Aug 22, 2018 | Racing
August 18-24, 2018
For a few years there, world records seemed to occur at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on a semi-regular basis. The last two years have been quiet on that front, however, with a combination of factors coming into play, the biggest of those being that the previous record-setters established standards that were simply too daunting to reach. But we were back in the world record business on Sunday night, and the horse that managed the feat leads off this edition of the Weekly Awards.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: WHITE TIGER
Most of the best young male trotters are colts, which is part of the reason why the record times for freshman colts on the trotting side are so much more impressive than those of the geldings. On Sunday night in the first division of three Pennsylvania Sire Stakes held for two-year-old male trotters, Gerry, one of those precocious colts, seemed to be the class of the group, having won two of his first three starts, with the only loss coming in a huge stakes race at The Meadowlands. White Tiger, a two-year-old gelding, came in with a record that, while solid, was more modest than Gerry’s.
White Tiger came in with wins in two of five career starts for trainer Andrew Harris, with one of those wins coming in Sire Stakes competition. He went off as the 7-2 second choice behind 2-5 favorite Gerry. Driver Anthony MacDonald seemed to be keeping an eye on the favorite. When Gerry started moving first-over on the back stretch, MacDonald sent White Tiger out to grab the live cover, as the two made up ground on pacesetter Klutzy.
As they hit the stretch, Gerry had corralled Klutzy. But White Tiger stayed attached to the favorite. Once he managed a clear look, MacDonald spun White Tiger off the cover and raced on by to win by a neck. His winning time of 1:55 set a new track record for two-year-old trotting geldings at Pocono, breaking a five-year-old standard set by It Really Matters. Even better, it matched the world record for his age group and gender on a 5/8-mile oval.
Other top trotters this week include: Tyson (Andrew McCarthy, Edwin Gannon Jr.), who captured Sunday night’s $21,500 condition trot in 1:53.3; Prairie Fortune (Anthony Napolitano, Michael Deters), who matched a career-best with a condition win on Saturday night in 1:53.2, a time that was also the fastest trotting time of the week at Pocono; and Aldebaranwalkabout (David Miller, Jonas Czernyson), who posted the fastest time among six divisions of Stallion Series races on Monday night for two-year-old male trotters with a win in 1:55.2.
PACER OF THE WEEK: T’S ELECTRIC
This nine-year-old gelding came into a $10,000 claiming pace with 136 career starts in his rear-view mirror. But he has been lightly raced for the past two years. In 2017, he raced just four times, winning two of them. This year T’s Electric didn’t get started with his season until July 17. In his third start off the layoff on August 7, the Rene Allard trainee found his stride and blew away a $7,500 claiming group for a six-length victory in 1:54.
Even with the move up in class on Saturday night, T’s Electric was made a 3-5 favorite as he left from post position #4 in a field of eight pacers. With Anthony Morgan doing the driving, the veteran gelding grabbed the early lead, only to relent as Admiral, who was coming off a win in the $10,000 claimers in his previous race, wrested the engine away. Morgan decided he wanted to be the aggressor, so he tipped his charge out for a retake on the front stretch.
When they rolled around to the home stretch, Admiral was still lurking in the pocket. He briefly surged to put a challenge on the favorite. But T’s Electric responded and pushed back until he was two lengths in front of Admiral at the line, pacing the mile in 1:54. Even though he might not race as much as he once did, this gelding has proven that he is a tough customer in the lower claiming ranks whenever he does make it to the gate.
Honorable mention on the pacing side goes to: More The Better N (Corey Callahan), the stallion who continued his impressive first stint in the United States with a victory on Saturday night in the Great Northeast Open Series in a new career-best of 1:49, fastest time of the week at Pocono; Big City Betty (Andrew McCarthy, Steve Salerno), a mare who came off a month-and-a-half layoff to win a condition pace for distaffers in a career-best 1:52.2 on Sunday night; and Twinkle (Eric Carlson, Ross Croghan), who captured Tuesday night’s featured condition pace for mares in 1:52.2.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: EXPLOSIVE ZETTE
Not a lot of big long shots came in this week, so this mare who scored a condition trotting win on Sunday night takes the cake; she won with Tom Jackson at 11-1, paying $25.60 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: GEORGE NAPOLITANO JR.
The meet’s leading driver just keeps on rolling; with five wins on Saturday night, he became the first driver to 200 wins on the 2018 campaign at Pocono.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: DOMENICO CECERE
Cecere is a name that’s new to the racing wars at Pocono, but he immediately made his presence felt with a pair of Stallion Series winners on Monday 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].
