May 16, 2018 | Racing
May 12-18, 2018
One of the many things making the racing action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in 2018 even more exciting than usual is the brand new Great Northeast Open series. Pocono and Harrah’s at Philadelphia will be hosting these races all through the spring and summer for the best aged pacers and trotters around. It will all culminate with big-money Finals held at Pocono in September, meaning that the horses will be battling in the preliminary legs not just for the excellent purses, but also for the chance to nab the really huge payday at the end. This edition of the Weekly Awards is highlighted by horses who triumphed in the series this week in thrilling fashion.
PACER OF THE WEEK: AGENT Q
Winning in your first start off a significant layoff is difficult against anyone, let alone a field of crackerjack distaffers. Yet that’s what faced Agent Q in her 2018 debut on Sunday night in the $30,000 Open pace for mares. In addition to that, her return to racing for the first time since back-to-back stakes wins in November to end her three-year-old season would have to come from an outside post in a field of eight stars. Not an easy task, even for a mare with over $1.1 million in earnings in her first two years of racing.
Driver David Miller didn’t push Agent Q, who went off as the 5-2 second choice, early in the mile, preferring instead to let her sit at the back of the pack. Lady Shadow took the early lead and had to deal with Pure Country pressuring her first-over. Agent Q, making her first start in the Chris Oakes barn, saved ground until the 5/8-mile marker, when she started moving on a three-wide path behind the cover of Elliesjet N.
Still, Agent Q was last at the three-quarter pole, albeit closing the margin, as Pure Country took over the lead. Once Miller guided the mare to a clear look at the leaders, there was simply no stopping her. She eclipsed the entire field until Pure Country was the last one in front of her, eventually nipping her at the line to win by a nose in 1:52.3 on the off track (good condition.) Consider her first test against aged mares passed with flying colors, especially considering everything she had to surmount to get the victory.
Other top pacers this week include: Soho Wallstreet A (Marcus Miller, Ross Croghan), who followed up a win at The Meadowlands with a victory in Saturday night’s featured condition pace at Pocono in 1:50.4 in the slop; Pa’s Corn Squeezin (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), a mare who is now three-for-three since coming from California after a claiming handicap win on Monday night in 1:53.3; and Eclipse Me N (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), a mare who moved up in class to win her second straight, doing so in the Tuesday feature condition distaff pace in a career-best 1:50.1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: WILL TAKE CHARGE
Will Take Charge, a five-year-old gelding who did very well in the early part of the year in Canada for trainer Jeffrey Gillis, was made the 3-5 favorite on Sunday night in the $30,000 Open trot after just missing in his last start at The Meadowlands behind the great Hannelore Hanover. But then the thing that every trotter dreads befell him at the beginning of the race: He went off stride. Even though driver Tim Tetrick was able to get him back and trotting relatively quickly, Will Take Charge found himself last in an excellent field of seven.
At that point, most probably wrote him off and looked to the horses at the front of the pack, as Sutton set a measured pace that looked like it would hold up when push came to shove. Will Take Charge didn’t give in, however, moving third over on the back stretch and hoping for the best. As they entered the final turn, all eyes once again turned to the favorite, as Tetrick spun him off the cover and he came bounding up to threaten the leaders.
In the stretch, despite the reasonable fractions that were maintained, the rest of the field appeared as if they were trotting in molasses. Will Take Charge swept right by for the win by a comfortable two lengths over Smalltownthrowdown. The winning time of 1:53:4 might seem modest, until you consider that the track was only in good condition and he had to give up that early ground because of the break. If he gets a clean trip, it will be a blast to see what Will Take Charge can really do.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Star Studded Cast (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), whose winning time in a claiming handicap trot on Monday of 1:54.1 was a career-best and faster than anybody at Pocono this week not named Will Take Charge; Holy Halibut (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who now has wins in two of his last three races following a claiming handicap victory on Monday night in 1:56.1; and Tyson (Jason Bartlett, Edwin Gannon Jr.), who sprung an upset in a $21,500 condition trot on Sunday night in 1:56.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: SERIOUS SAVANNAH
This gelding came into his condition trot on Tuesday night winless in 2018, but he wasn’t anymore after rallying at 22-1 with Marcus Miller in the bike to pay $46.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: JIM MORRILL JR.
