Apr 15, 2014 | Racing
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.
Apr 9, 2014 | Racing
April 8, 2014
Miller’s Bird, A And G’s Design, and Prima Dragon all knocked off heavy favorites to win divisions of the Bobby Weiss series on Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. There were three divisions of the Weiss held for three and four-year-old fillies and mares on the pace, each carrying a purse of $15,000.
Miller’s Bird (McArdle-Bunting), with David Miller in the bike for trainer Alexander Rice Jr., pounced from the pocket to beat odds-on favorite R Journey Together in 1:55:3. A And G’s Design (Allamerican Native-Colorado Creek), driven by Simon Allard and trained by Rene Allard, also utilized a pocket trip to dump 1-5 shot Stucklikeglue in 1:54:4. In the final Weiss split, Prima Dragon (Dragon Again-Zacharysprimadonna), with Brett Miller doing the driving for trainer Mike Dowdall, grinded first-over to upend favored Envious Hanover in 1:52:1.
Apr 4, 2014 | Racing
April 1, 2014
R Journey Together, Envious Hanover, and Stucklikeglue captured divisions of the Bobby Weiss Series on Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, all with career-best times. There were three Weiss divisions held for three and four-year-old fillies and mares on the pace, each carrying a purse of $15,000.
R Journey together (Western Ideal-R Xample) put herself at two-for-two for the series, controlling the pace in the first division, with George Napolitano Jr. in the bike for trainer Lou Pena, to win in 1:53:3. Envious Hanover (Western Ideal-Eicarls Olvidar), driven by Matt Kakaley for trainer Ron Burke, held off pressure on both sides to pick up the win in the second split, her second straight in the series, in 1:52:2. In the final division, Kakaley and Burke doubled up with Meadows shipper Stucklikeglue (Dragon Again-Ruth Plumsted), who went gate-to-wire in 1:52:4.
Mar 26, 2014 | Racing
March 25, 2014
R Journey Together, Envious Hanover, and Sweet Charity all scored wins Tuesday night at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs in the Bobby Weiss series. The three divisions, which included three and four-year-old pacing mares, each carried a purse of $15,000.
R Journey Together (Western Ideal-R Xample), driven by George Napolitano Jr. and trained by Lou Pena, came off a two-month layoff to win the first split in 1:54:1. In the second split, Envious Hanover (Western Ideal-EicarlsOlvidar), with Matt Kakaley in the bike for trainer Ron Burke, overcame an outside post for a victory in 1:54. Sweet Charity (Art Major-Fool For You), driven by Andrew McCarthy and trained by Aaron Lambert, picked up her maiden win in the final division in 1:53:3.
