The fast-class veterans headed the afternoon card at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Saturday, Oct. 5, with a $25,000 race carded on each gait and both decided by a neck margin on a day when many features required the use of the photo finish camera.
On the pace, the Sportswriter gelding Big Skewy N (pictured above), in his initial Stateside campaign, showed himself to be in career form by authoring a new mark of 1:48.3. George Napolitano Jr., who had a big day with five visits to the track photographer, moved after a :26.3 quarter and hustled the Scott Blackler-conditioned horse to the lead in front of the stands around early pacesetter Carabao A. That one stayed close in the two-hole during splits of :53.3 and 1:21.1 and took a big shot in the lane, but “Skewy” was equal to his challenge, winning for Arrhythmic LLC, moving his bankroll to $157,638 for the year and $249,975 lifetime.
On the trot, owner Vincent Campolong recently assumed the role of trainer for the Swan For All mare Swans Eye, and the distaff made his trainer’s first-ever conditioning success a memorable one by warding off the late charge of favoured Kinnder Thinktwice to post a 1:53 victory. The winner set fractions of :27.1, :56.2, and 1:24.4 for driver Braxten Boyd then held gamely to the wire, adding this victory at Pocono to recent wins at Tioga and The Meadowlands as she pushed her current run to three straight.
There were also three $22,973 races for developing horses. Two of them were on the trot; in the pacing contest, the Stay Hungry three-year-old gelding De La Hoya Hanover, who won his Stallion Series Championship, has now taken three of his last four races, working to grab control of the racetrack early and then keeping pocket-sitting chalk Southwind Celsius safely away late while winning in 1:51.4 by the popular margin of a neck. Simon Allard drove for trainer Joe Bongiorno and the partnership of Jennifer Bongiorno Stable LLC, Robert Weinstein, and Barbara Bongiorno Stable LLC.
Last week, Dejerate Hanover set the pace and held off Pedal On Metal to record his seventh straight win; this week the roles were reversed, with Pedal On Metal on the lead and the streaker the stretch challenger, but the result was the same: the International Moni sophomore gelding Dejerate Hanover recorded his eighth consecutive victory, here by a head in 1:53.3. George Napolitano Jr. got just enough out of the Ron Burke trainee to keep the win streak going for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, FAC Racing LLC and Yannick Gingras.
Parola Hanover made a big backstretch move to go by Chef Rocco, hard-used to get the early lead, then kept that resilient rival a neck away at the finish to lower his mark to 1:54.1 in the other subfeature trot. The son of Bar Hopping was driven by Braxten Boyd for trainer David Wiest and the partnership of David Wiest Stables LLC, Pamela Kimmel, and James Rappold.
In the $22,297 claiming handicap for high-priced horses, the Sweet Lou gelding Lunar made a quick brush to the top before the far turn, then stayed clear under active encouragement to record a 1:50.3 victory. William Hartt owns the winner, who was the second successful collaboration of the day for driver George Napolitano Jr. and trainer Dean Eckley.
In a pair of $13,514 trotting divisions for the American Harness Drivers Club (AHDC), Yogi Sheridan fired Barcardi to the lead and down the road in 1:57.2 while Bob Hechkoff pulled an upset off a pocket ride with 1:55.3 winner Dwight Hanover. Julius Czermann Jr. trains Bacardi, a six-year-old gelding by Southwind Frank, for owner Joseph Loprete while Frank Calcagni trains and co-owns Dwight Hanover, a four-year-old gelding by Cantab Hall, with RBH Ventures Inc.
Pocono will be racing this Monday, Oct. 7 and Tuesday, Oct. 8, starting at 1 p.m.
(With files from PHHA / Pocono & AHDC)