As formful as the proceedings were at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania on Sunday evening (with eight out of 10 favourites winning), they were unpredictable in equal measure on Monday, Aug. 11, topped by the $34,247 fast-class pace for distaffs, where 43-1 shot Take Your Pick caught 65-1 proposition Turn On The Charm late.
Rocket Deo (Jack Pelling), the odds-on favourite after winning twice in this class, was assigned the outside post eight, and she had to work hard to get to the top beyond a :26 quarter. She then backed the speed off to the half in :55.2, after which Turn On The Charm (Matt Kakaley) came roaring up uncovered from mid-pack, pacing her own third split in :27.1 to reach contention by the 1:23.2 three-quarters and going to the front on the final turn. Take Your Pick was able to slip out behind Turn On The Charm and followed her cover, then charged down the stretch and was just up by a neck in 1:51, with two others within a half-length at the finish. Huntress (Braxten Boyd) took the show cheque. The win payoff was $89.60. Rocket Deo finished gamely and was only two lengths back at the line in seventh.
Take Your Pick was one of three winners on the day for meet-leading driver Tyler Buter. The Jk Endofanera-Intelligence mare is trained by Jeff Cullipher for Pollack Racing LLC. The five-year-old mare has won half of her 20 starts this year.
The favourite did take the $21,233 sub-featured pace, with the Always B Miki-Benear gelding Laugh Shop ($2.80) making it three wins in his last four starts. He reduced his mark to 1:49.2 in a front-end win for trainer Jill Wine and the partnership of Samuel Abdoo and Wine Stable. Imgoingtojackson, at 9-1, was eating into his lead late, and Laugh Shop had to produce identical back splits of :27.1 to prevail by three-quarters of a length. Stay Focused (Buter) was a distant third.
George Napolitano Jr., the all-time leading driver at Pocono and second to Buter at this year’s meet, took top honours for the day with four visits to the winners circle.
Given that eight winners on Monday paid $10 or more, it is not surprising that there will be a carryover into the first-race Pick 4 pool and the fourth-race Pick 3 pool on Tuesday’s card, which begins at 1 p.m. The next program after that will be the $2.3 million USD Sun Stakes Saturday supercard.
(With files from PHHA/Pocono)