Ed Hart trainee Sir Pinocchio took top honours in Monday's John Simpson Sr. Stakes action at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania for three-year-old male trotters with a lifetime-best 1:51.4 win while Åke Svanstedt sent out the other three victorious trotters and the pairing of driver Tim Tetrick and trainer Jim King Jr. swept the races for two-year-old pacing fillies..

In his $41,667 division of the Ayres, for sophomore male trotters, the Mets Hall gelding Sir Pinocchio made the lead early for driver Jason Bartlett and laid down rapid fractions of :27, :56.2 and 1:24.1 before coming home in :27.3 to leave Bryant Bros S 4-1/2 lengths behind at the finish in the sensational win for owner Carolyn Atherton. The clocking, on a cool day, was just a tick behind the Pocono track record for three-year-old trotting geldings, recorded by Pinkman in 2015. It also was just a fifth of a second behind the fastest trotting mile of the year at the northeast Pennsylvania track, a clocking shared by Sig Sauer and Warrawee Michelle.

Svanstedt himself drove two of the three Ayres winners from his barn. The faster was the front-ender Flying Kronos S, a Face Time Bourbon colt who flew home in :55.4 to win in 1:53, a new mark in a race where less than a length separated the first four finishers. Flying Kronos S is owned by Midnight Sun Partners, Bruni Racing Team and Kronos Breeding. Svanstedt also drove the Six Pack colt Mr Bluebird to a 1:54 victory, also flying his back half in :55.4 for Åke Svanstedt Inc., Little E LLC and Torbjorn Swahn Inc. George Napolitano Jr. had the winning steer behind Svanstedt's third Simpson winner, the Walner colt Southwind Metric, who continued to advance after his cover broke to win by three-quarters of a length in a lifetime best 1:53.4 for Westergaard Inc.

The Razzle Hanover was the stakes for the baby pacing misses, and it carried a total purse of $141,667.

First up was the Bettors Wish-McSauna miss Royally Hot, who followed up stakes wins in the Keystone Classic at The Meadows and the Liberty Bell at Harrah's Philadelphia with a 1:53.2 score in her Simpson division. Working gradually to the lead, Royally Hot kept the burners on late as she needed a :26.4 last quarter to stave off stablemate Lyons Benz by a half length for Tim Tetrick LLC. Pilar Hanover, a daughter of Papi Rob Hanover-Paulas Best, also pulled off the Liberty Bell-Simpson double, recording a new lifetime mark of 1:51.2 for Jo Ann Looney-King and Paton Racing Inc.

Svanstedt and King were the only conditioners to have more than one win at Pocono on Monday, but six drivers recorded doubles: Jason Bartlett, Matt Kakaley, Napolitano, Svanstedt, Tetrick and Ridge Warren.

The current racing week at Pocono concludes with a 1 p.m. card on Tuesday, Oct. 29. There will be a $697.86 carryover into the Hi-5 in the last race. Free Pocono program pages will be available on the PHHA website.

(With files from PHHA/Pocono)