Aug 15, 2018 | Racing
August 11-17, 2018
It was a busy week of stakes action at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. There were big-money races held each night, with both two-year-old trotting fillies and three-year-old pacing fillies competing in both Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series action. There were some scintillating performances and some head-scratching winners. And one of those stakes winners also has been doing damage in the overnight races at Pocono, making her the perfect candidate to lead off the Weekly Awards.
ATTENTION HANOVER
This three-year-old filly has shown a knack for being able to win no matter what the race throws at her. She started her hot streak with a win against non-winners of two at Pocono on July 2 by going gate to wire in a career-best 1:51.2. At Harrah’s for her next start, she came on with a first-over victory. On July 22 at Pocono, Attention Hanover passed four horses in the stretch for an upset win at 15-1. Finally, after a near-miss second, she scored at 8-1 with a pocket trip and rally in a condition group on August 5.
That meant she rode into Sunday night’s $20,000 Stallion Series races for three-year-old pacing fillies with wins in four of her last five races, all coming in unique fashion. As the even-money favorite leaving from post position #4 in a field of seven, she sat the pocket seat once again, this time behind pacesetting Butchie Beach. Driver Eric Carlson then made the crucial decision to tip Attention Hanover to the outside late to follow the cover of the first-over mover Sandy’s Beach.
That proved to be a stroke of genius, because it gave Attention Hanover the opportunity to rally. Instead of getting blocked behind a faltering horse, the filly was able to spin off the cover and overtake Sandy’s Beach for a victory by 1 ½ lengths in 1:51.2, which was the fastest of the three Stallion Series splits that night. Her win gives Attention Hanover victories in five of her last six starts, each one of them unique unto itself but still building toward her overall excellent record.
Other top pacers this week include: Hallie’s Comet (Pal LaChance driver and trainer), who rallied from off the pace for a second consecutive condition win on Sunday night, this one coming in 1:51.3; Sea’s Ideal (George Napolitano Jr., Hunter Oakes), who churned through sloppy conditions on Monday night to pick up her second straight claiming victory in a career-best 1:51.4; and Rock Absorber (George Napolitano Jr., Brandon Todd), whose victory in a condition pace on Saturday night in 1:50.2 not only matched a career mark but also was the fastest pacing time of the week at Pocono.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: ABC MUSCLES BOY
One of the reasons that Rene Allard has been the top trainer for several years running at Pocono is because his horses never stay down for too long. They may suffer slumps at some point during the meet, but they generally rally from those slumps, right the ship and come back hotter than ever. Case in point: ABC Muscles Boy. The seven-year-old gelding had always been a solid performer in the past, but he started his 2018 season off with five straight finishes out of the money.
On August 6, he was dropped into our lowest condition group. Needing the boost of confidence that comes with victory, ABC Muscles Boy responded with a solid win, handling the field by eight lengths in a sharp time of 1:54.3. Riding high once again, he moved up into the $11,000 condition trotting group on Monday night. Recognizing his potential, the bettors made him a 3-5 favorite even with the move up in class.
Leaving from post position #6 in a field of eight, ABC Muscles Boy was sent right to the front end by driver Brian Sears. Even in a torrential downpour and extremely sloppy conditions, he held the lead with little concern. By the time the stretch rolled around, he was once again well ahead of his competition, coasting home for the victory in 1:55.2. It looks like we have another Allard trainee moving back up the ladder, his slump long since a thing of the past.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: I’m Your Captain (Andy Miller, Julie Miller), who followed up back-to-back wins at Harrah’s with a condition win at Pocono on Sunday night in a career-best 1:53.4; Silvermass Volo (Eric Carlson, Michael Holcman), who tore it up for a condition win on Sunday night in 1:53.1, matching the fastest trotting time of the week at Pocono; and Beautiful Sin (Yannick Gingras, Jimmy Takter), whose winning time of 1:56.3 was the fastest of three divisions of Pennsylvania Sire Stakes for two-year-old trotting fillies held on Monday night in the slop.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: RIPROY
There were a bunch of long shots that scored on Saturday night, but this pacer driven by Tom Jackson topped them all, winning a claiming handicap at 55-1 and paying off $117 on a $2 win ticket.
(Correction from last week: In last week’s column, I misidentified the Long Shot of the Week. The honor should have gone to Mandela Blue Chip. My apologies for the mistake.)
