Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania hosted six $23,649 divisions of the first preliminary in the Game Of Claims Trotting Series for $33,784 base-tag horses on Tuesday, April 2.
The star of the day over the “sloppy +2” track was the Kadabra gelding Fight Song, who fronted his field throughout en route to a victory in 1:55.3 – with the next-fastest time recorded being 1:57.2. Anthony Napolitano kept the quick trotter’s mind to business throughout to win by daylight for trainer Susan Marshall, co-owner with John Marshall. Napolitano also had the seat behind series winner Vegas Ticket, who won for the second straight race while covering the off going in 1:58.1.
Two-time defending driver champion Matt Kakaley also won twice in the Game Of Claims, scoring four times in all in the muck to stay in the lead while seeking his third straight title. Speaking of “third straight,” Passionate Promise has now stood in the winner's circle after his race in his last trio of starts, this time after a 1:57.2 success; that clocking was also recorded by Kakaley’s other series winner, Evil Guy, who has three wins and a second after four seasonal races.
Braxten Boyd won a Game Of Claims contest in 1:57.4 handling a winner of two straight, Hockey Hanover – the only horse to win two Pennsylvania championships in the same year, as he took the PA Fair championship and the Stallion Series championship seven years ago when he was two. And Kinnder Thinktwice got the trotting brigade off to an upset start when he circled his opponents to win in 1:58 for driver Simon Allard, paying $75 for a deuce to win.
None of the six success stories was claimed from the victories, although eight of their foes changed hands to the tune of $278,716.
The Bobby Weiss Series for promising three-year-olds will be in the spotlight when racing resumes at Pocono on Saturday, April 6 at 1 p.m. Pacers of both sexes will go in their first series prelims, with six sections of males and three of females racing for $20,000 USD purses.
(PHHA / Pocono)