even though the mare had won her previous two starts, one at Pocono and one at Tioga, going into Tuesday night’s $25,000 featured pace for mares, she still went off at odds of 21-1. That’s probably because she was stepping up in class, but she showed no fear once the gate moved away.
Working from a pocket trip, driver Howard Parker urged All Spirit, trained by Judy Lanpher, to the outside in the stretch and she responded by upending favorite Southwind Jazmin to win by a nose in 1:51:2 on a sloppy track. Long odds or not, this mare is on such a hot streak that she’s a threat to win any race she enters.
Honorable mention on the pacing side this week goes to: Best Around (George Napolitano Jr., Paul Holzman), a mare who scored her second consecutive condition victory on Friday night in 1:51:2; Ol’ Man River (Matt Romano driver and trainer), who moved up in class and scored his second straight condition win on Friday night in 1:50:1, a new career mark; and Natural Woman N (Jason Bartlett, Rene Allard), the 11-year-old mare who won her fourth straight distaff pace on Wednesday night in 1:52:1.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: MAMIE’S JAILBIRD
This filly with Matt Romano on the bike stung a batch of condition trotters on Tuesday night as a 25-1 long shot, which brought in a $53.40 payout on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ANDREW MCCARTHY
One of the steadiest drivers at Pocono for the past few seasons, McCarthy had another solid week with six wins, including doubles on Friday and Tuesday.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: JASON ROBINSON
After a monster 2011 campaign at Pocono, Robinson is once again one of the top trainers on the grounds, solidifying his standing with three more victories this week.
That’s it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