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: BRIAN SEARS
Sears makes occasional appearances at Pocono on stakes nights, and he made the most of a visit on Monday, scoring five victories, including a Pennsylvania Sire Stakes win with Swizzle Sticks.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: JIM CAMPBELL
Campbell won a Sire Stakes on Saturday night with three-year-old pacing filly Alexa’s Power, and then scored another on Monday night with two-year-old trotting filly Swizzle Sticks.
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 25, 2017 | Racing
October 21-27, 2017
We are only about a month away from concluding the 2017 racing season at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. As a result, there will only be a few more editions of the Weekly Awards before we use the space in this column to wrap up the meet. The racing was quite spicy the past week, as the action shows no sign of letting up as we get nearer to Closing Night. Let’s see who takes the honors for the week that was at Pocono.
PACER OF THE WEEK: JJ FLYNN
Moving up the condition ladder is never an easy task. In the case of this four-year-old gelding trained by Josh Green, it seemed like it would be a monumental undertaking on Saturday night. Not only was JJ Flynn stepping up to face a $16,500 condition group after winning a notch below that in his previous race on October 14 in a career-best 1:50:1, he was also entering a field especially full of classy pacers, with Luck Be Withyou and his over $1.4 million in career earnings looming particularly large.
JJ Flynn left from post position #6 in a field of nine as the 9-2 second choice on the board. He sat mid-pack early on, while Luck Be Withyou, the 1-2 favorite, unsurprisingly set the pace. Had the favorite been able to get away with an uncontested journey, JJ Flynn might have been doomed. But a first-over challenge by Nimble And Quick kept Luck Be Withyou honest. JJ Flynn followed the cover of Nimble And Quick to get into striking position.
On the home stretch, JJ Flynn stepped wide of Nimble And Quick and zipped past him, but still had to get past Luck Be Withyou. Just a few yards before the finish line, it still seemed like the favorite would get home. But that’s when JJ Flynn, with Anthony Napolitano in the bike, surged and sped past to win it by a neck. His second straight victory was made even more memorable by the fact that he did it in 1:50, resetting his career mark.
Other top pacers this week include: Motor City Marco (John Kakaley, Travis Alexander) who once again won in the condition claiming ranks on Sunday, this time in 1:54:4 to give him four in a row; Montana Pablo A (George Napolitano Jr., Mark Kesmodel), who picked up his second straight claiming handicap win on Saturday night in 1:51:2; and Big N Bad (Jim Marohn Jr., Rob Harmon), whose victory on Monday night in a condition came in 1:49:2, the fastest time of both his career and the week at Pocono.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: CLASSICALITY
In order to beat the enemy, you have to properly identify it first. Classicality, a seven-year-old gelding trained by Lisa Dunn, has been making a lot of enemies himself lately. His last three starts: a win at The Meadows in 1:53:4 on September 7; a win at Pocono on September 24 in 1:53:2; and another win at The Meadows in 1:53:1 on October 11. And he wasn’t facing chopped liver either, going for $20,000 purses in each race, which is also the purse for which he competed on Sunday.
Classicality was the 5-2 second choice, however, as Centurion ATM, a stallion who had faced stakes competition for his past several starts, was made the favorite at even money. Centurion ATM also benefitted from a much better post position in the #3 hole, while Classicality was on the outside in the field of eight. Simeon set the pace, but Centurion ATM came stalking on the outside on the back stretch. Classicality, with Marcus Miller in the bike, knew whom he had to follow and quickly latched on to the favorite second-over.
Having identified his main enemy, Classicality was set to take him on. Centurion ATM took over the lead from Simeon, but it was short-lived. Classicality possessed more trot in the stretch and came up a winner by a neck in 1:53:2. That makes it four in a row for the gelding, which, considering the caliber of the competition he’s been facing, is quite an impressive streak.
Honorable mention on the trotting side this week goes to: Catch A Mission (Marcus Miller, Erv Miller), a mare who stayed perfect on the year with her third straight win, the last two of which have come at Pocono after a condition victory on Sunday night in 1:54:4; Silvermass Volo (Simon Allard, Michael Holcman), who churned his way to his second straight condition win on Sunday night and did so in a new career-best time of 1:54; and CR Blazin Beauty (Anthony Napolitano, Al Annunziata), a filly who has followed up an extended winning streak at smaller tracks in the Midwest with back-to-back victories at Pocono, the latest coming on Monday night in a condition trot in a career-best 1:55.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: WILD BILL M
In Saturday night’s final race, this condition pacer with Simon Allard in the bike overcame an outside post to pull off an upset at 60-1, paying off $131.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: TOM JACKSON
The steady veteran driver had an effective week at Pocono, putting up a driving double on Sunday and then scoring on Monday with 55-1 shot Sinspirational.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: DOUG HAMILTON
Hamilton enjoyed a race in honor of his retirement on Tuesday night, but first he made sure he put up one more win in the ledger when Pilgrims Tide scored a win on Sunday.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Oct 4, 2017 | Racing
September 30-October 6, 2017
While we didn’t quite reach the 90-degree temperatures of the previous week, the weather in Northeastern Pennsylvania still cooperated with an excellent stretch of pleasant autumn weather, giving us four straight fast tracks at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono for the racing week. The action was predictably slick as well, yielding plenty of candidates for the Weekly Awards, the best of which you can find right here.
