Apr 11, 2019 | Racing
April 6-12, 2019
Our second full week of racing for the 2019 season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono witnessed the Bobby Weiss late closer series getting into full gear. For the next month or so, three and four-year-old horses of varying genders and gaits will be battling it out to make the finals of that series, which go for a hefty purse. One of those Weiss horses actually grabs Trotter of the Week honors this week, which you’ll discover as you read on for this edition of the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: GILLYS BOY
In Saturday night’s featured condition pace, with a purse of $21,500, this five-year-old gelding trained by Ron Burke went off as a 6-1 third choice despite coming in on a two-race winning streak. That was probably because those two wins, one at the Meadowlands and one at Pocono on March 16 in 1:52:2, both came against slightly lesser competition. Many of the other horses in the field on Saturday night were either veterans of the class or were coming from similarly stiff competition at other venues.
Gillys Boy, as he did in those two wins in a row, shot out of the gate quickly, grabbing the lead from post position #5 in the field of nine. But unlike those previous two starts, the gelding had to cede the lead to someone else. Stars Align A, the even-money favorite, swooped by him as they rounded the first turn. Gillys Boy had to play the waiting game, taking his chance that he’d be able to outpace the favorite in the lane.
When they came to top of the stretch, it was still Stars Align A and Gillys Boy sitting first and second, respectively. That’s when driver Anthony Napolitano called on a little bit more from Gillys Boy and he stormed past the favorite to win it by a half-length in 1:50:3. That makes three straight wins, with the latest win coming in a career-best time against the toughest competition on the grounds, meaning Gillys Boy has been the man so far in the Pocono meet.
Other top pacers this week include: Havefaithinme N (Jim Morrill Jr., Jose Godinez), who scored a condition victory on Saturday night in 1:50:2, a new career-best and the fastest pacing time at Pocono so far in 2019; River Runs Deep (Anthony Napolitano, Marta Piotrow), who switched barns and moved up in class but still scored his third claiming win in a row on Saturday night, scoring in 1:53; and Turbo Hill (Hunter Oakes driver and trainer), who pushed his winning streak to five, two of which have come at Pocono, after handling a division of the Bobby Weiss series for male pacers on Saturday night in 1:54:2.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: MY LINDY WINNER
You can’t hold it against a horse if the competition against it isn’t up to snuff on a given week. That was the case for My Lindy Winner in his race on Sunday night. Considering that it was the first leg of the Bobby Weiss series for male trotters, you might have expected a pretty competitive group. But the way the draw worked out, he ended up with one of the softest fields against him. Since he was probably the divisional favorite to start, that meant he would be the heavy favorite.
After all, My Lindy Winner, a four-year-old stallion trained by Rob Harmon, came into the race on a three-race winning streak, with each victory more impressive than the one before. His streak started with a win at the Meadowlands, then continued when he posted a career-best mile in a condition victory at Pocono in 1:55:1. On March 28, he overcame an early break of stride to gut out a win at Yonkers. All of those took a lot more effort than he would need on Sunday night.
Facing just four other competitors after two horses were scratched, My Lindy Winner, a 1-9 favorite with Jim Morrill Jr. in the bike, quickly grabbed the lead past the quarter-pole. From there, he was never threatened, coasting to a six-length victory in an unhurried 1:57. The competition will almost certainly be tougher from this point forward. But My Lindy Winner is racing with such confidence right now that it might not matter who is up against him.
Honorable mention on the trotting side this week goes to: Starsaboveallerage (Anthony Napolitano, Allen Sisco), who scored a condition trotting win on Sunday night in 1:54:4, the fastest trotting time of the week at Pocono; Archway (George Napolitano Jr, Aaron Lambert), who followed up his maiden victory at Freehold with an easy condition victory on Monday afternoon in a career-best 1:56:4; and Spring In Paris (Andrew McCarthy, Steven LeBlanc), whose victory in 1:57:4 in the second leg of the Bobby Weiss series for distaff trotters on Tuesday was her second straight in the series and her third in a row to start the season.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: ONE MORE MIRACLE
Maybe “miracle” is too strong a word, but this pacer driven by Billy Mann certainly conjured up a surprise with a victory in a claimer on Sunday night at 14-1, paying off $31.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: JIM MORRILL JR
Morrill doesn’t usually stick around for the whole meet at Pocono, but he does damage while he’s here, as evidenced by three straight cards of multiple driving victories this past week.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: MARTA PIOTROW
Piotrow made the most of her two starts on Saturday night, winning with claimers River Runs Deep and JK Pridenjoy, both of whom were brand new to her barn.
