Top three-year-old pacing filly Kissin In The Sand is the early favourite in one of three divisions of the group’s third preliminary round of the Pennsylvania Sire Stakes at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Saturday.
The daughter of Somebeachsomewhere, trained by Nancy Johansson for owners Marvin Katz and Hatfield Stables, provided one of the greatest thrills of the 2018 Pocono season when she overcame being parked virtually every step in the mile to win the $300,000 Lynch Championship here on June 30, Sun Stakes Saturday.
Kissin In The Sand has also won the Mistletoe Shalee and not been worse than second in seven seasonal starts, and she will start from post six Saturday in the third race division, where her main competition figures to come from Reign On Me, among the top three in her last four against solid competition.
The two horses who have won their first two preliminary Sire Stakes legs each top one of the other divisions. The race four cut has Serene Stride as the early pick as she starts from post five for driver Corey Callahan, trainer Mark Harder, and owners Emilio and Maria Rosati. The six-time seasonal winner will square off against Pearl Blue Chip, a recent 1:51 winner at Mohawk.
The other double winner is Sidewalk Dancer, a daughter of A Rocknroll Dance to be guided by Brett Miller for trainer Chris Oakes and the ownership of Northfork Racing Stable, Omar Beiler and Dennis Coons. Sidewalk Dancer must try to overcome the outside post seven in the fifth race division, and in fact is the early second choice to Alexas Power, a winner in the Lismore and Adioo Volo stakes.
Three divisions of Stallion Series misses will go postward at Pocono on Sunday. There were ten divisions in the first two Stallion Series prelims, with ten different winners; eight of them will be at Pocono on Sunday, including joint-fastest StS winners Miss Hill and Zuluwarriorhanover at 1:52.2.
(PHHA / Pocono)