PACER OF THE WEEK: KING OF THE CROP
Trained by Wayne Short, this six-year-old gelding struggled his way through much of the summer, with many finishes well up the track. In an effort to get him going again, his handlers dropped him to the lowest condition level on September 18, and the gambit worked. King Of The Crop came up first-over for a victory in 1:52:4 that night, and moved back up in class this past Saturday night to face an $11,000 group.
With Tom Jackson in the bike, King Of The Crop left from post position #6 in a field of nine and didn’t garner too much betting attention at 8-1. He sat sixth early on as East Coast Cruiser set a menacing pace. Jackson started the gelding up on the back stretch, and after a quick pass of a tiring horse on the outside he found himself first-over. For a while he was stalled a few lengths back, as it appeared East Coast Cruiser might be able to pace out the clock.
But in the stretch the pacesetter started to feel the burden of the fractions and King Of The Crop began to surge. Despite being on the outside on the last turn he gathered momentum under the guidance of Jackson and took over as the line approached to win it by a head in 1:52:2. Now with two straight wins, King Of The Crop will likely make another move up the condition ladder, but his recent performances suggest he’s ready.
Other top pacers this week include: Si Semalu (Jim Marohn Jr., Bruce Clarke), who overcame an outside post to win a condition pace on Saturday night in 1:50:1, which was a new career-best and the fastest pacing time of this past week at Pocono; Pappy’s Pal (Jim Marohn Jr., Matias Ruiz), who followed up a win at Harrah’s with a victory in Saturday night’s featured condition pace in 1:50:2; and Iwillnotbemached (Simon Allard, Amanda Payson), who switched barns, moved up in class and picked up his second straight claiming win on Saturday night, this one coming in 1:52:4.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: SIMEON
They say that revenge is a dish best served cold, but Simeon didn’t have the luxury of waiting long for another chance at his nemesis. The five-year-old gelding from the Toni Freitas barn was an impressive winner on September 18 in the $15,000 to $20,000 claiming handicap trotting group, scoring in 1:55:3. But the following week Simeon was stymied with a fourth-place finish behind Warrawee Onyx, who won his second straight in the class.
On Monday night Simeon was back at it in the same class, and once again he had to deal with Warrawee Onyx, who left as the even money from post position #8 as the even money favorite. Simeon, meanwhile, was let go as the 5-1 second choice. Warrawee Onyx dictated the pace and faced some stiff competition for the lead, but was still on top around the final turn. Simeon, by contrast, sat third on the inside and waited patiently for an opening.
That opening finally arrived around the final turn, which is when driver Jim Marohn Jr. guided Simeon quickly to the outside for a furious charge. Warrawee Onyx was defenseless as Simeon hustled by to win it by 2 ¾ lengths in 1:54:1. That was a career-best time for the gelding, making his revenge pretty sweet, even if it wasn’t all that cold.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Chocouture (Anthony Napolitano, Tom Wine II), who scored a condition win in 1:54:4 on Sunday night, earning a new lifetime mark; Jurgen Hanover (Matt Kakaley, Jenny Bier), who followed up a condition win at Harrington with a victory in 1:55:2 from an outside post on Monday in a claiming handicap ; and Justice Jet (Simon Allard, Rene Allard), who handled a condition field on Tuesday night in 1:53:1, which was a new career mark and the fastest of the week at Pocono.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: LEAN ON YOU
This pacer driven by Tom Jackson started Monday off with a surprise for the faithful, winning a condition at 17-1 and paying out $37.80 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ANTHONY NAPOLITANO
A-Nap had a monster evening on Sunday, ripping off wins on six of the 14 races on the program for one of his finest performances of the season.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: WAYNE SHORT
Short made the most of his training efforts, winning with the lone starter he sent out on both Saturday (King Of The Crop) and Sunday (Moonshine Runner.)
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected].
