Two out of three favourites prevailed in $41,096 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for three-year-old trotting colts on Sunday evening (May 19) at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, with the fastest winner, the Father Patrick colt Security Protected, scoring in 1:53 after closing furiously in his seasonal bow.
Tim Tetrick tucked fifth with Security Protected early, then went out third-over and was not particularly well-served by his cover in a race with fractions of :27.2, :56.4 and 1:24.4. But Tetrick tipped the Marcus Melander trainee four-wide in the lane, and the pair rallied from sixth, 4-1/2 lengths behind at the stretch call, to get the decision by a half-length over rail-shooting White Shoe Hanover, coming his own last panel in :27.2, for Judith Taylor, Brad Grant and Order By Stable AB.
The other All-Stars chalk was the Cantab Hall colt Blackhawk Zette, who opened his season with five straight wins at The Downs, including a sweep of his Weiss Series, before finishing second in the Dexter Cup. Here he rebounded to his winning ways, inheriting the pocket after a :27.3 opener, staying there through a :56.3 half, then moving outside before the 1:25.2 three-quarters. Blackhawk Zette trotted smartly on to command, then was 2-1/4 lengths clear of closer Skydiver while lowering his mark to 1:53.3 under the guidance of Matt Kakaley for trainer Robert Baggitt Jr. and J L Sadowsky LLC.
The only outsider winning an All-Stars division was the Bar Hopping gelding Usain Hanover, who made two speed moves during fractions of :29, :57.3 and 1:26, then sprinted home in :27.3 to withstand Luke The Spook by half a length, with the 1:53.3 final clocking a lifetime best. Usain Hanover had gone 2-1-1 in the Weiss Series prelims before breaking in the final, and a subsequent break in an overnight caused the crowd to release him at 8-1, but he was at his best Sunday for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Nifty Norman and Enzed Racing Stable Inc.
If you had been told before the evening’s racing that Pocono would see its fastest trotting mile of the season, and it would be produced by a sophomore, you’d have been right – but the 2024 standard didn’t come in a stakes race. Instead, the Chapter Seven gelding Dame Good Time put on the big speed show, going to the top past a :27 opener then hanging up numbers of :56 and 1:24.1 before stopping the clock in 1:52.1, not only a new mark but also within three-fifths of a second of Pinkman’s nine-year-old local divisional standard. Dame Good Time is now two-for-three since being taken over by trainer Travis Alexander for owner John Cummings, with Scott Zeron keeping his usual perch behind the horse.
Racing continues on Monday, May 20 and Tuesday, May 21 at Pocono with 1 p.m. cards. The Pick-3 wager beginning in Monday’s race four will feature a carryover.
(PHHA / Pocono)