The $17,500 featured trot at the Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 17) was won by the sophomore Chapter Seven colt Justice in 1:53.2, defeating older foes in an impressive manner.
Justice settled in fourth in a hotly-disputed :26.4 quarter, then came out raw to tackle the leading favourite P L Notsonice after the :56 half, drawing alongside the front-stepper by the 1:24.2 three-quarters. Despite the two-move journey, it was Justice who ruled through the stretch, winning by three lengths over the chalk for trainer Åke Svanstedt, whose Åke Svanstedt Inc. co-owns the winner of $300,880 with Little E LLC, Torbjorn Swahn Inc., and Myfab Inc.
Justice was driven by Sarah Svanstedt, who also won with Delayed Hanover, a son of Southwind Frank who rallied up the inside to photo out Abruzzo in 1:54.2 while winning a $17,000 event. Whenever Sarah gets the Team Svanstedt assignment to drive at Pocono, she must think, “Jag kom jag såg jag erövrade,” Swedish for “I came, I saw, I conquered,” as she has now won nine times sulkysitting at Pocono this year in but 11 starts.
The pacing co-feature, also for a purse of $17,500, saw Da Delightful secure the pocket in a blistering :26 opener, follow along behind pacesetting Whitecookie in contested fractions of :55 and 1:22.2, then move out and pace clear by 3-1/4 lengths in 1:50. The son of Bettors Delight, an earner of $335,230 and a winner of two straight, was driven by Braxten Boyd for owner/trainer Mark Silva.
Anthony Napolitano was the driving star of the afternoon, visiting victory lane five times. Anthony was quick to figure out the day’s bias against closers circling wide, scoring four times on the engine and once from the pocket to boost himself into third in the local standings behind Matt Kakaley and Anthony’s brother George.
Pocono is currently operating on its fall basic schedule of Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, so the next live racing at the mountain oval will be on Monday (Sept. 19) at 1:30 p.m. (EDT).
(PHHA / Pocono)