Apr 19, 2017 | Racing
April 15-21, 2017
Even with only three days of racing last week due to our taking Easter Sunday off, there was a ton of exciting action that took place at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono. We saw our first sub-1:50 mile of the meet, the continuation of the Bobby Weiss late closer series, and, in general, some wild and woolly racing. Without further ado, let’s review it all by handing out our Weekly Awards.
PACER OF THE WEEK: MIGRATE BLUE CHIP
Moving up in class is never an easy feat, but this five-year-old stallion from the Ron Burke barn was ready to do just that on Saturday night. After all, he had won back to back starts against the non-winners of five pacing conditioners in his previous two races, putting up times of 1:52:1 and 1:53 in the process. Saturday night’s test came against the non-winners of seven colts, stallions and geldings. The betting public had faith in Migrate Blue Chip though, installing him at 1-9 as the heaviest kind of favorite.
The rest of the field wasn’t about to concede the race to the heavy betting choice. In fact, pacesetting Pan Of Steel was particularly prickly. Each time Migrate Blue Chip attempted to get to the front, Pan Of Steel would dig in his heels and push him back. This left the favorite with an unenviable trip, first-over around two of the race’s three turns.
Despite losing the lead to Pan Of Steel twice, Migrate Blue Chip, under the steady guidance of driver Matt Kakaley, strove onward and finally took over the lead in the stretch. At that point, you might have expected one of the closers to pounce on the tired favorite. But the stallion was having none of it, stretching the lead to two lengths at the line and winning in 1:51:3, a new career-best time. That makes three in a row for a horse who might be ready to take on more experienced pacers on the highest rungs of the condition ladder.
Other top pacers this week include: Orillia Joe (Eric Carlson, Matias Ruiz), who captured Saturday’s $25,000 condition pace in 1:49:4, a new career-best and the fastest time of the young season at Pocono; Dash Of Danger (Matt Kakaley, Ron Burke), who captured his third straight Bobby Weiss win and fourth in a row overall on Monday night, this one coming in a new career mark of 1:51:3; and Hypothetical (Andrew McCarthy, Ross Croghan), a three-year-old colt who picked up his second straight condition win on Tuesday night in 1:53:1.
TROTTER OF THE WEEK: DOLCE DUCCI
This 10-year-old gelding from the Norman Morford barn has a knack for rising up with a big mile when you least expect it. He scored his first victory of the season on April 10 at Pocono against the $8,500 condition trotters. Coming off that confidence-builder, he moved up to the $11,000 group on Monday night. He didn’t receive too much attention, however, going off as an 11-1 shot.
As the race progressed, Dolce Ducci seemed to be an afterthought indeed. As Tea Party Politics set the pace, he lolled about near the back of the pack. When Raven Victory took over the lead with a first-over charge on the back stretch, the gelding was sill eighth in the field of nine. He must have been lulling them into a false sense of security, because Dolce Ducci started to boogie around the last turn. At the top of the stretch, driver Tom Jackson guided him four-wide so that he had a clear look at the horses ahead of him and the finish line.
Dolce Ducci then kicked into gear, making up several lengths with a furious move. Raven Victory held on for as long as he could before he finally caved to the charge of the horse coming from behind. Dolce Ducci swept by to win by a length-and-a-half in 1:57:1. Expect another move up in class for this veteran trotter, and expect him to sneak up again if the race breaks his way.
Honorable mention on the trotting side goes to: Get To Doin It (George Napolitano Jr., Gilberto Garcia-Herrera), who scored a condition win on Saturday night in the week’s fastest trotting time at Pocono of 1:53:3, which was also a career-best; Hilarious Hero (Matt Kakaley, Jenny Melander), whose Bobby Weiss series victory on Tuesday night in a career-best 1:55 gave him three wins in as many starts this season; and Ooh Rah (Jim Morrill Jr., Kathleen La Montagne), who churned out his second straight Bobby Weiss series victory on Tuesday night in 1:56:1.
LONG SHOT OF THE WEEK: ORILLIA JOE
It’s not often that the longest shot of the week comes home in the week’s feature race, but Orillia Joe did just that on Saturday night at 20-1 for a win payout of $42.40 on a $2 win ticket.
DRIVER OF THE WEEK: ERIC GOODELL
It’s been a nice start to the meet for Goodell, and his three victories on Saturday night provided a taste of the success he’s been able to achieve early this season.
TRAINER OF THE WEEK: MATIAS RUIZ
Ruiz chalked up a training double on Saturday night, with the highlight coming in Orillia Joe’s surprising victory in the featured pace.
That will do it for this week, but we’ll see you at the track. Feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]
