Characteristic driving tactics by the two leading drivers at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono – George Napolitano Jr. and Simon Allard – were directly responsible for the success of their charges in the features at the mountain track Sunday night.
Racing secretary Rick Kane carded a five-eighth-mile dash, and in it the two inside horses left on the boil, forcing Napolitano and his charge, favoured UF Larry Alltheway, to tuck third. “George Nap” is noted for making “quarter-moves” en route to Pocono victories, and here again he pulled out after a quarter of a mile – only in this sprint the “quarter pole” was in the middle of the backstretch. The pair went up to challenge to 48-1 pacesetter Happy New Year (Tom Jackson), who had used track geometry to the max to leave from the rail and set fractions of :27.3 and :55.1, but the Dragon Again gelding UF Larry Alltheway, trained by Mark Ford for Up Front Racing LLC, gradually wore Happy Andyversary down under Napolitano rocking and urging to win by a length.
The timer rested at 1:09.3 for the sprint, playing “Taps” to the oldest track record on the Pocono books, the 1:14.3 posted by the well-remembered Lieut Harkie back in 1979. Ironically, at the microphone for the Lieutenant’s record effort way back when was Saul Needle – whom Kane succeeded as Pocono race secretary upon Needle’s retirement after the 2010 racing season.
This year, Simon Allard’s driving has been notable for his “pulling out” with horses early, with his ability to produce and carry speed yielding better results than one might expect for a horse two-wide or more for so long. This style was exemplified in the $20,000 featured trot, when Allard got away seventh with 22-1 Tirade Hanover, then pulled him at the quarter and revved him up to go frontward – even with a dislodged left headpole!
On the lead after a :27 quarter was 2-5 shot Opulent Yankee (Andy Miller), fresh from a 1:51.4 divisional track record mile at Philly, but Allard got Tirade Hanover right by the chalk and to the front before the :55.4 half, probably coming his own second quarter in the mid-27s. From there, the victorious Crazed gelding was in charge, reaching the three-quarter pole in 1:24, and then resisting a Pocono Pike charge by Opulent Yankee to win by one and three-quarter lengths in 1:52.4.
The winner of $809,956 is owned by Allard Racing Inc., Yves Sarrazin, and VIP Internet Stable LLC, and while it certainly is not our place to give any advice to Rene Allard, Tirade Hanover’s trainer and second-leading trainer in North America – based on the evidence of this race, he might want to experiment with leaving that left headpole off.
(PHHA/Pocono)