Sheer Desire, a three-year-old son of Real Desire – Carolache, won his Max C. Hempt Memorial elimination in 1:51 on Saturday at Pocono Downs

, defeating Rustys All In by three-quarters of a length.

Sheer Desire's only previous start this year was a seventh-place finish in the eliminations for the Berry's Creek at the Meadowlands Racetrack. Last season, Sheer Desire won three of four races, including divisions of the Bluegrass and International Stallion stakes at Lexington's Red Mile.

"The first race at the Meadowlands (this year) he kind of lost his mind a little bit," trainer Ron Burke said. "I was just glad to see he behaved himself and looked calm and collected. We've always known he's a little bit of a nervous horse, but he's always been able to maintain his composure.

“In the Berry's Creek he just lost his mind,” Burke added. “There was good and bad that we took from it. The good was he was all over the racetrack and still only was beaten by two lengths. The bad was that we hoped we didn't have him all over the racetrack all year long."

(Harness Racing Communications)