There were two $24,648 sections of the feature class at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Saturday, Oct. 18, and both winners took come-from-behind routes.

In the non-winners-of-seven event for pacing males, the Papi Rob Hanover-Freakonomics sophomore gelding Makes Sense drew post eight and sat last through argued fractions of :27.1, :55, and 1:22.2. Makes Sense swung to the extreme outside for the drive and was still last in mid-stretch, but the three-year-old found the required late rush, swooping past beleaguered foes to be up by a neck at 10-1 over 28-1 shot Dream Bird (Tyler Buter), who shot up the inside and came up just short in the 1:51.2 mile. Namaste Hanover (Colin Kelly) was third. Ridge Warren provided the nerveless drive behind Makes Sense for trainer Robert Cleary and the ownership of Let It Ride Stables Inc., Celtic Racing, and Carl Howard. The gelding is now seven-for-21 lifetime. He returned $23.60.

In the same class for trotters, the Chapter Seven-Sianna Hanover three-year-old colt Karinchak got away mid-pack for trainer-driver Ray Schnittker and sat during fractions of :28 and :56.4, then followed the cover of Messenger Hanover (Buter), who cleared to the lead before the 1:24.2 three-quarters. Karinchak, who is owned by Schnittker with Arden Homestead Stable and Ted Gewertz, still had plenty of horse despite having raced only once in 42 days, going to the lead in the stretch then withstanding fellow closer Give Me A Yankee (Simon Allard) by 1-1/4 lengths in 1:54. Beersnsunshine Deo (Matt Kakaley) rounded out the top three. The win was the sixth in 18 lifetime outings for Karinchak. He paid $10 to win.

In the $22,535 claiming handicap pace for the highest-priced horses at Pocono, the winner had an age double the combined ages of the two feature winners but used similar tactics to them. The 12-year-old Christian Cullen-Millwood Manhattan gelding Hesa Kingslayer N ($21.80), sitting way back off of fast fractions, moved three-wide on the far turn and four-wide at headstretch, and he just got the job done by a neck over Thunder Hunter Joe (Braxten Boyd), whose cover he followed on the far turn, in a 1:51.1 mile. Spring Blake (Buter) was a close third. Simon Allard rallied the veteran to victory for trainer-owner Mark Akins.

Anthony Napolitano won the last three races on the card to earn the driving crown on the day. Two of them came from the stable of Deborah Daguet, the only doubling conditioner on Saturday.

The John Simpson Sr. Memorial Stakes starts its annual two-week stay at Pocono on the Monday card at 1 p.m., with $181,900 USD to be contested among two divisions of two-year-old pacing colts and three splits of three-year-old trotting fillies. The latter group is headed by New York Sire Stakes champion My Debt Collecter. There will also be three carryovers awaiting the racing public on Monday: one into the Pick 4 wager starting with the opener, a Pick 5 carryover for the wager starting with the fifth race, and a High 5 carryover in the final race of the day.

(PHHA/Pocono)