WILKES-BARRE PA – There were two $17,500 sections of the main class at Pocono Downs in Mohegan Pennsylvania on Saturday afternoon.
In the “nw 7 races” for pacing males, the Dad Rob Hanover Second-year gelding Makes Sense finished in eighth place and sat last via reasoned splits of :27.1, :55 and 1:22.2. Makes Sense swung all the way outside before the stretch and was still the final middle stretch, but the three-year-old found the required late rush and flew past beleaguered foes to lead by a neck at 10-1 over 28-1. Dream Bird went all the way and came up just short in the 1:51.2 mile. Ridge Warren provided the nerveless drive behind Makes Sense for trainer Robert Cleary and Let It Ride Stables Inc. owner Celtic Racing and Carl Howard.
LOVELY REPEAT
In the trotting co-feature, three-year-old colt Karinchak broke away from Chapter Seven midpack for trainer-driver Ray Schnittker and sat for fractions of :28 and :56.4 before following the cover of Messenger Hanover, who moved into three-quarters of the lead before the 1:24.2 mark. Schnittker, who also co-owns the winner with Arden Homestead Stable and Ted Gewertz, still had plenty of horses despite racing just once in 42 days, taking the lead down the stretch and then beating fellow closer Give Me A Yankee by 1¼ lengths in 1:54.
In the $16,000 claiming handicap pace for the most expensive horses at Pocono, the winner has an age double the combined ages of the two feature winners, although he used similar tactics to them. The 12-year-old Christian Cullen gelding Hesa Kingslayer N, well clear of cutthroat fractions of :26, :54.1 and 1:22.1, moved three wide into the far turn and four wide head stretch, and just got the job done by a neck over Thunder Hunter Joe, whose cover he followed into the far turn, in a 1:51.1 mile. Simon Allard brought the veteran to victory for trainer-owner Mark Akins.
Anthony Napolitano won the last three races on the card and earned the driving crown that day; two of them came from the stable of Deborah Daguet, the only double bruiser on Saturday.
The John Simpson Sr. Memorial Stakes begin their annual two-week stay at Pocono on the Monday card at 1 p.m., with $181,900 to be contested between two divisions of two-year-old pacing colts and three divisions of three-year-old trotting fillies, the latter group led by NYSS champion My Debt Collecter. There will also be three transfers in anticipation of the racing crowd’s games on Monday: one in the Pick 4 betting, starting with the opener; a Pick 5 carryover for the bet from the fifth race onwards; and a High 5 transfer in the final race of the day. Free Pocono program pages are or will be available at www.pha.org.
For full race results, click here: American trotting results.
From the PHHA/Pocono Downs
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