Morrill’s win with Indy Ingot from last to first capped off a three-win night on Sunday and also gave him 7,000 driving victories in his outstanding career in racing.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: HUNTER OAKES
The young conditioner had one of his finest nights ever on Saturday night at Pocono, ripping off four wins on the program.
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 29, 2017 | Racing
March 25-31, 2017
After some weather-related delays, we finally enjoyed our first semi-full week of racing for the 2017 season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. This means we’re finally ready to hand out our first edition of the Weekly Awards. And it’s only fitting that our first horses of the week are the ones that made it to multiple wins on the meet before anybody else. Here are the best of the best for the week that was.
PACER OF THE WEEK: MAJO JUST DO IT
If you had to pick a horse beforehand that you thought would be our first Pacer of the Week, it probably wouldn’t have been this 11-year-old gelding. In 36 tries a year ago, Majo Just Do It won just four races and earned only a little over $16,000 for those efforts. He had shown some life in recent starts at Monticello, however, picking up a win and a show before coming to Pocono for Opening Night.
As a 7-2 shot that night, the gelding came from way back in the pack to score a win in 1:56. Trained by Jennifer Sansone, Majo Just Do It had George Napolitano Jr. in the bike for his race Sunday night against a field of $7,500 claimers. As the 2-1 second choice, he was shuffled to the end of the line once again. He was still last at the half-mile marker when he began steadily improving as part of the outer flow.
At the top of the lane he was still fifth, but Napolitano found a clear lane for him for the stretch drive. He once again found his best stride in the lane, blowing by the horses in front of him and prevailing by a half-length in 1:54:1. Suddenly Majo Just Do It has three-quarters as many wins as he did a year ago and things are looking up, especially if he can keep uncorking that lethal late kick on his unsuspecting foes.
Other top pacers this week include: City Hall (George Napolitano Jr., Amber Buter), who captured the Saturday night featured pace in 1:52:1, giving him wins in three of his last four races after a recent hot streak at The Meadowlands; Ronny Bugatti (Austin Siegelman, Nicholas Devita), who picked up a condition win in 1:51 on Tuesday night, the fastest time of the week at Pocono despite sloppy conditions; and Arielle Lynn (Eric Goodell, Kevin McDermott), who captured Tuesday night’s featured condition pace for mares in the slop in 1:53:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: MISTER PHOTOGENIC
Like Majo Just Do It, Mister Photogenic wasn’t exactly a name on everyone’s lips coming into the season. But hot streaks can arrive out of anywhere, and this 3-year-old gelding trained by Jim McGettigan definitely is on one right now. It began on opening night, when he surprised a field of maiden condition trotters with a come-from behind win at 7-1 in 1:58:3.
He was back at it again facing the same class on Sunday night. Because he had a win under his belt, he was forced to draw for an outside post, which left him in the tough #8 post position in field of nine. Driver Jim Morrill Jr. was able to guide Mister Photogenic to the lead with a steady move, taking over on the front stretch. The gelding received a lot of pressure, however, and as they rounded the final turn there were horses close behind and all around the 8-5 favorite.
It turns out that the gelding was playing a little possum, because once Morrill asked him for a little bit of speed, he left the pursuit far behind. Mister Photogenic ended up winning by a comfortable 5 ¼ lengths, a margin that seemed unlikely at the top of the stretch. His winning time of 1:58 reset his career best, although, if he continues to progress like he has early in the meet, it’s likely that mark will fall again very soon.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Muscle Diamond (John Campbell, Brett Bittle), a Meadowlands invader who scored a win in Sunday night’s featured trot in 1:53:3; DW’s NY Yank (Eric Goodell, Ron Burke), who overcame an outside post to deliver a condition victory on Saturday night in 1:53:3, matching Muscle Diamond for the fastest of the week at Pocono; and Swishnflick (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who handled a tough condition group on Saturday night in 1:54:3.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: NEXT SUCCESS
Even off a win in his last start at Rosecroft, this condition pacer driven by Jim Morrill Jr. went off at 19-1 on Sunday night and scored a victory to pay off $41.20 on a $2 ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: SIMON ALLARD
All signs point to a big season for Simon, as he followed up three wins on Opening night with three more victories in Saturday night’s action.
