A trio of $15,300 contests for horses winning their way up the class ladder were the features on a Tuesday afternoon at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono that turned stormy late in the card.
Mankat controlled the throttle from his rail starting position in the feature division for pacing males, posting fractions of :27.4, :56.2, and 1:23.3. Pocket-sitting Cigar Smoking Tony tried to catch him in the Pocono Pike, but Mankat was able to overcome that late threat by a neck in 1:51.2 for driver Jim Pantaleano, trainer Christen Pantaleano, and owner Matthew Morrison, who has seen his son of Somebeachsomewhere win two straight and three of his last four.
Between Mankat’s race and the other two features, there was a weather delay as a brief but heavy storm came through the area. One horse certainly not bothered by the track turning ‘sloppy’ was the Sweet Lou mare Shouldabeenatd, who went to the half in :56.4 for driver Matt Kakaley, then smoked home in :54 to take a new mark of 1:50.4 in the distaff pace headliner. Only pocket-sitter Mackie Hanover could stay remotely close in the last half, ending up 2-1/4 lengths behind the winner, who is trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC.
A son of Kadabra, Beyond Ordinary, had to overcome a tough two-move journey in the top trotting sector, yet he could move to the lead at the three-quarters and then stay strong to the wire to win in 1:54.4. Jenny Melander trains the skillful trotter for Melander Racing Inc and Noonan Harness Racing LLC.
Beyond Ordinary’s driver, Marcus Miller, was certainly beyond ordinary this four-day local racing week, with the four victories he notched Tuesday boosting him to thirteen visits to Pocono’s Victory Lane in the Saturday-Tuesday period.
(PHHA / Pocono)