Male trotters got their first crack at Weiss Series action Sunday evening (April 7) at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono, as a trio of $15,000, opening-round preliminaries went postward.
The Conway Hall gelding Hammer Creek emerged quickest of the prelim winners, as he nipped the heavy favourite Dover Dony in a personal-best 1:55.1.
Dover Dony quarter-moved after a :27.2 opener and went on to post middle splits of :56.2 and 1:25.1. Pocono's “Trot Man”, driver Mike Simons, bided his time with Hammer Creek, then moved out just before three-quarters and aimed for the leader. Dover Dony still led in deep stretch, but his foe was relentless in pursuit and got the decision by the shortest possible margin. Kenneth Hess Jr. trains the winner, who dropped three seconds off his mark, for owner Richard Ciesielski.
Although his time of 1:57 may not quite match up to 1:55.1, My Lindy Winner was also quite impressive in victory, remaining undefeated after four 2019 starts. Jim Morrill Jr., who teamed with trainer Rob Harmon for a pair of winners on the card, took his time with the son of Credit Winner in getting the lead. But once on top the issue seemed little in doubt, with My Lindy Winner six lengths clear after a :57.3 last half for the ownership of Vincent Laurenzo, Howard Taylor, and Thomas Lazzaro.
The Explosive Matter gelding Higgs Boson doubled his lifetime win total when he won his Weiss division while taking a lifetime mark of 1:57.2. Driver Fern Paquet Jr. sent Higgs Boson on an uncovered mission nearing five-eighths and the winner proved more than equal to the challenge for trainer Dave Wiest, co-owner with Paul Britcher Jr.
Co-featured were a pair of $17,000 events for developing horses, many of whom should be a good bit higher on the class ladder in short order. First up were the pacers, and the winner was the Rock And Roll Heaven gelding Rebel Rouser, who rode a four-race win streak at Yonkers and The Meadowlands before making it five in a row with a 1:51.3 victory. The lightly-raced but successful pacer (12-for-24 lifetime now at age five) was three-wide through a :27.2 opener, made the lead just after that station, then yielded to a tough opponent in Shadow Cat, who took the field past the half in :55.4 and the three-quarters in 1:24.
Driver Andrew McCarthy roused Rebel Rouser out of the two hole past midturn, went up to the leader and then asserted himself with strong stretch steps, finishing under a hold while three-quarter lengths to the good of Shadow Cat, who took second over inside-rallying Ideal Wheel. Robert Cleary is the conditioner of the promising pacer, who is owned by W. J. Donovan of New England and Florida and Donal Murphy of Baltimore – Baltimore, Ireland, that is.
Andrew McCarthy also won the trotting co-feature, taking advantage of a perfect-pocket trip with the Kadabra gelding Mr Houdini and then holding off longshot closers by three-quarter lengths while posting a clocking of 1:56.4. The combine of Ron Burke and Burke Racing Stable LLC / Weaver Bruscemi LLC added yet another victory to their unprecedented accumulation.
(PHHA)