The Arts Card Trick gelding Scotty Lauxmont, currently in career-best form, rallied out of the pocket to take the $18,000 pacing feature at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Sunday night.
The card’s two $18,000 trots went to Iron Mine Bucky and Side Bet Hanover.
Scotty Lauxmont posted his third victory in his last four starts in the pacing headliner. He was guided into the two-hole early by driver Eric Carlson and waited behind pacesetting Eddard Hanover, the North America Cup Consolation winner, before coming on and getting by the stubborn front-runner to score a three-quarter-length victory in a personal best of 1:51.2. Gilbert Garcia-Herrera, fourth in North America among trainers in the victory column, conditions the sharpening four-year-old for his son, owner Gilbert Garcia-Owen.
Iron Mine Bucky has seemed on the fringes of semistardom during much of his two and a half years at the races to date, but breaks have often proven to be his undoing. On Sunday, there was no misbehavior, as driver Anthony Napolitano sent him right to the top and didn’t lose the lead, with Manwithamission closest at the wire behind the winner, who took a new mark of 1:54 while raising his earnings to $285,120 for trainer Greg Haverstick (former national caretaker of the year) and the Iron Mine Branch LLC.
Side Bet Hanover enjoyed getting away from the tough Miss Versatility crew, posting her first victory of the season in 1:54.1. The daughter of Donato Hanover used the popular “pocket to paydirt” tactics so often a winning strategy here at Pocono, overhauling leader Itsgoodtobequeen by a half-length for driver Matt Kakaley, trainer Jonas Czernyson, and the SRF Stable. The mare now sports a bankroll of $216,766.
(With files from PHHA / Pocono)