The impeccably-bred Greenshoe-Hannelore Hanover sophomore colt Loxahatchee was on his best behaviour on Monday afternoom, Oct. 7 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, taking the $20,270 trotting feature in wire-to-wire fashion while stopping the timer in 1:55.

Loxahatchee, who had made a break in his previous three starts, left the gate errorless under Ridge Warren’s handling and set all the pace, putting up fractions of :28, :57.1 and 1:26.1 while keeping a foe parked out, then trotted away to beat out pocket-sitter Mischievous G by 4-1/2 lengths. Marcus Melander trains the winner for Courant Inc.

Warren, top winner among drivers on the day with four victories, was also in the sulky behind the International Moni freshman gelding Encomium, knifing that trotter out and clear late to get the decision for LCL Stable at a $97 mutuel. Trainer Mahlon Martin has been the "King Of The Longshots" at Pocono recently: with his last 11 local starters, he has had four winners, with three of them paying $94.20 or more. A $2 win bet on all his racers during the string would have netted a player a profit of over 1,300 per cent.

The presence of a $97 horse in the mid-card Pick 5 wager helped ensure that there would be a carryover in the pool for Tuesday’s card, with the Pick 5 starting in race five on a program beginning at 1 p.m.

(PHHA / Pocono)