The Art Major mare Crazy Cute overcame a "sloppy" track, a cool early evening near 50 degrees, and a rough two-move journey to win the $13,000 featured distaff pace at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono in 1:55.1 during the Sunday (May 30) card.
Crazy Cute tucked into fourth leaving, then had to come uncovered to try to catch pacesetter Caviart Cherie, who had gotten away with a :59 half. But driver George Napolitano Jr., who had five wins on the card, got his mare to pace her own last half in a swift :55.2 in the muck to catch the pacesetter by a length. Trainer Gilbert Garcia-Herrera also shares ownership in the winner with Barbara Arnstine.
Garcia-Herrera, the leading conditioner at the meet who sent four winning charges Sunday, also harnessed the winner of the co-featured $12,800 claiming handicap trot, as the Windsong Espoir gelding Clarion Hall rallied from the pocket to win his second in his last three starts in 1:57. Anthony Napolitano, who also had four victories on the program, handled sulky duties for Garcia-Herrera and his son, owner Gilbert Garcia-Owen.
On Monday’s (May 31) card, the three-year-old trotting colts will be featured in three divisions of their second round of Pennsylvania Sire Stakes (PASS) and Pennsylvania Stallion Series contests. The top two North American-sired horses in the current “Road to the Hambletonian” feature, In Range and On A Streak, will be racing. In Range, who took a PASS division in his seasonal debut, has drawn in against the other two first round winners, Whiskey Blu (the winningest trotter in North America so far this year with ten) and Johan Palema. The program pages for the card, which begins at 12:30 p.m. (EDT), are available at the PHHA website.
(PHHA / Pocono)