The Weiss Series fillies had their day in the sun – and it was a bright sun – on Monday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, with Silent Crossing and Mimi Ocean Hanover winning their $50,000 Championship events.
In the Weiss pace Championship, the Captaintreacherous filly Silent Crossing completed a sweep of the series, winning all three of her prelims and then adding the final in wire-to-wire fashion while reducing her mark to 1:53.2. Mark MacDonald got the lead with the winner at the :26.3 quarter, then got a breather to the half in :57.1. Second choice Southwind Java, who had won both of her Weiss starts, stuck right to the leader, and in fact came out from the two-hole to contest the lead near the 1:24.4 three-quarters.
But Silent Crossing had the right answer to that challenge, continuing on strongly to defeat her principal rival by 1-1/4 lengths. Now the winner of five in a row, Silent Crossing is trained by Jessica Fallon and owned by Hutt Racing Stable and Blake MacIntosh.
Over on the trot, the Bar Hopping filly Mimi Ocean Hanover made a break in his first Weiss prelim, then was in full control in her next two legs, and here she again was the dominant force while lowering his mark to 1:54.3 in taking her Championship. Tyler Buter, as has been his wont, let the front end settle during a :27.4 opener then asked his filly to trot to the fore – she posted mid-splits of :57 and 1:25.3, then drew clear with no apparent effort to win by 4-1/4 lengths over Gettinmystepsin, who sat the pocket but who couldn’t stay with the winner late.
Mimi Ocean Hanover now has four victories in five seasonal starts, and her future looks very bright as she will likely be asked to face tougher for trainer Annie Stoebe and owner R. Lynn Curry.
There were also $20,000 consolations for both sections of the Weiss. The girl you wanted on the pace and could have -- at 9-1 -- was Su Su Sussudio, who held together remarkably well despite being first-up from the 3/8, defeating the longest shot on the board, Fox Valley Cachet, by a neck in 1:54.1. Braxten Boyd kept the Third Straight filly rolling late as she lowered her mark for trainer Randy Taft and the 4 Rose Stable.
On the trot, the Southwind Frank miss Southern Autumn took the early pocket as Dignity Hanover insisted on cutting the pace, then could rally back in the lane to catch the leader by three-quarters of a length while breaking her maiden in 1:56.4. Anthony Napolitano was the driver of the winner for trainer Les Givens and the partnership of Nanticoke Racing Inc., Jim Magno, and Joe Fonte.
Simon Allard led the drivers with three victories; two of them came for trainer Adrian Wisher.
Pocono winds up its racing week at 1:30 Tuesday with trotters on the spotlight, and then when racing resumes on Saturday at 1:30, the long-awaited showdown between Lanjo Lee and All Or Nothing will take place in the $50,000 Weiss Championship for pacing males, part of what is probably the best card of the season to date at the mountain oval.
(PHHA / Pocono)