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].
Apr 3, 2019 | Racing
March 30-April 5, 2019
Now that we are finally up and running four racing days/nights a week, we can hand out our first edition of the Weekly Awards. Apologies to Epaulette A, whose pacing performances surely would have garnered an award or two in the first two weeks of racing when we were still on a partial schedule here at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. But we’re on full-go now, so let’s hand out those awards to some deserving honorees.
PACER OF THE WEEK: ROCKEYED OPTIMIST
We saw a year ago how McWicked, a horse who had largely fallen off the radar, returned to his former glory with a stellar season. Rockeyed Optimist might not reach those heights, but his career arc is travelling a similar path. Once one of the fastest pacers in the game, the right-year-old gelding was lightly raced and didn’t do much in 2017, winning just two out of 14 races. But he seems to be coming back to something near his old form, having already matched his 2018 win total the past few weeks.
On March 23, he fired out to an early lead and scored a victory in a $12,500 condition pace at Pocono in 1:51:1. On Saturday might, the Jake Leamon trainee left from post position #3 in a field of eight. Even though he was stepping up a couple notches to the $17,500 level, he still went off as the 2-5 favorite. Fans remember what this horse can do, and they bet him as such.
Rockeyed Optimist hardly had an easy time of it. After swooping to the lead around the first turn, he was nicely rated by driver Mitchell Cushing. That rate job was important, because Black Chevron provided a stern challenge with a strong first-over move. But the veteran proved up to the task late, holding off Black Chevron by three-quarters of a length in 1:52:1. It should be fun to watch just how close he gets to his former self before this hot stretch is complete.
Other top pacers this week include: River Runs Deep (Jim Morrill Jr, Peter Pellegrino), who moved up in class Saturday night to capture his second straight claiming race, this one in a career-best time of 1:52:4; A And C Artist (George Napolitano Jr, Matthew Adamczyk), who captured his second straight claimer on Sunday night in 1:55:1; and Eddard Hanover (Anthony Napolitano, Ron Burke), winner of Saturday night’s featured condition pace in 1:53:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: PAPPY GO GO
Pappy Go Go had to be burning with anger following his race at Pocono on March 23. In that race, he nearly went gate-to-wire from a #9 post in a $14,000 condition trot. But the effort it took to get to the lead seemed to get the better of him, as he was handled in the stretch, ending up second. On Saturday night, he faced off against the same group, this time from a #2 post. And the results were markedly different, as he put on one of the most impressive trotting performances of 2019.
In the race Saturday, Pappy Go Go settled third early while Maximuscle cut out an aggressive pace. On the back stretch, driver George Napolitano Jr. tipped Pappy Go Go to the outside on the back stretch, and 1-5 race favorite went by Maximuscle in a flash. But he didn’t stop there. The five-year-old gelding kept opening up the lead and quickening the pace until the rest of the field was flailing behind him.
From there, it was only a matter of how much the margin would be and how fast the final time. The answers were eye-popping: Pappy Go Go, trained by Andrew Harris came home 12 ¾ lengths in front, the largest margin at Pocono so far in the meet, while his winning time of 1:52 was not only a career best and the tops at Pocono in the meet, but it was also the fastest trot posted this year in North America. I guess you could say that Pappy Go Go took out his frustration in very productive fashion.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Muscle Fashion (Jim Morrill Jr., Antonella Galie), who scored his second straight condition win on Sunday night, getting it done in 1:56:1; Winning Shadow (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who won Sunday night’s featured condition trot in 1:55:1; and Run Lindy Run (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who posted the fastest time among winners in the distaff trotting group of the Bobby Weiss series on Tuesday with a victory in 1:56:4.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: BASS PLAYER
This claiming pacer struck all the right notes on Saturday night, springing an upset with Eric Carlson in the bike at 26-1, paying off $55.80 to win on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: TYLER BUTER
Buter is off to an excellent start to begin the 2019 meet, picking off where he left off at the end of last year, and he chalked up a multiple wins on Sunday and Monday to show his prowess.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: ROB HARMON
Harmon followed up a pair of training wins on Sunday night with a victory on Monday with 20-1 shot Carson Hill.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Nov 15, 2018 | Racing
“The calendar fades almost all barricades to a pale compromise,” Elvis Costello once sang. I’m not sure if he had the harness racing season in mind when he penned that line, but it’s applicable here. After all, the calendar is slowly closing the door on our 2018 campaign at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, which will come to its completion on Saturday night, November 17.
