Driver Simon Allard, coming off a five-win night at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono Friday, did even better on Saturday evening, with eight visits to Victory Lane, including one after guiding trotting mare Daylon Miracle to victory in the $30,000 Open Handicap Trot in 1:50.3 -- the fastest time ever by a female trotter on a five-eighth-mile track in North America.
Allard tucked Daylon Miracle in fourth early, but when they straightened out in front of the stands, he sent the daughter of Pegasus Spur to the top, hitting the lead nearing the second turn and just extending her margin from there, winning by seven and a half lengths over international star Wind Of The North.
No female of any age has ever trotted faster on the size of Pocono's oval, five-eighths of a mile, and up until five weeks ago the effort could truly have been called a world record, since the mare Delicious trotted in 1:50.2f in Sweden in mid-August. The clocking was a personal best for Daylon Miracle, and the time obviously broke the former track record for her division, which had been co-held at 1:51.4 by Beatgoeson Hanover, In Your Room, and Frau Blucher.
Simon Allard guided the new champion for trainer/brother Rene Allard, the track's leading conditioner, and the ownership of Allard Racing Inc. and Earl Hill Jr. Team Allard purchased the mare at the end of May, after she beat the likes of Shake It Cerry and Classic Martine in the Meadows Maturity Mare Trot for former owner Bill Bercury, and she has five wins and over $95,000 to her credit since that transaction.
The four winners conditioned by Rene on Saturday, all piloted by Simon, matched his Friday output, of which Simon piloted three. But it was grand frère Simon who out-shined his little brother this weekend, with the amazing "lucky 13" scorecard of driving wins. Simon, second in the Pocono sulky-sitter standings, saw his successes came in streaky sections -- he won four of the first five on Friday (missing by a head in race two), and then on Saturday he won races two through five and posted another four-for-five streak in races nine, 11, 12, and 13.
Pocono also carded another $30,000 handicap event on Saturday, for pacers, and the horses "from the rails" were a nose apart at the finish, as Dynamic Youth (PP1, Joe Bongiorno) photoed out JK Endofanera (handicapped to PP9, Andrew McCarthy) in 1:49, with Captive Audience just a neck off in third.
Dynamic Youth parked JK Endofanera past a :26.3 quarter, and after that horse had made the lead, Captive Audience rushed for command by a :53.3 half, continuing to a 1:20.4 three-quarters, with Dynamic Youth moving out for the stretch drive and JK Endofanera waiting for the Pocono Pike passing lane. They were three abreast most of the length of the stretch, with Dynamic Youth, an altered son of Bettors Delight, getting his nose ahead in the last couple strides to push his bankroll over $1.08 million lifetime for trainer Ron Burke and J&T Silva Stables LLC, Ken Tucci, and C&G Racing Stable.
Finally, Luck Be Withyou made his first Pocono start since capturing the $500,000 Ben Franklin Final in June, using his preferred speedy tactics to wire a $20,000 field of pacers in 1:49.1 for driver George Napolitano Jr., trainer Chris Oakes, and owner John Craig. The son of Western Ideal continues to not let his horrible luck at the Pocono post draw in 2015 (he had eight and nine in the two Franklin races, and the outside post eight tonight) take away from his love of the local red racetrack, where he also won the 2013 Breeders Crown Two-Year-Old Colt Pace event.
(PHHA / Pocono)