The four-year-old Bolt The Duer gelding Blank Stare, a winner in his New York Sire Stakes Championship last season, finally broke through after a series of close finishes to post his first 2021 victory, a 1:51.3 win in the pacing half of twin $15,300 features on Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.

The track was still listed “sloppy +1” after morning rains (which had stopped) when the feature field took to the track, with Im A Gigolo N taking the field past the quarter in :27.3 and then yielding to Tell Them Lou before the :55.3 half. Blank Stare remained fourth, directly behind Cigar Smoking Tony, as that one would start out first-over past mid-backstretch and would challenge the leader by the 1:24 three quarters. In the stretch Cigar Smoking Tony grinded down Tell Them Lou, but then could not resist the inch-by-inch relentless gain of Blank Stare, who got by Cigar Smoking Tony by a head, with Tell Then All missing it all by only a half length.

Driver Tyler Buter and trainer John Butenschoen, the “hot team” at Pocono in the classifications for younger horses, again visited Victory Lane here with the winner of $274,650, who is owned by Harmony Oaks Racing Stable, James Crawford IV, and In Over My Head Stable.

As hard-fought as the top pace was, the featured trot was a piece of cake for the Deweycheatumnhowe sophomore gelding Dewey Arnold, who headed down the road and never looked back, lowering his record to 1:53 despite the off going over a track that definitely was not quickening later on the card. Dewey Arnold now has seven wins in 11 seasonal starts, and it looks like he’ll be a major NYSS factor this year for trainer David Dewhurst, also co-owner with Philip Hale.

Dewey Arnold’s driver, Jason Bartlett, led the Pocono colony on Tuesday with four sulky successes. Bartlett has climbed to fourth in the Pocono win standings, and is third among the Yonkers colony.

(PHHA / Pocono)