Louies Girl N made her 2026 debut on Monday, March 16 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, and she rallied nicely to win the $34,247 conditioned pacing headliner for fillies and mares to remain undefeated in North America.

Team Cushing, trainer Heidi and driver Ron, saw their Turn The Page N win the last two Pocono distaff features and Sweet Hayley Jane A take last week’s co-feature for the fillies and mares; this week, they tried Sweet Hayley Jane A in the top class. Despite 42-1 odds, the Aussie-bred went right to the lead in :27, got a big breather into the strong wind while reaching the half in :58.1, and then raced to the three-quarters in 1:25.4. Jason Bartlett moved Louies Girl N from third down the back and into a vacant pocket, then sent the mare out after the leader in the lane, and she wore down the game pacesetter by three-quarters of a length. She scored in 1:54.2 on a day with a strong stretch headwind and a sloppy surface rating for the higher-class races. Dougs Babe A (Mark Herschberger) was third.

Trained by Pocono meet leader Per Engblom for Peaceful Acre Farm, Louies Girl N posted her eighth straight victory and remained unbeaten since last May 8. She won her last New Zealand start on that day, then later shipped Stateside and rose through the ranks with six straight victories at Yonkers Raceway last fall. The six-year-old daughter of Lord Forbes-One Bad Dream won an Invitational there in her final start of 2025 and is seven-for-seven in the United States after her seasonal bow on Monday. Her totals now read 14 career wins from 31 starts. She paid $2.10 to win.

Pocono’s Monday sub-feature was a $23,972 conditioned event also for distaff pacers, and Perfidious Crown ($10.20) became one of the few speed horses to hold up on the day, parked to the three-eighths to gain command and then still able to rattle off a :55.1 back half to be a handy winner in 1:53.3. The four-year-old daughter of Tall Dark Stranger-Treacherous Reign was driven by Anibal Borjas for trainer Tony Alagna and owners Alagna Racing LLC, Let It Ride Stables Inc. and Big Als Stables. She is two-for-five this year.

Braxten Boyd, who won USHWA’s Rising Star Award last year, topped the local drivers on the 14-race card with three successes. Simon Allard and Anthony Napolitano won twice each.

The racing week at Pocono concludes on Tuesday with a 1 p.m. card. The feature is a $15,500 USD event for on-the-rise trotters, and the day’s racing could also serve as a showcase for some Weiss Series prospects, with that annual Pocono series for developing three-year-olds starting Saturday, April 4.

(PHHA/Pocono)