I know I say this every year, but it is hard to believe that we are at the finish of another meet at Pocono. At the start of the season, when it’s March and the weather is just starting to improve, it can seem like the season is going to go on until infinity. Then you look up, there’s ice on the windshield again, and it’s time to shut her down.
Still, it’s impossible to feel too melancholy about the racing season in the rear view at Pocono. After all, it was one for the books, highlighted by the incredible stakes races throughout the year, yet foundationed (yeah, Dylan used that word, so I can too) by the steady excellence of the overnight races. Each and every racing night had at least one memorable, I’ve-never-seen-that-before kind of moment.
For example, I’m thinking about how an overnight horse named Hurricane Beach stunned us all one night with fractions faster than any of the champions who have raced on the Pocono oval have ever been able to manage. Or the occasional 99-1 and beyond shot that would come out of nowhere to score a win and have us scrambling to do the math.
That’s not to say there weren’t performers who were brilliant just about every time they came out on the Pocono track. For instance:
PACER OF THE YEAR: DORSODURO HANOVER
I remember, when this horse came up just short in the Max Hempt Memorial pace due to a speed duel that sapped his closing kick, thinking that he was due for better things. Boy, was he ever. It seemed like he was winning a stakes race every other week at Pocono in 2018. The two big highlights for the Ron Burke trainee driven by Matt Kakaley: A convincing win in the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes championships for three-year-old colts and then a command performance in the Breeders Crown.
TROTTER OF THE YEAR: HOMICIDE HUNTER
It seems like every year that this Chris Oakes’ trainee comes back, he gets a little better. And he was spectacular to begin with. In a year that saw him break a record that many thought was unbreakable (Sebastian K’s fastest trotting time ever), Old Double H made Pocono his personal stomping grounds. He dominated in the Great Northeastern Open Series throughout the summer, winning the final in a romp. That was just the appetizer for his rallying win in the Breeders Crown, with, fittingly, George Napolitano Jr. in the bike.
CLAIMER OF THE YEAR: IDEAL KISS
There were plenty of horses this year who ran off big winning streaks in the claiming ranks at Pocono, pacers and trotters alike. I chose Ideal Kiss because he managed his success, for the most part, at the absolute top rungs of the claiming ladder. Not to mention the fact that he often succeeded from outside post positions in claiming handicaps and while switching barns practically every week. His consistency in the face of all this was simply stunning.
MARE OF THE YEAR: ECLIPSE ME
Again, a lot of great candidates here, as the distaff divisions were crowded with standout performers. Yet this Rene Allard trainee gets the call for her ability to rise to the occasion time and again against extremely difficult competition. She usually managed her victories coming from off the pace, which certainly adds to the degree of difficulty. It seems like each and every year a Simon Allard/Rene Allard horse wins one of these things, so it’s no surprise to see it happen in 2018.
The driving and training categories are still technically in the wind as we head through the closing nights, but for the most part, it’s in the bag for George Napolitano Jr. (yet again) in terms of driving wins and UDRS and Rene Allard (also yet again in training wins.) Special congratulations go to Hunter Oakes, who appears on his way to a UDRS training title in his first full season as a conditioner. In a community of trainers and drivers as balanced and competitive as the one Pocono possesses, these performers certainly deserve special recognition for coming out on top.
And that should just about do it from here. As always, it has been a privilege to compile these articles for you each week and, of course, to call the races at Pocono. It is a gig that I cherish more with each passing year, and I am eternally grateful for my co-workers who do all the tough stuff so I can sit in my booth and let the action unfold in front of me.
Finally, one more time for 2018, I want to thank the Pocono faithful, the best fans in the sport of harness racing. I hope your off-season is a happy and healthy one, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all again in 2019.
