Two horses hit the wire virtually inseparable in the seventh race at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Tuesday night. One was the even-money favourite, a daughter of Andover Hall out of Classical Flirt, the dam of world champion Market Share. The other was 198-1.
Which one do you think won the photo?
Well -- if the chalk had won, would you be reading a story about it?
Lady Of The Lake, a daughter of CR Excalibur, proved a shade more photogenic than Amorous Flirt for trainer/driver Joe Antonelli in the contest, taking a new mark of 1:58.4 while breaking her maiden in her 30th lifetime start.
And paying $398.60 for a $2 win ticket, having captured only $23 of a $5,659 total win pool.
Lady Of The Lake was undoubtedly helped by the fractions (57 to the half, 1:01.4 the second half in 41 degree temperatures), but still she had to come uncovered all the way from seventh at the half, hooking up with Amorous Flirt -- who had brushed to the lead in the second quarter for driver Matt Kalaley -- midway around the final turn. The two trotters battled side-by-side until Lady Of The Lake got the winning headbob. Scarletts Legacy was third, a neck off, at 26-1 ("just a piker," noted announcer Jim Beviglia), while two lengths further back to complete the Superfecta was 157-1 shot Dalmatinka.
The across-the-board for Lady Of The Lake was $398.60, $61.80, and $13.80. The 9-1 Exacta paid $2339.60 for $2 (with the even-money chalk second, remember). Nobody got further than the first two in the Trifecta, with a 9-1-ALL listing worth $766.80 for $2, while the 9-1-8-ALL Superfecta extrapolated out to $8,023.00 for $2 ($2 payout listings are mandatory in Pennsylvania; with the takeout, there was just short of $1 worth in 9-1-8-A Superfecta tickets based on the pool size.)
Lynn Antonelli, Jane Capone, and Jane Farkas finally got to get a picture taken with Joe Antonelli and Lady Of The Lake, who with the win raised her lifetime bankroll to $25,930 -- not bad considering she had never won going into the race.
(with files from PHHA/Pocono)