Horses on their way up the class ladder were in the spotlight during the Saturday, Oct. 4 card at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, with one $24,306 conditioned event at each gait.

Kierkegaard K, a longtime stakes competitor, was eligible for the race by having won six races previously in his career, and the son of Chapter Seven-Gone Baby Gone S put his class edge to good use with an overwhelming 1:52.1 victory to start off the day’s racing. Johnathan Ahle sent him to command in a :26.2 quarter, rated him to the half in :56.1, then picked up the pace, with Kierkegaard K reaching the three-quarters in 1:24.3 before tacking on a :27.3 last panel. He was four lengths the best over Te Amo Lindy (George Napolitano Jr.), with Beaujolais Breeze (Brett Beckwith) third. The winning five-year-old stallion, now with $451,541 in earnings through 35 starts, races for trainer Åke Svanstedt and owner Knutsson Trotting Inc. He paid $3.80 to win.

The Soho Lanikai-Our Chelsea Girl gelding Captain Moore A clocked his fastest victory since coming to North America when he won the pacing division of the feature class, restricted to males, in 1:50.3. Beckwith had to get the horse to work until just past the finish line the first time to make the lead, but after fractions of :27, :55.1, and 1:23.1, the Aussie import had enough spring in his step to ward off several late challenges and win by a length from Avellino (Anthony Napolitano). Makes Sense (Tyler Buter) was third. Scott Blackler trains Captain Moore A for Chad Kowal. The four-year-old has captured half of his 24 career starts and has earned $133,026.

In a $21,528 sub-feature for developing male pacers, the Captaintreacherous-Pink Terror sophomore colt Captain Fear followed the good cover of heavily favoured Go Go Grasshopper (Matt Kakaley), then eased wide of that one and was able to get by the chalk by a neck while taking a new mark of 1:51.1. George Napolitano Jr. guided four winners on the day including this one, who has all three of his career victories at Pocono, for trainer Tom Fanning and the ownership of Howard Taylor and Falcon Racing.

Two $13,889 trotting races for the American Harness Drivers Club were held on Saturday's card with Vanessa Karlewicz aboard the Richard Aiken-trained Snowman Hanover for a 14-3/4-length romp in 1:53.4 and Tony Beltrami guiding Mark Ford trainee Roger Rabbit to a 1:55.2 score by 1-3/4 lengths.

Racing at Pocono continues with Monday and Tuesday programs set for a 1 p.m. start, with developing trotters contesting a feature race on each day.

(With files from PHHA/Pocono & American Harness Drivers Club)