Three-year-old fillies were the featured performers on Monday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with five divisions of pacers and three of trotters, all going for $20,000, contesting their first preliminary of the Bobby Weiss Series.

The fastest pacing winner was the Captaintreacherous filly Silent Crossing, who went away strongly, yielded to Dance Ticket, then gained into back fractions of :56.3 - :28 to post the co-smallest win margin of the eight Weiss races, a half-length, but also the quickest time of 1:53.3, a new mark. Mark MacDonald drove the Woodbine/Mohawk shipper for trainer Jessica Fallon and the ownership of Hutt Racing Stable and Blake MacIntosh.

Two Weiss pacing winners knocked almost four seconds off their previous best times. The Sunshine Beach sophomore Sunshine Sally got a good early position, had the room to swing wide at the head of the stretch, and overhauled Throw The Dice, also by a half-length, while dropping her mark from Q1:58 to 1:54.1. Anthony Napolitano worked out a great trip for the winner as she triumphed for trainer Cory Stratton and Bukers Stable.

Reducing her mark from 1:59 to 1:55.1 was the Sweet Lou filly Sweet Kiss, one of three pacing Weiss winners who took advantage of a pocket trip, with Sweet Kiss catching Miki Rose up the inside en route to a three-quarter length success. George Napolitano, Jr. drove the winning miss for trainer/lessee Michael Hall.

The other winning two-holer was the American Ideal filly Jacana, who dashed up the Pocono Pike to outduel the tough first-over Some Kinda Angel while taking a new best of 1:54.3. Matt Kakaley (a five-time winner during the card) guided the filly to the victory for trainer Jean Drolet and owner Martha Drolet.

The “slowest” winner of the Weiss pacing events, and the only one on either gait who did not reduce her mark, was the Always B Miki filly Jillian B Miki, whose 1:55.3 might not have caught the eye, but whose back fractions of :56.2 - :27.3 on the front end for driver Jim Pantaleano certainly did. The Tye Loy trainee, owned by Loy and Rich Gillock and now the winner of three straight, would also prove to be the only winning favourite on the pace – and the slowest winner on the trot was also the only successful chalk on that gait.

Among the trotting misses, it was a first-time starter, the Devious Man filly Devious Dushi, who proved the fastest in 1:57. Driver Braxten Boyd went to first-over position with his trotter as Sunseeker Hanover took over the lead early in the backstretch, battled that one the rest of the way, and finished out with a 1-3/4 length decision. Guy Howard trains the promising miss for Howard Stable, himself and Cathy Howard.

Just for one day, the Credit Winner filly We Could Be Heros was the longest shot on the board and broke her maiden in her division. She came up the Pocono Pike to gain into a :29 kicker and catch favoured Lovely Echo by three-quarters of a length in 1:58.2. Tyler Buter guided the winner, making her seasonal bow, for trainer Rob Harmon and the partnership of Harmon Racing Stable LLC and Harvey Eisman. (And for David Bowie fans noting the spelling of the filly’s name, there is a South American fish called a “heros” – and remember that in the video the first line of the famous song is “I wish you could swim.”)

Also a three-quarter of a length winner was the Muscle Hill distaffer Those Blues, who followed the cover of main rival Phannys Matter, then worked by that one late to break her maiden in 1:59 while living up to her backing in her 2022 bow. Matt Kakaley was in the sulky behind the Per Engblom trainee for Bluestone Farms LLC and Fredericka Caldwell.

(PHHA / Pocono)