Two-year-old trotting fillies met in their fourth and final preliminary leg of Pennsylvania Sire Stakes and Stallion Series on Monday afternoon, Aug. 19 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania, looking to secure themselves a spot in their upcoming rich championship events as the track surface slowly improved throughout the day.
Daughters of Greenshoe won both of the $108,999 Sire Stakes divisions. Princess Jackie (dam Frisky Magic) became the only three-time Sire Stakes winner (one at every track) when she took a new mark of 1:55 over a track then rated “good.” Jim Marohn Jr. moved the filly to the top after a :28.4 opener, established a clear lead at the :57 half, dealt with the first-over Ms Prada before and after the 1:25.4 three-quarters, then withstood the pocket-sitter Seal The Deal AS by half a length. Princess Jackie, now four-for-five in her brief career, has earned $186,017 for trainer-owner D. R. Ackerman.
The track had been re-rated to “fast” by the time Divine Thing (dam A Thing Goin On) was victorious in 1:54.4, just a tick beyond her time in winning a Sire Stakes at The Meadows in her last outing. David Miller guided Divine Thing to the pocket amidst some early confusion and was content to wait while Country Victory laid down splits of :27.4, :57.3 and 1:26.3. Divine Thing then came her own last quarter in :27.4 to win by a half length over the pacesetter for trainer Steve Carter and the partnership of Jay Mossbarger, Brent Hopper and Kyle Gray, for whom the filly has won $185,701 in the PASS with a victory in the Kentucky program as well.
After four $27,397 divisions of Stallion Series events on Monday, another daughter of Greenshoe, Saints Preserve Us (dam Firm To Stay) remained undefeated in three lifetime starts, all of them Stallion Series races (and one at each state pari-mutuel oval) with a 1:56.2 lifetime mark after the track had been upgraded to “good.” Matt Kakaley guided Saints Preserve Us for trainer Jim Campbell and Runthetable Stables.
Saints Preserve Us was in fact the only filly among the Stallion Series winners to have won before Monday, in the Stallion Series or at all in their young careers. The biggest surprise among the maiden breakers was the Southwind Frank-Andovermizbrenda filly Bizzy Brenda, who took her cut at a $124.40 mutuel, second-highest of the year at Pocono. Trained by Karen Garland, Bizzy Brenda was driven by Steve Smith to a maiden mark of 1:57.3 (good track), and Smith is also co-owner Joseph Di Leo.
The track was still rated “sloppy” for the first two Stallion Series contests. Southwind Frank picked up another Stallion Series credit when Serenas Girl (dam Muscle Work) got her first win in 1:57.1 for trainer/driver Åke Svanstedt and Little E LLC. Can It Be Magic, a daughter of Cantab Hall-Blonde Magic, also earned her first victory in the other Stallion Series cut, also posting a time of 1:57.1 for driver Mike Wilder, trainer Dan Altmeyer, and the ownership of Ruth Altmeyer, June and Thomas Durand, and Heather Wilder.
The Tuesday, Aug. 20 program at 1 p.m. closes out Sun Stakes Saturday week at Pocono, with a $15,000 USD feature for developing horses on each gait to be featured, along with a carryover in the fifth race Pick 5 wager.
(PHHA / Pocono)