The John Simpson Sr. Memorial Stakes continued on Tuesday, Oct. 21 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, with three $42,254 divisions of both the Hardie Hanover for three-year-old pacing fillies and the Super Bowl for two-year-old trotting males.
Pocono’s all-time leading driver, George Napolitano Jr., won two of the three divisions of the Hardie Hanover, including the fastest split, a 1:51 victory with the Papi Rob Hanover-Always Giggling miss Gigglingonthebeach ($3.40). On a cool day with a stiff stretch headwind in which only two of 14 winners had the lead at every call, Gigglingonthebeach had ones straight across her line, defeating two-holer Send It Down Slim (Ray Schnittker) by a length for trainer Juan Cano and owner Hot Lead Farm. Strutsville (Ridge Warren) closed for third. The win gave Gigglingonthebeach another Pocono stakes triumph to go with her win in the Lynch Consolation I. She is now six-for-17 lifetime.
George Napolitano Jr. also won a Hardie Hanover split with the Captaintreacherous-Jk Mollys Delight filly Jordanna Hanover ($6.60), who set a lifetime mark of 1:52.3 despite having to overcome going first-up in a :56.1 last half. She won by two lengths over the horse on her back, Calamity Hour (Anthony Napolitano), with Pilar Hanover (Tim Tetrick) third. Jordanna Hanover has won six times in 31 career starts for trainer Tom Fanning and owner Fanning Racing LLC, consisting of himself and his wife Moira.
A win in the Hardie Hanover stake had extra meaning to the trainer of the other winner, Time Of The Season ($3), as conditioner Tim Twaddle drove Hardie Hanover to many victories in top competition during the honouree’s racing career. Here, Time Of The Season paced a :26.2 third quarter for driver Tyler Buter to go after leader Fansville (Jack Pelling), finally getting by that game filly by the shortest margin of the day's stakes competition, a half-length, in 1:51.4 for owner Birnam Wood Farms. Time To Strike (Warren) completed the ticket. The winner, a daughter of Bettors Wish-Macharoundtheclock, improved her record to seven-for-23.
Buter also took a division of the Super Bowl behind the Six Pack-That Woman Hanover colt Nordic Dancer S ($6.40), who moved to the lead early then set a new mark of 1:56.1 in defeating Beer In My Hand (Cody Schadel) by 2-1/4 lengths. Never Say Die (Mattias Melander) finished third. Nordic Dancer S's win was his second in eight starts for owner Flygind Gaard Inc.
Nordic Dancer S is trained by Åke Svanstedt, who also sent out the top two finishers in the second Super Bowl split, one of two baby stakes divisions taken by Tetrick. In that contest, the piebald Captain Corey-Via Lattea It colt Nebbiolo ($3) had the largest stakes winning margin of the day, 4-1/2 lengths, as he defeated Campanzia (Svanstedt) in 1:56.4. Sir Devious Knight (Braxten Boyd) was third. The winner has taken three straight victories for Knutsson Trotting Inc. after going winless in three to start his career.
Tetrick doubled up with Captain Corey progeny as he drove Captain Jordan ($2.20) to a front-stepping 1:56 victory in the fastest Super Bowl division. Two lengths back was 56-1 longshot Storm Hanover (Todd Schadel), who rallied nicely but could not catch the winning Scott Di Domenico trainee. Mister Nice Captn (Svanstedt) came home third. The winner, out of Jordan Blue Chip, is co-owned by Di Domenico’s Triple D Stables Inc. along with Joe Faraldo. The win was his fifth in nine outings.
The Bizzness N pulled off the day's biggest upset, paying $112.40 in the second race. The price was noteworthy in that the talent behind the horse was the meet’s leading driver, Tyler Buter, and the meet’s leading trainer, Ron Burke. For Burke, it was his third $50+ “bomber” of the meet, tying him for the seasonal lead.
The next two cards of racing at Pocono, Saturday and Monday, both at 1 p.m., will each contain a pair of Simpson Stakes. Saturday’s program will feature sophomore colts in the Albatross for pacers and the Ayres for trotters, and Monday’s slate will showcase freshman fillies in the Davidia Hanover for trotters and the Razzle Hanover for pacers. The four stakes will offer combined purses of $283,210 USD.
(PHHA/Pocono)