The Pennsylvania All-Stars series closed out its 2017 run at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono with five $30,000 divisions for three-year-old trotting fillies, and the common theme of “It’s Miller Time!” continued as the headliner, with Marcus Miller driving the fastest winner and Hall of Fame David Miller winning two divisions.
Quickest winner was the 1:54 lifetime best turned in by the Donato Hanover filly Crann Tara in overcoming an uncovered journey to take her section. A Pennsylvania Sire Stakes winner in her seasonal debut but then off stride in her next two Sires starts, Crann Tara bounced back in a big way here for trainer Linda Toscano and owner W. J. Donovan.
David Miller won the first two divisions contested on the card, and in the process he lowered the average win price on Jim Campbell-trained stakes winners at Pocono.
After clicking with $169.20 and $37.40 horses in consecutive races in Sunday stakes at Pocono, Campbell here harnessed the Broadway Hall filly Broadway Idole, who returned a mere $5.00 for $2 while lowering her mark to 1:54.3 for the owner/breeder Fashion Farms LLC of Hall of Fame ballot nominee Jules Siegel.
Miller’s other winner was the Cantab Hall filly Vodka N Lindy, who has now won two straight and 5 of 9 lifetime after reducing her mark to 1:54.2. George Ducharme conditions the filly for his George Ducharme Stable LLC, Paul Fontaine, Jim “Smokey Pokey” Winske, and Winters Racing Stable.
Cantab Hall earned a second sire credit when last year’s Pennsylvania Sire Stakes champion Fine Tuned Lady tacked successive :28.2 quarters on the end of her 1:54.2 mile to hold off the rapidly-improving No Bus For Us by three-quarters of a length. It seems like you can’t conduct a stake in Pennsylvania without driver Corey Callahan and trainer John Butenschoen winning a division – and the ownership of William Wiswell and M&L Of Delaware LLC is glad of it here as their filly raised her earnings to $507,294 lifetime.
Saving the highest-percentage winner for last (but not least), Treviso is now undefeated in five 2017 starts after an easy 1:55 victory for trainer/driver Charlie Norris, coming home in :56.4 – :28.1. The Muscle Massive filly went over the quarter-million dollar earnings mark with the triumph for owners Klis Brothers Stable and Carrie Norris.
She didn’t race at two or three, but Twinkle is becoming quite the little star at age four, running her career record to 7 for 7 in a $16,000 pace.
A daughter of Bettors Delight whose second dam is the dam of Betterthancheddar, Twinkle was driven by Andrew McCarthy to victory in 1:51.4 for trainer Ross Croghan and owners Let It Ride Stable Inc. and Dana Parham.
Top event for older horses was a $16,500 pace in which the Mach Three mare Marlee B posted her second straight score, this one in 1:50.3 for a new mark. George Napolitano, Jr. sulky sat behind the winner of $411,550 for trainer Hunter Oakes and Synerco Ventures Inc.
(PHHA/Pocono)