TRAINER OF THR WEEK: MARK FORD
One of the top trainers for many seasons now at Pocono, Ford picked up a win on Saturday night and then backed it up with a training double on Tuesday.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Sep 28, 2016 | Racing
September 24-30, 2016
After a couple weeks of abbreviated schedules, The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono returned to our regular slate of four nights of racing this past week. The full schedule featured a bunch of great finishes, several outstanding performances, and some stunning upsets. In other words, it was just another week at one of the top tracks in the world. Here are some of the highlights as we hand out the Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: DREAMS BEACHBOY
This four-year-old gelding from the Chris Oakes barn came into 2016 with somewhat modest earnings, even though he showed flashes of brilliance as a four-year-old. Dreams Beachboy has turned that promise into results this season. He’s been especially fine at Pocono; in just the last two months, he beat the non-winners of nine, won a condition in a career-mark of 1:49:1, and, in his last race coming into Saturday night, handled a $15,500 condition class.
On Saturday night, he stepped up into the $20,000 feature class, but even with the move up, bettors still installed him as the favorite. In the early going, Dreams Beachboy didn’t show much, sitting in the middle of the pack in fifth as others did the work up front. On the back stretch driver George Napolitano Jr. guided the gelding to the outside. In a flash, he wheeled from fifth to first, taking over the lead shy of the three-quarter pole.
From there no one was able to even remotely threaten his lead. Dreams Beachboy coasted home a winner in 1:50:2 with a 2 ¼ quarter-length advantage over second-place Mister Bling A. Now with seven victories in 19 races this year and earnings in 2016 which are about double his bankroll from the first two years of his career, Dreams Beachboy keeps getting better and seems like he has a way to go before he reaches his peak.
Other top pacers this week include: Goldin Parachute (Dave Palone, Rodney Baker), who moved up in class to win a claiming handicap on Saturday night in 1:52:2, giving him two straight victories; The Rock (Anthony Napolitano, Andrew Harris), who scored a condition win on Sunday night in 1:50:2, which was a new career-best and matched Dreams Beachboy for fastest time of the week at Pocono; and Gweneeee J (Jim Marohn Jr., Linda Toscano), who arrived from The Meadowlands to capture Tuesday night’s featured condition pace for mares in 1:51:3.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: SPLITSVILLE
Who knows why horses sometimes take well to a track? When it happens, the results can be eye-opening. Splitsiville, a seven-year-old gelding, didn’t even hit the board in his first five races of the year before finally winning at Northfield in Ohio in a race for a purse of just $3,300. As soon as he arrived at Pocono and joined the barn of trainer Kris Rickert, his fortunes drastically changed. He immediately won two of three, climbing up the ladder to beat condition fields with purses of $8,500 and $11,000, with the latter win coming in a career-best 1:54:4.
After a fifth-place finish at Chester, the gelding returned to Pocono to face his toughest test yet on Saturday night in a $15,500 condition trot. The move up in class scared away the bettors, as Splitsville went off at 23-1. He sat fourth early on while the favorite Summers Windsong set the pace. Driver Eric Carlson set Splitsville in motion on the back stretch and quickly the gelding was looking the favored mare eye-to-eye.
The two continued their battle around the final turn, but, surprisingly, it was Summers Windsong who eventually relented. Or maybe it’s not so surprising considering Splitsville’s love of the Pocono oval. He trotted away and hid in the final strides, winning the race by a comfortable 3 ½ lengths and matching his career-best of 1:54 in the process.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Ashlake (Anthony Napolitano, Rene Allard), a mare whose victory in a claiming handicap on Monday night came in 1:53:3, a new career-best and the fastest trotting time of the week at Pocono; Somebody As (George Napolitano Jr., Anette Lorentzon), who shipped in from Yonkers to capture Sunday night’s $20,000 featured trot in 1:54:1; and Star Photo (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who scored his second straight claiming handicap victory on Monday night, this one coming in 1:56:2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: REGGIANO
Despite a #9 post position and a move up in class, this pacer driven by Eric Carlson stunned a condition group on Saturday night at 50-1, paying off $103 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ERIC CARLSON
He picked up just two wins on Saturday night but was awful lucrative for his backers, as his wins came aboard 23-1 Splitsville and 50-1 Reggiano.
