Dovuto Hanover, Johns Polyview and Sir Richard Z Tam all secured themselves a spot in next Friday’s $200,000 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes Championship for two-year-old pacing colts with impressive victories in Wednesday’s $345,974 final divisional sires stakes preliminary at Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs.
Dovuto Hanover, on the outside looking in for a finals spot before Wednesday, punched his championship ticket with a 1:51.3 victory in his cut, a clocking which knocked a fifth of a second off the Pocono track record for two-year-old geldings formerly held by Arctic Warrior. Dovuto, an altered son of Dragon Again trained by Kelly O’Donnell for owner Richard Delarm, sat fifth at the quarter pole. When David Miller gave him the word 'go,' he rushed to the lead and paced his back three-quarters of a mile in 1:24 flat.
The McArdle colt Johns Polyview moved early to command for doubling driver Miller, then withstood a determined charge late from Lex Vegas to triumph in 1:52.4 in his division. Johns Polyview is trained by Donna Marshall for Mortburg Trust.
Sir Richard Z Tam finished on even terms with Johns Polyview in the preliminary point standings by rallying into a :26.4 last quarter for trainer/driver Pat Lachance to catch pacesetting Good Day Mate in 1:54.2. Lachance also co-owns the Somebeachsomewhere colt with M & M Harness Racing LLC and Ira Rosenblum.
(With files from Pocono)