The track was different, but the result remained the same – the Donato Hanover mare Chake shipped from Harrah’s Philadelphia to Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania and promptly recorded a 1:53.1 victory in the $19,863 fast-class trot to extend her winning streak to three.
Simon Allard was again in the sulky as Chake made two speed moves to and past the :27.3 opener, then yielded to favoured Outside The Fire, who fronted the field through splits of :56.3 and 1:24.2. Emma Town Bud moved out on the final turn to challenge the leader, but it was Chake inside Outside The Fire who proved strongest by a neck, with Emma Time Bud just another neck behind. Per Engblom trains the winner for owner Daniel Sarafian.
Black Magic, a son of Full Count who had not raced in over six months, defied the basic bias of the day by closing from far back to win in 1:52.1, a new mark and also equalling Dame Good Time’s clocking as fastest trotting mile of the year at Pocono. Black Magic, whose win came in one of two $23,288 divisions of a trotting class for developing horses, now has earnings of $389,118, with Linda Toscano training for owners Richard Gutnick, Thomas Pontone and Joseph Lozito Jr.
In the other $23,288 trot, Father Stosh fronted his field throughout, the son of Father Patrick winning in 1:54.2 for driver Marcus Miller, trainer Jill Roland and owner Bernard O’Brien. There were a total of five sub-1:55 trots on the Saturday Pocono card, with Rich And Miserable and Seventier both getting in on the diagonally-gaited fun with 1:53.4 clockings.
High Voltage Deo’s 1:49.3 mile still stands alone as the fastest Pocono pace of the campaign – but just barely, as the Sweet Lou gelding Pyro, a winner of $763,956, went coast-to-coast in 1:49.4 for driver Marcus Miller and trainer/owner Gilbert Garcia-Herrera.
Seven different drivers visited Victory Lane in the first seven contests on the 11-race card, and then George Napolitano Jr., Marcus Miller, Simon Allard and Tyler Buter won the last four races of the day in that order to complete driving doubles.
There will be a carryover into the Pick-5 wager starting in race five and the Hi-5 bet in the last race during Sunday evening’s 6 p.m. program. On Monday, there will be four $41,096 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for three-year-old trotting fillies; that day’s program, as well as the week-closing card on Tuesday, starts at 1 p.m. Free Pocono programs are available at phha.org.
(With files from PHHA/Pocono)