TRAINER OF THE YEAR: STEVE SALERNO
Few trainers have frequented the Pocono training leaderboard for as many years as Salerno, and nights like Monday night, when he scored a training double, will probably get him there this year as well.
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 6, 2016 | Racing
May 28-June 4, 2016
It’s been a while since we’ve handed out the Weekly Awards in this column. We hit a stretch the past month or so at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono where it seemed like every week featured a different set of stakes races, which obviously needed to be highlighted. This week the stakes races took a breather, allowing our excellent condition and claiming pacers and trotters to take center stage. And, with warm temperatures hitting the track, plenty of candidates stepped up with outstanding performances. So let’s see who took the highest honors at Pocono in the week that was.
PACER OF THE WEEK: SCOTT ROCKS
It’s been a bit of an up-and-down season for Scott Rocks, a 6-year-old stalwart of the Chris Oakes barn. The gelding was a tough customer early in the year at Pompano Park, but then he came up empty in the Levy series at Yonkers. In his two starts at Pocono in the meet leading up to Saturday night, he battled his way to a second and a third against the top condition pacers on the grounds.
On Saturday night, Scott Rocks lined up from post position #6 in a field of eight for an $18,000 condition purse. He went off as the 2-1 second choice, ceding the favorite’s mantle to Bettor’s Edge, earner of over $1.8 million in his career. But driver George Napolitano Jr. wasn’t about to take a back seat to anyone, sending Scott Rocks to the front end. The fractions he set were intense, so much so that it seemed only a matter of time before Bettor’s Edge or somebody else in the field overtook him.
But Scott Rocks kept right on rolling. He finished strong in the lane to hold off Bettor’s Edge by a length-and-a-half. The winning time was an eye-opener, as the gelding tripped the line in 1:48. Not only was that the fastest time of an excellent career to date for Scott Rocks, it was also the fastest of the 2016 season so far at Pocono. Look for this talented gelding to step up in class off that extremely impressive mile in the weeks to come.
Other top pacers this week include: Limelight Beach (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who rallied to capture Saturday night’s featured condition pace in 1:49:4; Mr D’s Dragon (Simon Allard, Staffan Lind), a 3-year-old who picked up his second straight condition win on Monday night, this one coming in 1:55 in the slop; and Check’s Commodore (Matt Kakaley, Tony Kavoleff), whose victory in a condition pace on Monday night in 1:54:4 in sloppy conditions gave three wins and a place in his last four races.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: AGGRESSIVE
For the past few weeks at Pocono, the condition trot with the biggest purse has been scheduled on Sunday nights, giving some of the leading lights of the trotting game a chance to shine. Three weeks ago, Tag Up N Go put together an impressive win in the featured trot, followed the next week by Armor Hanover’s victory in the slop. In both of those races, Aggressive, a 5-year-old gelding trained by Gilberto Garcia-Herrera, had been best of the rest with second-place finishes at nice prices.
On Sunday night in the $18,000 featured condition trot of the week, it appeared as though Aggressive might have to once again take a back seat to a conquering invader. B Yoyo arrived from The Meadowlands with an impressive string of swift times and solid performances and, with the inside post, went off as a 1-2 favorite. When B Yoyo had the lead on the back stretch, it appeared for all the world like he would fulfill his promise.
But Aggressive, perhaps weary of playing second fiddle, had other ideas. With one quick brush he moved from third right past the stunned leader. He then built a big lead that he would pretty much carry all the way home. With George Napolitano Jr. in the bike, the gelding steamed home 3 ¼ lengths ahead of his nearest foe, tripping the line in a career-best time of 1:52:4, which also matched the fastest trotting time of the week. Now that he has a taste for winning, you might see Aggressive doing it a lot more often.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Mr Lover (Anthony Napolitano, Jenny Melander), who moved up in class and captured his second straight condition win on Monday night, this one coming in the slop in 1:56:2; Celebrity Bugatti (Anthony Napolitano, Chris Oakes), who picked up a condition victory in a career-best 1:52:4, which matched the fastest trotting time of the week; and Spicedbourbongirl (Jeff Gregory driver and trainer), a filly who picked up a condition win on Sunday night in a career-best 1:53:4, giving her three victories in her last four races.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: BELLA’S PUNKETT
This filly with Jim Taggart Jr. in the bike left well in a condition trot on Tuesday night, inherited the lead from a breaking horse, and trotted away late to win at 20-1, paying off $42.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
George Nap, who currently is the only driver with over 100 wins in the Pocono meet, had another big week with four wins on Saturday night and three nights out of four with multiple victories.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: JONAS CZERNYSON
Czernyson sent out a pair of maiden trotters on Sunday night and by the end of the evening they were maidens no more, as both Sand Grenade and Pick Up The Tab scored their first lifetime victories.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Sep 22, 2012 | Racing
September 14-20, 2012
We had only two nights of live racing this past week at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs, so the Weekly Awards will have to take a little hiatus until next week. Instead, I thought we’d play a little game of “Where Are They Now?”
