Pocono-based and a well-known 'Pocono lover,' the Rocknroll Hanover gelding Scott Rocks rallied for his second consecutive victory in the $21,500 Saturday night featured pace at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, one of eight winners brought home on the card by the track's seasonal and all-time leading driver George Napolitano Jr.
A winner of $1,033,974, Scott Rocks was sent to the lead before the :26.3 quarter by Napolitano, and the pair then yielded to Western Joe, the favourite off a fast win in the sub feature last week, and Western Joe led the field past a :55.1 half, a 1:23.1 three-quarters, and into the stretch.
But Scott Rocks started to angle to the outside after turning into the lane, and in the final strides he was able to put a nose ahead of the pacesetter in a 1:50.2 mile with the temperatures in the mid-40s at the mountain oval. Hunter Oakes trains the winner, who now has a lifetime win percentage over one-third with 59 victories in 175 starts, for owners Northfork Racing Stable and Chuck Pompey.
One other note from the feature is that Atta Boy Dan, racing for a $40,000 claiming tag, will NOT be changing barns after his race, after being claimed out of fourteen straight starts at Pocono. Atta Boy Dan was all but invincible when in claiming company, but with the top selling level not filling the last couple of weeks, “Dan” has had to face a very tough collection – he held for fifth here after going the tough first-over trip -- but there were no takers for him, breaking his unofficial local record for barn changes.
Dealt A Winner, who had missed a nose to Western Joe last week in the $17,500 sub-feature, celebrated that rival’s absence with a 1:49.2 victory in this week’s $17,500 class, making a quarter move then storming home in 54.2 for a four length victory as the 1-20 favourite.
George Napolitano, Jr. also handled the winning Cams Card Shark gelding for trainer Mark Silva and owner Jeffrey Snyder, who raised his lifetime bankroll to $1,264,864 – the now seven-year-old was the fastest sophomore of a year that included Wiggle It Jiggleit, Wakizashi Hanover, Freaky Feet Pete, and Artspeak.
(PHHA / Pocono)