That will do it for this year at Pocono, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Oct 10, 2018 | Racing
October 6-12, 2018
The countdown is on to the Breeders’ Crown, now just a couple weeks away from taking place at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. Based on some of the incredible stakes performances being delivered recently at other tracks around the country, this has the making of one of the most memorable Breeders Crown editions in many years. We can’t wait, but we also don’t want to give short shrift to the excellent overnight action going on each and every racing night at Pocono. With that in mind, let’s hand out some Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: PEMBROKE WILDCAT
Throughout the summer and even into the early part of September, this six-year-old gelding competed against the toughest claimers on the grounds at Pocono. He was often a kind of best-of-the-rest competitor, but that started to change when worked out a pocket trip for a victory in the $30,000-$40,000 claiming handicaps on September 22 in 1:50, a new career-best. The following week, Pembroke Wildcat once again worked out the perfect trip and scored, this time in 1:51.4.
On Saturday night, he once again faced off with the $30,000-$40,000 claiming handicappers, leaving from post position #2 in a field of eight. Pembroke Wildcat was made a 6-5 second choice behind Ideal Kiss at 2-5, even though he had beaten Ideal Kiss in one of his previous two victories. Perhaps bettors were a bit skeptical about the fact that he had need a trip to win the previous two. When Pembroke Wildcat got away mid-pack while Ideal Kiss set the pace, it was time for him to prove that he had another trick up his sleeve.
Driver Anthony Napolitano sent Pembroke Wildcat, trained by Brittany Robertson, on a first-over journey on the back stretch to try and corral the leaders. Once he pulled up even, Pembroke Wildcat flew right on past the defenseless Ideal Kiss and kept right on rolling until he hit the line in front by two lengths in 1:50.1. There shouldn’t be any more lingering doubts about this gelding, because he certainly picked up that third straight victory the hard way.
Other top pacers this week include: Voracity (Eric Carlson, Ron Burke), who moved up in class on Saturday night but still managed his second consecutive condition win in sub-1:50 territory, pacing the mile in 1:49.4; Zero The Hero (George Napolitano Jr., Hunter Oakes), who tore it up on Saturday night for this third straight claiming win, this one coming in 1:49.4; and That Man Of Mine (George Napolitano Jr.,), whose win on Saturday night in a claiming handicap in 1:51.4 gave him five victories in a row, four of which have come at Pocono.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: TWO AM
Sunday night’s featured condition trot with a purse of $21,500 was filled to the brim with trotters who were having excellent seasons. Two AM, a four-year-old gelding trained by Todd Buter, came into the race with four victories on the season, but none quite at the level he was dealing with on Sunday night. Still, he had won his previous race at Pocono on September 29 in 1:53.4, and was a star as a three-year-old, so the move up in class wasn’t completely out of the question.
With Tyler Buter in the bike, Two AM sat back early as the pace was set by Crazshana. Tyler Buter waited for some cover and then sent the gelding second-over once he found that cover on the back stretch in the form of Elysium Lindy. That horse carried Two AM as far as he could go before starting to tire. The same fate befell Crazshana, who started to feel it in the lane as well. That left Prairie Fortune, the 3-2 favorite who was sitting in the pocket, and Two AM, who was revving up out wide.
Two AM may have had the tougher journey, but it didn’t stop him from showing powerful closing kick. In fact, he out-trotted Prairie Fortune and came up a winner by three-parts of a length. His winning time of 1:52.4 was the fastest that anyone trotted at Pocono this past week. With his second straight victory, this time against the toughest trotters on the grounds, Two AM is looking very much like the big earner he was just a year ago.
Honorable mention on the trotting side this week goes to: Mighty Macko (George Napolitano Jr., Chris Oakes), a three-year-old filly who scored her second straight condition win on Sunday night, this one in 1:55.3; Silvermass Volo (Eric Carlson, Michael Holcman), who powered to a condition victory on Saturday night in 1:53.3; and Cant U Spell (George Napolitano Jr., Jody Riedel), who moved up in class on Tuesday night to captures his second straight condition trot and get it done in a career-best 1:54.2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: RAISING KERCKHAERT
It was a memorable maiden victory for this trotter, as he picked up a condition won on Sunday night with Jim Taggart Jr. in the bike at 49-1, paying off $101.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: JIM TAGGART JR.
Taggart was the guy you wanted this week if you liked long shots, as he brought home a 49-1 on Sunday night with Raising Kerckheart and then scored at 10-1 with Sneak On Bye on Monday.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: SCOTT DI DOMENICO
Di Domenico always seem to bring in a high percentage of winners at Pocono, and he managed victories with both of his starters on Sunday night.
