Five groups of two-year-olds went postward for $22,535 each as the featured events on Tuesday, Sept. 22 at Pocono Downs at Mohegan Pennsylvania. The trotting fillies had two divisions; each of the other groups had one race.
Showing significant pedigree potential is the trotting colt Oil Jack S ($7.20), by Ready Cash out of Eddiction; the dam is out of Yankee Blondie, who also produced champion Muscle Hill. Oil Jack S had made breaks in his first two purse starts, but he showed he is getting the hang of the game under the tutelage of Marcus Melander by taking the lead after the quarter then going on to a 1:57 victory, with :58.1 - :28.4 back fractions. Braxten Boyd drove the prospect for Courant Inc., PCW Racing LLC and Kemppi Stables Oy Inc.
The faster featured trotting filly winner was Balara Bay ($7.40), who worked to the top in front of the stands the first time then continued on to her second victory in eight starts, this one in 1:57.2. The daughter of Greenshoe-Wind Stroll scored for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Nifty Norman and owners Tony Holmes and June Zent.
This group’s other division was won by the Tactical Landing-Made It Happen miss Im A Hugger ($2.20) with Braxten Boyd aboard. She had a wide lead through most of the back half, then came home to post a maiden mark of 1:58.2 in her eighth start for trainer Ray Schnittker and the owning partnership of Daisy Acres and Vincent Ali Jr.
The Papi Rob Hanover-Happy Hannah pacing filly Happy Papi ($4.80) caught the eye as she won her section of the feature in 1:53 to lower her mark by more than four seconds while improving to two-for-seven. She never looked back while coming home in :56.2 - :27.4 for driver Tyler Buter, trainer Nicholas Devita and owners David Hamm and Glenn Phillips.
Devita, Hamm and Phillips, along with Pit Bull Stable LLC, were also the connections behind the pacing colt Lions Not Sheep ($7.60). He overcame an absence of 37 days to win off cover over first-up Captains Echo (Matt Kakaley) while reducing his mark to 1:55. Ridge Warren drove the son of Stay Hungry-Continualou to his second tally in four tries.
Drivers Braxten Boyd and Ridge Warren each came home first three times on the 14-race card; piloting two winners were Tyler Buter, Anthony Napolitano and Jim Pantaleano. Devita’s training sweep of the baby pacing features earned the only conditioning double of the program.
Racing resumes at Pocono with a 1 p.m. card Saturday with the first of the season’s John Simpson Sr. Memorial Stakes. Each division is named after a star with whom Simpson was associated during his Hall of Fame career; the three-year-old pacing colts start off the 2026 series with the Albatross, which contains three $30,000 USD splits on Saturday.
(With files from PHHA/Pocono; photo of Oil Jack S winning on Sept. 22)