Trainer Ron Burke and driver Matt Kakaley swept both $15,000 divisions of the third leg of the Bobby Weiss Series for pacing males Saturday night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with Victory At Last now three-for-three in the series and Major Uptrend making his initial Weiss start a winning one.

After winning by a head in the first two legs, the Quik Star Mindale gelding Victory At Last had it relatively easy in the third, coming out of the pocket and gaining into a :55.4 final half to defeat Shadow Margeaux, the only other previous Weiss winner in his division, by three-quarters of a length while taking a new mark of 1:52.1 for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.

Major Uptrend, a big factor in the winter series at The Meadowlands, had made breaks in his last two outings, in the Sagamore Hill Series at Yonkers, and the switch to the more spacious oval proved a good tonic for the altered son of Somebeachsomewhere and Tricky Tooshie, who won over $1 million on the racetrack. "The Major" marched to the lead past the quarter, then threw twin :27.4 splits on the end of his mile to complete the handy triumph in 1:51.3 for owner Howard Taylor, defeating four previous Weiss division winners, including second-place YS Lotus, making his sixth start in 18 days (racing in the Sagamore and Weiss three straight weeks).

One other interesting note: both winners sold at Harrisburg as yearlings – Major Uptrend for $177,000, Victory At Last for $7,500.

(PHHA/Pocono)