Trainer George Ducharme, long known for his prowess with trotters, swept the three features for diagonally-gaited horses on Tuesday, July 28 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, where a constant soaking of rain rendered the track sloppy and three seconds off for most of the card, including all the headliners.
Ducharme combined with owner Paul Fontaine, also no stranger to good horses, in winning the two $22,535 features for two-year-old trotters, one for each sex. Fontaine is the outright owner of the Captain Corey-One Margarita filly One Tequila ($14), who came on strongly in the last quarter for driver Braxten Boyd to record a nose decision over favoured pacesetter Im A Hugger (Anthony Napolitano) in a maiden mark of 1:56.4 over the sloppy track. Pocket-sitter Eternal Light (Ake Svanstedt) was a neck away from taking it all in third.
Thirteen years ago, the Fontaine-co-owned Royalty For Life made a break on the first turn in his Earl Beal elimination at Pocono, then made a huge recovery to finish second. On Tuesday, a horse Fontaine co-owns with George Ducharme Stable LLC, Jim Winske and Jason Ash, the Greenshoe-Island Lily gelding Inland Hanover ($3), had a even bigger recovery from a first-turn mishap in the rookie trot for males. He came back to break his maiden in 1:58.3 after being last at the half and 13-3/4 lengths out at the three-quarters – and won by five lengths for driver Matt Kakaley with a :28.1 kicker. Extra Anejo (Ray Schnittker) finished second over Sparkling Lindy (James Kennedy).
Braxten Boyd and Ducharme again teamed up in the $21,831 conditioned trot feature for up-and-coming horses, as another son of Captain Corey, the sophomore False Dogma ($4.80), overcame being parked to the three-eighths from post eight and rolled on to a 1:54.2 victory. The colt out of Sister Christina held off Captain Micah (Colin Kelly) by 1-3/4 lengths while winning his second straight race for George Ducharme Stable LLC, Coyote Wynd Farms and Joe Sbrocco. Be Mine Hanover (Matt Kakaley) was third.
Ducharme has 29 wins from 103 starts this year, giving him a win percentage of 28.2.
Last year's Dan Patch Rising Star Award winner Braxten Boyd drove five winners on the 14-race Tuesday program. The two for Ducharme went along with victories behind Mr Dunnigans ($3.80), American Story ($2.80) and Dreamboat Hanover ($2.60). Boyd is third in the Pocono standings and is 234-for-1,360 this season overall.
Earlier on the card, the 13-year-old Santanna Blue Chip-Ballroom Belle gelding Tulhurstsantanna A ($6) took his second win in a row to reach 50 lifetime victories. He was away fourth for driver Matt Kakaley and trainer Darren Taneyhill, moved uncovered on the backstretch, and defeated a game Sawyers Desire (Boyd) by a neck in 1:53 with Final Cheeserecipe (Ridge Warren) third. The Aussie-bred pacer, imported to the United States in 2020, has been very productive this season with seven wins from 19 starts for owner Mark Jakubik but will enter a new barn after being claimed on Tuesday. Tulhurstsantanna A took his 50th win in his 282nd career start.
There was also a $22,535 pace for freshman males, taken by the Stay Hungry-Continualou colt Lions Not Sheep ($19.40) in 1:56.2 for his first triumph. A trifle fumbly nearing the quarter, Lions Not Sheep was moved raw by driver Ridge Warren with five eighths to go, and he roared home in :27.4 to head In One Fell Swoop (George Napolitano Jr.) for trainer Nicholas Devita and the partnership of David Hamm, Glenn Phillips, and Pit Bull Stable LLC. The Tile Guy (Boyd) closed for show.
Kakaley finished the day with three wins. Ridge Warren bagged a pair of victories.
The next live pari-mutuel racing at Pocono Downs is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., with the high-class features carded almost wall-to-wall for the card, and a carryover into the last-race High 5 wager. Pocono will not be racing any more 5 p.m. Sunday twilight cards starting this Sunday, and the next racing after Saturday will take place on Monday at 1 p.m. On that card, Pennsylvania two-year-old pacing males will contest $231,892 USD of second-preliminary-round Sire Stakes and Stallion Series racing.
(With files from PHHA/Pocono; photo of One Tequila winning on July 28)