Holy Being worked his way to the lead past a :28.1 opening quarter, got soft middle splits of :58 and 1:27, and then was able to finish strongly to win the $15,000 featured trot at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Monday afternoon in 1:55.3.
Anthony Napolitano, top driver of the day at Pocono with three victories, guided the four-year-old Archangel gelding to a 1-1/4-length victory over Quarantina for trainer Jake Huff and Beauty Bridle Racing Stable Inc. The 2-1 second choice paid $6.20 to win.
The story at Pocono on Monday was quite the tale of two opposite halves of the 12-race card. Holy Being was the only front-ender to win in the last six races, while five of the first six winners raced on the lead. In a perhaps-related bit of news, the favourites won each of the first six races of the day and then were shut out the rest of the way, with the afternoon punctuated by Optrix and Tom Jackson winning the last race at $104.60, second-highest price of the 2023 season.
Tuesday’s card, not surprisingly given the above mutuel breakdown, will have three different carryovers (Pick-4, Pick-5 and High-5). The racing features will be two $15,500 events for the top claiming handicap trotters on the ground, plus four $15,000 divisions of the stepping-stone “non-winners of four races” class. The Tuesday card starts at 1 p.m. Program pages for all Pocono races will be available on the Pennsylvania Harness Horsemen's Association website.
(With files from PHHA/Pocono)