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 3, 2018 | Racing
September 29-October 5, 2018
As we roll into the month of October, it is hard to ignore the fact that, by the end of this month, a dozen division champions will be crowned on October 27 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. The Breeders Crown is fast approaching, but we still have some business to conduct at Pocono in the few weeks between now and then. Namely, some more outstanding overnight racing action, such as what transpired these past four racing nights to produces these Weekly Award winners.
PACER OF THE WEEK: ROCKSTAR ANGEL A
This Australian-bred mare has taken a shine to Pocono even since arriving from overseas this past summer. So far all of her victories in the United States has come at the Pocono oval, including a win in her U.S. debut back in July and an impressive victory on September 4 in a $17,000 condition pace in a career-best 1:51. Leading into Sunday night’s featured $21,500 condition pace for mares, Rockstar Angel A had not raced since that September 4 win, a span of almost four weeks.
The fact that there was a possible rust factor and the step up in class may have been why Rockstar Angel A went off as a 3-1 third choice on the board with an inside post in a field of seven. That also could have been a byproduct of the quality of the field, which was led by Bettorhaveanother, winner of the finals of the Great Northeast Open mares pacing series final in her previous race at Pocono. It was indeed Betterhaveanother who set the pace, ceding the lead around the clubhouse turn to 3-2 favorite Penpal.
Meanwhile Rockstar Angel A sat on the inside about four lengths away on the back stretch. Once driver George Napolitano Jr. called on this Chris Oakes trainee around the last turn, she gobbled up the margin. She overtook Penpal and Betterhaveanother and held off fellow closer Don’t Think Twice to win it by a neck. Her winning time was 1:51.2, and Rockstar Angel A now has two straight wins against the very toughest distaffers that Pocono has to offer.
Other top pacers this week include: Pembroke Wildcat (Anthony Napolitano, Brittany Robertson), who picked up his second straight claiming handicap victory against the toughest claimers on the grounds at Pocono on Saturday night, winning this one in 1:51.4: Voracity (Eric Carlson, Ron Burke), who returned from New York to defeat a condition field on Saturday night in 1:49.3, the fastest time at Pocono this past week and a new career mark; and Well Played Out (Tyler Buter, Alex Kavoleff), who rolled to his second straight conditional claiming win on Monday night, getting it done in a career-best 1:52.2.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: TYSON
This five-year-old gelding has been one of the better performers on the trotting side all meet long at Pocono. Trained by Edwin Gannon Jr., Tyson has earned the bulk of his seven victories this year at Pocono. The kicker is that most of those wins have come when he hasn’t been a favorite, with several coming at middle-priced odds. On Sunday night he dropped down into a $17,500 condition group and went off as the 5-2 third choice in a field of seven.
Driver Eric Carlson held Tyson back in the middle of the pack early as Dream Baby Dream, the race favorite, headed for the front. Elysium Lindy set right behind the leader on the inside. As they rounded the final turn, Dream Baby Dream went on a speed break. That was a big break for Tyson, who otherwise might have been hopelessly blocked or had too much ground to make up in the stretch if he had been locked into his third-in journey.
Instead he wound up right behind Elysium Lindy, who had inherited the lead from the breaking horse. In the stretch, Carlson tipped Tyson to the outside and he won a tight stretch duel over Elysium Lindy. The margin was just a head, but the 1:53.4 winning time by the gelding matched the fastest trotting time this past week at Pocono. We are getting closer to yearend awards time at Pocono, and Tyson is a trotter who definitely deserves consideration.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Two AM (Tyler Buter, Todd Buter), who dropped down in class to win a condition trot on Saturday night in 1:53.4, matching Tyson for the fastest trotting time of the week at Pocono; Mandela Blue Chip (Tyler Buter, Alex Kavoleff), who handled a condition field on Monday night in a sharp time of 1:54.1; and Second Sister (Anthony Napolitano, Michael Deters), a mare who snuck in a condition won on Tuesday night in 1:54.3 before rain cancelled the remainder of the card.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: SOME GOLD
Nobody saw it coming when this condition pacer driven by Vinny Ginsburg upended the field on Saturday night at stunning odds of 114-1, paying off $230.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: TYLER BUTER
Buter has returned to a more regular driving role this year at Pocono and has been on fire of late, tallying three wins on Saturday night and then four more on the Monday program.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: CHRIS OAKES
The Oakes’ barn had a field day on Sunday night, ripping off five victories out of five starters sent to the gate, including a win in the mares pacing feature with Rockstar Angel.
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].
