The Somebeachsomewhere sophomore colt Kauai King (no relation to the 1966 Kentucky Derby winner) had to dodge an early breaker and then worked hard to get the lead from his outside post, but once on top would not be supplanted in winning the $13,000 featured pace in 1:54.1 at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Monday afternoon (Sept. 27).
After an adventure-filled :28.1 opener, which saw him land third, Kauai King and driver Anthony Napolitano decided to take over the lead, and did so with a minimum of fuss well before the :58 half. From there, the winner sprinted home in :56.1 to leave Send It In Jerome 1-1/2 lengths behind as he was victorious for trainer Mark Ford and All Star Racing Inc.
Matt Kakaley, currently third in the Pocono driving standings behind the Napolitano brothers, drove three winners on the Monday program.
The Tuesday 12:30 p.m. card at Pocono, the track’s last in its racing week, will have three $17,000 features for horses aspiring to greater classification heights: a distaff pace in race five, a male pace in race 10, and a trot in race 12. Program pages are available on the PHHA website.
When racing resumes on Saturday, which will be October 2, Pocono will be shifting to a three-day-a-week schedule – Saturday, Monday, and Tuesday at 12:30 p.m. – until the end of its 2021 meet on Saturday, Oct. 30.
(With files from PHHA/Pocono)