Amidst mid-card flurries on a cold afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, the first two Championships of the Game Of Claims Series were conducted on Saturday (March 26) over “good” going, with red-hot driver Matt Kakaley accounting for both finales.
The $40,000 Championship for $25,000 base-tag pacers saw the improved Western Ideal ridgling Go West Go Fast overcome the outside post eight with ease, posting a snappy 1:51.4 victory for driver Kakaley and the connections of trainer Jared Bako and Buck N Tuck Stable, who are now two-for-two with their recent acquisition. Kakaley made two early moves to take control of the tempo by the three-eighths, then buzzed his horse home in :27.2 to leave Caviart Max a non-threatening 1-1/2 lengths behind and promise brighter things in the pacer’s near future.
In the other Game Of Claims Championship, a $25,000 final for $15,000-priced sidewheelers, seven of the eight participants had been claimed out of their last start – but it was the one who got to go back home, the Bettors Delight gelding Classifiedmaterial, who was the easy winner, going faster than the originally higher-priced group while taking a new mark of 1:51.1. One quick brush to the lead in early backstretch was all that the winner needed, who had an open-length lead the rest of the way and won by three. Matt Kakaley completed the sweep of the Game Of Claims Championships, and Classifiedmaterial is now undefeated in two starts since being acquired by trainer Bill (Moon) Mullin, co-owner with Carver Racing LLC.
The track was still rated “fast” when a $25,000 winners-over trot was won by Eurobond, a son of Love You who lost a three-race win streak to a break last time, but bounced back here with a late move that got him by pacesetting Big Oil by a half-length in 1:53.3. Eurobond, now a winner of $443,525, was handled by Matt Kakaley for trainer Michael Spaccarelli Jr. (a combining of the meet’s winningest driver and trainer) and Morrison Racing Stables.
In all Matt Kakaley swept the features and won four times, raising his figure to 43 visits to Victory Lane in the first twelve days of the meet.
Sunday’s 5:00 p.m. card at Pocono will feature four divisions of the third and final preliminary of the Game Of Claims Series with base-tag $15,000 trotters. There have been no repeat winners in the six GoC races contested to date, but all six winners are back in to go as they seek to claim spots in the $25,000 Game Of Claims Trotting Championship on Sunday, April 3. Program pages are available at the PHHA website.
(PHHA / Pocono)