Both Lyons Legend and Geocentric notched their second straight Pennsylvania Sire Stakes (PASS) wins among the four divisions of the $168,864 second preliminary for two-year-old pacing fillies, and both the repeaters at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Sunday were guided by the driver of the weekend: Tim Tetrick.
Surprisingly, neither of these two winners took a lifetime mark, as they had gone faster in afternoon Sire Stakes action at The Meadows. Top billing went to Lyons Legend (pictured above) here because she was the faster of the two this night at 1:52.4, and because she is now perfect in three purse starts. The daughter of Stay Hungry-Skinny Dip let the dust settle to the :28.1 quarter, moved and took over the top at the :57.2 midway point, maintained control past a 1:25.3 three-quarters, then came home in :27.1 for trainer Jim King Jr. and Threelyonsracing.
Geocentric, a daughter of Sweet Lou-Geometry, was looped early and got command by the :28.3 quarter, got a breather to the half in :58.2, then stepped up the pace so that the timer read 1:26.3 at the three-quarters and 1:53.1 at the wire – her own back fractions in :54.4, :26.3. Geocentric has now won both of her starts for trainer Brian Brown and the partnership of Milton Leeman, Alan Keith, James Stambaugh and Joe Sbrocco.
Tying Lyons Legend at 1:52.4 for fastest Sire Stakes mile of the night was the Captaintreacherous-Eloquent Grace freshman Caviart Belle, who took the top early for Yannick Gingras and posted fractions of :28.2, :57.2 and 1:26 before sprinting home in :26.4 for a lifetime mark. Second in a Kindergarten event in her only other purse start, Caviart Belle is trained by Nancy Takter for Caviart Farms.
Crashing the Sire Stakes winner's circle party as the longest (38-1) shot in her division, Canigetalouploup lowered her mark to 1:54.3 in her second purse victory. David Miller worked a good inside trip with the daughter of Sweet Lou-Continual Velocity behind fractions of :28.2, :58.3 and 1:27, then kicked home sharply into the :27.3 last quarter to post the upset for people not normally associated with equine outsiders – driver David Miller, trainer Ron Burke and the partnership of Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Lawrence Karr and Phil Collura.
All four of the Sire Stakes were won by 1-1/2 lengths or more; four of the five $20,000 companion Stallion Series divisions were decided by a neck. The fastest Stallion Series winner was the only one to have had a purse start before Sunday: the Stay Hungry-Dance Until Dawn miss Stayinforthedance. She was also an upsetter, being dismissed at 22-1 yet winning in 1:54.1 for driver Matt Kakaley and trainer Joseph Lucas, co-owner with At The Wire Farms.
Andrew McCarthy drove two of the successful Stallion Series fillies: the Sweet Lou-Caviart Sarah distaff Caviart Sophie, a 1:55.2 winner for trainer Tony Alagna and Caviart Farms, and Bares All, a daughter of Heston Blue Chip-Skinny Dipper, whose 1:55.4 victory for trainer Robert Cleary and Let It Ride Stables Inc. was accomplished by the “luxurious” margin of a half length.
Capatintreacherous is the sire of Shebebakin Hanover (out of the great mare Shebestingin), who won her Stallion Series section in 1:55.1 for driver Dexter Dunn, trainer "Nifty" Norman and owners Pinske Stables, Yankeeland Partners LLP and David J. Miller. And a son of “The Captain,” first-crop sire Captain Crunch, got the other production credit in the Stallion Series with Duffys Opinion (dam Strong Opinion), home first in 1:54.4 for driver Todd McCarthy, trainer Brett Pelling and owner David McDuffee.
The racing week at Pocono will continue with cards on Monday and Tuesday at 1 p.m. (EDT), with a Pick-5 carryover of $1,702.15 carryover into Monday’s Pick-5 bet on Race 8-12.
(PHHA / Pocono)