Pence Hanover relied on a pocket trip and powerful late kick to pick up a win in Saturday night’s featured Preferred Pace at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs. The race carried the night’s top purse of $25,000.

Leaving from post position No. 4 in a field of eight as the 9-2 third betting choice, Pence Hanover (Western Hanover-Popcorn Penny), a seven-year-old gelding from the Aaron Lambert barn, was able to sit the pocket behind pacesetter Meirs Hanover. Even though the fractions weren’t too taxing, driver Andrew McCarthy was able to urge Pence Hanover to a rallying stretch win in the final strides over Meirs Hanover in 1:50.2. Here We Go Again finished third.

Pence Hanover, owned by Carl Cito Jr., won for the fifth time in 14 2013 starts. The victory was the 25th of his career and pushed his lifetime earnings to $257,955.

Saturday night’s racing at Pocono also featured eight $20,000 divisions of The Stallion Series for three-year-old colts and geldings on the pace. The first of those divisions was the fastest of the night, as Matt Kakaley guided the Ron Burke trainee The Pan Poobah (The Panderosa-Pandalay Bay) to a scorching win in 1:50.4.

Kakaley cranked out four Stallion Series wins on the night at Pocono, including two with Burke and two more for trainer Ron Potter. He won again with Burke with UF Dragons Cruiser in 1:53.3. With Potter, he scored with Ilikeitrealhot in 1:51.2 and My One True Desire in 1:52.3.

Driver Jim Morrill Jr. and Chris Oakes connected on a pair of Stallion Series winners: Big Time Promise in 1:52.4 and Shock It To Em in 1:52. Morrill added a third win aboard North America Cup eligible Moonliteonthebeach, assessed at odds of 60-1 in Trot Magazine's 2013 Spring Book, for trainer Eddie Hart in 1:51.3. The other Stallion Series split was captured by Some Kinda Beach and the father-son team of driver Marcus Miller and trainer Erv Miller in 1:52.

(With files from Pocono Downs)