Harness racing’s fastest two-year-old ever, the filly Warrawee Ubeaut (1:48.3 at Lexington last year) makes her second start of 2019 in one of four $30,000 divisions of a Pennsylvania All-Stars event for three-year-old pacing fillies Saturday at The Downs at Mohegan Sun Pocono.
Warrawee Ubeaut, a daughter of Sweet Lou trained by Ron Burke for Burke Racing Stable LLC and Weaver Bruscemi LLC, Phil Collura, and J&T Silva- Purnel & Libby, was voted champion of her category last year after notching seven wins in twelve starts and earnings of $646,995, the most of any two-year-old campaigning in North America in 2018.
So far Warrawee Ubeaut has only started once, winning a May 3 Pennsylvania Sire Stakes leg at Harrah’s Philly in 1:51.2, so she will come into Saturday’s race without a start in 29 days. Her regular pilot, Yannick Gingras, is over in Sweden competing in the 2019 World Driving Championship, so Matt Kakaley will get the driving assignment as Warrawee Ubeaut starts from the rail in the seven-horse eleventh race field.
The main opponent for Warrawee Ubeaut appears to be Philly Hanover (post three, driver Dexter Dunn), who is undefeated in three 2019 starts, and won the other Sire Stakes division on May 3 in 1:51.3, only a tick behind the clocking produced by Warrawee Ubeaut that day.
Abigail Dawn (post two, Dexter Dunn) is favoured in the third race division, like all the other All-Star races seen-horse affairs, sporting a 4-for-5 record this year and winning in the Stallion Series at Philly in 1:51.2. Her main rival is Sylph Hanover (post five, Matt Kakaley), 2018 Sire Stakes champion and second to Philly Hanover at Philly.
Treacherous Reign is the early choice in the fifth race second division, despite drawing the outside post seven. She was victorious in her only start of the year, covering a sloppy oval at Philly in 1:52.2, with a :27.1 last quarter.
Dexter Dunn is scheduled to handle Treacherous Reign, and he has a third All-Stars favourite in the tenth race third division with Stonebridge Soul, who is starting from post five. Stonebridge Soul started her year with a win, then has had two seconds -- one to Warrawee Ubeaut in the Sire Stakes, and then to Treacherous Reign in that one’s seasonal bow at Philly.
(PHHA / Pocono)