All Class and I Was Tricked became two-time winners in the Bobby Weiss Series, taking their respective $20,000 final round preliminaries for the sophomore pacing colts Saturday (April 22) at Pocono. Those two will likely be among the favourites when their $50,000 Weiss Championship is conducted next Saturday.
The Heston Blue Chip colt All Class gets top billing because his time on Saturday, 1:51.2, was a tick faster than that of I Was Tricked. All Class, who took a new mark, set the pace for driver Jason Bartlett, then stormed home in :26.3 to remain undefeated in two seasonal starts and three races lifetime, and there may be room for more improvement for trainer Demier Minor and Morrison Racing Stables.
The Huntsville gelding I Was Tricked, also coming off a Weiss win in his last race, likewise found the front end as the best route to victory. He lowered his mark to 1:51.3, a length ahead of Joemikiyoursofine at the wire. Driver Braxten Boyd engineered the winning trip for trainer Nicholas Devita and the partnership of Devita Racing Stable, David Hamm, Christopher Giaccio and Glenn Phillips.
None of the entrants in the third Weiss cut had recorded a victory in the last two weeks, so the Sweet Lou gelding Idiosyncratic gave his chances of making the final a big boost when he was able to rally for an easy win in 1:52.3. Second in his previous two Weiss outings, Idiosyncratic was successful for driver Simon Allard, trainer Ron Burke and Burke Racing Stable and Weaver Bruscemi.
There were also three $18,500 fast-class co-features, one on the trot and two on the pace. The trotters raced first and were headed by the Lucky Chucky gelding Kinda Lucky Lindy, unbeaten in two starts since coming to Yonkers after a 1:54 victory. The winner of $538,254 had to grind outside tempo-setter Mystical Wynn for most of the last half-mile, but still was able to photo out that rival by a head for driver Matt Kakaley, trainer Daniel Renaud and owner Robert Di Nozzi.
On the pace, Maximus Miki was moved from midpack at the quarter by George Napolitano Jr., brushed to the lead, then held off the late charge of potential pocket rocket Bill Haley N by a neck in 1:50.1. The Always B Miki gelding now has won six of his 12 seasonal starts for Team Cancelliere, trainer Tom and owner John, and with this win his lifetime earnings are $100,004.
The Western Ideal gelding Seriously Hanover, plagued by breaking problems recently, minded his manners and went wire-to-wire to take the other pacing co-feature in 1:50.4. Matt Kakaley was in the sulky for trainer Travis Alexander and owners Michael Cimaglio, Stephen Demeter and Stephen Giagni.
Sunday’s 6 p.m. card at The Downs will be topped by two $20,000 divisions of the third and final preliminary leg of the Bobby Weiss Series for three-year-old trotting colts, with the entrants looking to secure spots in their $50,000 championship a week from Sunday.
(PHHA / Pocono)