Three-year-old colt trotters who may have been eyeing the Earl Beal Trot, with its $500,000 final on Saturday, June 30, had their final pretest six days before the eliminations, as they contested three $30,000 divisions of their Pennsylvania All-Stars event on Sunday (June 17) at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

Patent Leather came a long way uncovered from midpack, collaring pacesetting favourite Whats The Word in mid-stretch and drawing away to a 2-1/4 length victory in a personal best of 1:52.3. The Broadway Hall colt, driven by Tim Tetrick for trainer Jim Campbell and Fashion Farms LLC, indicated his fitness for meeting the best of his division with a very strong victory, raising his bankroll to $117,271.

The Cantab Hall gelding Haveitalltogether got all the breaks in posting a 1:53.4 victory. After Rich And Miserable got the top past the :27.3 and kept favoured You Know You Do parked until that foe broke at the 56.1 half, Eric Carlson moved the Julie Miller-trained trotter out second-over behind his stablemate Maxs Beast down the back, but they went back inside before the 1:24.2 three-quarters. Around the far turn, pocket-sitting For A Dreamer lost his gait, allowing Haveitalltogether another life, and the winner of $106,680 took full advantage, catching the beleaguered Rich And Miserable by a neck. The Pinske Stables, the Andy Miller Stable, Kentuckiana Racing Stable and Eddie Gran saw their sophomore run his 2018 tally to four wins in six starts.

The third cut provided a three-way drive to the wire, with Lindys Big Bang taking a bang-bang-bang finish while lowering his mark over two seconds with a 1:52.2 victory. The Explosive Matter gelding yielded to Make It A Double and sat behind him through fractions of :27.1, :56, and 1:23.4. When Lindys Big Bang vacated the pocket, he had a chance up the Pocono Pike, and was able to stave off Crystal Fashion by a nose, denying the Jim Campbell stable a double. Just a half-length back in third was Make It A Double, who was trying to make it a double for Team Orange Crush. But Lindys Big Bang got the nod, making the Nifty Norman trainee’s 2018 scorecard 5-for-7 and his lifetime earnings $153,108; driver David Miller also co-owns the winner with Melvin Hartman and David McDuffee.

There was also a $30,000 division of the Great Northeast Open Series for trotters on the Sunday card, and in it George Napolitano Jr. was in constant motion through most of the mile as his drive, Homicide Hunter, held off the 2016 Trotter of the Year Marion Marauder by a neck in 1:52.2. Those two had been among those battling for the lead in early numbers of :27 and :55.3 before Homicide Hunter finally got control around the Marauder at the half, then turned back the first-over bid of Meladys Monet just past the 1:23.3 three-quarters. In the Pocono Pike, Marion Marauder launched a strong thrust and looked like he might catch the leader, but Homicide Hunter responded to Napolitano’s urging to preserve the victory.

Homicide Hunter, an altered son of Mr Cantab, holds the world for five-eighths-mile tracks for both four-year-olds (1:50.1, 2016, Pocono) and older performers (1:50.3, last week, Scioto). He ran his career total to $1,240,907 while getting the nod in the hard-fought contest for trainer Chris Oakes and Crawford Farms Racing.

(PHHA/Pocono)