The heralded One Eight Hundred, so impressive in his 1:50.2 – 26.1 first round win in the Bobby Weiss Series for three-year-old pacing males at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, took last week off but showed Saturday he had lost nothing by winning his section of the $17,500 third and final Weiss prelims. He covered his mile in 1:52 over a “good +1” oval with the temperature just below 50°F.
Josert Fonseca sent the colt to the top before a :26.2 quarter, then backed off fractions to :55.4 and 1:24.4. Unlike in his first win here, which was his first seasonal start and where he looked to be given a quarter-mile finishing test, One Eight Hundred was under his own power through the wire, yet still came home in :27.1, a second faster than did the other two Weiss divisions on a day where the next fastest closing quarter was :27.4. The Somebeachsomewhere colt still looks like the colt to beat in next Saturday’s $40,000 Championship for trainer Nancy Takter, also co-owner with Brixton Medical Inc.
Another son of Somebeachsomewhere, the gelding Coalition Hanover, won for the second time in the Weiss prelims, making a quick move early for driver Anthony Napolitano to go by favoured Captain Sleaze and holding his advantage the rest of the way while equaling his lifetime best of 1:52.2. The Chris Ryder trainee is in top form for the ownership of Ryder, Dexter Dunn, Peter Trebotica, and Barry Spak.
Another pupil of Ryder’s, Mad Man Hill, the only horse to have a chance to win all three Weiss prelims (other double winner Straight Talk took the week off), was outpaced by the So Surreal gelding Hes A Snob, who both broke his maiden and stamped his ticket to the final with a 1:53.2 victory. Mark MacDonald, not wanting to let the “Mad Man” get his own way up front, brushed to command in front of the stands with the youngster and held sway to the wire for trainer Ray Schnittker, who is also co-owner with David Pepin and Julie Farlow.
The unofficial top pointwinners in this division going into next Saturday’s Championship are Coalition Hanover and Mad Man Hill (tie); Trevors Ace; One Eight Hundred and Straight Talk (tie); Hes A Snob; Tarkio; Kyuquot and Stop Sharing (tie); with AE1 being Major Makover and AE2 Move The Line. The draw for the race will be held Monday.
In a $17,200 fast-class event, J M Mandamin was full of pace in sixth and last at the three-quarters, so Simon Allard tipped him four-wide past midturn, and the Mach Three gelding sustained a strong burst to catch pace-setting Groovy Joe by three-quarters of a length in 1:51.4. J M Mandamin, who took his lifetime mark of 1:50 here earlier this meet, is undefeated in three seasonal starts at the mountain oval for trainer Jennifer Bongiorno and owner Robert Weinstein.
Sunday’s Pocono card, which starts at 5:00 p.m., features three divisions of the final preliminary of the Weiss Series for sophomore male trotters, with the tenth race section finding the two two-time prelim winners, Top Me Off and Hoolie N Hector, going head-to-head. Program pages will be available at the PHHA website.
(PHHA / Pocono)