If you’re like me, you’re fascinated by all those shows which reveal the whereabouts of celebrities from yesteryear who haven’t stayed in the limelight. Only in our case, the celebrities are of the four-legged variety, particularly those horses who won the four major stakes races at Pocono this season.
What this little exercise should show is just how good those four horses are and that their moments in the spotlight at Pocono were indicative of the way that they’ve performed at other tracks around the country. It should also show that the MSPD stakes schedule, with its hefty purses attached, now attracts the best of the best in the harness racing world.
Our first major stakes race of the season, the Earl Beal Jr. Memorial Trot for 3-year-olds on June 23, was a coming out party for the amazing Googoo Gaagaa. Up to that point, he had been a regional phenomenon for trainer Richard Hans in his home state of Maryland, but his ridiculous win in 1:50:4 in the Beal seemed to serve notice that he was the best sophomore trotter in the nation.
His skeptics had plenty to crow about when he went off stride in his following starts at Yonkers and The Meadowlands. Hans sent him back to Maryland for a confidence-building win in Maryland, then returned him to the fray to face the best of the best, including Hambletonian champ Market Share, in the Colonial at Harrah’s on August 18. Googoo Gaagaa proved definitively that the Beal was no fluke that day, whipping his competition for a victory in 1:52:1.
On June 30, we witnessed one of the sport’s true superstars as 3-year-old filly pacer American Jewel rolled in the final of the James Lynch Memorial stakes. That put her career record at 12 wins in 14 tries, meaning the filly didn’t know much about defeat. She would find out in her next three starts, hitting the board in consecutive stakes races at The Meadowlands, Tioga, and Harrah’s, but failing to pick up a victory in any of those tough battles.
When you’re a filly with as much talent as American Jewel, the near-misses just aren’t going to cut it. That’s why trainer Jimmy Takter had to be pleased when she righted herself with a win in her last start in Canada in the Simcoe stakes. With that win in tow, she appears to be in prime shape for the upcoming Breeders Crown.
When A Rocknroll Dance headed into the Max Hempt Memorial for 3-year-old pacers at Pocono on June 30, he was in the midst of a slump. As a result, despite an outstanding 2-year-old campaign in 2011, the colt from the Jim Mulinix barn went off as a 17-1 shot. He found his stride that day, however, buzzing by the leaders late to pull off the upset.
Buoyed by his win in the Hempt, the colt has since moved into the upper echelon of 3-year-old pacers in the country. A win in the prestigious Meadowlands Pace solidified that standing, and his victory in the Battle of the Brandywine at Harrah’s in August was one of the signature performances of the racing season.
Has there been a better pacer in the country this year than the amazing Betterthancheddar? Trained by Casie Coleman, the 4-year-old put together a thrilling, front-pacing win in the Ben Franklin free-for-all pace at Pocono on June 30, matching the track’s fastest ever pacing time with a mile of 1:48. Coleman then took him back to Canada for three straight victories.
Betterthancheddar was upset by the great Foiled Again in the Canadian Derby at Mohawk, but he quickly bounced back to beat that horse and other top pacers in the Bobby Quiller Memorial at Harrington on September 17. He has legitimate Horse of the Year aspirations.
So, as you can see, the horses that have made their mark at Pocono have gone on to perform with excellence at their subsequent destinations. Maybe we shouldn’t be asking, “Where are they now?” after all. Maybe the proper question is, “What will they do next?”
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]
